Glazed Lemon Bread

Glazed Lemon Bread is a soft, moist bread bursting with citrus lemon flavor and topped with a shell of sweet lemon glaze. This quick and easy homemade bread is great for sharing or savoring!!

If you love the bright flavor of lemon in a great breakfast bread try Lemon Almond Poppyseed Bread or Lemon Poppyseed Muffins.

Glazed Lemon Bread

As you know if you have been a reader for a while, I love lemon!  It adds such a vibrant flavor to any recipe I make.  This time of year I always seem to start gravitating toward fresh fruit inspired recipes even more!  So, when I was shopping at a local market and saw tons of fresh lemons, this recipe immediately started forming in my mind!  I wanted a mix of cake and bread with a fantastic sweet and sour glaze.  Man did I create a winner with this one!

This glazed lemon bread reminds me so much of a great pound cake because it is so dense and buttery with a thick glaze on top.  It has the perfect balance of tart and sweet flavors.  Whether I am baking for a shower, brunch, entertaining house guests, or just enjoying a quiet day at home, I can tell this bread will be my go-to.  It was so easy to make and the colors make for a beautiful presentation!  Be sure to try it too and let me know your thoughts!

What you’ll need to Make Glazed Lemon Bread:

These ingredients are mostly pantry staples that you will have on hand.  If you are an avid fan of lemon, I recommend keeping a lemon (or two) in your freezer to use for lemon recipes.  Lemon extract or store bought lemon juice just don’t have the same outcome as freshly squeezed lemon juice or grated zest.  To freeze whole lemons, place them in freezer bags (remove as much air as possible before sealing).  Then, to thaw, microwave for a few seconds or place in cold water for 10-15 minutes.

Bread: 

• All purpose flour: Gives the bread its consistency. Measure carefully so your loaf doesn’t turn out too dense.
• Baking Soda: This helps the bread rise as it is baking.
• Baking powder: A leavening agent in the bread.
• Salt: Just a pinch!
• Butter: Adds buttery smooth flavor and binds the bread together.
• Sugar: Sweetness!
• Eggs: Stability and Structure
• Vanilla: Brings out the other flavors and adds flavor too!
• Juice of one lemon: Freshly squeezed are best.
• Zest from one lemon: Adds an extra pop of lemon
• Sour Cream: Keeps the bread moist as it cooks.

Glaze:

• Powdered Sugar: Adds sweetness to the lemon glaze
• Lemon juice: Freshly squeezed gives the best lemon taste.
• Milk: To thin the glaze

How do you make glazed lemon bread from scratch?

You are only 7 steps away from making the most amazing glazed lemon bread from scratch! It was so tempting to by that box mix, and you resisted! I am so proud! Trust me you will be so proud of yourself too after you see how delicious this bread turns out!! The steps are so easy to follow.  You can do this!

1. Prep: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan and line with parchment paper.
2. Combine dry ingredients: In a medium sized bowl sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
3. Mix in butter and sugar: In a stand mixer add the butter and sugar and beat until creamy 1-2 minutes.
4. Add remaining ingredients: Put in the eggs, vanilla, lemon juice, zest, and sour cream and mix until combined. Add in the flour and mix until incorporated.
5. Bake: Spread the batter evenly into your loaf pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick inserted comes clean. Remove from oven and let cool.
6. Make the glaze: In a small bowl add the powdered sugar, lemon juice and milk. Add in the milk 1 tablespoon at a time until it reaches desired consistency.
7. Glaze the bread: Spread on top of cooled bread.

Tips for the Best Homemade Lemon Bread:

• Glaze in Stages: To get a great thick layer of glaze, glaze in 3 steps.  Section off your glaze into 3 parts.  Use the first 1/3 of your glaze to cover the loaf when it is first cooled.  Then let the glaze to set (about 10-20 minutes at room temperature or less if refrigerated). Next, add the second 1/3 of your glaze.  Allow to set again.  Finally, add the final 1/3 of your glaze to the bread and let cool completely.
• Cooling Time: Let cool in the pan for 20 minutes.  Then, remove from the pan and allow the loaf to cool completely on a wire rack.  The bread needs to be cool completely before you begin glazing.
• Room temperature ingredients: Take your eggs, butter, and sour cream out of the refrigerator 20 minutes before you begin making this recipe.  The eggs will help the bread to rise better when they are at room temperature.  If you are in a rush, put your eggs in a bowl of warm water (not hot) for a few minutes before using.
• Skip the Microwave: Instead, soften butter by leaving it out at room temperature for an hour or place between two pieces of wax paper and rolling with a rolling pin.
• Mixing: Do not over-mix your batter or your bread will be too dense.
• Ingredient options: Use greek yogurt instead of sour cream for a little more protein.

Storing your Glazed Lemon Bread:

Before you store your bread, be sure to let it cool completely.  Then, place your lemon bread in an airtight container.

• Room temperature: Leave out on your counter for a max of 2-3 days.
• Refrigerator: After 2-3 days at room temperature, you will need to move your bread to the refrigerator, but beware, the refrigerator may cause bread to dry out.
• Freeze for up to 6 months and serve later. Freeze it as a loaf or in slices.  I prefer to freeze in slices so that I can thaw just one piece when I want it.  Even if I do want to thaw the entire loaf, it will thaw faster if it was sliced before freezing.
• Thaw at room temperature in the container. The glazed lemon bread will take 20-30 minutes to thaw if in slices.

Lemon Extract or Lemon Zest?

Lemon extract can be used in place of the lemon zest not lemon juice.  This is because of the strong aroma of the lemon extract.  One teaspoon of extract is equal to two teaspoons of lemon zest.  However, I highly recommend using the real lemon zest instead as it has great vitamins and fresh flavor with no chemical taste.

More Lemon Infused Desserts:

• Lemon Tart with a Buttery Shortbread Crust
• Easy Lemon Bundt Cake
• Lemon Curd
• Perfect Lemon Bars
• Lemon Cheesecake Bars