There’s something comforting about sweet loaves such as lemon poppyseed bread; The aroma that fills the house while it’s in the oven makes the house warm and cozy. It makes me want to bundle up in a blanket by the fire and enjoy a slice of the loaf with my afternoon tea. It’s the perfect balance between sweet and tart, and you won’t be able to have just one slice!
Yes, you can purchase these treats at the store, but I strongly believe nothing beats homemade. When you make a homemade sweet loaf for a dinner party, your guests appreciate it that much more. My philosophy is, why by store-bought when you can easily make it at home? I had a few extra lemons in the house and an invite to the country for the long weekend, so I decided to take this opportunity to develop a recipe that I haven’t experimented with yet, a lemon poppy seed loaf. I based myself on my banana bread recipe, and after a bit of research, I have created a delicious and moist sweet loaf! It’s so easy to whip up that even if you’re just starting out baking, you’ll be able to ace this one.
what you’ll need
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1½ cups flour
- 3 tbsp poppy seeds
- 1 tbsp grated lemon rind
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup buttermilk
what you’ll do
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter with sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Add lemon juice.
- In separate bowl, whisk together flour, poppy seeds, lemon rind, baking powder and salt. Stir into butter mixture alternating with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour.
- Spread in greased 8- x 4-inch (1.5 L) loaf pan.
- Bake in the centre of a 325°F oven for 50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Place pan on rack to cool.
- The loaf can be stored at room temperature for up to 2 days or wrapped with saran wrap and put in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.
So at your next housewarming, don’t go empty handed and don’t consider going to the bakery or store. Make this amazingly moist lemon poppy seed loaf. As they say, the way to a person’s heart is through their stomach!
