Two-ingredient ice cream bread

Have you ever thought, “Wow three ingredients, that is just way too much. One less ingredient would make this way better”? No, I’ve never thought that either. But it is fun to experiment with minimal-ingredient recipes! Like the two-ingredient dough I made last month. It sure was tasty, but it was pretty tricky to work with.

This week I’m trying my hand at another new and trendy two-ingredient recipe: ice cream bread!

As you’re reading this right now, you’re skeptical. I get it. I was skeptical at first too. But if you think about it, there are a lot of ingredients that go into ice cream, like milk, eggs, sugar, etc. Add that to self-rising flour, and you have a very basic quick bread recipe. In fact, the texture is very similar to quick bread as well.

Use it to replace regular bread in mostly any recipe you desire. One important note: despite the fact that ice cream is super sweet, the bread doesn’t really have a strong flavor. So I recommend embellishing it with various extracts, chocolate chips, or chopped nuts.

I think part of the appeal of ice cream bread is the flavors are limitless. Birthday cake, cookie dough, strawberry cheesecake, you name it and it can be turned into a loaf of bread! I can see kids having a lot of fun with this!

Here are some tips for making this zany creation…

1. Use full fat ice cream. To be honest, I’m not entirely sure what the scientific reasoning for this is, but you need the fat to get the right consistency.
2. If possible, let the ice cream melt on it’s own. Don’t microwave it.
3. Make sure the ice cream is completely melted. In all honesty, it should look like ice cream soup. If there are still unthawed chunks, the flour won’t mix evenly, and the texture will be funky.

Ice cream bread
Ingredients

• 2 cups (270 grams) melted ice cream, any flavor but make sure it’s melted
• 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour (180 grams)
• Optional ingredients for added flavor: 2 teaspoons extract (vanilla, almond, strawberry… whatever your heart desires), 1/4 cup sugar for added sweetness, 1/4 cup chopped pecans, 1/4 cup chocolate chips, sprinkles

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare loaf pan with parchment paper and non-stick cooking spray
2. Allow ice cream to melt in large bowl. Once melted, add flour and whisk to combine.
3. Pour batter into loaf pan and smooth top.
4. Place in oven and bake for about 35 to 40 minutes—stick toothpick in center to check, and if it’s clean, it’s done
5. Let loaf cool before slicing to serve