Spiced Pear Loaf

[Reverend Al]

My wife was given a bunch of pears from a friend of hers and we'll never eat them all before they spoil so I made some Spiced Pear Loafs today.

Spiced Pear Loaf

• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup of brown sugar
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 cup butter or 1⁄2 cup margarine
• 4 eggs
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups finely chopped peeled ripe pear
Directions
1. Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
2. With a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
3. In a smaller bowl, beat eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla.
4. Add to dry ingredients and stir just until moistened.
5. Fold in pears.
6. Spoon into 3 loaf pans lined with parchment paper.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 - 45 minutes or until tests done in the center with a toothpick.
8. Cool in pans 10 minutes, then remove to wire racks to cool completely.

[Reverend Al]

Just did a "taste test" on a couple of slices of these Spiced Pear Loaves ... they passed!

[Wayne Smith]

I'll have to try that, I tend to use allspice with pears. Haven't made a loaf in years, LOML being allergic to wheat and milk products.

[Reverend Al]

We have several friends from our local gun club who are celiacs and can't eat any of my regular baked goods containing wheat (or gluten), so when I bake something for a club event keeping them in mind I use this all purpose flour substitute. It has worked well for me.

Gluten Free All-Purpose Flour Blend

Whisk together 6 cups of stabilized brown rice flour, 2 cups of potato starch, and 1 cup of tapioca flour or tapioca starch. Store airtight at room temperature.

Note: You can substitute white rice flour for the brown rice flour if you like, but it'll make your baked goods grittier (unless you manage to find a finely ground version).

[gwpercle]

Great recipe !
This is a good way to use up the hard cooking pears . My Dad had two different trees , one made the soft eating pears, would make a few each year but the other made a hard cooking pear and would be loaded every year. Way too many and they had to be cooked...we would grate them and use in a pear loaf recipe like your's. Great way to use them hard cooking pears up.
Gary

[MaryB]

Works good with apples too! I had some left to use up... made this... friends stopped in and it is gone!