Lemon Poppy Seed Bread
Posted Mar 31, 2023, Updated Feb 13, 2024
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This lemon poppy seed bread is moist with a rich lemon flavor and a delicious lemon glaze. Lemon poppy seed loaf is a great treat to serve for breakfast, brunch or dessert!
I have fond memories enjoyed lemon poppy seed bread at my favorite bakery growing up, and worked hard to crate this recipe for the best lemon poppy seed bread.
It’s rich and moist but still has a perfect crumb. It’s loaded with lemon flavor and makes a delicious breakfast or dessert.
Topped with a homemade lemon glaze, (or slather it with homemade lemon buttercream frosting) this poppy seed loaf will quickly become a favorite treat you’ll make again and again.
Lemon Poppy Seed Bread: Ingredients & Substitutions
- All-purpose flour. I don’t recommend making substitutions for the flour. I suspect gluten-free all-purpose flour would work, but I have not tested it with this recipe.
- Salted butter. Unsalted butter works well too.
- Granulated sugar. use regular white granulated sugar or organic cane sugar for the best results.
- Sour cream. I suggest using full-fat ingredients for the best texture and flavor, you can use full-fat Greek yogurt in place of sour cream.
- Whole milk. I suggest using whole milk or half and half. 2% milk is acceptable, but not preferred.
- Canola oil. you can replace the canola oil with an extra 2 tablespoons of melted butter, however it will change the texture slightly.
- Pure lemon juice. Use freshly squeezed lemon juice or organic lemon juice found in most juice aisles.
- Poppy seeds. Obviously, I don’t recommend substituions here.
How to Make Lemon Poppy Seed Bread
Let’s walk through this recipe step-by-step, and don’t forget to watch the video.
Begin by greasing or buttering and flouring a 9×5” loaf pan, then set it aside
Next, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and sea salt in a medium bowl and set the dry ingredients aside.
Then, in the bowl of a standing mixer, or in a large bowl with a hand-held mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (1-2 minutes).
Then, add the eggs and vanilla and beat until fluffy, which will take about 1 minute.
Next, add the sour cream, milk, canola oil and lemon juice and beat on low speed until combined.
Then, add the ingredient mixture to the wet ingredients and stir until combined.
Once the mixture is smooth, gently fold in the poppy seeds until they are evenly distributed throughout the batter.
Then, pour the mixture into the prepared loaf pan and bake in preheated oven for about 1 hour.
You will know the lemon poppy seed bread is done when until the top is set and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few wet crumbs.
Set the lemon poppy seed bread in the pan on a wire rack to cool for 1 hour. Gently run a knife around the edges and the inside (all parts touching the pan) to release.
After 1 hour, remove the bread and let it cool completely on the wire rack.
Make the Lemon Glaze
Once the lemon poppy seed loaf is cooled, make the lemon glaze. Or, you can serve it with this lemon frosting instead!
Begin by combining lemon juice and vanilla in a medium bowl.
Then add the powdered sugar and stir or whisk until smooth.
Immediately pour the lemon glaze over the cooled cake.
Then let it sit at room temperature until hardened (about 30-60 minutes). Or chill in the refrigerator.
Serve
Serve the lemon poppy seed bread at room temperature or slightly chilled. I love serving it as a part of a complete breakfast or brunch with dishes like this egg casserole, quiche and fruit salad.
I also serve it as a dessert with some of my other favorite lemon treats like lemon pie and lemon poppy seed cake.
Store
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Freeze
You can freeze individual slices of the bread in an airtight container for up to 2 months. Or you can wrap the entire loaf (without glaze) in plastic wrap, then transfer it to a freezer-friendly airtight container or storage bag, and freeze for up to 2 months.
To serve, remove the lemon poppy seed loaf from the freezer and let it thaw to room temperature. Then make the glaze and pour it over the bread.
Lemon Poppy Seed Bread Recipe FAQs
No, this recipe does not call for soaking the poppy seeds. They are added directly to the batter from the spice jar.
About 1 to two lemons makes ¼ cup lemon juice.
I suggest adhering to the expiration date on your spice jar. They can last up to 2 years when stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.
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Lemon Poppy Seed Bread
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ cup salted butter softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup sour cream
- ¾ cup whole milk
- 2 Tablespoons canola oil
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 3 Tablespoons poppy seeds
Lemon Glaze
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon whole milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
Instructions
Make the Poppy Seed Bread
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Grease, or butter and flour a 9×5” loaf pan, set aside
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and sea salt. Set aside
- In the bowl of a standing mixer, or in a large bowl with a hand-held mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy (1-2 minutes).
- Add eggs and vanilla and beat until fluffy (60 seconds).
- Add sour cream, milk, canola oil and lemon juice and beat on low speed until combined.
- Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until combined.
- Gently fold in poppy seeds until they are evenly distributed throughout the batter.
- Pour mixture into prepared loaf pan and bake in preheated oven for 60 minutes , or until the top is just barely set and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few wet crumbs (it will look wet, test the loaf at 55 minutes to ensure you don’t over-bake).
- Set the poppyseed bread in the pan on a wire rack to cool for 1 hour. Gently run a knife around the edges and the inside (all parts touching the pan) to release.
- After 1 hour, remove the bread and let cool completely on the wire rack.
Make the Lemon Glaze
- In a medium bowl, combine lemon juice and vanilla.
- Then add the powdered sugar and stir or whisk until smooth.
Assemble
- Immediately pour it over the cooled cake.
- Let sit at room temperature until hardened (about 30-60 minutes).
- Serve at room temperature.
Video
Notes
- All-purpose flour. I don’t recommend making substitutions for the flour. I suspect gluten-free all-purpose flour would work, but I have not tested it with this recipe.
- Salted butter. Unsalted butter works well too.
- Granulated sugar. use regular white granulated sugar or organic cane sugar for the best results.
- Sour cream. I suggest using full-fat ingredients for the best texture and flavor, you can use full-fat Greek yogurt in place of sour cream.
- Whole milk. I suggest using whole milk or half and half. 2% milk is acceptable, but not preferred.
- Canola oil. you can replace the canola oil with an extra 2 tablespoons of melted butter, however it will change the texture slightly.
- Pure lemon juice. Use freshly squeezed lemon juice or organic lemon juice found in most juice aisles.
- Poppy seeds. Obviously, I don’t recommend substituions here.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Lovely bread, though next time I’ll cut back a little on the amount of poppy seeds.