Quick Peach Slab Bread Recipe for a Crowd

This sweet yeast Peach Slab Bread is made using my quick sweet bread dough and fresh local peaches. Growing up, slab cakes and breads were staples in my grandmother’s kitchen. They are easy and fast to make and can feed a crowd.

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PEACH SLAB BREAD

Slab-style cakes, brownies, pies, and breads are delicious. They are great to make when you want to feed a crowd and only have a little time to spare. My grandmother made traditional Kolache and slab breads with homemade canned or seasonal fruits all year long.

THINGS YOU NEED

• Baking Pan
• Mixer – to make the Sweet Bread Dough
• Bowls
• Paring Knife
• Parchment

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INGREDIENTS

• Sweet Bread Dough
• Streusel Topping: butter, flour, sugar
• Fresh Peach Topping: peaches, raw sugar, corn starch, cinnamon

SWEET BREAD DOUGH

Any enriched sweet bread dough will work for this slab bread. But to make it quick, I used my easy-to-make Quick ‘No First Proof’ Sweet Bread Dough Recipe. Ingredients for the sweet bread dough are: flour, granulated sugar, egg yolks, milk, butter, yeast, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt. Prepare the yeast dough following my recipe (see recipe card) with a video tutorial.

STREUSEL TOPPING

Streusel topping is one of my all-time favorite toppings. While, historically, it originated in Germany, I know it from my grandmother’s kitchen. She had me prepare it dozens of times. While I don’t follow any specific ratio, I just eyeball it; classic German streusel follows a 1:1:2 ratio (sugar: butter: flour) via The Spruce Eats

To make it, combine the flour and sugar in a bowl, then add small pieces of butter. Use your fingers to rub the butter into the dry ingredients, pressing it between your fingertips until you get a crumbly mixture. Set aside. I usually keep it plain, but you can also add cinnamon or vanilla sugar for extra flavor.

PEACHES

I used peaches from a local orchard, but any fruit will work. My mom often makes it with fresh or frozen strawberries, plums, or red currants. Wash fresh ripe peaches. Remove the pits and slice the peaches about 1/4 inch thick. Stir in the juice of 1 lemon, raw sugar, cornstarch, and cinnamon.

SLAB BREAD

Prepare a large rimmed baking sheet and line it with parchment paper. Knead the sweet bread dough and let it rest for 10 minutes. 10 minutes of rest helps relax the gluten, making it easier to roll out. Roll out the dough into the prepared rimmed baking sheet.

Layer seasoned peach topping on the yeast dough. Sprinkle with additional raw sugar.

ADD STREUSEL AND LET RISE

Generously dust the peach slab bread with streusel topping. Let rise in a draft-free, warm spot for 45 minutes to an hour. For the best results, let it rise in the oven alongside a small pot with hot water.

BAKE

Bake in the preheated oven at 350°F (180 °C) for 20-22 minutes, until golden brown. I have to admit I think I baked mine for a minute or 2 too long, hence brown edges. Let the peach slab bread cool. Slide it out from the pan onto a cutting board. Slice it into bars with a serrated knife and serve.

OTHER SLAB BREAD TOPPINGS

• Cheese-Fruit-Streusel – Farmer’s Cheese/Ricotta Topping– combine 2 cups of cheese with 1 egg and 1/4 cup sugar. Spread the cheese topping over the bread, then layer the fruit on top. Sprinkled with streusel and vanilla sugar.
• Add Plums and Poppy Seed Topping – Arrange the pitted plums over the dough, then sprinkle with sugar. Next, top with the poppy seed mixture. To prepare poppy seed topping, grind poppy seeds with granulated sugar in a coffee grinder (use a 1:1 or 1/2:1 ratio of poppy seeds to sugar). Sprinkle the ground mixture evenly over the plums.
• Fruits and Streusel – Apricots, Strawberries, Raspberries, Blueberries, Currants, topped with streusel topping
• Cheese-Cocoa – Sweetened Farmer’s Cheese dusted with cocoa mixed with sugar
• Lekvar with Cheese, Poppy, or Nut Topping – Plum or Peach Lekvar topped with cheese topping, or poppy seeds topping, or ground nuts topping (ground nuts mixed with a little bit of powdered sugar).

STORAGE

Yeast sheet breads can be frozen for up to 3 months. Layer bars into a freezer-safe container between parchment paper. Let it defrost on the counter.

MORE YEAST BREAD RECIPES

• Berry Bread Tarts
• Classic Pretzel Bites
• Hamburger Potato Buns
• Tomato Pretzels
• Sour Cream Sheet Bread
• Best Hot Dog Buns
• Flaky Bacon Biscuits
• Braided Cinnamon Bread Star
• Cinnamon Rolls with Vanilla Bean Glaze
• Sweet Bread Dough

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