Karl’s Cinnamon Pecan Pancake Bread

Wife Jan heard about Trader Joe’s pancake bread and asked me to get some. She found that it was far too sweet for her. I knew I could make something more to her liking.

Looking online for a copycat recipe I could see why my wife did not like the original recipe—it called for 1½ cups of sweeteners. I borrowed a few ideas from the copycat recipe—sour cream and a crumble topping. I based this breakfast bread more on my own pancake recipe.

One hazard of a bread like this is for the bottom to weld to the pan after baking. While you can slide a knife along the sides of the pan to free the loaf, the bottom may stick and tear away when the loaf comes out. Taking a clue from the TJ loaf, I placed a strip of parchment paper in the bottom of the pan and had no trouble removing the bread intact.

After Breakfast Note: This came out really nicely, while I can see room for improvement, it was excellent as a first attempt. I think this will become a go-to company breakfast recipe. When you make pancakes for many people you have the problem of feeding your company a few pancakes at a time or sticking the finished pancakes in the oven to keep them warm. This recipe allows you to have everyone’s pancakes ready at the same time.

Karl’s Cinnamon Pecan Pancake Bread

Ingredients

Bread

1½ cups AP flour
2 Tbs. Karl’s Orange Infused Sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon, ground
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. Kosher salt

3 Tbs. butter, melted
¼ cup pecans, finely chopped

2 eggs
¾ cup milk
¼ cup sour cream
½ tsp. vanilla

Crumble topping

2 Tbs. pecans, finely chopped
2 Tbs. brown sugar
1 Tbs. AP flour
1 Tbs. butter, softened

Directions

1. Move the oven rack to the center and preheat the oven to 350º F.

2. Put the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl and whisk the dry ingredients together well.

3. Add the melted butter to the bowl and work it into the flour.

Tip: Use your fingers to rub the butter into the flour until it is like damp sand.

Note: The fat in the butter binds with the gluten forming proteins in the flour reducing the amount of gluten they can make—creating a more tender loaf.

4. Mix the pecan bits into the flour.

5. Put the eggs into large measuring cup and scramble them well.

6. Mix the milk, sour cream and vanilla into the eggs.

7. Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.

8. Pam a large bread pan.

Tip: Cut a strip of parchment paper the width of the bread pan and lay it into the pan and up the short sides. Pam the paper and use the oil to stick the paper to the sides of the pan.

Note: This trick ensures that the bottom of loaf does not stick to the pan and makes removing the bread much easier.

9. Pour the pancake batter into the bread pan.

Tip: Let the batter rest while you make the crumble topping.

10. Put the  pecans, brown sugar, flour, and butter into a small bowl and work them together with your fingers.

11. Crumble the topping fairly evenly over the loaf.

12. Bake the loaf for 55-65 minutes, until an inserted instant read thermometer reads 210º F.

13. Remove the loaf from the pan and cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before slicing.

Tip: Run a knife down the sides of the bread pan to free the loaf

Note: Place a paper towel under the wire rack to catch the moisture. I noticed a lot of condensation under the bread as the loaf was cooling.

14. Slice and serve warm.