Orange Glazed Poppy Seed Bread is a simple quick bread recipe that is perfect for breakfast or a light dessert. This sweet bread is easy to make and has the best homemade orange glaze on top!
If you enjoy this poppy seed bread you should also try my Apple Bread recipe and my Peach Bread!
This Is One Of My Favorite Quick Bread Recipes
I’ve been enjoying this moist and flavorful Orange Glazed Poppy Seed Bread for a couple years now, thanks to my friend, Jen. She served it for a coffee and girlfriends chat session one morning, and it charmed every single one of us. Its comforting simplicity, topped off with a thin-crusted sweet glaze, has made this quick bread a favorite of mine.
I just recently learned, however, that this recipe should be referred to as:
“Jen’s and Mary’s Orange Glazed Poppy Seed Bread”
It turns out Jen got the recipe from Mary, a woman I got to know many years ago through our church’s MOPS program. Mary is one of those women who inspires you – in a very youthful and joyful way – to be a better mom, wife, and friend. She was a mentor to my group, and I have been so blessed by her.
If you make this bread once, I know you’ll make it again and again. And you’ll have Jen and Mary to thank for that!
Orange Glazed Poppy Seed Bread
Ingredients
Bread
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2½ cups granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1½ tablespoons poppy seeds
- 3 tablespoons loosely packed, finely-zested orange zest (use a microplane zester)
- 1½ cups whole milk
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs, slightly beaten
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons pure almond extract
Glaze
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon pure almond extract
- 2 teaspoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
Instructions
Bread
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two light-colored metal 8½″ x 4½″ loaf pans with parchment paper slings; set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and poppy seeds. Stir on low, just until combined. Sprinkle orange zest over the top and stir on low, just until evenly incorporated.
- In a separate medium bowl, combine the rest of the read ingredients – the milk, oil, eggs, vanilla extract, and almond extract.
- With mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. Beat until incorporated, then raise the mixer speed to medium and beat for 30 seconds more.
- Divide batter evenly between the two prepared loaf pans and bake for 65-70 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Transfer loaf pans to a cooling rack. The bread should crack open lengthwise across the top near the end of baking; this is a good thing – it allows the glaze to soak into the bread more.
Glaze
- While bread is baking, add all glaze ingredients to a small bowl and whisk until incorporated.
- After removing loaf pans from the oven, immediately give the glaze a stir to incorporate, then brush it over the warm bread tops. It will seem like a lot of glaze, but it will soak in and make the bread ultra moist and flavorful, with a bit of a sugary crust once it cools. Cool the loaves about 20 minutes, then use the parchment slings to pull the bread up and out of the pans. Let bread cool completely before slicing.
Notes
Nutrition Information:
This is a recipe my mom and I have been making since I was a little girl. I was googling hoping to find out recipe, as mine is packed in a box somewhere and I was a little fuzzy on a few details. So happy to find it! ❤️
I love to hear this. Enjoy!!
Instead of sugar could you use confection sugar
Have you tried freezing? If so, how did you do it and how did you defrost?
I just randomly stumbled across this recipe via Pinterest/linked to another website/linked to another. I absolutely LOVE poppy seed muffins and was really excited to try this recipe when I stumbled across it. The poppy seeds were a challenge to find but once I found them and made the recipe it was amazing!!! Thank you so much from me, my taste buds, and everyone at work!
-Sending kudos from Missouri
Ashley
One of my school students made me an ‘orane-glazed, poppy seed bread’…
it was out of this world and I’m hoping that this is the recipe… It was the best stuff and we all loved it. Thanks for posting this and I can’t wait to try it on my own.
It’s one of my family’s favorites – so good! Hope you like it!
WOW!!! Great flavor–I was worried at first because my batter was so liquid-y. but they turned out wonderful!!!!! I made 1 loaf and a dozen muffins also made homemade strawberry jam to go with them…delish!!! Thanks for the great post!!!
Thank you so much for your comment – I love to hear when someone makes a recipe I post! Strawberry jam sounds lovely with that bread!
This bread looks fabulous, Brenda. That orange glaze has to be just perfect on it.
Thanks, Robyn!
I love tea breads and this one sounds fabulous. I love the orange glaze!
quick breads are my favorite, and that one looks amazing:)
What great pictures. That bread looks fantastic.
I made the almost exact same bread a few weeks ago for a friend who had a baby. We both devoured our loaves. I added some orange peel zest to the bread batter but other wise the exact same. Thanks for reminding me how much I love it!
Thanks Leah – orange zest would be wonderful in the batter!
That looks so gorgeous and a perfect texture too!
Thank you, Maria!
Saw this on Sweet Tooth Friday – it looks delicious. I love the orange poppyseed combination so will definitely have to try this. Thanks for posting the recipe!
Hi! Nice to hear from you – thanks for popping over from Allison’s site!
Jen and Mary and you have all out-done yourselves. This is the moistest looking dessert bread I’ve seen in awhile. Love the idea of the glaze too. Have a wonderful Mother’s Day Weekend with your beautiful family Brenda.
And a very happy Mother’s Day to you, Paula!
I absolutely love quick breads (so easy!) and I love the flavors you used in this one. It looks delicious! Thank you for sharing and inspiring me with something new! Have a great weekend.
So nice to hear from you again, Georgia – thanks!
This bread was a real treat last weekend while we were at your home. So moist and tasty!
Thanks, Mom – I knew you’d like it!
Looks so moist and wonderful! I love a good poppy seed bread.
Thanks, Sylvie!