Poppy Seed Bread

by Sabrina Snyder

Published on

16 Comments

5 from 5 votes
12 servings
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
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Poppy Seed Bread is the most delicious quick bread with with poppy seeds, vanilla extract, and almond. Easy, sweet bread perfect for brunch or dessert.

Tasty, quick breads like my Banana Bread and Zucchini Bread are sweet enough for dessert but savory enough for a hearty breakfast. We have so many Bread Recipes that you can enjoy anytime of the day.

Poppy Seed Bread Slice

POPPY SEED BREAD

The only thing better than the smell of freshly baked bread is that first bite of warm bread, fresh from the oven. The nice thing about quick breads is that you get all the delicious bakery aroma with about as much work as using a bread machine.

While it’s fun getting creative with different flavor combinations, like Oreo Chocolate Bread, we do love a classic bread in our house. This Poppy Seed Bread is a yummy old fashioned bread (dating back to ancient Egypt!) that tastes and looks beautiful. 

My Poppy Seed Bread is filled with buttery, almond poppyseed flavor. It tastes like a poundcake, yet not as dense with a bit of crunch from the poppy seeds. Enjoy it warm with some butter and a cup of orange juice, citrus pairs beautifully with Poppy Seed Bread. 

You can bake this in a bundt pan with little adjustment and it would make a beautiful dessert, especially topped with my lemon glaze below or Cream Cheese Frosting. This bread would also make a great gift, baked in mini loaf pans and then wrapped up in pretty, colored cellophane.

Lemon is a traditional pairing with Poppy Seed Bread, but this recipe allows the almond extract to shine and bring out the nutty flavors of poppy seeds. If you are missing that tart, lemony flavor, I’ve included in the variations how to make lemon poppy seed bread.

Now, if you are even remotely a fan of Seinfeld, you may be a bit nervous about poppy seeds. To address the elephant in the room, no, cooking with poppy seeds won’t do more than provide a delicious snack. However, there have been studies that it can give a false positive in tests, so maybe make this bread after you get back from the Africa trip with Mr. Peterman.

Tip for Baking with Poppy Seeds:

To get more flavor out of the poppy seeds, warm the milk in this recipe and add the seed. Allow to soak for 30 to 60 minutes. Soaking poppy seeds in the milk will soften their outer coating so they will release more flavor when the bread is baking.

MORE BREAKFAST BREAD RECIPES

 

Poppy Seed Bread slices in a stack

VARIATIONS ON POPPY SEED BREAD

  • Muffins: To make these into poppyseed muffins, line a 12 cup muffin pan and divide batter into the cups. Bake for 18-20 minutes at 375 degrees.
  • Almonds: Bring out more almond flavor by stirring in a ¼ cup of chopped almonds into your batter. Sprinkle some on top for an almond poppyseed bread with a crunchy crust.
  • Chocolate: Poppy seeds taste great with chocolate. Stir in your favorite chocolate chips before baking or top with a Chocolate Ganache.
  • Lemon: Make this Lemon Poppy Seed Bread by adding a couple teaspoons of lemon juice and lemon zest to your batter. Top with lemon glaze (recipe below) for even more lemony flavor.

Lemon Glaze for Poppy Seed Bread:

Ingredients: ¼ cup orange juice, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 2 cups powdered sugar

  • Combine orange juice, lemon juice and vanilla extract in a small bowl.
  • Stir in powdered sugar until it creates a glaze consistency.
  • Poke a few holes in the top of bread and drizzle the glaze over it.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT POPPY SEED BREAD

  • Are poppy seeds good for you? Poppy seeds not only taste delicious, they are packed with calcium, iron, and zinc. They are a slightly high in calories (like many nuts and seeds), but a little goes a long way! 
  • Do you toast poppy seeds? You can absolutely toast poppy seeds! Bring out more of the nutty, fruity flavor of poppy seeds by toasting them for 2-3 minutes on the stove top.
  • Do poppy seeds taste good? Poppy seeds are incredibly delicious and a small amount can add so much flavor and crunch. They are nutty and can give off a fruitiness, especially if they are ground up.

EVEN MORE QUICK BREAD RECIPES

HOW TO STORE POPPY SEED BREAD

  • Serve: Cover your bread and keep at room temperature for 2-3 days.
  • Store: To keep your bread fresh longer, store in the fridge for up to 1 week.
  • Freeze: Cool bread completely and wrap in plastic wrap tightly or put in an air-tight container, freeze for 3 months.

Poppyseed Bread in Baking Pan

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Dinner, then Dessert

Poppy Seed Bread

Poppy Seed Bread is the most delicious quick bread with with poppy seeds, vanilla extract, and almond. Easy, sweet bread perfect for brunch or dessert.
Yield 12 servings
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Course Breakfast
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder
PrintRate

Ingredients
 

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 2/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3/4 cup whole milk
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1 teaspoon butter extract
  • 1 tablespoon poppy seeds

Instructions

  • Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Sift the flour, salt and baking powder together and set aside.
  • Whisk together the vegetable oil, eggs and sugar until fully combined.
  • Add in the milk, vanilla extract, almond extract, butter extract and poppy seeds and whisk until well combined.
  • Whisk in the dry ingredients until fully incorporated.
  • Grease a 9x5 loaf pan and pour the batter into the pan.
  • Bake for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Nutrition

Calories: 256kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 29mg | Sodium: 115mg | Potassium: 78mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 64IU | Calcium: 45mg | Iron: 1mg

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Poppy Seed Bread collage

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. If you enjoyed the recipe and would like to publish it on your own site, please re-write it in your own words, and link back to my site and recipe page. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. I didn’t have whole milk so I used 2%, but did everything else to the recipe. It still came out great and was a hit with the family. I’ll definitely be making again, thanks for the recipe!

    Reply

  5. This poppy seed bread looks so moist and delicious! I’d love to try making a gluten free version this weekend. Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply

  6. I’ve been looking for a poppy seed bread recipe and this is perfect! Looks so delicious and can’t wait to whip this up:)

    Reply

  8. I love baking quick bread like these. This is perfect for breakfast, and with afternoon tea. Do you think it will work with black sesame seeds instead of poppy seeds?

    Reply

  9. I love Quick Breads, especially when there’s no mixer required. This Poppy Seed Bread reminds me of my mom’s old classy Poppy Seed Cake. I will definitely make this bread very soon, since I’m anxious to taste it’s deliciousness. It’s very nice with Afternoon Tea, if you’re so inclined.

    Reply