Rhubarb Bread is the recipe that Teresa started baking every spring the moment she discovered that rhubarb, that bold and sharply tart stalk that she had always associated only with pie, made the most extraordinary and surprising quick bread she had ever tasted. The rhubarb releases its moisture as it bakes and keeps the crumb tender and soft for days. The sugar transforms its sharpness into a beautiful sweet-tart balance that makes every slice taste bright and fresh and deeply satisfying in a way that plain banana bread or zucchini bread simply cannot match. She makes it every weekend from April through June and the loaf never survives longer than two days.
Rhubarb Bread is the quick bread that spring was made for. A moist and tender loaf made with oil for guaranteed moisture, buttermilk for a gentle tanginess and soft crumb, two eggs for binding and richness, and a generous cup and a half of fresh chopped rhubarb folded through with the most careful and gentle hand so every slice has those bright tart pockets of fruit throughout. Warm cinnamon in the background, a beautiful golden top, and a crumb that stays soft and sliceable for days. Perfect for breakfast, afternoon tea, and any spring brunch table. Come follow us on Pinterest where we share beautiful spring baking recipes and easy homemade loaves from our kitchen every single week.
Table of Contents
Why You Will Love This Rhubarb Bread Recipe
This Rhubarb Bread recipe is the spring quick bread that delivers genuinely outstanding flavor and texture from the most straightforward and forgiving baking process imaginable. Oil rather than butter is the fat of choice here and it is a deliberate and important decision. Oil produces a moister and more tender crumb than butter in quick bread applications because it is pure fat with no water content and it distributes more evenly through the batter than creamed solid butter does. The result is a loaf that stays softer and more tender for longer than a butter-based quick bread would.
The buttermilk is the second significant ingredient decision. Its slight acidity reacts with the baking soda to provide lift and a pleasant gentle tang that complements the tartness of the rhubarb without overwhelming it. Together the oil and buttermilk create the most perfectly moist and tender crumb that holds together cleanly when sliced and toasts beautifully when slightly stale. Our Dandelion Bread makes a beautiful and equally adventurous spring quick bread companion for anyone who loves exploring seasonal and unconventional baking ingredients.
Ingredients Needed for This Rhubarb Bread Recipe
Dry Ingredients:
- 2 cups All-Purpose Flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- ½ tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon (optional but recommended)
Wet Ingredients:
- 2 large Eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup Granulated Sugar
- ½ cup Vegetable Oil or Melted Butter
- ½ cup Buttermilk or Regular Whole Milk
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
Add-Ins:
- 1½ cups Fresh or Frozen Rhubarb, chopped into small even pieces
- ½ cup Chopped Walnuts or Pecans (optional)
How to Make This Rhubarb Bread Recipe
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan generously with butter or cooking spray and line with parchment paper leaving an overhang on the two long sides for easy lifting.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon until fully combined. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and granulated sugar together until the mixture is smooth and slightly lightened in color, about 1 minute of vigorous whisking. Add the vegetable oil, buttermilk, and vanilla extract and whisk until fully combined and uniform. The wet mixture should look smooth and slightly pale.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture gradually and stir gently with a wide spatula until just combined with no visible dry flour pockets remaining, cara mia. This is the most important technique instruction in the entire recipe. Do not overmix. A few small lumps are completely fine and preferred over a batter that has been stirred past the point of combination. Overmixing develops gluten in the flour and produces a tough and dense loaf rather than the tender and light crumb this recipe is designed to create.
Before folding the rhubarb into the batter, toss the chopped pieces with a teaspoon of flour in a small bowl. This light coating of flour helps suspend the rhubarb pieces evenly throughout the batter during baking rather than allowing them to sink to the bottom of the loaf. Fold the floured rhubarb and optional nuts gently into the batter in three or four wide circular strokes, distributing evenly without further developing the gluten.
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top gently with the spatula. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes until the top is deeply golden, a toothpick inserted into the very center comes out clean, and the top springs back gently when pressed. If the top begins to brown too quickly before the center is cooked through, tent loosely with aluminum foil for the final 15 to 20 minutes of baking. Allow to cool in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes then lift out by the parchment overhang and cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.
How to Serve This Rhubarb Bread Recipe
Serve this loaf at room temperature sliced into generous pieces on a wooden board with a small pot of good salted butter alongside for spreading. The combination of the sweet tart rhubarb in the warm tender crumb with cold salted butter melting into each slice is one of the most simply wonderful combinations in all of spring baking.
For a spring brunch table, slice the entire loaf and arrange fanned on a white platter with fresh strawberries scattered alongside for a presentation that is both beautiful and completely inviting. Lightly toasted slices with a drizzle of honey make an extraordinary morning treat. Our Dandelion Muffins make a perfectly portioned and equally spring-forward companion for a complete and charming seasonal baking spread.
How to Store This Rhubarb Bread Recipe
Store the completely cooled loaf wrapped tightly in plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 3 days. The crumb actually improves over the first 24 hours as the moisture from the rhubarb continues to distribute through the loaf and the whole bread becomes more uniformly moist and tender overnight.
To freeze, wrap the completely cooled and whole unsliced loaf tightly in plastic wrap and then in a layer of aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight at room temperature still wrapped to prevent the surface from condensing. Individual slices can be wrapped and frozen separately for quick single-serving thawing in the microwave.
Tips to Make This Rhubarb Bread Recipe
Measure the flour correctly by spooning it into the measuring cup and leveling off with the back of a knife rather than scooping the cup directly into the flour bag. Scooping packs the flour and can add 20 to 30 percent more flour than the recipe needs which produces a significantly denser and drier loaf. A kitchen scale measuring in grams is the most accurate approach of all and is worth using for consistently excellent results.
