Poppy Seed Bread
Almond Poppy Seed Bread is a moist bread with a sweet glaze – a family recipe that is simply the best. Moist, buttery, poppy seed bread with an orange glaze. This recipe is one that you will want to keep.
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POPPY SEED BREAD RECIPE
My mother-in-law Sheri has a large tight knit group of friends that have been together through the thick and thin of each other’s lives. They remind me of the Desperate Housewives without the desperate part.
Okay so the only resemblance to the Desperate Housewives is probably the fact that they all live by each other and know everything about each other. The women from Steel Magnolias would be a better fitting description.
These women have such a history together and know the in and outs of each other’s family, kids, hobbies, work, fears, and loves. They’ve been together through babies, marriages, deaths, and even cancer.
These women have been through it ALL and have been there to support each other along the way. They are all incredibly STRONG women with strong values and opinions.
After marrying my husband they’ve now invested in me, my life, and my kids. They’ve taught me what it takes to be a good friend and I appreciate that.
There’s something special bond between the women over there in Thornton that can’t be fabricated.
Whether it’s camping out together for the Nordstrom opening or taking lunch to a friend that’s having a bad day…they do it together.
POPPY SEED BREAD GLAZE
BUTTER EXTRACT
Although this ingredient isn’t common, it can be found at most grocery stores and makes all the difference.
CAN I MAKE THIS INTO MUFFINS?
Yes. You can line muffin tins with liners and pour into the muffin tin 3/4 of the way full with the batter. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until tops turn golden brown. Spread glaze on warm muffins.
OTHER BREAD RECIPES
Poppy Seed Bread
Ingredients
Bread:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3 eggs
- 1 1/8 cups cooking oil
- 2 1/4 cups sugar
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons poppy seeds
- 1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 teaspoons butter flavoring extract, (or 1 1/2 tsp melted butter can be substituted but does not have as strong of a flavor)
Glaze:
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon butter flavor extract, (or 1 1/2 tsp melted butter can be substituted but does not have as strong of a flavor)
Instructions
- For the bread: Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease and flour the loaf pans. Makes 6 mini loaves (6" X 3.5" X 2") or 3 medium loaves (8x3.75inch). I like the disposable foil bread pans the best. In a large bowl of a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, mix all of the ingredients together making sure to scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula. Pour into prepared loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes for large pans and 15-20 minutes for smaller pans. If you have a dark metal pan make sure to bake it for less time at a lower temperature.
- For the Glaze: Pour all the glaze ingredients into a small saucepan and let cook on stove on medium heat until sugar dissolves. Remove bread from pans and pour glaze on top of the bread. Use knife or spatula to bring the glaze that has run off up and over the warm bread until it stays on. Once bread has cooled wrap in plastic wrap.
Notes
All purpose flour? Not sure which type of flour to use.
Easy recipe and oh sooo good! Thanks for sharing.
Hi Christy,
this Poppy seed Bread looks delicious, I can’t wait to try it. I am a cook from the heart and Love to bake as well. Love to have friends over on the weekends, to cook different dishes and bake my own Cake, Coconut Flan, Tres Leches cake and more…
Will definitely try this Poppy seed bread. Will let you know,…
Thanks so much, your great work is greatly appreciated….
Thank you!
ME GUSTA
Hi. I was on your blog and when I try to pin to PInterest, I get a message saying this is a suspicious link. Also, get this message when I tried to pin from another pinner.
Thought you should know.
Thanks for the heads up!
Tried making these without the glaze a couple of nights ago, I subbed the milk for soymilk (I had run out and the store was closed :p). Also used coconut oil since I was out of butter as well… (guess I really need to do some grocery shopping, ha!) The husband inhaled these, he liked them even better than the muffins at Costco, awesome recipe!
So funny I just saw this on my opening Pinterest page, I was literally just thinking of my sisters poppyseed bread tonight wondering if my family would dare eat it since they are so dang picky!! I am certain this is similar to her version cause that crusty top glaze is what makes it ! Miss your guts!!!
Miss you too!
