Blueberry-Poppy Seed Bread

Another yummy bread option!  The bonus of this recipe is that the recipe makes 2 loaves (or 4 mini loaves); great for the freezer or gifts!  (My tweaks will be in italics)

- 1 1/3 cups vegetable oil
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (I use white-wheat flour)
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 2 1/2 cups sugar (I only use about 1 3/4 cups)
- pinch of salt
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/2 tbsp poppy seeds
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 tsp almond extract  (I didn't have this, so I used some orange zest and a splash of the orange's juice.)
- 1 cup blueberries

Preheat the oven to 350.  Grease 4 mini loaf pans or 2 regular size loaf pans.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a large bowl.  Beat the milk, vegetable oil, eggs, poppy seeds, and vanilla and almond extracts (or vanilla extract and orange zest/juice) at medium speed until combined.  Gradually beat in the flour mixture until well combined.  Fold the blueberries into the batter with a rubber spatula.

Divide the batter among the prepared pans and bake until golden on top and a toothpick inserted comes out clean, 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes.

When hosting, to make it look a little fancier, I made a simple icing to drizzle over the bread.  About 1-2 tbsp milk, a little orange zest, about 1 cup confectioner's sugar.  If runny add sugar, if thick add milk.  It's a really moist bread, so this is an added bonus and not required.


Thank you Food Network Magazine for another winner (May 2012, pg. 156)