Looking for a perfect, melt-in-your-mouth almond poppy seed bread sweetened with an orange glaze? This Orange Glazed Almond Poppy Seed bread is cake-like and smooth, with a crunchy orange topping. The nut-free quick bread looks fancy but comes together easily. It’s also freezer-friendly and can be made dairy-free!
My best friend’s mother is an extraordinary baker. So good, in fact, that we were delighted to get mini loaves of her Orange Glazed Almond Poppy Seed bread as birthday gifts. The bread looked and tasted so amazing that I assumed I would never be able to recreate it in my kitchen – and for years, as an adult, I was too intimidated to ask for the recipe.
The original recipe was recorded in an old church cookbook. She was kind enough to share it with me – and after a few adaptations, my family adores it just as much as I did when I was younger. It’s now a recipe I enjoy preparing in mini-loaves to give as gifts or donate to bake sales!
Try it in your kitchen – and see if you’re just as hooked on it as we are!
Orange Glazed Almond Poppy Seed Bread
Bread Ingredients
3 cups flour
2½ cups granulated sugar
1½ cups milk (dairy or soy)
1½ teaspoons baking powder
1½ tablespoons poppy seeds
1 teaspoon salt
3 eggs (or 6 egg whites or 3/4 cup egg substitute)
½ cup unsweetened applesauce
½ cup + 2 tablespoons oil
1½ teaspoon imitation almond extract
1½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Glaze Ingredients
¾ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup orange juice
1 tablespoon butter or margarine, melted
½ teaspoon imitation almond extract
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Mix dry and wet bread ingredients in separate bowls. Pour wet ingredients into a well in the dry.
- Beat 2 minutes with an electric mixer at medium speed. The mixture may seem runny, similar to a cake batter.
- Pour into greased bread pans (for example, six 5¾”x3″ mini loaf pans or three 8×4″ loaf pans).
- Bake at 350° for 35-60 minutes, depending on pan size (closer to 35 minutes for mini loaves or around 50-60 minutes for larger loaves) or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Combine glaze ingredients and mix well. Brush glaze generously on loaves while still hot from the oven. Cool well and run a plastic knife or spatula around the outside of each loaf to separate it from the pan before removing.
NOTES:
- I often make this bread with egg whites and soy milk, omitting the butter in the glaze for a lower-fat, dairy-free recipe.
- Be sure to use imitation almond extract for a nut-free bread.
- The bread tastes just as good without poppy seeds, if you’d rather not use them.
- One freshly-squeezed orange can be used in this recipe (I prefer it to using processed orange juice).
- This bread freezes well. Wrap each cooled loaf or portion tightly in plastic wrap, then seal in a freezer bag.
Looking for more great quick bread recipes? Here are more of my favorites: