Confession time. I, Maija Inveiss, baking queen, have used box mixes before.
Crazy, right? Who would have thought? Honestly, if you do not have the time to bake from scratch, it is totally acceptable to use box mixes.
Now that I’m older, I definitely prefer making everything from scratch, but we all have our limits.
When I was younger my “specialty” was box mix lemon poppyseed bread or muffins. I loved making them. I felt like the coolest 8-year-old around when my mom helped me pull these perfect little muffins out of the oven.
She would watch me mix everything (basically three additional ingredients), while repeating her famous catchphrase, “Remember Maija, baking is a science.”
Like many of the recipes for this column, this is the first time I’ve used this specific formula. And for this one in particular, it’s the first time I’ve ever made lemon poppyseed bread completely from scratch.
The Process
Start out by mixing together the classic combination: eggs, sugar and butter. Make sure the butter is fully melted.
Add in the milk and vanilla, making sure everything is fully mixed.
Slowly add in the flour, mixing as you pour. Stir in the salt, baking powder and baking soda.
Only when that is fully mixed, pour in the poppy seeds and lemon juice. If you have lemon zest definitely add it because it gives an additional lemon flavor.
Pour the batter in a greased bread pan. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes at 350 F.
While this is completely optional, I added a quick lemon glaze to my bread by mixing lemon juice, sugar, butter and water.
It adds additional lemon flavor and also a little more sugar. People who tried the bread said it wasn’t necessary, but I’ll leave that for you to decide.
It ended up even better than I could have imagined! If you end up having cracks on the surface, it means you added enough baking soda, so be sure to look out for that when taking your bread out of the oven.