Always check the freshness of the baking soda before baking. Old or expired baking soda will not react with the buttermilk sufficiently to leaven the loaf and the result will be a flat and dense brick rather than a properly risen and tender loaf. Test by adding a teaspoon to a tablespoon of white vinegar. If it bubbles vigorously it is fresh. If nothing happens, replace it.
Helpful Notes for This Rhubarb Bread Recipe
Rhubarb does not need to be peeled before using. Simply wash the stalks thoroughly, trim both ends, and chop into small and relatively uniform pieces of approximately half an inch. Uniform pieces distribute more evenly through the batter and cook at the same rate, producing a consistent texture throughout the loaf. If using frozen rhubarb, do not thaw it before adding to the batter. Add directly from frozen and fold through quickly. The frozen pieces will thaw during baking.
The cinnamon in this recipe is listed as optional but is genuinely recommended. It adds a warm and cozy note that complements the tartness of the rhubarb in the most beautiful way and gives the finished loaf a fragrance that smells like the best possible spring morning in the kitchen.
Variation of This Rhubarb Bread Recipe
Maria made a version replacing half a cup of the rhubarb with an equal amount of fresh chopped strawberries for a strawberry rhubarb bread that was sweeter and more vibrantly colored than the straight rhubarb version and produced a loaf with a beautiful pink-speckled crumb that was completely extraordinary toasted with butter. Teresa tried adding the zest of one lemon to the wet ingredients and a tablespoon of poppy seeds to the dry ingredients for a lemon poppy rhubarb bread that was bright and fragrant and completely wonderful.
For a cinnamon swirl version, pour half the batter into the pan, sprinkle a mixture of two tablespoons of sugar and one teaspoon of cinnamon in an even layer over the surface, pour the remaining batter on top, and swirl once gently with a knife before baking for a beautiful cinnamon ribbon running through the center of every slice. Our Dandelion Honey Marshmallows make a beautifully whimsical and spring-inspired companion treat alongside this rhubarb loaf for a complete and charming seasonal spread.
FAQs About This Rhubarb Bread Recipe
Why is my rhubarb bread dense?
Dense rhubarb bread is almost always caused by one of two things: too much flour or overmixing the batter. Too much flour from scooping rather than spooning into the measuring cup adds significantly more flour than the recipe intends. Overmixing develops gluten which produces a tough and heavy texture. Measure carefully by spooning the flour and mix only until just combined with no dry streaks visible.
Do I need to peel the rhubarb?
No. Rhubarb skin is thin and completely edible and does not need to be removed before baking. Simply wash, trim the ends, and chop into small pieces. The skin softens completely during baking and adds a slight pink color to the fruit pockets in the finished loaf.
Can I substitute buttermilk if I do not have any?
Yes. Make a quick buttermilk substitute by combining half a cup of regular whole milk with a teaspoon of white vinegar or fresh lemon juice. Stir and allow to sit for 5 minutes until the milk curdles slightly and looks somewhat lumpy. Use in the same quantity as the buttermilk specified. The result is virtually identical to using commercial buttermilk.
Conclusion
This Rhubarb Bread is the spring quick bread that makes every morning feel like the best morning of the season and every kitchen that bakes it smell completely extraordinary for hours. Moist, tender, sweet-tart, and completely satisfying in every single slice. We hope it brings the same golden fragrant spring morning to your kitchen that it has always brought to ours. Make it, share it, and come back to tell us all about it. With all our love, Maria, Lucia, and Teresa.
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Rhubarb Bread The Most Moist and Tender Sweet Tart Spring Loaf You Will Bake
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 1 loaf 8 to 10 slices 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
The most moist and tender Rhubarb Bread made with fresh rhubarb eggs oil and buttermilk in a simple one-bowl quick bread with warm cinnamon and a beautifully golden crust. An easy and completely delicious spring loaf recipe perfect for breakfast brunch or afternoon tea ready in 1 hour 15 minutes.
Ingredients
2 cups All-Purpose Flour spooned and leveled
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon optional
2 large Eggs room temperature
1 cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 cup Vegetable Oil or Melted Butter
1/2 cup Buttermilk or Regular Whole Milk
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 cups Fresh or Frozen Rhubarb chopped into small even pieces
1/2 cup Chopped Walnuts or Pecans optional
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and line a 9×5 inch loaf pan with parchment.
2. Whisk flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Set aside.
3. Whisk eggs and sugar in a large bowl 1 minute until smooth and slightly pale.
4. Add oil, buttermilk, and vanilla. Whisk until fully combined.
5. Add dry ingredients gradually and stir gently until just combined. Do not overmix.
6. Toss chopped rhubarb with 1 tsp flour to coat. Fold into batter with optional nuts in 3 to 4 strokes.
7. Pour into prepared pan and smooth the top.
8. Bake 55 to 65 minutes until golden and toothpick comes out clean.
9. Tent with foil if top browns too quickly before center is set.
10. Cool in pan 10 to 15 minutes then lift out and cool completely on wire rack before slicing.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Category: Bread, Breakfast, Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 280
- Sugar: 22g
- Sodium: 180mg
- Fat: 12g
- Saturated Fat: 2g
- Unsaturated Fat: 9g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 38g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 4g
- Cholesterol: 40mg
Keywords: rhubarb bread, rhubarb quick bread, moist rhubarb bread recipe, easy spring loaf cake recipe
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