Almond Poppyseed Bread was one of my first recipes my husband fell in love with when we had first married almost eight years ago. He would ask me to make it to take it to work to share it with everyone. He was always bragging about ‘what a great cook I was,’ and although sweet and encouraging, it was very intimidating. I had never really shared any of my recipes before, and I felt such a novice that I doubted anyone would take a ‘young newlywed’ seriously in the kitchen.
This recipe was one of those that my husband was always telling people about. ‘Oh, you’ve got to try her Almond Poppyseed Bread!’ he would say to them. It was great to have such a supportive husband, but I guess I felt it came with the territory. One election season, he worked at the poles and somehow ended up taking a loaf of this bread with him to share. Later in the day, when I came to vote, he insisted that I meet one of the older ladies he had been working with that day. She proceeded to tell me how delicious my bread was that she was a ‘Recipe Judge at the local fair’ {insert your oh and ah here} and just loved my bread and was sure it was a winner!
I was flattered. Someone besides my husband (and my mom) liked my cooking! Honestly saying, this boosted my cooking confidence. I don’t even know if she was an ‘all impressive’ recipe judge at the local fair, but her words stuck! From this time on, I began cooking for my husband and our bachelor friend all types of recipes, and both were so encouraging. We soon started inviting families of the youth group we were leading over for dinner, and it just continued from there. Today one of our favorite things to do is have friends and family over for dinner. We recently got a large farm table for our dining room, and I couldn’t be happier that finally, we can have multiple families over for dinner and ALL sit together. {My heart is content!}
This Almond Poppyseed recipe is unique from others I have seen in that it has a sweet almond-orange glaze you pour over the bread and let harden as soon as the bread comes out of the oven. The ice creates the most beautiful crunchy shell around what has to be one of the moistest slices of bread I’ve ever made! If your lucky, the glaze will even sometimes seeps down into the bread! This recipe is a keeper, and so is my encouraging husband!
Almond Poppyseed Bread
Ingredients
- 3 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 1/2 tsp. Salt
- 1 1/2 cup Milk
- 2 1/4 cups Sugar
- 1 1/2 TBSP Poppyseeds
- 3 Eggs
- 1 1/8 cup Canola Oil
- 1 1/2 tsp. Vanilla
- 1 tsp. I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Margarine
- 1 1/2 tsp. Almond Extract
- 1 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
- Glaze Ingredients:
- 1 tsp. I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Margarine
- 1 tsp. Vanilla
- 1 cup Sugar
- 1 tsp. Almond Extract
- 1/3 cup Orange Juice
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients.
- Mix by hand, just until moistened. Be careful not to overbeat!
- Pour into two greased-floured loaf pans. Fill 3/4 full.
- Roast in pre-heated to 350 °F ovens. For one hour.