I just made this bread and it’s so good! I cut the recipe in half to make just one large loaf. Someone commented that they would use lemon extract and zest in place of the almond. Although I love the almond flavor, I also love lemon and I think that would be a great substitution. Thanks for the recipe!
You’re welcome!
Would this work as muffins as well?
I haven’t tried it but I don’t see why not.
T is tablespoon or teaspoon for the poppy seeds measurement?
Capital T is for tablespoon and lowercase t means teaspoon. I will change it to make it more clear.
Could I make this in a bundt pan?
I haven’t tried it so I’m not sure of the cooking time but I think you could…
I had to try this recipe when I saw the almond extract in the list of ingredients. This was absolutely delicious. I decided to use a 10 inch tube bundt pan. It took exactly one hour to bake, and was perfect in color, a beautiful golden brown. The glaze is a must, do not omit this, the hint of orange comes thru along with the almond and just melts in your mouth. I will be making this again. Easy to make and surprisingly delicious. Thanks for sharing. Great story and wonderful role models, you are very lucky.
Thank you Sophie.
When I made the batter it’ seemed to runny so I added about one fourth cup more of flour. Can you describe how runny or doughy the batter has to be? Thanks!
The batter will be wet. I would not add any flour at all.
When I made this, the batter seemed too runny,, so I added about 1/4 c more of flour. I don’t know how runny the batter has to be, but it was dripping off my paddle attachment .. Hope you reply soon!
This bread is amazing!! I used a gluten free flour and it turned out fantastic! I also switched oj in the glaze for Meyer lemon juice and lemon extract for the butter extract cause I love lemon poppy seed bread!
Thanks for the recipe. Have been looking for years for a good recipe of poppyseed bread and now I have found one! Feeling so appreciative. 🙂
I just made this tonight…. it’s delicious! I think I will make my next one plain though, without the glaze.
Add fresh grated orange or lemon zest to taste. Divine:)
Hi Christy! How big are your “small” and “large” loaves?
Ahh. I’m sorry. Yes, that’s ambiguous. I like using the foil aluminum disposable ones at the grocery store. I’m not exactly sure of the size. The minis hold 15 ounces and the large is 9×5. Good luck!
I made this and it was AWESOME!!!!! I subbed the real butter for the extract.
Can I substitute powdered sugar for the granulated?
I wouldn’t substitute it in the bread but it might be okay in the glaze.
My mama has made this bread for years! For the glaze, it’s much easier to use powdered sugar instead of granulated & simply whisk it together, rather than heating the glaze on the stovetop. 🙂
I followed this recipe exactly and I thought it was nothing short of fabulous! I made this and gave a few loaves away to my son’s teachers at the end of school last year. They loved it as well. The taste and consistency remind me of my Mamaw’s pound cake- and that was always a treat growing up in my book. Thank you for sharing this. It will def be kept in my recipe file for years to come. 🙂
I made this split between two large loaf tins and it’s divine! The only criticism would be that I think it needs more almond essence – in my opinion, you can never have too much! The glaze when it soaks into the bread and how it settles in a lovely crunch on top are not to be missed!
Deffo on my *need to take something to a party* hit list!
Although do not care for almond flavored anything, I really wanted to make this bread. So, I decided to substitute lemon extract for the almond extract. We (my daughter and I) just finished making it and it turned out so good and the entire house smells fantastic! At first, I only used 1 1/2 tsp just as the original recipe lists if using the almond extract. But, after I tasted the batter, I decided to use 2 tsp of lemon extract (personal preference). It turned out great! I also used a lemon glaze that was easier (pure laziness on my part). I know, many people don’t like a review if it’s not the original recipe, but I thought I’d share for those who might not try this because of the almond flavoring. Love this recipe because it’s one bowl, easy for my daughter to try on her own as a new baker, and it turned out so great! The texture and flavor are fantastic. Thank you for sharing! Great recipe for my daughter, who is learning to bake. Oh, one more thing, for those who didn’t get a good result upon baking, please remember to set your oven temp lower for dark pans (325 degrees) and at that temp, we ended up baking it for 55 minutes in our oven (which cooks pretty true to temp, I think). I took it when the toothpick (or bamboo skewer for us) had only tiny crumb stuck to it. We let it rest a few minutes in the pans an a cooling rack before loosening the bread by running a knife around the outside edge and then turning it out of the pan. Again, fantastic recipe! Thank you!
