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This Almond Poppy Seed Bread is moist, tender and filled with almond flavor. Topped with a simple icing, it’s a sweet bread you’ll make again and again!
Sometimes I wonder why the lemon + poppy seed flavor combination gets way more attention than almond + poppy seed. Because honestly, I’d take almond poppy seed bread over lemon poppy seed bread any day!!! It’s a great flavor combination for the Christmas season or really any time of year!!
This quick bread recipe has a moist crumb and could really be called a loaf cake, especially with the sweet glaze on top! It’s perfect as a breakfast or brunch pastry with a cup of coffee or a deliciously simple dessert.
Ingredients Needed (Amounts in Recipe Card Below)
- Granulated Sugar
- Eggs – I always use “large” eggs when baking.
- Butter – I use salted butter, but unsalted butter would work great too.
- Vegetable Oil
- Milk – Whole or 2% milk is my preference.
- Vanilla Extract
- Almond Extract
- All Purpose Flour
- Poppy Seeds
- Baking Powder
- Salt
- Powdered Sugar
- Orange Juice – You can use milk in place of this if you prefer.
How to Make Almond Poppy Seed Bread
Start by preheating the oven and preparing a loaf pan. Grease with cooking spray and dust with flour.
Make the Bread
In a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment), mix together the sugar and eggs. Once the eggs are a bit frothy, add the melted butter, oil, milk and extracts.
Once combined, you’ll add the dry ingredients and mixed until the batter is smooth. Be sure to scrape the sides of the bowl at least once to make sure all ingredients are incorporated.
Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake!
Let it cool in the pan for about 5 minutes before removing it to a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the Sweet Almond Glaze
You don’t have to wait for the bread to cool completely before adding the glaze (I’m impatient, haha!).
Mix the glaze ingredients in a mixing bowl until smooth.
Pour glaze on top of the bread, letting it ooze down the sides of the loaf. It’ll be quite drippy if you glaze the warm bread though, just an FYI! 🙂
Almond Poppy Seed Muffins
Turning this quick bread into muffins is easy. Line a muffin tin with paper liners and fill them about 2/3 full with batter. This recipe will make about 15 regular-sized muffins. Bake for 16-18 minutes and let cool. You can sprinkle them with coarse sugar before baking or drizzle with the almond glaze when they’re cool.
You can also opt to make mini loaves. Grease and flour the pans, fill them about 2/3 full and bake! The baking time will depend on the size of the small loaf pans.
Frequently Asked Questions
This bread should be stored in an airtight container or wrapped well in plastic wrap.
Yes!!! This bread will freeze great. Store in freezer bags in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Though I’ve never made it gluten-free, I think it would work great. Simply replace the flour for an all-purpose gluten free flour and continue as the recipe states!
Can I use almond paste in place of the almond extract?
In the bread, you can skip the almond extract and use 1 tablespoon of almond paste instead. I don’t recommend using it in the glaze (you can skip the extract altogether or replace it with vanilla) as it’ll change the texture.
Pro Tip! Bring all of your ingredients to room temperature before mixing. This will help the ingredients more easily come together into a smooth batter. Simply measure and set your refrigerated ingredients on the counter about an hour before mixing.
Other Delicious Bread Recipes
Almond Poppy Seed Bread
Equipment
- One Loaf Pan about 8.5 x 4.5 inches (1 pound loaf pan)
Ingredients
Bread Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup butter melted
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 3/4 cups flour
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Icing Ingredients
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 1-2 tablespoons orange juice or milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325℉ and grease & flour a loaf pan; set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar and eggs.1 1/4 cups sugar, 2 eggs
- Add the melted butter, vegetable oil, milk, vanilla and almond extract. Whisk until smooth.1/3 cup butter, 1/3 cup vegetable oil, 3/4 cup milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon almond extract
- Add the flour, poppy seeds, baking powder and salt. Stir until combined.1 3/4 cups flour, 1 tablespoon poppy seeds, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick pressed into the center of the loaf comes out dry or with just a few moist crumbs.
- Let cool for 5 minutes then release onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
- In a small bowl, stir together the powdered sugar, almond extract and 1 tablespoon of the orange juice. Add more orange juice if needed to create a consistency perfect for drizzling.1 cup powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon almond extract, 1-2 tablespoons orange juice
- Drizzle the icing over the loaf.
Nutrition
This recipe came from my sweet friend, Kaitlyn who shares the opinion that almond poppyseed > lemon poppyseed! 😉
This is wonderful!
I can’t have poppy seeds. What else can I use?
Hi Kathleen – You can skip them altogether!:)