Pull Apart Lemon Poppy Seed Bread

Name: Pull Apart Lemon Poppy Seed Bread
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 4 h 20 min
Yield: 12
Cuisine: Bread
Ingredients: 1/4 cup warm water; 1 1/4 oz envelope active dry yeast; 1 teaspoon granulated sugar; 1 cup butter, softened and divided; 1/2 cup sugar; 1 teaspoon salt; 2 eggs lightly beaten; 1 cup milk; 1 tablespoon lemon juice; 4 1/2 cups bread flour; 2 tablespoon poppy seeds; Filling; 1 cup sugar; 5 Meyer lemons, zested; 2/3 cup powdered sugar; 1/4 cup butter, melted; 2 tablespoons honey; 1 egg white; Drizzle; 2 cups powdered sugar; 2 tablespoon milk; 5 Meyer lemons juiced or 2/3 cup

February 1, 2018 by Tanya Schroeder · 36 Comments · Last updated: September 20, 2021

Bread

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The Lemon Poppy Seed Bread is soft and tender and covered in a sweet vanilla drizzle. This bread makes a great addition to any breakfast or brunch and it is just as good as a midday snack!

What Is Lemon Poppy Seed Bread?

This lemon poppy seed bread is a yeast-based bread that is infused with lemons and has a sprinkling of poppy seeds! This bread has a fresh taste and soft, tender texture that is absolutely delightful! And just like this Caramel Apple Pull-Apart Bread Recipe, this lemon poppy seed bread is made with yeast and shaped like an accordion before baking. It is a fun spin on the popular loaf bread!

WHERE IS THE LEMON POPPY SEED BREAD RECIPE?

If you’d rather skip cooking tips, suggestions, handy substitutions, related recipe ideas – and get straight to the Lemon Poppy Seed Bread Recipe– simply scroll to the bottom of the page where you can find the printable recipe card.

How To Make Lemon Poppy Seed Bread

This recipe starts with a packet of active dry yeast, warm water, and sugar. Allow this to bloom (the mixture will foam and combine) while the rest of the ingredients (except the flour) are combined in a mixing bowl. When all the ingredients are creamy and smooth, the yeast is mixed in. The flour is added last. You will want to add the flour in slowly to make sure it all gets incorporated. You will want the batter to be smooth before you turn it onto a floured surface. At this point, I like to knead the dough for about 5 minutes before I place it in a greased and covered bowl. Allow the dough to rest in a draft-free space for 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours. Before moving on, you want the dough to double in size.

When the dough has doubled, punch it down and place it once again on a floured surface. You can either divide the dough for two small loaves or roll it out to one larger square and make one loaf as I have done here.

The dough will be rolled out to a 20 x 12 rectangle. Cover the dough with softened butter and sprinkle with lemon sugar then cut the dough into 5 strips. Stack the strips then cut the stack into 6 equal parts. Arrange the individual stacks accordion style in a greased loaf pan. A simple lemon syrup will be drizzled over the loaf before it is covered and left to rise for another hour.

Once the dough has risen, bake the loaf for 30-35 minutes for small loaves for 40-45 minutes for a larger loaf. The bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Allow the bread to rest completely before adding the glaze.

Tips and Tricks For Lemon Poppy Seed Bread

Make sure you are using fresh yeast. Yeast does have an expiration date and will not bloom correctly if it has been sitting for too long.
To create a draft-free space for my dough to rise, I like to heat a microwave for 2-3 minutes. Wait 30 seconds and then place your covered bowl or loaf pan in the microwave until the dough is ready.
If you are making one loaf pan, watch the dough as it rises in the loaf pan, if it rises too much, the bake time will be affected and your dough will spill over.
If the edges of your bread begin to brown too quickly place a loose piece of foil over your bread as it continues to bake.
I used Meyer lemons for this recipe for their sweetness, but any lemon (or citrus for that matter) will work.

Some more of my favorite recipes with poppy seeds are: Orange Poppy Seed Almond Flour Cake, Blueberry Muffins With Poppy Seeds, Lemon Poppy Seed Baked Donuts, Orange Bundt cake, Sugar Cookies with Lemon and Poppy Seeds and Lemon Poppy Seed Cake!!

Yield: 12