Cantaloupe... BREAD?!?

Cantaloupe- my favorite summer melon! Tender, juicy, sweet and a gorgeous orange color. It's the perfect fruit for munching on on a hot summer day.

I love it so much, I can't believe I've never thought to bake with it before! I did a recipe search for cantaloupe and the first thing that caught my attention was cantaloupe bread. Wait..Cantaloupe..BREAD?! Of course! Why am I just now finding out about this? Cantaloupe is so juicy that it's the perfect candidate for a moist bread.

Something else I love about this recipe is it doesn't require much sugar. Cantaloupe is so naturally sweet that it makes up for the lack of sugar. You want to make sure you're using a melon that is VERY RIPE. I mean RIPE! The riper the better because it's even juicier and sweeter. This recipe calls for cinnamon and I had to really force myself not to add extra like I did in some other recipes. I wanted to really be able to taste the fruit, and I was afraid too much cinnamon would drown out the flavor.

And what would a cantaloupe bread be without chunks of CANTALOUPE in it?

The finished result was very good! It wasn't too sweet at all, it was perfectly moist, and had a very nice cantaloupe flavor. Oh, and did I mention how fantastic this makes the house smell? Oh my.. even if it didn't taste good I'd make it just for that smell! I don't think I'll ever be able to buy another cantaloupe without wanting to make it into bread. :)

-Jess

Cantaloupe Bread-

Recipe slightly adapted from AllRecipes
Printable Recipe
Makes 2 loaves

Ingredients-
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup applesauce
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla
2 cups cantaloupe, pureed
3 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup cantaloupe, chopped


Directions-
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease two 9x5-inch bread pans.


In a medium bowl whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon; set aside. In a large mixing bowl combine eggs, oil, applesauce, sugar, vanilla and cantaloupe puree; mix well. Stir in flour mixture until just combined. Stir in chopped cantaloupe.


Pour into prepared pans and bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center removes clean. Cool in pans 5 minutes before removing to cooling racks.

Enjoy!