Strawberry Jam Filled Blueberry Bread

When blueberries are coming on fast and furious, we sometimes have more than enough of a good thing. Perfect blueberries (firm and decorated with a white bloom) are for popping right into your mouth or topping ice cream, yogurt, or shortcakes—or freezing for winter. When you have a plethora and they’re going softly south all too soon, toss them in this lightly orange-scented bread that has a layer of strawberry jam sandwiched at the middle. The jam, after the bread is baked, isn’t terribly visible but adds a tender other sort of sweetness to this loaf, which, after all, is just an excuse to eat something cakey for breakfast. Inspired by the Silver Palate Lemon Blueberry Bread from THE NEW BASICS COOKBOOK, this is an early summer treat worth the short amount of time it takes to make it. Come winter, make it with just rinsed, but not thawed frozen blueberries.

makes 1 (9x5) loaf

Ingredients

TOPPING:

¼ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup finely chopped walnuts
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon EACH ground ginger and ground cardamom-can sub cloves for the cardamom

BREAD:

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon EACH: baking soda and baking powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup granulated sugar
1 cup milk
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick or 2 ounces) salted butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs at room temperature
1 ½ cups fresh blueberries
1 tablespoon orange zest
1/3 cup strawberry jam mixed well w/ one teaspoon of water to thin it a bit for spreading

Instructions

PREP: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Set rack at center. Grease well a 9x5 loaf pan.
MAKE THE TOPPING: Stir together the topping ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
MIX TOGETHER THE DRY INGREDIENTS: In a medium bowl stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
BEAT TOGETHER THE WET INGREDIENTS/ADD DRY INGREDIENTS AND BERRIES/ZEST: In a large bowl using a sturdy wooden spoon or handheld electric mixer, or in the bowl of a standing mixer, beat together the sugar, milk, butter, and eggs until well-combined. Stir or mix in the dry ingredients only until batter is just mixed well. Slowly and gently fold in the blueberries and orange zest. Do not over mix.
TRANSFER 3/4 OF THE BATTER TO THE PREPARED PAN. Spoon strawberry jam mixture down the center of the batter in a stripe about 7-inches long and 1-2 inches wide (stop before the ends of the pan or the jam will leak out too much). Add the other quarter of the batter evenly in large spoonfuls and carefully spread it on top of the jam layer using a small offset spatula or a table knife or a rubber spatula, making sure the jam is as covered as possible. (If it peeps through a smidge here and there, it's ok—just do your best.)
ADD THE TOPPING/BAKE/COOL: Sprinkle the top of the loaf evenly with the reserved topping. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until deep golden brown and a skewer stuck into the center comes out clean or nearly clean. Cool on a rack in the pan for 10-15 minutes. To remove from the pan, run a small thin knife around the edges of the bread (the jam may have escaped here and there and stuck). Holding the pan by the edges with gloves or potholders, tap/bang the pan firmly onto the counter or a board 2-3 times to loosen the bread. Turn out onto the rack and let cool completely before cutting. (I turn the pan upside down with my right hand while holding a potholder over the top of the loaf with my left and shake the pan with my right so the bread comes carefully out into my left hand without breaking. I then turn it over onto the rack right side-up to cool.) If you lose topping, scrape it up with a bench scraper or your hands and sprinkle it back on top. While this bread is delicious the day it's made, it is even a little better when it's wrapped and rested overnight.
Store well-wrapped for 2 days on the counter or for a week in the fridge. If you want to freeze the bread, it's best to freeze it right in the pan so it maintains its topping. Cool briefly, run knife around the edges, cool completely, double wrap in the pan and store in freezer 2-3 months.