Name: Lemon Quick Bread
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 130 min
Ingredients: 2 cups all-purpose flour; 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder; ½ teaspoon kosher salt; ¾ cup buttermilk; ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice; 1 tablespoon lemon zest; ½ cup unsalted butter (softened); 1 cup granulated sugar; 2 large eggs; 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract; 1 cup powdered sugar; 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

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A simple lemon quick bread recipe using pantry staples to create a sweet and tangy dessert bread with a decadent lemon glaze!

For today’s post, we’re sharing our lemon quick bread recipe. Nothing says dessert like a sweet bread topped with a sugary glaze.

Obviously, we can’t get enough bread. If you take a peek at our blog, you’ll find that we have a number of different easy dessert bread recipes.

From our best banana bread recipe to seasonal favorites like our easy pumpkin bread and apple cinnamon bread, we’ve got something you’ll love.

In fact, Kim even has breakfast covered with a simple strawberry bread.

The sliced lemon quick bread drizzled with glaze.

However, that sweet bread recipe is bit more complex than the other ones I mentioned.

So, instead we’re going to focus on quick and easy dessert breads. Like this quick lemon bread topped with a lemon glaze.

While the detailed instructions seem long, it’s only because we provided process photos to show every little step.

Trust me, once you get started you’ll see how easy lemon bread can be. Shall we get started?

Front facing view of the baked lemon bread without glaze.

How to make lemon bread?

First, take your butter out the fridge and let it soften. Once it’s soft, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Also, go ahead and grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan with extra butter or non-stick cooking spray. You can use shortening if you prefer.

Flour, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl.

Next, grab a large mixing bowl and combine 2-cups of flour, 1 1/2-tsp. baking powder, and 1/2-tsp salt.

I recommend using a whisk or fork to mix everything. Set the bowl aside for now.

Buttermilk, lemon juice, and zest in a measuring cup.

Afterward, grab a large measuring cup or small mixing bowl and combine 3/4-cup buttermilk, 1/4-cup lemon juice, and 1-tbsp lemon zest.

Again, use your whisk or fork to quickly mix the ingredients. Set the measuring cup or bowl aside.

Butter and sugar in a separate large mixing bowl.

Now, in another mixing bowl, combine 1-cup sugar with 1/2-cup (1 stick) softened butter. For this step, you’ll want to use a hand or stand mixer (with paddle attachment).

Because, you need to mix the ingredients until the butter and sugar are light and fluffy.

Start on slow speed, then as mixture comes together, up the speed to medium.

Continue mixing until your ingredients have properly combined. This is called creaming the butter and sugar.

Cracked eggs added to the butter sugar mixture.

Then, add 2 large cracked eggs and 2-tsp. vanilla extract to butter and sugar mixture.

Combine the ingredients until the eggs and vanilla are fully incorporated. At this point, it’s time to create the lemon bread batter.

Pour the buttermilk mixture into the bowl with flour mixture. Afterward, add the butter sugar mixture to the flour and buttermilk mixtures.

The three mixtures have been combined to create a smooth batter.

Basically, combine all three mixtures together in 1 bowl. Use your hand mixer on slow speed to combine all the ingredients into a batter.

Your lemon quick bread batter should similar to the batter in the photo above.

The lemon bread batter transferred to a loaf pan.

Now, when everything is mixed, transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan.

Baking the lemon bread:

Last, place the quick bread into the preheated oven to bake for 50-60 minutes or until it’s done.

To know when the bread is cooked, push a toothpick into the center of the loaf. If it comes out clean, then lemon bread is done.

Place the pan on a cooling rack for about an hour before removing the loaf from the pan. It’s time to make the lemon glaze recipe.

An aerial view of the baked quick bread.

How to make lemon glaze?

First, grab a small mixing bowl and add 1-cup powdered sugar to the bowl.

Next, add 2-tbsp lemon juice to the powdered sugar. Using a whisk or fork, mix the ingredients to form a glaze.

The lemon glaze might need a little extra liquid to reach the right consistency. Feel free to add more lemon juice or milk.

Powdered sugar combined with lemon juice to make the glaze.

With that being said, I would only add a teaspoon of liquid at a time. Otherwise, you could add too much liquid and create a mess instead of a delicious glaze.

Lemon glaze being drizzled over the bread.

Last, drizzle the glaze over the lemon quick bread and slice it into 10 equal sized pieces.

That’s it, your easy lemon bread recipe is done! Kim and I hope you enjoy the dessert and wish you all the best 🙂

The finished lemon quick bread with the glaze applied.

Recipe Tips:

If you don’t have buttermilk, you can always substitute milk mixed with lemon juice or milk mixed with vinegar. For our recipe, place 1-teaspoon of lemon juice (or vinegar) into a measuring cup. Then add milk until it measures 3/4-cup. Let it set for 2-3 minutes to create a homemade buttermilk substitute.
You can use water and ground flax as an egg substitute for this recipe. Simply combine 1-tablespoon of ground flax seed with 3-tablespoons of water for each egg needed. Let the mixture sit for a few minutes before using. It should congeal and create a thick liquid.
Don’t have fresh lemons handy? That’s okay, you can use refrigerated lemon concentrate in place of fresh lemon juice. Use the amounts in parenthesis on the recipe card. For the lemon zest, leave it out or add an extra teaspoon of lemon concentrate.