Everyday Eats & Sweets / Recipes

Grapefruit-Rosemary Bread

Quickly zest grapefruit with a Microplane

I love putting together fresh fruit and herbal flavors from my garden. This is one of my favorite breakfast breads and tea pastries, so simple to whip up and pretty much foolproof. The tartness of the grapefruit is mellowed out by earthy rosemary, so the result is not too overwhelming on the palate.

The wonderful thing about this recipe is that you can try other flavor combinations, depending on what you have on hand. Out of grapefruit? Try orange. No rosemary? Substitute a bit of marjoram. Experiment freely and let me know which other flavors turn out well for you!

Grapefruit-Rosemary Bread

Makes 1 (9-inch) loaf

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar

Wet Ingredients
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons honey
Zest from 1 large grapefruit
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary

For the Glaze
1/8 to 1/4 cup grapefruit juice
1 cup powdered sugar

Making your Grapefruit-Rosemary Bread

To quickly zest an entire grapefruit, a Microplane comes in very handy. You should get around 3 tablespoons of zest from a large fruit.

Quickly zest grapefruit with a Microplane
Grapefruit zest and minced rosemary

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and set aside.

Combine dry ingredients
Combine dry ingredients

In a separate large bowl, whisk the eggs.

Whisk eggs

Whisk in the buttermilk, melted butter, and honey one at a time, until all the wet ingredients are well blended.

Whisk in buttermilk, olive oil and honey

Add the dry ingredients and stir with a spoon/spatula until the batter is evenly mixed. It should only take a couple minutes of stirring to get a rich, even consistency.

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients

Stir in the grapefruit zest and rosemary.

Stir in grapefruit zest and rosemary

Line a loaf pan with parchment paper and pour in the batter.

Bake for about 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean.

Bake for 45 minutes

Meanwhile, make your glaze. In a small bowl, whisk together the grapefruit juice and as much powdered sugar as needed to make a smooth, thin glaze (around 1 cup, maybe more).

Make grapefruit glaze

When the bread is done baking, remove the pan from the oven and allow it to cool slightly.

Remove pan from oven and cool slightly

Lift the bread out of the pan and drizzle the glaze over the entire loaf, making sure to get all sides.

Drizzle bread with glaze

The glaze will harden in a few minutes, creating a tasty, tart crust. Slice and serve with your favorite coffee or tea!

Slice and serve with coffee or tea
Slice and serve with coffee or tea
Yield: (1) 9-inch loaf

Grapefruit-Rosemary Bread

Grapefruit-rosemary bread

This is one of my favorite breakfast breads and tea pastries, so simple to whip up and pretty much foolproof. The tartness of the grapefruit is mellowed out by earthy rosemary, so the result is not too overwhelming on the palate.

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Additional Time 10 minutes
Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

  • 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup sugar

Wet Ingredients

  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • Zest from 1 large grapefruit
  • 1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary

For the Glaze

  • 1/8 to 1/4 cup grapefruit juice
  • 1 cup powdered sugar

Instructions

  1. Zest grapefruit and set aside.
  2. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  3. In a bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and set aside.
  4. In a separate large bowl, whisk the eggs.
  5. Whisk in the buttermilk, melted butter, and honey one at a time, until all the wet ingredients are well blended.
  6. Add the dry ingredients and stir with a spoon/spatula until the batter is evenly mixed. 
  7. Stir in the grapefruit zest and rosemary.
  8. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper and pour in the batter.
  9. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean.
  10. Make the glaze while the loaf is cooling. In a small bowl, whisk together the grapefruit juice and as much powdered sugar as needed to make a smooth, thin glaze. Drizzle over cooled loaf.

Did you make this recipe?

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About Author

I'm a plant lover, passionate road-tripper, and cookbook author whose expert advice and bestselling books have been featured in TIME, Outside, HGTV, and Food & Wine. The No-Waste Vegetable Cookbook is my latest book. Garden Betty is where I write about modern homesteading, farm-to-table cooking, and outdoor adventuring—all that encompass a life well-lived outdoors. After all, the secret to a good life is... Read more »

4 Comments

  • Rebecca Fontaine
    March 16, 2014 at 8:44 am

    anyone else’s bread (and dough) turn out more dry? when pouring it into the prepared loaf pan, it’s more of a clump…wondering why?

    Reply
    • Linda Ly
      March 17, 2014 at 8:05 pm

      This is more like a batter (akin to a very thick pancake batter) rather than a dough. There could be a few reasons why yours is turning into dough: 1) type of flour used (I use unbleached all-purpose flour), 2) measurement of flour (I don’t sift; I use the “scoop and sweep” method of measuring flour), or 3) method of mixing (you only need to use a large spoon to mix by hand). There is no kneading involved and the batter should be pourable, just as it shows in the picture above.

      Reply
  • Linda Ly
    April 6, 2012 at 4:07 am

    Check back in summer, when I do figs and tomatoes. 😉

    Reply
  • Todd
    April 3, 2012 at 8:22 am

    This looks great.

    Being as I’m in Citrus-less land ( otherwise known as puddletown Oregon )
    How would you like to trade citrus for some of the great things I make? ( Smoked Steelhead/Salmon, Salami, other Charcuterie, pickles, jams, and liqueurs?)

    I”m really tired of reading all these awesome citrus recipes and not being able to wallk outside and pick some 🙂

    TToddd

    http://www.portlandcharcuterieproject.blogspot.com

    Reply

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