So the first year my husband and I were married, my sister-in-law Stephanie gave us a little box of homemade Christmas candy and I loved it. I also realized that I was suddenly in the realm of Christmas treat-giving. How grown-up. Turns out, however, that candy-making is hard and I was too poor to be a toffee failure, so I started making this almond poppy seed bread instead.
Funny story, and then we’ll get cooking. I once made a bunch of these for some people who helped me with a project. After I baked them, they just didn’t seem quite right, but I still delivered them. And never heard the usual “oohs” and “aaahs” that I get from this bread. So I took a bite and something was seriously wrong. And then I remembered that I forgot the oil. So don’t forget the oil, but if you do, don’t feel stupid because I did, too…?
To make the bread, you’re going to need all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, neutral-flavored vegetable oil (like canola or peanut oil), eggs, milk (or buttermilk), poppy seeds, vanilla and almond extracts, and butter flavoring.
Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease 2 large loaf pans (8.5″ x 4.5″ or 9″ x 5″) or 5 mini pans (reusable or disposable if you want to give as gifts.) Place flour, salt, and baking powder in a medium mixing bowl…
and whisk to combine.
In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer, combine eggs, extracts,
oil, and sugar, and beat for 2 minutes. Alternate adding in flour mixture and milk and then mix until just combined. Add poppyseeds and mix until just combined. Pour into prepared pans.
Bake (35-40 minutes for mini pans, 45-60 minutes for large pans; keep an eye on them).
When done, place on a cooling rack. While they are cooling, prepare the glaze. You’ll need some granulated sugar, orange juice, vanilla and almond extracts, and butter flavoring.
Whisk together the glaze ingredients.
When the loaves are cool, place them on a tray or baking sheet and drizzle the glaze evenly over the loaves. Allow to cool completely; the sugar in the glaze will form a delicious crust on the bread.
If possible, try not to package these in cellophane until ready to deliver because after awhile, the moisture will condense in the bag and the glorious sugary crust on the bread will liquify and soak into the bread. Which, don’t get me wrong, tastes great, but the slightly-crispy texture on top of the soft bread may just be the best part.
PrintAlmond Poppy Seed Bread
Ingredients
bread
3 cups all-purpose flour, lightly spooned into measuring cups and leveled with a knife
2 1/2 cups white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons table salt
1 cup + 2 tablespoons canola oil
3 eggs
1 1/2 cup milk or buttermilk
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoon butter flavoring (look for it near the vanilla and almond extracts)
1 1/2 teaspoon almond flavoring
glaze
3/4 cup white granulated sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon butter flavoring
1/2 teaspoon almond flavoring
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease 2 standard-size bread pans or 5 mini bread pans. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, sift together flour, salt, and baking powder. In a large mixing bowl, combine eggs, oil, sugar, and extracts/flavorings and beat for 2 minutes.
Alternate adding in flour mixture and milk and then mix until just combined. Add poppyseeds and mix until just combined.
Pour into prepared pans (5 mini pans or 2 standard bread pans) and bake (35-40 minutes for mini pans, 1 hour for large pans; keep an eye on them). When done, place on a cooling rack and allow to cool completely.
While cooling, prepare glaze by combining all glaze ingredients. Drizzle over loaves and allow to harden.
Notes
If possible, try not to package these in cellophane until ready to deliver because after awhile, the moisture will condense in the bag and the glorious sugary crust on the bread will liquify and soak into the bread. Which, don’t get me wrong, tastes great, but the slightly-crispy texture on top of the soft bread may just be the best part.
I whipped this up yesterday and was really pleased with the results. It perfectly recreates the grocery store almond poppy seed muffins I love. I didn’t add butter extract or the glaze, and it was still fantastic.
Two housekeeping items. I would have found it helpful for the ingredients to be listed in the order used. And I am not sure what size a “standard” bread pan is – when I Google it, two sizes come up. It would be helpful if you stated whether you recommend a 9×5 or 8.5×4.5 pan for clarity (I used the latter as it’s what I have). Thanks for sharing this – it’s going into the recipe book.
Thank you for the wonderful feedback, Ingrid! I will make those adjustments.
this is the exact recipe i’ve used for 15 years! so good!
I don’t think I have ever seen butter flavoring; is this like vanilla flavoring?
Yep! It’s just near the extracts in the grocery store.
Looks yummy. Could I use coconut oil instead of canola oil?
I’ve never tried it, but I imagine it would be just fine!
