orange poppy seed bread | Not Just Another Food Blogger

Poppy Seed Bread makes a great Christmas or hostess gift. It’s dense, moist, and very sweet. The only complaint I’ve ever heard about this recipe is that the name is misleading – it’s better described as Poppy Seed Cake! It’s great served warm or buttered and toasted.

Difficulty: Easy (This is a batter bread, so it’s as simple as making pancake batter.)

Batter

3 cups flour

2 1/3 cups sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons poppy seeds

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

1 1/8 cups oil

1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract

1 1/2 teaspoons butter flavoring

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Glaze

1/2 teaspoon butter flavoring

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1/4 cup orange juice

3/4 cup sugar

Batter: Mix all ingredients from flour through the first listing of extracts and flavorings. Just stir with a big spoon or whisk, and allow some lumps to remain.

The purpose of this pic is to show you this super whisk. It has a whisk inside a whisk and a ball inside that for extra whisking power. If you ever run across one, get one for every cook in your family.

Not a great pic, but it’s really that easy – dump ingredients in bowl and stir

Pour into two greased loaf pans or three smaller foil pans. These are 8.5″ x 4.5″ x 2.5″.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes. If you’re using smaller loaf pans, check to see if the bread is done after 35 minutes. The loaves are done when a fork or toothpick comes out clean when poked into the top. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Poke holes in bread with a toothpick, pour on glaze (recipe below), and let sit awhile. Remove from pans and slice to serve.

Glaze: As soon as you put the loaves into the oven to bake, stir the second set of flavorings together with the orange juice and 3/4 cup sugar. Let rest until time to pour it over the loaves after baking.