Strawberry Rhubarb Pecan Loaf

As noted by the other reviewers, this loaf is excellent. When I first made it, I used cherries, rhubarb and toasted almonds instead of the strawberries, rhubarb and pecans; otherwise I followed the loaf ingredients as written. This combination remains my favorite. I now use frozen cherries if I have to, and increase the fruit content a little. Green apples make a good sub for the rhubarb when it's out of season. I use cinnamon sugar or coarse sugar for the topping instead of the butter topping in the recipe. I like that this loaf is not too sweet, can be made with oil instead of butter, and uses a bit of whole wheat flour.

This delicious bread mixes up quickly, but it takes nearly an hour to bake. This bake time is worth it, though - the result is a very moist, just-sweet-enough concoction that will lead you to eating slice after slice (or at least that was its effect on me).

Some practical points: This recipe calls for only 1/2 C strawberries and 1/2 C rhubarb - so its perfect for those bits of aging fruit languishing in your refrigerator. Also, the recipe cautions that the dough is very thick, but for me it wasn't -- I don't think I left anything out (although we had 3 cooks involved) -- and it turned out fine. So if yours is also thinner than you expected, just soldier on.

I will note that the center of my loaf fell - but maybe thats due to altitude?