How to Make Pawpaw Bread

Do you remember the children’s song about picking up pawpaws way down yonder in the pawpaw patch? Well, pawpaws are a real fruit and they’re one of few indigenous to North America. We’re going to turn these song-inspiring fruits into pawpaw bread!

a cluster of pawpaw fruits growing in the understory of a wooded area

With mango-like skin, this pear-green fruit turns blotchy as it ripens, like an overripe banana. We slice it open and eat the creamy yellow flesh raw! It tastes like a fruit salad with notes of mango, banana, and papaya. Pawpaws also have huge, black seeds to avoid.

a harvest of pawpaw fruits wrapped in a knitted tote

Pawpaws grow in most of the eastern United States, avoiding only the hottest and coldest areas. Here in Virginia, we have good luck pawpaw hunting in September, usually toward the middle or end of the month. Pawpaws are typically found in the understory along the edges of streams and we find them often on hiking trails and in public parks.

If you’re there when pawpaws are ripening, you’re just as likely to find the fruits on the ground as you are in the tree. If this is the case, you may be able to smell them, too! The trees are thin-trunked with oblong leaves that are almost teardrop-shaped. Pawpaws do grow in patches; they send out basal shoots (“suckers”) to spread.

Pawpaws grow in clusters, usually just out of reach for most adults, though the trees can get over 20 feet tall. If you don’t have a fruit picker, you can gently bend down the limbs or trunks of smaller trees to reach the ripening fruit. You can also gently shake the tree to loose any ripe fruits, though with this method you risk bruising the fruit… and maybe your own head!

an open pawpaw fruit displaying large, black seeds

This year we found enough pawpaws to eat our fill and begin experimenting with them in baked goods. We adapted this recipe from a banana bread recipe and we think it’s just about perfect for showcasing the subtly tropical flavor of the pawpaw.

Pawpaw Bread

Yield: 2 loaves or 24 muffins

Ingredients

3 cups pawpaw flesh, mashed
4 eggs
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 1/2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1 teaspoon of vanilla
pinch of salt
butter or oil for greasing

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease loaf pans or muffin tins.
Combine pawpaw pulp and butter over medium heat. Once heated through, add sugar and mix until well combined.
In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix well.
Add pawpaw mixture to the dry ingredients bowl. Mix until just combined.
Add eggs and vanilla. Mix until just combined.
Pour into loaf pans or muffin tins.
Bake for 50 minutes (loaves) or 22 minutes (muffins).
Cool for 15 minutes before removing from pan.