Fruit Loaf

Growing up in Australia, a typical breakfast for me before heading to school was either a bowl of Weetbix, some toast smeared with butter and Vegemite, or some toasted fruit bread with a generous slather of butter and perhaps some Orange Marmalade.

As my parents ran a bakery when I was a child, there was always a loaf of fresh bread at home at breakfast, still warm from the oven which my mother would bring home after her early morning shift, in time to drop me off for the bus to school. I was always happiest if she came home with a fruit loaf (as well as a croissant or two!).

slices of toasted fruit bread on white plate with butter knife

Fruit Loaf Recipe

When I came across this recipe for Fruit Loaf in Warm Bread and Honey Cake by Gaitri Pagrach-Chandra, I knew I had to try it because, quite frankly, I couldn’t remember the last time I had had toasted fruit bread for breakfast.

As with most food memories associated with growing up in Australia, I was excited to try this fruit loaf recipe because fruit bread itself is hard to find in Switzerland. Well, not the sort that Aussies are used to anyway.

The result was a surprisingly easy-to-make fruit loaf which was wonderfully delicious. I find it to be a good blue-print for fruit loaf which you can customise to your liking.

I don’t like too much dried fruit in my fruit bread, so I have reduced the amount of dried fruit from the original recipe. You could also add ground cinnamon for a hint of spice and a slight nod to Hot Cross Buns.

fruit loaf on wire rack
slices of fruit loaf with butter and marmalade on white plate

What to Serve With Fruit Bread or Fruit Toast

If you are making this Fruit Loaf for breakfast, it is delicious served warm from the oven with a generous spread of butter.

It goes without saying that Fruit Loaf is delicious toasted, and the following jam recipes would work perfectly here:

Orange Marmalade

Strawberry Jam

Peach & Raspberry Jam

Apricot Jam

How to Make Fruit Loaf

For a printable recipe, please scroll down.

ingredients for fruit loaf

Step 1

Melt the butter in a small saucepan and leave to cool slightly.

If you are using dried yeast which needs to be activated first, add the dried yeast and sugar to the warm milk. Set the mixture aside for about 5 minutes until it becomes frothy.

Otherwise, if you are using dried instant yeast or easy-blend yeast, i.e. the sort which does not need to be activated first, you can add this directly to the flour.

Step by step photos for making fruit loaf. Small saucepans of butter and active yeast.

Step 2

Measure the flour and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer. Grate in the lemon zest. Add the melted butter, yeast mixture, and egg.

Use a dough hook to give everything a good mix, and knead lightly until you have a soft and smooth dough. This should take about 6-8 minutes using the stand mixer, or a bit longer if you are doing this by hand.

Step by step photos for making fruit loaf. Dry ingredients in KitchenAid bowl with liquid ingredients about to be added.

Step 3

Lightly grease a large bowl with some butter or vegetable oil.

Place the dough in the bowl, cover with a clean tea towel, and leave it somewhere warm for about 1 hour, or until it has doubled in size.

Step by step photos for making fruit loaf. Ball of dough in large mixing bowl before proving.

Step 4

Meanwhile, soak the dried fruit in some hot water so that they can soften. Drain the dried fruit thoroughly and pat it dry with some kitchen paper before adding to the dough later.

Step by step photos for making fruit loaf. Cups of dried apricots and raisins.

Step 5

Once the dough has doubled in size, use your fist to punch in down to release the air.

Step by step photos for making fruit loaf. Risen dough after period of proving.

Step 6

On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough a few times to bring it back into shape. Sprinkle the dried fruit over the dough, and knead the dried fruit into the dough.

Step by step photos for making fruit loaf. Bread dough on marble work surface with dried fruit added.

Step 7

Roll out or flatten the dough into a rectangular shape about the same width as the loaf pan, about 1 cm/0.5 inch thick.

Roll up the dough and tuck in the ends.

For this recipe, I use a standard loaf pan which measures 13 x 23 cm (5 x 9 inches).

Step by step photos for making fruit loaf. Bread dough on marble work surface before placing in baking tin.

Step 8

Lightly grease a loaf pan. Place the rolled up dough into the pan, with the seam-side facing down.

Cover the loaf pan with a clean tea towel, and place the pan somewhere warm for about 45 minutes, or until the dough has doubled in size.

Step by step photos for making fruit loaf. Bread dough in baking tin before proving.

Step 9

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F (without fan). Bake the fruit loaf for about 30 minutes, or until it is lightly golden.

If you have a digital thermometer, the bread is cooked if the internal reading is 85°C/185°F.

Step by step photos for making fruit loaf. Bread dough in baking tin after proving.

