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Southern Peach Bread

Southern peach bread is a moist peach quick bread loaf loaded with fresh peaches and warm cinnamon-nutmeg spice, baked until deeply golden. The crackled top crust splits to reveal a tender, peach-studded crumb.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings: 10 servings
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Calories: 310
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Dry ingredients
  • 2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 0.5 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 0.25 tsp nutmeg
  • 0.5 tsp salt
Wet ingredients
  • 2 eggs
  • 0.75 cup granulated sugar
  • 0.25 cup brown sugar
  • 0.5 cup vegetable oil
  • 0.5 cup sour cream or buttermilk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
Fruit
  • 2 cup fresh peaches, peeled and diced

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan

Method
 

Prep and preheat
  1. Preheat the oven to 350F and grease a 9x5 loaf pan, so the batter goes in hot and bakes evenly. Set the pan aside on a sheet pan to catch any drips.
Mix the batter
  1. Whisk all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a large bowl until the dry mix is uniform. Look for no visible spice clumps.
  2. Beat eggs, granulated sugar, brown sugar, vegetable oil, sour cream or buttermilk, and vanilla extract in a separate bowl until smooth. Stop when the mixture looks glossy and fully combined.
  3. Stir the wet mixture into the dry mixture until just combined, avoiding overmixing. The batter should look thick with a few small streaks.
  4. Fold in diced fresh peaches until evenly distributed. The batter will be studded with fruit chunks.
Bake and cool
  1. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake at 350F for 60-65 minutes, until deeply golden. Watch for a crackled top crust that splits as it bakes.
  2. Check doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center; it should come out clean. If it still looks wet, bake a few more minutes and recheck.
  3. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes before turning out. The loaf should be set enough to hold its shape while still warm.

Notes

For the densest, peach-studded crumb, dice the peaches evenly and fold gently so you don’t break the fruit pieces. Store the loaf wrapped at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days; freeze for up to 2 months. For a dairy-light option, use buttermilk with the same amount of sour cream or use plain dairy-free buttermilk if available.