Thanks for the tips and your version sounds tasty.
Silly question- any idea if Disaronno Amaretto could be used in place of the almond extract? I don’t have any extract, but I have plenty of amaretto! Might make this for a BBQ with my coworkers this weekend and I don’t want to screw up too badly 🙂
@Laura,
I know it has the same flavor so I don’t see why not but I can’t be sure.
When you say vanilla….is it vanilla extract? Silly question, I’m sure 🙂
Yes, vanilla extract. I’ll change it to be more clear.
Found this on pintrest. Made it last night, my husband thought it was the. Best bread he’s ate.
Woo-hoo. Good news!
So excited to make this! Is there a specific orange juice you use?
Nope. Well I live in Florida so Florida Orange Juice for me.
What do you mean by “cooking oil” in the ingredients? Is that like vegetable or olive oil?
Jen,
I would use vegetable oil. I tried to keep the recipe as true to the original so that’s why I put that there.
Thinking about using half (or all) coconut oil for the vegetable oil…..what do you think about that? Do you think it would act the same?
I’m not an expert with coconut oil so I’m not sure. But I do think it should work!
Thank you! Maybe I’ll try half and half…I’ll let you know.
I just made this and it is AMAZING! The glaze makes it taste even better! Thank you for this wonderful recipe!
I’m making this in the morning! Sounds delicious!
have this in the oven right now, followed the recipe exactly except that I added some slivered almonds to the top. After 50 minutes the loaves are still pretty small, haven’t risen much, the outsides/bottom are really brown and the inside is still very wet. I was comparing this recipe to another recipe on a different blog, both have exactly the same ingredients, except this one calls for 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder and the other one calls for 1 1/2 Tbsp of baking powder…. we’ll see how they turn out.
Wow- making this now and the glaze is sooo good! Everything smells delist and turned out great!
This bread is fantastic!! My kids LOVED it!
I can’t wait to try this! I live in the Denver area and was wondering if anyone has baked this bread at a high altitude. I think I will just try it and see if it sinks in the middle. I have had so many issues with breads, but I’m not sure what would need to be tweaked in the recipe to make it work here. Thanks!
That sounds so good, except for the almond extract, which I can’t stomach. Would it be possible to substitute lemon juice?
Elizabeth,
These are all about the almond extract but I think if you substituted lemon extract (juice might not give you enough flavor) that it would be good.
Yes, you can absolutely substitute lemon extract for the almond. Just finished making it this way and LOVE it. We added 2 tsp of lemon extract (personal preference). I would recommend first substituting the same amount of as called for in the recipe and taste the batter before adding any more. You can always add more, but you can’t take it out. If you add more than called for, decrease the amount of butter or vanilla flavoring to compensate. I reduced the vanilla a bit. I used a different, lemon, glaze. Again, personal preference.
Just made this! Absolutely delicious!! The glaze is to die for! Thanks for sharing:)
Just made this recipe and my hubby and 2 year old son won’t leave the kitchen! Half of one loaf is already gone! Made it as you said….so delicious!!! Thanks!
This was amazing!!!! I ate half a loaf myself and could have eaten more! I love the almond flavoring in this bread and the glaze on top is so good! Thanks for the yummy recipe!
This was amazing!! I will make it again and again for everyone I know!!
I’ve got it in the oven right now! It smells delicious! Unfortunately, they’ve been in the oven for an hour and 10 minutes and the outsides are done, but they’re visibly gooey in the centers. If I did it again, I would put it in for longer at a lower temp to avoid the outside getting too brown. I didn’t substitute anything, but maybe my oven lies about how hot it is.
Made this the other day and it was SOOOOOOO good! Possibly my most favorite sweet bread ever! Thanks for the great recipe. It worked beautifully!
