Buttermilk Rhubarb Bread

Buttermilk rhubarb bread is a delicious and easy way to use up some of spring’s first harvest.

Super moist and loaded with rhubarb pieces, this quick bread sits right on the line between bread and loaf cake. It’s sweet enough for dessert, simple enough for breakfast. It’s become one of my favorite things to bake the moment rhubarb appears in the garden.

Uncomplicated in both ingredients and technique, this moist rhubarb bread will delight both baker and eater.

Simple Ingredients

If you’ve read or tried any of my other recipes, you know that I’m a fan of simple, everyday ingredients. This bread definitely follows that pattern. Nothing too fancy and as always there are some options.

Buttermilk

Buttermilk definitely gives this bread flavor and moistness. Real buttermilk will provide the best of all worlds but if you don’t have any on hand and don’t want to run to the store, you have options.

The powdered buttermilk sold in the baking aisle of the grocery store will work.

The soured milk trick – 1 cup of regular milk combined with 1 Tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice and allowed to sit for a few minutes – works as a buttermilk substitute. It’s not exactly the same but close enough.

Fresh Rhubarb

Rhubarb season tends to last a while, giving us ample opportunity to make multiple loaves of this great recipe.

If it’s too hot to bake or you’ve had your fill of rhubarb recipes at the moment. Chop the rhubarb and freeze into pre-measured portions. Then you can thaw and bake this bread up later in the year.

For this recipe, I did dice the rhubarb into small pieces, rather than just slice the stalks. Slices would likely work but be less distributed.

Can you use frozen rhubarb? Yes — chop it before freezing into pre-measured 1½ cup portions so it’s ready to go. Thaw completely and pat dry before folding into the batter, as excess moisture can affect bake time. If the batter seems especially wet, add 5–10 minutes of bake time and check with a tester before pulling from the oven.

Butter

Admittedly this is a very dairy heavy recipe. Vegetable oil could be substituted for the melted butter, if desired.

If you use unsalted butter add 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the dry ingredients.

Sour Cream

I used full-fat sour cream in the recipes I tested. I imagine a low-fat would work.

Though, I didn’t test it specifically, generally speaking, a plain Greek yogurt works as a substitute for sour cream in most recipes.

Optional Additions

Want to switch up your bread a bit? Consider these options:

Add the streusel topping from my rhubarb muffins to the top of the bread before baking.

Stir in up to 1 cup of chocolate chips to the bread.

Drizzle the baked and cooled loaf of bread with a lemon glaze, vanilla glaze or melted chocolate.

Fold in up to 1 cup of chopped nuts with the rhubarb for some hearty crunch.

Strawberry rhubarb variation: swap out half the rhubarb for chopped fresh strawberries for the classic combination. The sweetness of the strawberries balances the tartness of the rhubarb beautifully for one of the best variations you can make with this recipe.

Troubleshooting

The bread is wet or gummy in the center. Rhubarb releases moisture as it bakes, and very fresh or especially juicy stalks can add more liquid than expected. Make sure your tester comes out completely clean!

The bread is dense and didn’t rise well. Check your baking powder and baking soda as both lose potency over time. If either is more than 6 months past opening, replace them. Also make sure not to overmix once the wet and dry ingredients are combined.

The rhubarb sank to the bottom. Toss the diced rhubarb in a tablespoon of flour before folding into the batter to help it stay distributed throughout the loaf rather than settling.

The top is browning too fast. Tent loosely with foil after the first 40 minutes if the top is getting dark before the center is done. The sugar content in this batter can accelerate browning.

The bread stuck to the pan. Grease the pan thoroughly including up the sides and into the corners. A light dusting of flour after greasing adds extra insurance for a clean release.

How to Store

This bread will keep fresh if stored in airtight container at room temperature for about 4 days.

It freezes incredibly well, if you’re inclined to make a double batch.

Simply put baked and cooled loaves into freezer bags or wrap tightly in plastic wrap and freeze.

Thaw frozen bread at room temperature prior to serving.

Use up frozen bread within 6 months for best flavor and to prevent freezer burn.