Yum
Ah, beautiful lemon. You soothe my throat when I’m sick, freshen my house when it’s dusty, and step into my baked goods to make my little world a more cheerful, sunny place. Oh how do I love thee . . . let me count the ways! Lemon Poppyseed Bread is one of those gorgeous little indulgences in life that will make you ask, “Why haven’t I made this before?!?” It is light and fluffy, with a delicate, moist crumb and a crisp lemon flavor. And don’t forget those adorable little poppyseeds. Make a batch of this beautiful bread for yourself, and share a few mini loaves with your neighbors. It never hurts to share a little sunshine.
What are we waiting for? Let’s do this!
Lemon Poppyseed Bread
(Adapted from Live Well Bake Often)
Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. poppy seeds
1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. lemon extract
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 lemon, juice and zest
Lemon Glaze Ingredients:
1 cup powdered sugar
1-2 tsp. lemon juice
Directions:
Whisk flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar together in a large mixing bowl. Beat in oil, vanilla and lemon extracts, eggs, sour cream, and lemon juice/zest. Fold in poppy seeds. Grease 4 mini loaf pans (mine were about 2×4 inches, each) and divide batter equally between pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of each loaf comes out clean. Invert loaves on cooling racks and cool before drizzling with lemon glaze.
Now, in pictures! 🙂
How many lawyers does it take to make Lemon Poppyseed bread? Um . . . is that a trick question, your Honor?
This bread is quick as a flash . . . it will be done before you know it. That means it’s perfect to whip up when you get unexpected company. Imagine how amazing your kitchen will smell when you bake up golden brown loaves of this delicious, citrus bread to go with coffee and chit chat? Yessss . . . And making these little beauties into mini loaves, rather than a single large one, ensures that your golden brown beauties will be ready in about the same amount of time it takes to make muffins. 🙂 I think your sunny little kitchen just became the most welcoming place in town.
To start with, whisk your dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar) together in a large mixing bowl. Using a stand mixer if you have one, and a whisk if you don’t, beat in oil, vanilla and lemon extracts, eggs, sour cream, and lemon juice/zest.
That, my friends, is loveliness.
Go ahead and fold in your poppy seeds. If you really get into a folding mood, you can feel free to come fold my laundry. 😉 Sigh . . . it never ends.
Next, I divide my batter evenly between 4 greased mini loaf pans. If you’ve ever had trouble “dividing dough evenly,” (I can’t count the number of times I had some “sumo cupcakes” and some “emaciated cupcakes”) then look no further for solving your dilemma than the humble cookie scoop. I have cookie scoops in a variety of sizes, and it’s amazing how using them can instantly take your baked goods from “meh” to “This is seriously incredible! You should open your own BAKERY!!!” Get my favorite cookie scoop for muffins, scones, and quick breads here
To make your loaves even, just go “down the line,” putting one scoop of batter per loaf pan until you run out of batter. Voila. They’re perfectly even. Bake the loaves at 350 degrees for 17-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaves comes out clean.
I like to make mini loaves because (1) I get Lemon Poppyseed bread faster, and (2) there is extra bread to share. You can make one big loaf instead, though, if you’d rather (you selfish soul, you). When the loaves have cooled, drizzle them with the glaze (just whisk ingredients together for glaze) and sprinkle with some extra lemon zest and poppyseeds.
Or get a little fancy and adorn with some lemon twists (adorable little tool to make these here
Pour a cup of tea for yourself, and one for a friend. Wrap up an extra loaf of this bread for your friend to take home. Enjoy the small things. Life goes by too quickly– savor every moment.
You did it. And I’m just so proud of you.
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