A Pickle Bread That's All Dill, No Pucker

In celebration of one of the region's favorite local food festivals that's coming up this Saturday, the Winchester Pickle Festival, I'm sharing a pickle-forward recipe that I've loved since first bite. This moist and savory dill pickle quick bread is the perfect complement to the dill pickle soup recipe that I wrote about in ELF a few years back. If you love pickles, the dill-on-dill combo doesn't overwhelm or disappoint. That dill pickle soup has become one of my seasonal must-haves and I just can't stop myself from making it several times over the fall and winter months. If you missed the soup recipe the first time around, you can find it online at noblepig.com/dill-pickle-soup. While usually they lean toward the sweet flavor profiles of fruit or warm spice notes, quick breads are an easy bake for anyone, and they come together lickety-split. This one is no exception and despite its savoriness, there's still a nice touch of sweetness to keep it balanced. I didn't have any onion soup mix on-hand and made my bread with a combo of dried onion, onion powder and salt and it still tasted delicious. It's a forgiving recipe, but you definitely won't want to completely omit the onion flavor and salt level that the packet provides. Alternatively, you can DIY onion soup mix by combining 1/4 cup dried onion, 2 tbsp. beef bouillon granules, 1/4 tsp. onion powder, 1 /4 tsp. dried parsley, 1/8 tsp. celery seed,1/8 tsp. paprika and 1/8 tsp. ground black pepper. A slice of this warm bread slathered with butter is melt-in-your-mouth scrumptious and so much better than you'd ever imagine a dill pickle bread could taste. Who knew? To check out a slew of other pickle dill-ights and family-friendly activities, don't miss the 26th annual Winchester Pickle Festival this Saturday, Sept. 28, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (rain or shine), in downtown Winchester. For more details and a schedule of events, visit winchesternhpicklefestival.org. Dill Pickle Bread Adapted from bellyfull.net Ingredients: 3/4 cup sour cream 1/2 cup vegetable oil 2 large eggs 2 tbsp. dill pickle juice 1/3 cup finely diced dill pickles 1 & 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 1 packet onion soup mix, or DIY recipe included above 2 tbsp. granulated sugar 1 & 1/2 tsp. baking powder 1/4 tsp. baking soda 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill, or 1 & 1/2 tbsp. dried dill Instructions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 9-by-5 loaf pan with parchment paper, leaving a slight overhang on two sides (you can grease the pan instead if you don't have parchment paper). In a large bowl, whisk together sour cream, vegetable oil, eggs and dill pickle juice. Fold in diced dill pickles. Stir in flour, onion soup mix, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and fresh dill, mixing just until incorporated. Do not overmix. Spread batter evenly in prepared loaf pan and bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Let cool for about 10 minutes and lift sides of parchment paper to remove from pan. Slice and serve with butter, if desired.