Well it has been a little over two months since my shoulder surgery and I am finally getting back in the kitchen a bit.  Not ready to tackle anything too challenging yet, but not being able to stir or chop for the past eight weeks has been driving me up the wall!  I thought I better ease back into things with something easy so I decided upon trying a strawberry bread recipe that I had come across during early recovery.

The idea of using fresh strawberries in a quick bread intrigued me and we just so happened to have a couple pounds sitting in the fridge.  I have used fresh strawberries in cake before and knew that the moisture content presents a bit of a baking challenge.  I was a little surprised at how thick the batter was before adding the berries, but knew that it would loosen up quite a bit with the addition of the fruit; (I did use a couple tablespoon more flour than the recipe called for since my berries were very ripe and seemed especially full of liquid).  Baking time was about ten minutes longer than the recipe suggested, I thought it might require more time because of the fresh berries, so I just kept checking the center with a chopstick.

I held to the measure for the berries in this recipe.  Often I like to “amp up” the fruit but glad I did not, the results would have been a very wet bread that would have formed a tough crust on the outside before the center was completely baked.  The recipe called for an oven temp of 375°F.  I am going to bake this one again dropping the heat 25° to 350°F to see if the loaf will bake a little more evenly.  The outside did get a bit dark as you can see because of the extended oven time, but the moisture in the berries prevented it from getting hard.

The icing adds a very nice extra layer of strawberry goodness for sure.  I would advise mixing in the berries and letting it stand for a few minutes before adding extra cream, the berries do bring quite a bit of moisture and the sugar draws it out.  I recommend holding the unused portion of this in the fridge, and be aware that because of the fresh berries it will get soggy after a couple days, but the odds are there will not be any around anyway.

Print

Strawberry Quick Bread

The flavor of fresh strawberries is the star of this easy-to-make quick bread, topped with a luscious strawberry icing.

Course Breads, Breakfast

Cuisine American

Keyword quick bread, Strawberry bread

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Servings 12 Slices

Author Christoph

Ingredients

Bread

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 cups diced strawberries + 2 Tablespoons flour

Icing

• 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 1/3 cup finely diced strawberries
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1-2 tablespoons heavy cream or milk as needed

Instructions

Bread

• Position shelf in center of oven and heat to 350°Prepare a 9”x5” loaf pan by greasing and lining with parchment paper.
• In a medium bowl mix together the sugar, milk, oil, egg and vanilla. In a separate bowl sift together the dry ingredients and cinnamon. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined.
• In a small bowl toss the strawberries with 2 tablespoons of flour to coat. Fold the strawberries gently into the batter.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 60 - 65 minutes. Test bread with a knife or chopstick. Allow the bread to cool for 10 minutes before removing the bread to a wire rack to cool completely.

Icing

• Combine the powdered sugar, melted butter, diced strawberries and extract in a small bowl, adding cream a little at a time to make a thick yet pour-able icing. Spread over cooled bread. Allow to set up before slicing.

Notes

1. Strawberries are a very wet ingredient, if you use more than two cups you might need to adjust the flour as well.
2. Frozen strawberries can also be use just thaw completely before dicing.
3. Add the cream or milk to the frosting very little at a time.  The strawberries bring a lot of moisture to the icing and depending on your berries may require very little or no milk.
4. The original recipe called for oven temperature of 375°F, after baking a second loaf at 350°F I found that worked better, the outside did not get too dark before the inside was done.  I also increase the baking time.  I realize oven temps do vary.
5. Cake is best the first couple days after baking, and will become soggy if held longer.

There’s a taste of sunshine in every bite of this incredibly moist lemon poppy seed quick bread.  Topped with a fresh lemon glaze, this easy-to-make recipe is the perfect balance of tart and sweet.  For breakfast or brunch, the bright lemony flavor of this delicious bread is the perfect way to welcome your day.  I like to make two loaves, one to enjoy at home and one to share with the gang at work, only problem is that now my co-workers keep asking for more.  I take that as a compliment! 

Lining the bread pans with parchment paper is something I have found very helpful.  It makes it super easy to lift the bread out and gives the loaf a clean profile.

Print

Lemon Poppy Seed Quick Bread

An easy-to-make recipe for an incredibly moist lemon poppy seed quick bread.  Full of fresh lemon this bread is a taste of citrus sunshine in every bite.

Course Breads, Breakfast, Brunch

Cuisine American

Keyword easy lemon poppy seed bread recipe, lemon poppy seed bread, lemon poppy seed bread with lemon glaze, quick bread

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour

Servings 12

Author Christoph

Ingredients

Lemon Poppy Seed Quick Bread

• 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature
• 3 large eggs room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Lemon Glaze

• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

Instructions

Lemon Poppy Seed Quick Bread

• Position rack in the center of the oven and heat to 350° F.
• Grease an 8” x 4” loaf pan and set aside. For easy removal cut a piece of parchment paper to lay in the pan across the bottom and up the sides. Lightly grease parchment paper.
• In a large mixing bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and poppy seeds.
• In a separate bowl cream together the butter, sugar and lemon zest with a hand mixer. Mix in eggs one at a time, add vanilla and lemon juice. Mix to incorporate.
• In large glass measuring cup or bowl whisk together the milk with sour cream. Heat mixture in microwave about 20 – 30 seconds or until milk is room temperature
• Add the ½ of the butter and ½ of the milk to the flour and mix to moisten. Add the balance and mix just until batter is wet. Do not over mix.
• Pour batter into prepared pan and tap on the counter to level and to release air bubbles.
• Bake for 45 - 55 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Place pan on a wire cooling rack for 5 minutes before lifting bread out using a knife if needed to loosen ends.
• Place wire rack over a piece of wax paper and while bread is still warm to the even spoon the lemon glaze over the top. Cool completely before slicing.

Lemon Glaze

• Combine lemon juice and sugar in a small bowl and stir until completely combined. Mixture should be thin.

Notes

I line my bread pans with parchment paper for a clean and easy removal. 

 

Spoon the glaze over the bread while it is still rather warm.