I made this yesterday and was skeptical because I didn’t see a whole lot of comments from people that made it. This bread was not only easy, but absolutely delicious! I used fresh squeezed orange juice for the glaze and it was just divine! It’s a dense, moist and extremely delicious bread!
I will be saving this recipe forEVER!
Thank you for making my first bread baking experience so wonderful and successful.
I made the 6 mini loaves today and so glad I did. They were easy and awesome! We ate one, so I still have 5 to give as Christmas gifts!! I know I will make this recipe over and over. The only thing I would do different, next time, is mix all the liquids first, then mix the dry ones, and add to the liquids and mix lightly. My batter was a tad bit lumpy, since I just dumped everything into the bowl, then mixed. I didn’t want to overmix, as I know one shouldn’t with quick breads.
This sounds wonderful! i would like to try the mini loaves. Could you recommend a baking time? I am not good at figuring it out. Thanks!
@Betsy,
I have no idea on the cooking time for the mini loaves since I’ve never made it that way. Sorry!!
I just made mini loaves, and I baked them for 35 – 40 minutes (depending on your oven). I used a baking stone.
Turned out AMAZING!
This is the EXACT recipe for poppy seed bread that was handed down to me from my Croatian grandma. She emigrated from Yugoslavia to Wyoming in the 1910s, and sometime in the 1950s all of the immigrant women in her community compiled their favorite recipes into this giant international cookbook. A copy of this book is one of my favorite possessions, and this is one of the recipes in it. It’s amazing / wonderful for me to think how copies & pieces of this book must have been circulating for a half century, and we’ve all been sharing these recipes without even knowing it. Grandma Anne would be so pleased.
This was such a delicious recipe. I made it exactly as the recipe stated the first time, then I decided to switch it up and make a lemon poppyseed cake the second time, using lemon extract and lemonade instead of the almond extract and orange juice. Both were fabulous. Thank you so much for sharing!
Could you make these as muffins??
I’ve never made these as muffins but as with most breads, you probably can.
I just made this and the taste is amazing! But, it got to done on the outside… My fault, I crowded the pan. If you’re only making 2 loaves, use a 9 inch loaf pan and if you’re using a dark pan, reduce your oven temp 25 degrees.
The inside of my bread was not cooked after the 60 minutes…the outside looked done… I used soybean oil which I always use for cooking…wonder what I did wrong…disappointed since I used a lot of ingredients in this!
Sorry. It’s a recipe I don’t dare mess with. I imagine that the soybean oil has a different effect on the bread.
Loved it!!! Just came out of the oven and already half gone!! The only thing I would add is an extra half tsp of salt. Salt can help bring out all the flavors a little bit more.
Wow, fantastic blog layout! How long have you been blogging for? you make blogging look easy. The overall look of your website is magnificent, let alone the content!. Thanks For Your article about Poppyseed Bread from the not so Desperate Housewives .
Curious if you could use a bundt pan, if the entire batter should go into on pan or will it over flow.
@Jenn,
Sorry! I’ve never done it in a budnt pan but I think as long as it’s a couple inches from the top when you fill it, it should be fine.
YUM! I just made the bread but altered it to be vegan. I substituted out the milk, eggs, and butter extract using almond milk, applesauce (1 full cup), and Earth Balance buttery spread. I also doubled the amount of almond extract in the bread and used almond milk instead of orange juice for the glaze. Using two dark metal pans, I brought the temp to 325 and baked for about 50 minutes. I am SO happy with the results and will definitely be bringing this to parties 🙂
Smelled yummy and looks good. Though the tops got darker than I would have liked even before they hit the 1 hour mark. I used two disposable loaf pans and probably should have divided the batter between 3 for more even baking. Had to bake longer which added to the darkness on the top and still not sure they are done enough in the middle. Next time if using disposable pans I will use 3 and also lower the rack. Just did a Betty Crocker recipe for banana bread a few weeks back and lowering the rack made all the difference with the browning on top. Fairly certain the oven temp is fine as we have a thermometer we put in the oven to verify the temps for when we bake. Our old oven was always wrong and even with a fairly brand new oven now we still use the extra thermometer.
