Lemon Poppy Seed Bread

In a rush? You can skip to the Lemon Poppy Seed Bread recipe at my Tumblr or you can jump to my Just the Basics section.

I love the fall and winter seasons. I love the sights, the smells, and the sounds that come with the change in the weather.

But this year, I was a bit sad to see summer go. I felt like the last few months zoomed on by before I had the chance to go to the beach or roast marshmallows over a campfire. I never even took my daughter to a swimming pool or splashed around in the sprinklers in our yard.

So before I get into the swing of fall bread recipes, I thought I’d try a bread that felt light and fresh and fun. I wanted something that held just a bit of that summer sunshine.

This lemon poppy seed bread recipe definitely did the trick. The splash of citrus gave this bread delightful tart flavor that reminded me of sipping lemonade (and maybe eating fruit loops. It has a similar flavor). My husband Chris tried it, added a smidge of strawberry jelly, and transformed it into the strawberry lemonade of bread, which of course is infinitely better.

Time

Prep time: 5 to 10 minutes
Rise time: None
Cook time: 50-55 minutes
Total time: Approximately 1 Hour

Ingredients

As a dessert, this Lemon Poppy Seed Bread requires a few more ingredients than my other more savory recipes:

• 130 Grams (1 Cup) All-Purpose Flour
• 162 Grams (3/4 Cups 1 Tablespoon) White Granulated Sugar
• 2 Grams (1/2 Teaspoons) Baking Powder
• 3 Grams (1/2 Teaspoon) Salt
• 3 Grams (1 1/2 Teaspoons) Poppy Seeds
• 80 Grams (1/3 Cup 2 Teaspoons) Vegetable Oil
• 120 Grams (1/2 Cups) Milk
• 1 Egg
• 2 Grams (1/2 Teaspoons) Lemon Extract
• 2 Grams (1/2 Teaspoons) Vanilla Extract

The original recipe was 3 times this size and made 3 loaves. I thought that a bit much, so I cut it down to make just one loaf. Feel free to double (or triple) the recipe to fit your needs.

Additional Equipment

This isn’t an artisan-style bread recipe, so you don’t need any fancy tools or equipment to make this bread. You will, however, need a few standard items:

• Small and Large Mixing Bowls
• Wooden Mixing Spoon
• Measuring Cups and Spoons
• 8-inch by 4-inch Bread Pan
• Cooling Rack

I’m guessing that you probably have most of these items in your kitchen already. But if you need one or two of the things on the list, I’ve linked you to some good products on Amazon. I am an Amazon associate, so I do earn a small commission if you click on affiliate links. However, I do not get paid for my opinion, so I only recommend products I use and enjoy.

Instructions

This Lemon Poppy Seed Bread comes together fast, so your first step will be to preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (176 degrees Celsius) and lightly grease your bread pan. As your oven preheats, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and poppy seeds in a large bowl.

In a small bowl, stir together the oil, milk, eggs, lemon extract, and vanilla extract.

Combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients and stir until smooth.

Pour batter into pan and bake for 50 to 55 minutes. If you insert a toothpick into the bread and it comes out clean, it’s done!

Allow loaf to cool in pan for 10 to 20 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

Let the bread cool completely before slicing and serving.

Enjoy your yummy Lemon Poppy Seed Bread!

Just the Basics

Secrets to Success

This Lemon Poppy Seed Bread recipe is one of my easier ones, so I didn’t have too many problems pulling the bread together. However, I consistently had trouble taking bread out of the pan. Even when I greased the pan thoroughly, the bottom half of my first loaf still stuck, so I only ended up with the top half of my bread.

The second time around, I lined the bottom of my pan with parchment paper and had even worse results. Not only did the bottom stick to the pan, but it also stuck to the parchment paper. And when I removed the parchment paper, the bread stuck to the plate. I don’t know why, but this loaf stuck to everything and I lost huge chunks every time I moved it.

If this bread hadn’t tasted so dang freaking GOOD, I probably would have given up at this point. But each loaf still tasted like a warm summer’s morning, so I kept trying.

Learn From My Mistakes. . .

On the third time attempt, I thought that maybe I had cooked it wrong. So I tried cooking it for 3 extra minutes (going from a flat 50 minutes to 53 minutes). Not only did this overcook my bread, but the loaf deflated when I pulled it out of the oven. And it still stuck to the bottom of the pan.

By the fourth time, I was getting pretty fed up with my inability to take bread out of the pan. I thought I’d switch things up and coat the bottom with flour and cook it for a minute less this time (still doughy, unfortunately). I also tried removing it from the pan immediately out of the oven rather than letting it sit. This was probably the worst attempt yet. I lost more than half my loaf to the bottom of the pan.

By the fifth time I made this bread, I was ready to give up. I sprayed the pan as usual and went back to the original instructions. But instead of letting the bread sit in the pan for just 10 minutes, I went for a walk with my daughter, so the pan sat closer to 20 minutes. I still lost some of the bread, but it suffered the least amount of damage.

So what’s the lesson here? LET YOUR BREAD COOL. Just let it sit. Don’t rush it.

Try Adding a Glaze

Additionally, the original recipe recommended pouring a sugary glaze over the bread. Although I wasn’t a big fan of the glaze, you can give it a try if you like:

• 1/4 Cups White Granulated Sugar
• 4 Teaspoons Orange Juice
• 1/4 Teaspoon Lemon Extract

Pour this glaze over the Lemon Poppy Seed Bread while it is still hot and allow the bread with the glaze to cool thoroughly before serving.

Nutritional Information

This Lemon Poppy Seed Bread bread has a lot of sugar, so you’ll want to watch your calorie intake:

Keep in mind that I cut my loaf into 10 slices, so my serving size and nutritional information will reflect that. If you’re counting calories, you’ll want to adjust your count to match the number of slices in your loaf.

Did You Try It?

I’m so pleased that this Lemon Poppy Seed Bread recipe comes together in just an hour, but I’m even more pleased with the idea of you trying my recipe. If you tried my bread, please let me know in the comments below! I’d love to see what you think. Feel free to leave any suggestions and alterations to the recipe, too.