- 1 1/2 cup flour
- 1 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tbsp. poppy seeds
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp. vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs, slightly beaten
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 tsp. almond extract
- 2 tbsp. freshly grated lemon zest
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 2 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp. almond extract
- 1/2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- Preheat oven to 350F. Spray two 7-1/2" x 3-1/2" loaf pans with cooking spray and set aside. (I love this pan size—the smaller loaves make great gifts for hosts, new parents or a grieving family.)
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and poppy seeds. Stir on low, until just combined.
- In a separate medium bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients—milk, vegetable oil, eggs, vanilla, almond extract and lemon zest.
- Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer on low speed, beat until incorporated. Then, raise the mixer speed to medium and beat for one more minute.
- Pour batter into prepared loaf pans and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.
- While the bread is baking, prepare the glaze. Combine all glaze ingredients and whisk until incorporated. When the baked loaves are removed from the oven, immediately brush the glaze over the warm bread tops. It will seem like a lot of glaze, but it will soak in and make the bread ultra-moist and flavorful, with a bit of a sugary crust once cooled.
- Cool loaves about 20 minutes. Then run a knife around the edges of the pans before removing bread from pans.