Easy Lemon Poppy Seed Bread Recipe :- This bread with poppy seeds and lemon may be dressed up for a beautiful afternoon tea or kept simple for a weekday breakfast with candied lemon slices and additional glaze. This easy bread is tasty, moist, and full of poppy seeds, no matter how or when it’s served.
Easy Lemon Poppy Seed Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 4 teaspoons poppy seeds
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup (80ml) vegetable oil
- 1/3 cup (80g) sour cream (or plain yogurt/Greek yogurt), at room temperature
- 2/3 cup (160ml) whole milk, at room temperature
- 3 Tablespoons (45ml) lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon lemon zest
Glaze
- 1/2 cup (60g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1 Tablespoon (15ml) lemon juice
Instructions
Turn the oven on to 350°F, or 177°C. Apply nonstick cooking spray to a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, poppy seeds, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk the egg and granulated sugar together in a medium-sized bowl until well blended. Stir in the milk, sour cream, oil, zest, and juice of the lemon. After adding the wet components to the dry ingredients, mix to make sure everything is well combined. Don’t overmix; a few tiny lumps should be fine.
The batter should be uniformly poured or distributed into the loaf pan. To ensure that the loaf bakes evenly, loosely cover the loaf with foil halfway through the 50–1 hour baking time. Use a toothpick to pierce the bread’s center. When the bread is clean, it’s done. Every oven will have a different oven time. It generally takes me 55 minutes to bake bread.
Place the pan on a wire cooling rack and let the bread cool completely.While the bread is still warm, feel free to drizzle with glaze (step following). In this technique, the glaze permeates into the warm bread, adding even more moisture.*
Prepare the glaze as follows: *This produces a thin layer of glaze rather than a thick one. If you would like more, go ahead and double the glaze. Combine the lemon juice and confectioners’ sugar in a whisk. Pour over the bread either as it cools or while it’s still warm in the loaf pan.
Cut into pieces and present. Remaining plain or glazed bread can be refrigerated for up to a week or left at room temperature for two days when covered.
ALSO SEE
Notes
Freeze glazed or unglazed bread for up to 3 months. See my Make Ahead Baking post for easy bread freezing methods. Thaw overnight in the fridge and bring to room temperature before glazing and serving.
I recommend full-fat sour cream and whole milk. Try plain yogurt, but avoid fat-free. You can use low-fat or nondairy milk, but I don’t encourage it. Less moist and delicious bread.
These soft, sweet, cake-like blackberry lemon poppy seed muffins are my fave. This quick bread batter makes muffins with a tighter crumb but the same wonderful flavor. Use liners or grease a 12-count muffin pan. Since this recipe makes 14, you’ll need a second pan for 2 more muffins. (Or batch bake.) Make batter as indicated. Fill liners to the top with batter. Bake the muffins for 5 minutes at 425°F (218°C), then lower the oven temperature to 350°F (177°C). Finish baking for 15-17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
These muffins bake for 20–22 minutes, roughly. Transfer muffins to a wire rack after 5 minutes of cooling in the muffin tray. Makes 14 muffins.
Grease small loaf pans. Make batter as indicated. Fill pan to top with batter. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean at 350°F (177°C). Mini loaf pan size determines bake time and yield.
Two medium lemons are adequate for this dish. One medium lemon yields 1 tablespoon of zest, while two medium lemons yield enough juice for the bread and glaze.
Omit poppy seeds or substitute with black sesame or chia seeds.
Other Citrus: Replace lemon juice and zest with orange, blood orange, lime, or grapefruit. Poppy seeds are optional.
