I love vanilla! I love the smell of vanilla, I love the flavor of vanilla, and I love playing with vanilla beans. So, my friend, @JonathanBergman, recently sent me some vanilla beans from his vanilla company, @AvivaVanillaBeanCompany.

Then comes the quandary, what to do with these scrumptious vanilla beans?

I decided to put 2 into an experiment making 2 different vanilla extracts: one with a good vodka, the other with a maple bourbon. The only problem is that now I have to wait 6 months to do the taste and smell test.

Luckily, I have 2 other beans. The first was used in a vanilla quick bread today, the other will be in a Swedish vanilla bread (post to come).

The bread was delicious! And I say “was” because my husband and son devoured it! Oh well, I guess it is time to make that Swedish Vanilla Bread…

Vanilla Bread

from BreadbytheHour.com

• 240 Grams All-Purpose Flour (2 Cups)
• 201 Grams White Granulated Sugar (1 Cup)
• 12 Grams Baking Powder (1 Tablespoon)
• 3 Grams Salt (1/2 Teaspoon)
• 80 Grams Vegetable Oil (1/3 Cup)
• 240 Grams Milk (1 Cup)
• 4.2 Grams Vanilla Extract (1 Teaspoon)
• 1 Large Egg

INSTRUCTIONS 

• Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
• In a medium mixing bowl, combine wet ingredients: vegetable oil, milk, vanilla extract, and egg.
• Add wet ingredients to dry and stir until just incorporated. 
• Pour batter into 9″ by 5″ bread pan. 
• Bake for 45 to 50 minutes. Insert a toothpick. If it comes away clean, the bread is done. 
• Let cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, and then turn out bread onto wire rack to finish cooling. 

Enjoy!