Lemon Poppy Seed Quick Bread

and enjoy a slice of Lemon Poppy Seed Buttermilk Quick Bread

Cook's Notes:Cake flour is an easy switch that results in a more tender bread. Cake flour is a lower protein flour, which means it forms less gluten than regular flour in baked recipes. When I have it in the pantry I tend to use it a lot, because I prefer a delicate tender crumb in my baked goods. Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit. 
Cook's Tip: Fresh out? Here’s how to make your own cake flour
To make a cup of cake flour, measure out a cup of all purpose flour, then remove 2 tablespoons. Add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, and sift to combine. Now you can use it just like you would use regular flour. If you’d like to make it in bulk, remove and replace 1/2 cup flour with cornstarch for every 4 cups of flour.

Ingredients: 

• Zest of 1 large lemon
• Lemon peel
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 sticks butter at room temperature
• 3 large eggs at room temperature
• 1- 3/4 cups cake flour 
• 1-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/2 cup buttermilk

Glaze

• 1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
• Grated lemon zest from one lemon
• Lemon juice to thin. start with 1 tablespoon and add more as necessary

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly spray a 9x5 loaf pan.
• Zest lemon first and then remove the peel from the lemon with a vegetable peeler. A serrated peeler works best for this. You want to remove just the yellow part of the peel, with little of the bitter white part.
• Put the sugar and lemon peelings in a food processor and process until the peels are completely incorporated into the sugar.
• Add the lemon sugar and butter into a stand mixer and cream until light and fluffy ~ a full 4 minutes.
• Beat in each of the eggs, one by one, making sure each egg is fully incorporated before adding the next one. Add in extract and continue beating for another 2-3 minutes.
• Whisk together the flour, baking powder, zest, poppy seeds and salt. Add to the mixer, alternately with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Finish mixing by hand, to make sure everything is thoroughly mixed, but don't over beat.
• Turn the batter into the prepared pan, spread out evenly, and bake on the center rack for 50-55 minutes, or until fully risen and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out without wet batter clinging to it (moist crumbs are fine.)
• Let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert to a cooling rack. 

Glaze 

• Meanwhile whisk together the sugar and enough lemon juice to make a thick glaze. Stir in lemon zest. 
• Spread the glaze over the cooled bread.
  

1849 Henry "Box" Brown mailed himself to freedom from Richmond, Virginia to the Anti Slavery Office in Philadelphia. The delivery took 26 hrs and he later became a public speaker and abolitionist. #BlackHistoryMonth To learn more about Henry Brown go to 

https://www.pbs.org/black-culture/shows/list/underground-railroad/stories-freedom/henry-box-brown/