Best Lemon Bread Recipe

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The best lemon bread recipe that’s easy to make using fresh lemon juice and lemon zest. Plus a big baking fail. 

I know I’ve said this before but I’m so not a sweets kind of girl. Savory is my jam but once in a while I find something sweet that makes my tastebuds happy. This lemon loaf is just that.

There must be something with certain loaf recipes because my easy banana bread turns my head just like a bag of salt and vinegar chips. 

Anyway, this recipe, just like my banana bread, is so easy to put together and has become a huge hit in our house.

A big baking fail!!!

Full disclosure before we get into the recipe. The first time I made it I forgot to add baking soda.

Hey, sometimes baking accidents happen!

The lemon bread came out looking good and tasting good but was very dense. I knew right away what my mistake was and set out to make a new loaf, much to Roger’s delight.

You want to start by sifting your dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Add your lemon zest.

Once that’s done you need to cream the butter and sugar. I used my stand mixer for this but you can definitely use a hand mixer.

A couple of quick notes when mixing this recipe…

• You will get a better result if you take your eggs and milk out of the refrigerator 30-60 minutes before you start to make your recipe. Also, the butter should be room temperature for easy mixing.
• Make sure you scrape the sides of the bowl a few times while you are mixing.
• When you add the fresh squeezed lemon juice to the batter it will curdle. This is a good thing with this recipe. You actually want to see it curdle. 

After you’re done mixing all of your ingredients together, pour your batter in a greased and floured loaf pan.

Trust me. Spending those few extra minutes to grease and flour your pan will be worth it when you try to take it out.

I’m happy to report that my second try with this recipe was a success!

Perfectly golden brown with a touch of sweetness and the right amount of fresh lemon tang. If you love lemon like I do you’ll love this recipe.

To drizzle or not to drizzle…your lemon bread

I know that a lot of people like to drizzle their lemon loaf with a fresh lemon glaze. I made some for the first lemon loaf but left it off of the second one. It’s easy enough to do but I didn’t want the extra sweetness.

Roger liked it just fine without as well, and he has a major sweet tooth. 

Two lemon breads in one week…

I’ll be taking a few extra walks around the neighborhood after this lemon bread experiment.

Looking for more easy loaf recipes? Check out my yummy Banana Bread with chocolate chips. So easy!

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Yield: 1 lemon loaf

Best Lemon Loaf Recipe

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The best lemon loaf recipe using fresh lemon juice and lemon zest. An easy recipe to put together that is moist and tangy and not too sweet.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 55 seconds

Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes 55 seconds

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 tbsp. lemon zest (from 2 large lemons)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup softened butter 
• 3 eggs (room temperature)
• 1/2 cup milk (room temperature)
• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

Lemon Glaze (optional)

• 1/2 cup lemon juice (from 2 large lemons)
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Grease and flour a 9x5 loaf pan
3. In large bowl sift dry ingredients, flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda
4. Whisk in lemon zest with dry ingredients
5. Set aside
6. With a handheld mixer or standing mixer, cream softened butter and sugar
7. Add eggs, 1 at a time
8. Make sure you scrape sides of mixing bowl
9. Mix well
10. Add in fresh-squeezed lemon juice and mix well. Batter will curdle (which is what you want)
11. Gradually add dry mixture alternately with the milk to batter
12. Pour batter in greased and floured loaf pan
13. Bake in preheated oven for 55-60 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean
14. Let cool for 10-15 minutes. Remove from loaf pan and allow to cool completely on wire rack
15. Make a lemon glaze (optional)
16. Mix 1/2 cup powdered sugar and fresh lemon juice
17. Drizzle over bread
18. Enjoy!

Notes

* take the milk, eggs and butter out of refrigerator 30-60 minutes before you begin

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

12

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 234Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 68mgSodium: 231mgCarbohydrates: 35gFiber: 1gSugar: 22gProtein: 4g

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