Poppy Seed Bread

There’s just something about poppy seed bread (okay–and banana bread, pumpkin bread, zucchini bread–the whole family!): it feels just all too right to eat a slab or two for breakfast, despite the fact that these quickbreads are cake’s first cousins. Maybe even its stepsisters. If you enjoy sweets in the morning with your coffee, whip up a batch! I ate it for breakfast every single day last week. As long as pouring 50 gallons of oil and sugar into the batter doesn’t turn you off, this recipe (from the lovely redhead Bridget over at Bake at 350) is a real winner!

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups milk

3 eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 tsp almond extract

1 cup + 2 TBS vegetable oil

2 1/2 cups sugar

3 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 1/2 TBS poppy seeds

First, preheat the oven to 350 F. Grab ahold of two 9×5 inch loaf pans and grease them up, sides and bottom. You can do this with butter, or with good old baking spray.

Can you tell I chose baking spray? (I can just feel my organic friends shivering in horror)

It was about this time I realized we were out of milk. With the loaf pans already sprayed and the ingredients already assembled and my camera settings toyed with, I couldn’t just abort the effort. I contemplated doing a late night run to the grocery store–but that sounded massively unappealing. Thankfully my roving eyes spotted a lone can of evaporated milk, and a quick Google search told me that I can substitute evaporated milk for regular milk in baking as long as I do 1 part milk, 2 parts water.

I exhaled with relief. Thank you, Google. Thank you, internet. Having to change back out of my PJ’s and face a dark and cold Chicago night might have sent me over the edge.

Using a mixer on low speed, mix together the milk, eggs, vanilla, almond extract, and vegetable oil.

It looks like a freaky alien experiment.

I should mention that if you’re not a huge fan of almond extract (I’m not) you shouldn’t worry one bit. I can’t even tell it’s there in the finished product, but I’m sure it adds a little something something that shouldn’t be skipped. Bridget said to use it. And I trust Bridget.

Okay, looking slightly better . . .

Add in the sugar . . .

. . . the flour . . .

. . . the baking powder and salt . . .

. . . and beat on a higher speed for about 2 minutes.

Please forgive the whacko focus in these pictures. It will help you learn patience. Forgiveness. Mercy. Yep, I’m just here to cultivate your virtues through my under par photography.

Aw, you don’t have to thank me–I’m always glad to contribute.

Measure out those poppy seeds:

Stir them into the batter, and voilà!

Look at this gloriously thick batter.

Hey, it’s eating my mixer attachment!

I’m sinking! I’m sinking!

Heh heh.

Now! Pour the batter into the two loaf pans.

I’m entranced by the thick, ribbony strands.

Looks like we’re ready to let the heat of the oven finish this here jyarb.

Jyarb = job. Yes, I talk like that on a regular basis. I find funkifying my accent a highly amusing endeavor.

Bake the loaves for 50-60 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. For some reason mine took more like an hour and a half. Maybe my oven was having a freaky evening, or maybe my shenanigans with evaporated milk changed things up too much. I’ll never know . . . until I make it again!

Use the time of bakination to contemplate the state of your kitchen.

I’m thinking of calling my kitchen manager and registering a complaint with the state of Illinois.

Then again, I hate being on hold. Might as well take care of these myself instead of waiting for the Secretary of State to get on the line.

So put on a little music, do a little washa-washin’, and before you know it these little golden delights will pop out:

The one on the left looks like a Marsha. The one on the right, we’ll call ‘Milfred.’

When you take them out of the oven, let the loaves rest for 10 minutes before removing the bread to a cooling rack. If I had waited, this probably wouldn’t have happened:

There went Marsha! Maybe it was a lack of generosity with the baking spray. In any case, it gave us a great shot of the tender interior of this bread.

And I guess it doesn’t matter anymore, since I’ve eaten it all regardless.

It’s a delightful bread–the crust is sugary and crunchy and the inside is sugary and tender. One would hope, with 2 1/2 cups sugar–and one would not be disappointed.

Let’s take things to a new level.

Need I expound on the wonders of melting butter over freshly baked bread?

I need not.

This picture says it all for me.

I’m told you can also wrap the bread in heavy-duty aluminum foil and freeze it. Brillante.

More quickbreads will definitely be in my future. Hope everyone is having a lovely Tuesday morning!

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20 thoughts on “Poppy Seed Bread

  1. Kimby

    A delightful read — and photos! Poor Marsha… This made me smile. (Not Marsha’s demise — your whole post!) 🙂

  2. Julie M.

    Yummy! Marsha and Milfred both looked delicious. I don’t think either of those broads would have lasted long in this house. I love that you slathered a little butter on at the end. Mmmmm.

  3. Twinky Satterthwaite

    A little dusting of flour over the grease in the baking pans should help the stickage problem so that Marsha can just fall out easily in the future.

    Accents!! Yeparoo, keep ‘m comin’!! Perhaps you can post about your accents and tree stands experience, helping your everythingblog stay EVERYTHING. =)

  4. Aimee S

    That looks absolutely delish! My trick is no matter what kind of bread I bake, I always put a small piece of parchment at the bottom. Works every single time!

  5. NanaBread

    Lemon poppy seed is one of my favorites, too. I like to glaze mine with frozen lemonade concentrate to help keep it moist. Once it comes out of the oven (and it’s still hot), I scoop 2-3 big spoonfuls of frozen lemonade concentrate out of a can, melt it in the microwave, and brush it over the warm loaves. It’s so fabulous!

  6. Veronica

    OK, you are just too cute! I was so delighted by your antics I had to repeat the funny parts out loud for my husband, but I don’t think he could fully appreciate it without reading the whole blog (he kinda looked at me funny that I found “I’m sinking I’m sinking and the Marsha/Mildred thing so amusing), plus I was interrupting his important search for another guitar on Craigslist. Bah. Men. Well, I thought it was hilarious! I so wish I could have snagged a piece of Marsha. 😉 I was enthralled by those ribbons too–this whole thing was awesome. You’re becoming quite the baker! Just remember to generously butter those pans! I learned that the hard way too. I actually grease and flour my pans for quick breads or anything baking more than 45 minutes, b/c I’ve had too many ruined Marsha’s in my own kitchen when I don’t.

    1. Jenna

      Thanks Veronica! =) I will remember to be more generous with the butter next time, and will probably flour them as well (I used to do that with my banana bread when I was in baking phase during high school, and I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me to do it here as well).

  7. Joanne

    I love that you name your quickbreads. And that I’m not the only one who does such things. It makes me feel more sane.

    I love poppy seed bread. In fact, I bought a bag of poppy seeds to make it approximately a year ago. I’m a bit of a procrastinator, in case you couldn’t tell. You’ve inspired me to get off my butt and into the kitchen though!

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