Pancake Bread (Trader Joe's Copycat)

Inspired by the popular Trader Joe's bread, this pancake bread has wonderful notes of maple syrup and buttermilk in every bite. Baked with a sweet crumb topping, this easy-to-make bread will quickly become your favorite!

Ingredients

• Maple syrup: Provides the distinctive pancake-like taste that defines this bread, giving it that breakfast flavor profile. Do not substitute with pancake syrup; the results won't be the same.
• Buttermilk: The acidity from the buttermilk tenderizes the gluten in the flour, resulting in a softer, more tender crumb.
• Greek yogurt: Adds moisture to the bread without making the batter too thin.

Substitutions and variations

• Mix-ins: Experiment with mix-ins to the bread, such as chocolate chips or chopped nuts.
• Maple extract: For an extra boost of maple flavor, add a dash of maple extract.

Recipe

Print Recipe

Pancake Bread (Trader Joe's Copycat)

1 9-inch loaf

Total Time1 hour hr

Course: Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: bread

Servings: 9

Author: Christine Ma

Ingredients

Crumb topping

• 6 tablespoons granulated sugar (50 grams)
• 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour (60 grams)
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 5 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small chunks (70 grams)

Pancake bread

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (270 grams)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup maple syrup (125 ml)
• ½ cup buttermilk (125 ml)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ¼ cup Greek yogurt (57 grams)
• ½ cup butter, softened at room temperature (113 grams)
• ½ cup brown sugar (100 grams)
• 2 large eggs

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9x5 inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
• Prepare the crumb topping. Combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt. Add butter and blend with a pastry cutter or a fork until the butter is well incorporated. The crumb topping should have the texture of coarse sand.
• In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together maple syrup with buttermilk, vanilla, and Greek yogurt.
• Combine softened butter and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until softened and whipped, about 2-3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well before adding the next egg.
• Add a third of the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture followed by half of the wet ingredients. Stir until just combined, then add another third of the dry ingredients, followed by the remaining wet ingredients. Finish with the remaining third of the dry ingredients, stirring until just combined. Pour batter into prepared baking loaf pan. Sprinkle crumb topping on top in an even layer.
• Bake in the oven for 50 minutes - 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Serve pancake bread warm or at room temperature.

Video

Notes

The crumb topping can be prepared ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Step-by-step instructions

Step 1: Make crumb topping

The last several desserts I prepared, I was fortunate in that the recipe came out perfectly the first time I made them. This was not the case for this pancake bread. It took several tries to figure out the right amount of buttermilk and maple syrup while still producing a bread that was...edible. Needless to say, I ate a lot of cake for a month.

So, what exactly is so special about Trader Joe's pancake bread? It's all about the maple syrup in my opinion. From the outside, the bread looks like a regular coffee cake, and it almost is, except for the fact that you can taste maple syrup. The interior is moist, and a thin crumble coats the top. Seems easy enough to replicate, right?

Let's start by making the crumb topping. Use a pastry cutter or fork to blend together the brown sugar with flour, cinnamon, and butter. Since the butter is cold, it's easier to combine using a tool of some sort.

Once it's well mixed, it should resemble coarse sand. Don't worry if the crumble looks a bit dry; once it bakes, the butter will melt and create a lovely topping.

Step 2: Prepare bread

Next, make the pancake bread. Cream the butter with sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, fully incorporating the first egg before adding the second.

Then, combine your wet ingredients in one bowl and dry ingredients in another. Add both to the creamed mixture, alternating between the dry and wet. You want to start and end with the dry mixture.

By following this method of alternating between wet and dry, you're able to incorporate the dry ingredients without overmixing the batter. When you overmix the batter, it can result in a tough cake.

Pour the batter into the loaf pan, top with the crumble, and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Depending on your oven, this can take anywhere between 50 minutes to 1 hour and 10 minutes. Relying on the toothpick method is a safe way to detect when your bread is ready, rather than depending on the time.

Slice into the pancake bread and go to town! If you're feeling crazy, serve with a dollop of butter and even more maple syrup.

I thoroughly enjoyed this pancake bread with the subtle flavors of maple syrup. The Greek yogurt helps produce a moist loaf while the buttermilk adds a slight tang. Enjoy for breakfast, have it as a snack, or treat yourself to a slice after dinner. It's a great dessert for any time of the day!

For another quick bread recipe, check out my zucchini bread and peanut butter cinnamon bread!

Make-ahead and storage

• Make-ahead: You can make crumb topping ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator until ready to use.
• Store: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or refrigerate for up to a week.

Frequently asked questions

More sweet breakfast recipes

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