Poppy Seed Bread
This old-fashioned poppy seed bread with a sweet glaze is the perfect addition to your breakfast, brunch, dinner, or dessert table!
Servings 1 loaf (about 12 slices)
Calories 256kcal
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup (1 stick) salted butter, softened at room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- ¾ cup (about 6 ounces) sour cream, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ teaspoon almond extract
Glaze:
- 1 ¼ cups confectioners' sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, poppy seeds, salt, and baking soda.
- In a large bowl, use an electric mixer on high speed to cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Reduce the speed and add the eggs, one at a time, until well blended. Add the sour cream, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Beat until incorporated.
- With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Mix just until incorporated; do not over-mix. It’s fine if the batter is a little bit lumpy.
- Spread the batter in the prepared loaf pan. Tap the pan on the counter a couple of times to release the larger air bubbles.
- Bake the bread for 55 minutes – 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. You may want to cover the bread loosely with foil after the first 45 minutes to prevent the top from becoming too dark.
- Allow the bread to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Glaze:
- Once the bread is completely cool, combine the confectioners’ sugar, milk, vanilla extract, and almond extract in a bowl. Whisk until smooth. If the glaze seems too thin, add more confectioners' sugar. If it’s too thick, add a small amount of milk.
- Drizzle the glaze over the cool bread. Once the glaze is set, slice the loaf and serve!
Notes
- The total baking time will vary depending on the type of loaf pan that you use. A dark metal, nonstick pan cooks the bread faster, so it will likely be done within 45-50 minutes. By contrast, a lighter metal pan, a glass pan, or a ceramic pan can easily require 60 minutes (or more) in a 350°F oven. You can tell that your loaf is cooked through when you insert a toothpick or long stick deep into the center of the loaf and it comes out clean.
- Make sure that all of your ingredients are at room temperature so that they blend together smoothly.
- Cream the butter and sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 5-6 minutes. Whipping this air into the batter will help the cake rise during baking.
- Don't leave the cake in the pan for too long after baking -- about 10-15 minutes is plenty. After that, condensation will start to form and the moisture will negatively impact the crust.
- Make the cake about 1 day ahead of when you plan to serve it. The cake just gets better as it sits!
- If you prefer a lemon-flavored bread, try our favorite recipe for easy lemon poppy seed bread with lemon glaze.
- Add sliced almonds on top of the bread with the glaze, or fold chopped almonds into the batter for some added crunch.
- Instead of topping the bread with a glaze, sprinkle the top of the batter with cinnamon and sugar before baking, or dust with powdered sugar right before serving.
- Double the ingredients and bake the batter in a Bundt pan for a larger poppy seed pound cake. Bake the Bundt cake at 325°F for about 70 minutes. Cool the cake in the pan for about 10 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Nutrition
Serving: 1slice | Calories: 256kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 45mg | Sodium: 178mg | Potassium: 70mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 25g | Vitamin A: 250IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 49mg | Iron: 1mg