Soft and tender Lemon Poppyseed Bread is full of lemon flavor and super easy to make, just whisk everything together! This recipe makes a perfect spring breakfast or dessert.
This Lemon Poppyseed Bread recipe is a must make for spring: it’s soft and moist with plenty of lemon flavor and poppyseeds. This bread is perfect paired with a cup of coffee in the morning.
The lemon quick bread gets topped with a delicious icing for more lemon flavor, making it even more irresistible. If you love lemon, you will love this recipe.
I like to serve this bread cooled off so the frosting doesn’t run everywhere, but it’s also delicious straight out of the oven with a slab of butter! I store the bread in a container at room temperature for up to four days (it usually gets eaten up by then).
This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of these links I make a small commission at no additional cost to you. These links help support my blog and business.
The secret to a soft lemon loaf without vegetable oil
A lot of lemon breads call for vegetable oil. I personally do not like adding this ingredient to my baked goods as it causes inflammation and other health issues. Instead, I used a combination of melted butter and Greek yogurt.
These ingredients combined yield a soft texture and a better flavor!
Ingredient breakdown
Dry ingredients consist of flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, poppyseeds, and sugar.
Wet ingredients consist of melted butter, buttermilk, Greek yogurt, and eggs. All refrigerated ingredients need to be room temperature.
You’ll need the zest of one lemon and lemon extract. Get lemon extract here.
The icing is made with powdered sugar, heavy cream and lemon extract. Alternatively, you can use lemon juice to replace the heavy cream and extract.
How to make Lemon Poppyseed bread
I love a recipe with minimal effort, and this is one of them.
Simply mix the zest and sugar together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the remaining wet ingredients and whisk, then whisk in the dry ingredients just until combined.
Pour the batter into a 9×5 loaf pan that has been greased and lined with parchment paper.
Bake the bread for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. If you feel the bread is browning fast, you can cover with a piece of foil.
Let the bread cool completely unless you’re omitting the icing and enjoying with butter. While it’s cooling, add all the icing ingredients to a small bowl and stir until smooth.
Pour the icing over the bread and use the back of a spoon or a spatula to spread it out evenly. Garnish with lemon slices if desired and use a bread knife to slice.
If you try this recipe, please rate and comment!
Lemon Poppyseed Bread
Equipment
- 9x5 loaf pan
Ingredients
For the lemon bread
- 1 cup cane or granulated sugar
- zest of one lemon
- ½ cup salted butter melted
- ¾ cup buttermilk or whole milk room temperature
- ⅓ cup Greek yogurt room temperature
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 and ½ tsp lemon extract
- 1 and ¾ cup flour spoon into measuring cup and level off
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- pinch of salt
- 1 and ½ tbsp poppyseeds
For the icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp lemon extract
- 3 tbsp heavy cream or milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 ℉. Grease and line a 9x5 loaf pan with parchment paper. In a large bowl, add sugar and lemon zest. Rub together with your fingers until sugar is moist and fragrant. Add butter, buttermilk, yogurt, extract and eggs. Whisk until smooth.
- Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and poppyseeds. Whisk just until combined. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for about 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. If the bread is browning quickly, but underdone place foil on top to help prevent browning.
- Let the bread cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack to cool completely. To make the frosting, stir together all ingredients. Pour over the cooled bread and spread out evenly with the back of a spoon. Slice and enjoy!