Step 10

Remove the fruit loaf to a wire rack and let it cool a bit before slicing. The fruit loaf will be difficult to slice while it is still hot or warm, so it is best to let it rest a little.

Step by step photos for making fruit loaf. Finished and baked fruit loaf on wire rack on marble work surface.
fruit loaf
4.85 stars (13 reviews)

Fruit Loaf

Thanh | Eat, Little Bird
Prep30 minutes
Cook30 minutes
Rest2 hours
Total3 hours
Serves: 3 to 4
An easy and delicious recipe for Fruit Loaf with step-by-step photos. Perfect at breakfast, whether served warm or toasted.
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Ingredients

Instructions 

To make the dough

  1. Place the flour, salt, sugar, yeast and lemon zest in the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large mixing bowl.
  2. Add the melted butter, milk and egg.
  3. Mix everything together until the dough is smooth. This will take about 10-15 minutes using the dough hook, or a bit longer by hand.

First proving session

  1. Lightly grease a large bowl with some butter or vegetable oil.
  2. Shape the dough into a ball and place it in the bowl.
  3. Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel and set it aside somewhere warm for about 1 hour, or until it has doubled in size.
  4. Meanwhile, soak the raisins and dried apricots in some hot water. After about 45 minutes, drain the dried fruit and dry with some kitchen paper.

To shape the dough

  1. Once the dough has doubled in size, use your hands to punch it and knock it back.
  2. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface.
  3. Knead the dried fruit into the dough.
  4. Roll or flatten the dough into a rectangular shape, about the same length as your loaf pan, and about 1 cm or ½ inch thick. For this recipe, I use a standard loaf pan which measures 13 x 23 cm/5 x 9 inches.
  5. Roll up the dough and tuck in the ends.

Second proving session

  1. Lightly grease the loaf pan.
  2. Place the dough in the pan with the seam-side down.
  3. Cover the dough with a clean tea towel and leave the pan in a warm place for about 45 minutes or until it has doubled in size.

To bake the fruit loaf

  1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/392°F (without fan).
  2. Place the loaf pan in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until it is lightly golden and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. If you have a digital thermometer, the bread is cooked if the internal reading is 85°C/185°F.
  3. Cool the loaf on a wire rack.
  4. The bread can be served warm, or wrapped in a tea towel and sliced over the next few days.

Kitchen Notes

  • MAKE AHEAD TIPS
    To start the dough the night before:
    * Make the dough as per the recipe.
    * Place the bowl of dough (covered) in the fridge to proof overnight, or for at least 8 to 10 hours. During this time, it should have at least doubled in size.
    * The next day, proceed with the rest of the recipe. As the dough will be cold, it may require a bit more time for the second proofing period.
  • DIFFERENT TYPES OF YEAST
    * Please note that there is a difference between instant yeast (also called instant dried yeast or fast-action dried yeast) and dried yeast (also called active dry yeast). If you are not sure what type of yeast you have, please check the packaging for instructions on how to use the yeast.
    * With instant yeast, you can add it directly to the flour mixture without having to activate it first.
    * With dried yeast, you will need to activate it first as per the recipe above.
  • DIFFERENT TYPES OF FLOUR
    For Swiss readers, I use Zopfmehl (or farine pour tresse) when making bread and enriched dough.
  • VARIATIONS
    I like my fruit bread with more bread to dried fruit ratio, so I reduced the quantities of dried fruit in this recipe and restricted it to only raisins and dried apricots the first time I made it. On the second occasion, I added raisins and chopped dried figs. You can also spice up the bread with some ground cinnamon and/or ground cardamon. Really, the variations are quite up to you.
  • RECIPE CREDIT
    Recipe adapted from Warm Bread and Honey Cake by Gaitri Pagrach-Chandra. This is a very simple fruit loaf – think white bread studded with dried fruit. But given it’s simplicity, it lends itself well to any personal variations which you desire. In terms of dried fruit, the original recipe calls for:
    100 g / 3 1/2 oz currants
    55 g / 2 oz sultanas (golden raisins)
    2 tablespoons dried cranberries
    1 tablespoon candied orange peel
  • OVEN TEMPERATURES
    All recipes on this website state temperatures for a regular oven (i.e. a conventional oven without fan). If you have a convection oven with a fan, please consult the manufacturer’s handbook on how to adjust the temperature and baking time accordingly.
  • CONVERSIONS
    To convert from cups to grams, and vice-versa, please see this handy Conversion Chart for Basic Ingredients.
Nutrition Information
Serving: 4g, Calories: 487kcal, Carbohydrates: 76.4g, Protein: 12.7g, Fat: 15.3g, Cholesterol: 80.7mg, Sodium: 275.7mg, Fiber: 3.5g, Sugar: 21.2g

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