mmm.... lemon poppy seed bread!

Lemon poppy seed bread is so yummy! It's light and citrusy and with a light lemony glaze on top its a great breakfast treat or any time of the day!  I have been wanting to make this for some time to see how the recipe holds up to the altitude... it's baking right now and seems to be doing well... we'll see in about 30 minutes how it fully turns out! I finally found poppy seeds at Whole Foods - they sell them in bulk which is cheaper than the glass jar version... save a little money and bring a container with you or they have bags there too!

Lemon Poppy Seed Bread Recipe:

3 large eggs

1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/4 c milk

1 1/2 c all-purpose flour, sifted

3/4 c granulated white sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 TBS grated lemon zest

3 TBS poppy seeds

13 TBS unsalted butter, softened

Lemon Syrup:

1/4 c fresh lemon juice

1/3 c granulated sugar

Lemon Poppy Seed Bread: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and place the oven rack in the center of the oven. Butter and flour (or spray with a non stick vegetable/flour spray) the bottom and sides of a loaf pan.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla extract, and milk.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, beat the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, lemon zest, and poppy seeds until combined. Add the softened butter and half the egg mixture and mix on low speed until moistened. Increase the speed to medium and beat for about one minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the remaining egg mixture in two batches, beating about 30 seconds after each addition.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 55 to 65 minutes, or until the bread is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. You may have to cover the bread with buttered foil after about 30 minutes if you find the bread over-browning.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, bring the sugar and lemon juice to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves.

When the bread is done, remove from oven and place on a wire rack. Pierce the hot loaf all over with a wooden skewer or toothpick and then brush the top of the loaf with about half the hot lemon syrup. Cool the loaf in the pan for about 10 minutes then invert onto a greased wire rack. Brush the remaining syrup onto the bottom and the sides of the loaf. Reinvert the bread so it is right side up and then cool the bread completely before wrapping. Store at least overnight before serving to allow the lemon syrup to distribute throughout the loaf.

Makes 1 loaf.

Recipe from: http://www.joyofbaking.com/breakfast/LemonPoppyseedBread.html