Rhubarb bread recipe

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Happy May Day! Here’s my recipe for rhubarb bread. 🌸

If you aren’t familiar, rhubarb is a plant that grows in thick stalks. It’s very bitter but usually cooked with sugar to counteract any sour taste. It’s another ingredient you’ll often see featured in desserts at country fairs here in PA.

This is a great option if you’re like me and get caught up in endless cycles of banana bread. If you’ve never tried rhubarb or are hesitant, this is a good place to start since the flavor is very light.

When selecting rhubarb, remember that the redder the stalk, the sweeter the flavor. The leaves are inedible and should be discarded (they’re toxic when eaten in high amounts) and kept away from pets.

Ingredients:

– 1 tablespoon water
– ½ cup white sugar (¼ cup reserved)
– ½ cup butter softened
– ½ cup brown sugar
– 2 eggs, beaten
– 2 tablespoons milk
– 2 cups flour
– ½ tsp. salt
– 1 tsp. baking soda
– 1 tsp. vanilla extract
– 1 ¼ cup hot cooked rhubarb

Topping:

– 2 tablespoons butter, melted
– 2 tablespoons flour
– 2 tsp. hot water
– 2 tablespoons white sugar
– 1 ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
– ¼ tsp. ginger

Start by cooking your rhubarb. You want to end up with 1 ¼ cups cooked, which I got with about 2 cups of raw rhubarb cut into 1-inch pieces (about 5-6 stalks). Simmer the chopped rhubarb over low heat with 1 tablespoon of water and ¼ cup of white sugar. Stir occasionally until the sugar dissolves and the rhubarb breaks down (about 25 minutes). 

Preheat oven to 375°. Grease and flour a 5x9 loaf pan. Cream the butter and the rest of the sugar (¼ cup white and ½ cup brown) together in a medium bowl until light. Add eggs and milk and mix well.

In a smaller bowl, sift flour, salt, and baking soda. Add to butter mixture and stir well. Stir in the vanilla and hot rhubarb until well-combined. Pour into loaf pan.

Your batter will likely look crazy—it turns out to be a weird gray color but bakes beautifully.

For the topping, combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Pour over the batter. Bake for an hour (or until a toothpick comes out clean) and cool for 10 minutes in the pan.

Slice and enjoy! 🌞