This depression-era peanut butter bread recipe calls for just six ingredients and five minutes of prep time. It’s super easy and economical to make and if you love peanut butter, you’ll enjoy this bread with your morning coffee or tea!
This recipe comes straight out of a 1932 Canadian cookbook called "Five Roses Flour - A Guide to Good Cooking" and was presented on the YouTube channel Glen & Friends Cooking.
The video popped up in my suggestions the other day and after a bit of googling I learned that the recipe has become the latest quarantine cooking craze after focaccia, banana bread and sourdough!
I’ll admit that I was super skeptical about the recipe but brave enough to try it (just like with the banana peel pulled pork, remember that?).
Skeptical because that quantity of baking powder has a tendency to give baked goods a metallic, off taste. Surprisingly, that doesn’t happen with this recipe!
However, even though this peanut butter bread looks like banana bread, there are some key differences for you to keep in mind when making this recipe.
First, the texture is much more crumbly than other quick breads. You need a plate because you’ll be dropping crumbs everywhere if you don’t.
The texture is a bit like a cross between a quick bread and a cake.
Second, it’s less sweet than most quick bread recipes. As you can see, it only calls for ¼ cup of sugar.
That’s great for those who don’t like super sweet things and means you can top it with some jam or agave without feeling like you’ve had a sugar overload.
Finally, the original recipe calls for ½ cup of peanut butter but after perusing the comments on this reddit thread, most people agreed that it needed a bit more in order to have a more pronounced peanut butter flavour. I added ¾ cup.
How to make peanut butter bread
It’s really easy! Preheat your oven and grease a loaf tin. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. Pour in the milk and mix it up. Then mix in the peanut butter. Bake for an hour.
Of course the original recipe uses dairy. I used oat milk and the bread came out fine.
I used smooth peanut butter since that’s what I had in my pantry but I you could use chunky if you want a bit of crunch in your bread.
Some people on reddit have added chocolate chips to their peanut butter bread. That sounds great so feel free to add in some vegan ones if you have them.
Once the bread is baked, let it cool for about 10 minutes in the pan, then flip it out and let it cool on a rack.
I recommend letting it cool completely before eating because when it’s still warm, it sticks to the roof of your mouth quite a bit!
You can take it plain but we prefer it with a bit of jam or a drizzle of agave. It’s a great with your morning coffee!
If you try this weird recipe, do let us know what you think!
Peanut Butter Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250 grams) all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup (52 grams) white sugar (vegan, of course)
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ⅓ cup (325 ml) plant-based milk (I used unsweetened oat)
- ¾ cup (190 grams) peanut butter (see note below)
- Optional: vegan chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 F (160 C) and grease a loaf tin.
- In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients.
- Pour in the milk and mix to combine.
- Add in the peanut butter (and chocolate chips if using) and mix well to combine. Transfer the batter to the greased tin and bake for one hour.
- Let cool for 10 minutes in the tin, then turn the bread out and let cool on a rack. I recommend letting it cool completely before eating or else it will stick to the roof of your mouth!
Notes
Grace says
If you're using gluten-free flour is it the same amount as regular powder and what size loaf pan?
Melissa says
Sorry, I'm not celiac so I don't use gluten-free flour. I can't answer that question. The loaf pan is 23 x 13 x 8 cm.
Grace says
I meant flour
Nancy Hart says
Grace, look up Rhian's Recipes. All vegan and all gluten free. She could answer all of your questions. 🙂
Aimee B. says
This is so easy and delicious! I absolutely love Depression Era recipes and this one is a keeper. I altered it just a little. I reduced the salt because my pb has enough. I also used just the 1/2 cup of pb, used vanilla soy milk, added in a teaspoon of vanilla and 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips. I stirred the pb into the milk before adding it to the flour mixture, which made it easier for me. It made 6 mini loaves. 🙂
Cherryl says
Hi, is the calories per serving or for the whole thing? I enjoyed reading through your blog, I’m not vegan but looking to incorporate meatless days throughout the week!
Melissa says
Per serving