I don’t like almond flavoring but I bet it would be delicious lemon zest and juice. I will try it this weekend! Yum I can’t wait!
That is kind of funny. I am the opposite. Can’t stand Lemon but love the Almond flavor. I plan on making this soon as I just love Poppy Seeds. It’s kind of funny, but I am trying to lose weight but have been fairly at limiting myself with my sweets, so I think I will do alright with this. Wish me luck. Thanks for this awesome looking bread.
@Lori,
I think when the bread is warm it kind of soaks in the sauce more and creates a crust.
@anonymous,
I’m sure you should mix the dry ingredients first. I just kept the recipe exactly the same as it was given to me. Glad you liked it…
They came out great!! I commented above about using two different pans. The regular pan needed more time, and might be a little dry since it got more golden on top, but at least I didn’t burn it! The glaze is sooooo good! We already ate 1/3 of a loaf! My boyfriend told me to make it again, even though we just made two loaves. He loves it! Thanks!!
Were you supposed to mix the dry ingredients first? I just tried it and it was hard to get some lumps out. I also noticed you did not mention to grease the pans, but I did anyway. I actually used one dark nonstick pan and one regular pan (all I had). So I don’t know how it’ll turn out! I lowered the temperature to 340 and for 40 minutes… let’s hope for the best!
I see that the directions say to put the glaze on when the bread is warm but what would happen if I waited too long and the bread was cold – ie, room temp? What would happen if I put the glaze on at that point?
@Anonymous,
I think it would keep for 1-2 days after baking. The third day it might dry out.
Just found your blog! This looks delicious! How long do you think it would store at room temperature? Thanks!
Love it! Thanks for sharing!
@Anonymous,
It’s a recipe that’s been passed around on my husband’s side of the family. It’s great!!
This is our family’s favorite poppyseed bread recipe, too!!! I’m so glad to see that I’m not the only one who uses this recipe for EVERYTHING! Where did you get your recipe? I have the exact one from an old Taste of Home Magazine.
My husband is picky about breads. . . He loved this I made it 2 days ago and he requested more this evening!!!! Thank you for such a wonderful recipe.
@Swenson,
Sorry! I was out of town. I’ve never made them into muffins but it looks like mikeandjess did and had success!
Thank you for the yummy recipe! This was absolutely delicious! I made it into muffins and they worked perfect. The only thing I did was bake at 400 for 16 minutes!
I know you posted this a long time ago, but i was wondering if this could be made into muffins? Has anyone tried?
Very tasty! I substituted applesauce for the oil and it still was delicious (just a little less fat!). Thank you for all the great inspiration 🙂
blogfoodbetter.blogspot.com
Oh my goodness, this was SO wonderful. Thank you for sharing it and so many other great recipes. You have such a great blog.
What a great group of women, I think their friendship is inspiring.
This looks inredible and I am definitely going to make this. yum!
BTW, Thibeault’s Table just made this- http://www.thibeaultstable.com/2010/06/vanilla-poppy-seed-loaf.html
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this looks sooo good! maybe we can make it when we are all out in denver!
I recently posted this pretty much identical bread on my blog–it is one of my all time favorites! YUM!!
Sounds like an awesome group of women-this bread looks so deliciously moist!!!
Gosh, I am turning on the oven now and starting this. It looks so easy. Thanks for posting and I think your photos look great.
Kathleen
What a lovely story about the group of women 🙂
and the bread looks delicious! I’ve never baked with poppy seeds.
The poppy seed bread looks yumm!
yum yum yum!!!!
I wish I had a slice of this right now with my coffee!
This looks wonderful, I’d love to try it, but I don’t think I’d be able to get butter flavoured extract in the UK. Do you think it would be good without it?
*kisses* HH
I made it with real butter and omitted the butter flavoured extract. Turned out amazing.
In what amounts did you substitute real butter for the butter flavoring? Both for the bread and the glaze (for which to me it seems harder to substitute)?
Oh, yummy! Poppy seed bread is so good! This recipe looks great!
I love that you ended up comparing these women to the women in Steel Magnolias…such a great movie and I love the bonds that they share in the movie! So great that you get to experience that with them!