Blackberry Lemon Muffin Bread

This blackberry lemon muffin bread recipe should look pretty familiar! I recently posted the HIH Glazed Blackberry Lemon Muffin recipe in a post and the ingredients are EXACTLY the same, just prepared in loaf form instead of muffins! I took a dive into how to successfully turn my favorite muffin recipes into loaves. While I can’t guarantee this will work out perfectly for every muffin recipe out there, these tips and tricks should hold true for most standard muffin recipes.

Muffins vs. Muffin Bread

I love a good muffin! Muffins are perfectly portioned, easy to travel with, and bake up super quick. Great for on the go, or if you maybe, possibly, actually did forget you promised to bring a baked good for your kiddo’s school bake sale. Muffins check a lot of boxes! That’s probably why there are already 4 muffin recipes on HIH!

If muffins are so great, why try to make them into bread? I’ll be honest, it wasn’t until I had a couple of questions from HIH readers if some of the muffin recipes could be baked in a loaf pan instead! As I got to thinking more on the subject, I realized that there are definitely times when a loaf beats an individual muffin without compromising the taste and texture we love about muffins.

1. Loaves are much more efficient form to store in the freezer, great for make-ahead.
2. Simple to transport, wrap, or give as a gift.
3. Variable portioning.
4. Longer bake time = more time to achieve other tasks while the loaf bakes.

Each form has it’s place and thankfully, it’s super simple to use the same, familiar ingredient list to choose the form that fits your needs.

From Muffin to Muffin Bread

I took a pretty deep dive into google before making my first attempt at using a muffin recipe to make muffin bread. Google was extra helpful! I also took advantage of one of my favorite chef’s, Waylynn Lucas, “Teaching Tuesday” Instagram question box. Waylynn is a crazy talented pastry chef. Since I’m far from an expert when it comes to baking, I’ve often looked to her and her book “Sunny Side Up,” as a tool and reference, especially when it comes to anything pastry related! I’ve referenced her cinnamon roll recipe several times on this blog. SOOOO good and so simplified! Most of these tips and tricks are common sense, but here’s an overview of what worked best.

Tips + Tricks: Muffins to Bread

1. Lower the baking temp. I experimented lowering the temperature by 25 degrees F and 50 degrees F. For the recipes I tested, lowering by 50 degrees was the clear winner to ensure that the edges did not over cook before the center was finished.
2. Raise the baking time. Most muffins cook in around 15 minutes. I found that adding 45 minutes did the trick, which correlates to a lot of other recipes in loaf form. You will want to watch the top towards the end of the bake. If it looks like you’re getting too much browning on top you can just cover the loaf pan with aluminum foil and finish baking.
3. Line the loaf pan. Think if it as a giant muffin. Lining with parchment paper not only saves from extra clean up, but it helps protect from burning.
4. Works best with thicker batters. If the batter is too thin, your loaf could lack the structural soundness to be easily sliced. If you know the muffin batter you’re working with is thin, I wouldn’t recommend trying to make it into a muffin bread.
5. The same as muffins, but worth noting. The oven rack should be in the middle of the oven for both muffins and muffin bread. You don’t want the bottoms or the tops to burn before the center finished cooking.
6. Use a deeper loaf pan. Just as you underfill a muffin tin so the batter doesn’t rise over the edges, you’ll want to make sure the loaf pan is deep enough to allow the batter to rise while baking. A recipe which results in 12 standard muffins will fit perfectly in a 9″x5″x3″ loaf pan.