CHEF JEFF — ONE BYTE AT A TIME: Bishop’s Bread

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Bishop’s Bread is a quick bread that had its beginnings on the 19th-century American frontier, when settlements often were visited by traveling clergymen.

Bishop’s Bread

2½ cups flour, plus some to coat pans

1¾ cups firmly packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1½ teaspoon salt

½ cup (1 stick) butter

½ cup chopped nuts

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup buttermilk or sour milk

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup raisins, currants or other dried or candied fruit

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 2 loaf pans.

Combine flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a mixing bowl. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in nuts. Remove ½ cup of mixture. Set aside. Mix baking soda into remaining flour mixture, then beat in buttermilk and eggs. Stir fruit into batter just enough to moisten. Scrape batter into prepared pans. Sprinkle with reserved flour mixture. Bake about 35 minutes, until loaves test done. Remove from pans and cool.

Yield: 2 loaves, 12 slices each.

Grab more food tidbits at the Chef Jeff blog at GrandForksHerald.com.

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