Traditional breads can be kicked up a notch and turned into a dessert or snack with the addition of certain spices. In this post, we’ll talk about how to turn a regular bread into a sweeter option that tastes great.
Some tasty herbs and spices that can be baked into sweet bread include cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, and cloves. Other options could be ginger, cardamom, allspice, orange or lemon zest.
The choice of herbs and spices will depend on your personal taste preferences. Experiment with different combinations to find the perfect flavor for your sweet bread.
Let’s take a look at examples of spices to add to breads to sweeten them up along with some sweet breads you can consider baking.
Popular Examples Of Sweet Breads With Spices
Examples of sweet breads flavored with spices include:
- Pumpkin bread – made with pumpkin puree and spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger.
- Zucchini bread – made with grated zucchini and often flavored with cinnamon and nutmeg.
- Cinnamon raisin bread – made with raisins and a generous amount of cinnamon.
- Blueberry bread – made with fresh or frozen blueberries and sometimes flavored with lemon zest.
- Irish soda bread – a traditional sweet bread made with buttermilk and baking soda, flavored with caraway seeds.
- Ginger bread – made with ginger, molasses, and spices like cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice.
- Cardamom bread – a Scandinavian sweet bread flavored with ground cardamom.
- Chai spice bread – made with a blend of warm spices such as cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg and cloves.
- Nutella bread – a sweet bread flavored with Nutella, a chocolate-hazelnut spread and often flavored with vanilla.
- Banana bread – made with mashed ripe bananas and often flavored with cinnamon and nutmeg.
These are just a few examples, but you can experiment with different spices to create your own unique sweet bread flavor.
Elevate Your Baking: The Top Spices for Irresistible Sweet Bread
Sweet bread are about a combination of taste, texture aroma and in some cases, crunch. Let’s take a look at what each spice/herb adds to bread so you can find the flavor profile you are looking for.
| Spice/Herb | Taste | Texture | Aroma | Crunchiness |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cinnamon | Warm, sweet, spicy | Adds a fine, powdery texture | Aromatic, comforting | No crunch |
| Nutmeg | Warm, nutty, slightly sweet | Fine, powdery texture | Aromatic, slightly pungent | No crunch |
| Vanilla | Sweet, floral, rich | Smooth, creamy | Fragrant, sweet | No crunch |
| Cloves | Pungent, sweet, warm | Adds a gritty texture | Aromatic, intense | Adds slight crunch |
| Ginger | Spicy, pungent, earthy | Fibrous, adds texture | Aromatic, zesty | Adds subtle crunch |
| Cardamom | Citrusy, minty, spicy | Adds a fine, powdery texture | Aromatic, slightly minty | No crunch |
| Allspice | Warm, sweet, peppery | Adds a fine, powdery texture | Aromatic, complex | No crunch |
| Orange zest | Citrusy, tangy, fresh | Adds zest and moisture | Citrusy, bright | Adds a subtle crunch |
| Lemon zest | Citrusy, tangy, fresh | Adds zest and moisture | Citrusy, refreshing | Adds a subtle crunch |
These spices and herbs each contribute unique flavors, textures, aromas, and even crunchiness to sweet bread, enhancing the overall sensory experience.
If you’re looking at adding spices to your regular baked breads, check out our article 10 Tastiest Herbs and Spices to Bake into Bread.