Lemon Poppyseed Bread

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Every generation develops recipes that catch the fancy of young women when they first begin to cook. Toll House cookies have been around for decades and they're as popular today as they were when I was 18. Other recipes have shorter life spans. Even the good ones can fall to the wayside because of sea changes in the way we live or what we think to be important. There was a time when tea breads enjoyed the same popularity as cookies, and young women strove to master their making. We have, however, become a nation of multi-taskers and afternoon tea, for most anyway, has become a quaint remembrance of a ritual now past. While recipes for quick breads abound, tea breads are becoming less common. I want to pass mine on to my daughters, and, so, I record it here. The one I finally settled on is at least 2 decades old and it was developed in the test kitchen that serves Land O' Lakes Creamery. The combination of lemon and poppyseed is one of those lovely marriages that sometimes occurs in the food world. I love this recipe because it keeps the poppyseeds under control. An awful lot of recipes overdo their use and the finished bread or cake ends up looking like it has a disease. Not so here. This is a lemon bread that happens to use poppyseeds in the batter. The use of a glaze is optional with this bread. I prefer to brush the warm bread with limoncello, but I've included instructions for a glaze should you want to use one. Here's the recipe for a mild and altogether lovely lemon tea bread. I hope you enjoy it.

Lemon Poppyseed Bread...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons poppy seed
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup lemon yogurt
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup milk
Optional glaze: 2 tablespoons limoncello or 3 tablespoons granulated sugar mixed with 2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Directions:
1) Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease bottom only of 8x4-inch loaf pan. Set aside.
2) Combine flour, poppy seed, baking powder, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Set aside.
3) Combine sugar and butter in bowl of a stand mixer. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Add yogurt, eggs, lemon peel and vanilla; mix well. Reduce speed to low. Alternately add flour mixture and milk, beating well after each addition, just until moistened.
4) Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove pan to a cooling rack. If desired, brush top of loaf with limoncello or lemon glaze. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan. Cool completely before serving. Bread ages well and benefits from overnight storage. Yield: 1 loaf or 12 servings.

                    

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