Anyone else get as excited about spring time as I do? There is something about the first few weeks of warmer weather in Idaho that makes it extra special. One of my favorite springtime flavors is lemon and it is the star of this poppy seed bread. The extract gives it a little extra punch of lemon flavor while the sour cream and milk give it a tight crumb and keep it moist. (Sorry to all the people who just cringed at that word). This bread quickly became a staple in our house. I hope you enjoy it, too.
Ingredients
Lemon Poppy Seed Bread
2 c. flour
1 tbsp. poppy seeds
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
1 egg
¾ c. sugar
1/3 c. vegetable oil
1/3 c. sour cream
2/3 c. whole milk
3 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
Zest of one lemon
½ tsp. lemon extract
½ tsp. vanilla extract
Yellow food coloring,
if desired
Glaze
½ c. powdered sugar
1 tbsp. lemon juice
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk egg and sugar together until pale yellow. Add oil, sour cream, milk, lemon juice, zest and extracts. Whisk until combined.
3. In another bowl, mix together flour, poppy seeds, salt, baking soda and powder.
4. Pour dry ingredients over the liquid. Slowly mix together, until just combined. There can be a few small lumps. Avoid over-mixing.
5. Pour into a greased loaf pan and use a spatula to smooth the top of the bread.
6. Bake for 45-55 minutes or until a knife comes out clean when poked into the center of the bread.
7. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan on top of a wire rack. Scrape all the edges to make sure the bread is loose.
Make the glaze.
8. In a small bowl, mix together powdered sugar and lemon juice. While still in the pan, drizzle glaze over the top, letting it seep down into the bread and around all the edges.
9. Remove loaf from the pan once the bread cools.
10. Serve right away. The bread will keep for 3 days at room
temperature or up to 1 week in the refrigerator.
Notes
The whole milk and full fat sour cream make this bread very moist.
If needed, you could use the lower fat options.
If you don’t have it, you can leave out the lemon extract. However, I thought it brightened up the bread a little more than just the plain juice.
You can make these into muffins instead. I got 16-18 muffins.
The glaze doesn’t yield a large amount. It can easily be doubled for your preference.
In place of poppy seeds I have used chia seeds and they were equally delicious.
Food coloring is not needed but gives it that bright sunshine yellow color.
Click here to read the April issue of Idaho Falls Magazine.