I made these yummy little cakes years ago and always had complements. My husband was asking for them and I realized I had lost my recipe. Thank you so much for posting it-I will be making them today!
A great place to get Butter extract is Olive Nation, but be warned, their site is like a candy store for bakers. So many REAL extracts in flavors you thought you’d never see. I found it looking for Butter Extract for this very recipe last fall. Their prices are very reasonable, shipping is quick and Customer Service is AH-mazing.
Oh and I upped the poppy seeds to 2 Tbsp. It’s my most popular holiday gift.
For some reason my bread is always super dark on the sides, but perfect on the top. Any suggestions? It still tastes great, but I wish it looked a little better.
Thanks
This sweet bread is soooooo good! I have made this recipe many, many times and everyone just loves it. I always double it and it freezes great with the glaze on it too!Thank you for a awesome recipe, it is super easy, moist and very tasty, and freezes great!
I’m a novice here, but this is really enticing me. What if I want to make one loaf; how would i split 3 eggs and 1-1/2 c and tsp of ingredients. Many of your recipes yield more than i need! Thanks, in advance, for the help
I agree. . the slightly-crispy texture on top IS the best part. . YUM!!
Made this tonight. Everyone loved it! Seriously, both loaves were gone in less than 20 minutes. Thanks for sharing.
This bread is amazing! Everyone I have given it too has raved about it as well. Thanks for sharing such a delicious recipe.
What are your thoughts on using buttermilk instead of milk?
Never tried it, but my thoughts are good to very good. 🙂
This is my absolute favorite recipe on your whole page.
Thanks for this amazing recipe! I made mini loaves for all our friends and neighbors for Christmas this year and they were a hit! I learned after a few batches to go really easy on the non-stick spray to keep them from getting all crazy on top when they bake. I got tons of compliments and had to make an extra batch because we couldn’t stop eating them too!
I just made this bread (let’s get honest…this is cake). I brought it over to my parents house to share and my little bro. tried a piece and told me that all he wanted for Christmas from me is more of this cake. lol – it really is just that good!
AMAZING!!!
Hi, I bought some ceramic mini loaf pans which are decorated for Christmas … going to give them as teacher’s gifts, etc. Do you think after I bake these that I can leave them in the ceramic pans that they are baked in, or do they need to be turned out to cool properly? Thanks!
Hey, I don’t know if you care or not, but I learned a trick on how to get the sides of quick breads to bake down instead of curling up. So I spray my pans with cooking spray, then flour them. I knock out the extra flour and then with a paper towel I wipe out the top half of the flour/grease. So basically just the bottom and an inch or so up the sides of the pan are greased and floured. It works really well, but takes a littel bit of extra time. If I don’t have time I don’t worry about it, but I like doing it if I’m giving them away. I love this recipe. Mine is a bit different, but very close to this one. I just made it this week and for the first time I was disappointed in it (besides the time I use part applesauce instead of oil–FYI that does not work with this bread :). It was much dryer than usual. I’m pretty sure it’s because I cut the oil down a little bit. I swear I’ve done that before and it still turned out perfectly moist, but it didn’t work so well this time. Lesson learned!
Mandy, canola oil is a lighter oil than vegetable oil and a healthier fat. You can use vegetable oil instead, but I suggest switching to canola oil in all your cooking and baking when you finish your bottle of vegetable oil. Canola oil is healthier and I think it tastes better because it isn’t as heavy.
Love this recipe and have made it for years…however I inject some of the glaze right into the bread as well….so yummy!
Question for you smart ladies, can I use vegetable oil in place of canola oil? I never have canola oil…. what in the world is the difference, does it bake or taste different? Thanks, can’t wait to make these!! Mmmmmmmmmm!!
This bread is amazing!! I made mini loaves along with pretzel turtles and homemade marshmallows for my husband to give to his professors/fellow grad students. We’ve gotten so many compliments! Oh, and for what it’s worth, this recipe made 6 mini loaves for me.
Great recipe. Came out perfect as if you bought it at the bakery. Love this website and it is so cool that you are willing to share what you have learned and created. Thanks
If I don’t have butter flavor, can I use something else?
Just leave it out Rebecca, no big deal!
I just made this early this morning but I made them into muffins for breakfast! They go perfect with your ham and egg cups! But what I just noticed is that the butter flavoring isn’t in the cookbook for this recipe. Is that right? Does it make a big difference in the flavor?