The Best Glazed Moist Lemon Bread Recipe

This pound-cake-like quick bread with fresh lemons has been baked for many years in my home and it’s one of my son’s most requested recipes! It is the perfect sweet treat for after a weeknight meal and an extraordinary dessert for guests or special occasions!
I love this recipe because it’s so simple yet elegant with its fresh lemon flavor. The moist, slightly dense crumb makes me think of pound cake, but with the tangy lemon flavor. It’s delicious with its sweet yet tart simple lemon glaze but can be dressed up with fresh berries and whipped cream, or just a simple blackberry compote.

Ingredients

For sure, you can use regular lemons rather than Meyer lemons for this easy lemon bread recipe. I’ve made this simple lemon bread for many years with regular lemons, and it’s equally yummy! Meyer lemons are just a tad less tart with that same lemony flavor. I happen to have a surplus of Meyer lemons from my indoor tree! Which was a gift from my son, perhaps a hint to make him some more loaves of his favorite loaf of lemon bread. 

The combination of lemon zest and fresh lemon juice is what will make this the best lemon loaf. I prefer to avoid lemon extract and lemon syrup because they tend to have an artificial flavor. Lemon lovers will have enough lemon in this loaf, especially with the delicious lemon glaze that coats the top of our bread. 

You may notice that this recipe uses butter instead of vegetable oil or olive oil. This not only packs our bread with flavor but also adds to the texture. Instead of being soft and cakey, we end up with a more moist and pound cake-like bread. We also make sure we use softened butter so that we can use a spoon to mix our go-to lemon loaf recipe instead of bringing out the mixer. 

How to Dress up this Classic Lemon Loaf

When you’re having guests or it’s a special occasion, you might want to dress up this simple glazed lemon bread (not that it’s necessary since it’s so elegant on its own). You can simply top it with fresh blackberries or blueberries and add a dollop of fresh whipped cream, all pair perfectly with the fresh lemon flavor.

Another way to garnish this lemon bread is to top it with a spoonful of good berry jam or preserves that complement the lemon flavour. If you want to get fancy you can place a lavender bloom on top of the bread, just before you drizzle on the lemon glaze. The bloom gets “sealed” under the sweet lemon glaze and it’s just lovely. Or you can simply garnish the loaf with a lavender bloom or a rosemary branch. You can also make this recipe into mini loaves for a wedding shower or as a party favor.

Mixing the Batter

When creaming the butter and sugar, start with room-temperature butter and use a spoon rather than a mixer. I’ve done it both ways and I’ve learned that incorporating too much air into the batter, as a mixer can do, takes away from the pound-cake-like crumb. When you add the flour mixture to the batter, stirring with a spoon or Dutch whisk rather than a mixer, will prevent overmixing this quick bread. Overmixing quick breads can cause the bread to be less tender and less moist. A Dutch whisk, also known as a pastry whisk, is designed to efficiently mix dry ingredients and wet ingredients quickly to prevent the need for overmixing batter.

Tools

You’ll notice in the pictures I use a scale to measure my ingredients. I can’t emphasize enough how much simpler baking became when I started scaling my ingredients. That’s why it is listed in our article on the Tools Every Baker Needs. It saves time as well as dirty dishes and measuring cups. It also ensures that each of your loaves is equal, this is especially handy if you are making mini loaves. Once you make the change, you’ll wonder why you didn’t do it earlier!

You will need a citrus zester for zesting the lemons. Lemon zest is one of those ingredients that can add that bright lemon flavor. I try to avoid using lemon extract in my lemon desserts, so my go-to combo is lemon juice and zest to bring out the right amount of lemon. 

For bread pans, I use a 4×8 pan for this recipe. If you have a larger one, you can use it, but the loaf will just be shorter, and will take less time to bake. You also can use this pan to make several mini loaves at once. If you are on the hunt for high quality, forever pans I would check out Quick bread can be tricky to determine when it is perfectly baked. My best piece of advice would be to invest in a Thermapen. Although instant-read thermometers are usually thought of for meats, they can truly change the baking game. They take all the guesswork out of knowing it your baked good is done. Say goodbye to the toothpick method.

How to Make Multiple Loaves

Multiplying this recipe is very straightforward. I tripled this recipe so I could freeze two loaves for the holidays. I used a large bowl but otherwise did everything the same as for one recipe. To keep my loaves the same size, I scaled my batter into each pan, approximately 25 oz each. Getting three loaves for my effort just seems like a no-brainer!

How to Make Ahead and Freeze

If you decide to make multiple loaves and want to freeze them ahead, just allow them to cool completely and wrap them in foil. Happily, this bread will last for up to 3 months in the freezer! When you’re ready to eat them, just allow them to defrost at room temperature for about 3 hours. To make it feel extra fresh out of the freezer, you can also whip us some extra lemon glaze and reglaze once it reaches room temperature. 

The Best Glazed Moist Lemon Bread Recipe

This pound-cake-like quick bread with fresh lemons has been baked for many years in my home and it’s one of my son’s most requested recipes! It is the perfect sweet treat for after a weeknight meal as well as a very special dessert for guests or special occasions!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Servings 8 slices

Calories 150 kcal

Ingredients

  

Lemon Bread

• 1/2 cup butter 113 grams
• 1 cup sugar 200 grams
• 2 eggs
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 Tablespoon lemon zest
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 180 grams
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup milk 120 grams

Lemon Glaze

• 2 to 4 Tablespoons of lemon juice More for those of us who love more glaze
• 1 to 2 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a mixing bowl using a spoon, cream butter and sugar until all sugar is incorporated into the butter.
• Then beat in eggs, lemon juice and zest.
• In separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.
• Add dry ingredients to creamed ingredients alternately with milk, stirring just until combined. Do not overmix.
• Pour into buttered (or sprayed with baking spray) 8-inch x 4-inch bread pan.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Or an internal temperature of 200 degrees F.
• Make glaze by whisking powdered sugar into lemon juice until smooth. Remove bread from pan and drizzle with glaze.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.