Simple Fig Bread Recipe: How to Make Bread With Fresh Figs

Fig bread is a quick bread made from fresh figs, flour, sugar, eggs, and a liquid, like buttermilk. Quick breads, like zucchini bread or pumpkin bread, are made with leavening agents rather than yeast, and fig bread is no exception—the addition of buttermilk helps activate the baking soda and guarantees a tender, moist crumb. Serve fig bread at breakfast with a swipe of cream cheese or Italian mascarpone and sliced pecans, or drizzle it in icing and serve it for dessert.

The terms “fig bread” and “fig cake” are often used interchangeably for the same recipes, but there are some key differences. Fig cake, like many cakes, typically has a topping such as icing, glaze, or a streusel crumb, while fig bread has none. Like other quick breads, fig bread is usually cooked in a loaf pan, while fig cake can be cooked in any pan. However, both are typically sweet and rely on leavening agents like baking soda to rise while baking.

If it’s your first time making this sweet bread studded with figs, consider the following tips:

1. 1. Prepare for a lengthy bake time. Like all quick bread recipes, fig bread requires close to an hour in the oven. To prevent the top from burning while the rest of the loaf catches up, loosely cover with aluminum foil about halfway through baking as needed.
2. 2. Properly store fig bread. Fig bread will keep at room temperature covered in plastic wrap or aluminum foil for a few days, and you can also freeze it. Simply wrap the loaf whole or sliced in a layer of plastic wrap, followed by aluminum foil, and store it for up to six months in the freezer.
3. 3. Use very ripe figs. This cake gets its moisture and tenderness from ripe, mashed figs (similar to banana bread with ripe bananas). Underripe figs will work, but you will need extra sugar to compensate for the lack of moisture, and the cake may not be as flavorful. In a pinch, you can rehydrate and mash dried figs.
4. 4. Add chocolate chips. Try adding bittersweet chocolate chips or a swirl of fig jam or fig preserves for added depth of flavor.