Lemon Poppy Seed Loaf

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We’ve got a lemon tree still producing the most beautiful, delicious lemons, so naturally I had to come up with a recipe to highlight the flavor. Lemon in the loaf, lemon in the drizzle. It’s a citrus dream. I’ve already made it several times. It’s been requested by my family and even my husband who oddly hates lemon flavored dessert. It’s a subtle lemon flavor though, not a punch in the face sour lemon taste. And the fat from the oil and yogurt balance it nicely.

This loaf is

• subtly sweet and citrus y
• moist
• dense and not crumbly but light

We use a good amount of lemon in the bread, but like I said, the lemon flavor is more subtle. The lemon glaze is where you kick that lemon flavor up a notch. I highly recommend doing this and not skipping it. I use powdered sugar, not something that I like to use regularly, but it’s such a small amount and a nice finishing touch to the loaf.

For the rest of the ingredients, they are fairly simple. I used a gluten free all purpose 1:1, but you can use regular if you don’t care about GF. Important for the flour measuring that you scoop it into your measuring cup with a spoon, then take a knife to scrape it even across the top. You don’t want to scoop directly in your bag or container. That can lead to packing it too densely and won’t give you an accurate measure. I’ve made this mistake. A LOT. So learn from me, spoon into measuring cup, scrape off excess. Too much flour will ruin the bread. Ok moving on…

Full fat Greek yogurt. A couple reasons I use full fat. For one, you need the fat in this to help with moisture and texture. Don’t cut that out and use a reduced or low fat option. I also do not think a regular yogurt or vegan alternative like almond or cashew will work. Another reason I use full fat is because I am never a fan of low-fat alternatives or no fat. These options usually take the ‘fat’ out and replace it with a filler. I’d rather have real fat than an artificial ingredient used in it’s place. Real food fan here. Plus, we all need healthy fats, and I consider the yogurt and olive oil used in this to be some of those healthy fats.

Ok now the olive oil. If you haven’t baked with it, it might seem odd. But I assure you it’s needed in this and does not make it taste strange. I’ve only baked a handful of recipes that call for it and I definitely thought it was weird to use it the first time, but for some recipes, it just works. And this is one of those recipes. You could sub another neutral flavored oil, but I haven’t tried that and can’t speak to which one works best.

 

Some more lemon dishes are below

A WHIPPED LEMON RICOTTA toast – A fun change from typical toast spread

These NO BAKE LEMON COCONUT SQUARES – these are way back in the archives. I forgot about them until recently and completely fell in love with them again. Creamy and lemony, a perfect healthy treat.