Lemon & Poppyseed Pull Apart Bread

 

I have  a really wonderful recipe to share with you today. Lemon & Poppyseed Pull Apart Bread!  Its amazing and I think you are going to love it!  In fact, if you like lemon, I KNOW you are going to love it!

I recently got a baking book entitled, 100 Morning Treats, by Sarah Kieffer.  Its a great book filled with loads of recipes for morning bakes.  Muffins, breads, etc.  

There was a recipe in it for a Blood Orange Poppy-Seed Pull Apart Bread.  It was made from a specific yeasted dough.  It sounded really good, but I wanted something fairly quick, and I have never seen a Blood Orange around here,  so I decided to adapt it to my own wants and needs!

 

First I decided to use a quick bread/tea biscuit dough for the basis of the bread, rather than a yeast dough. I thought it would speed up the process of making and baking the bread quite a bit.

I also decided to substitute lemon for the orange in the recipe, in both the filling and the glaze.  I always have lemons in the house and lemon and poppyseeds are perfect partners!

It ended up being really easy to make and oh so delicious. The edges of the bread got nicely caramelized from the lemon sugar.  Each layer of pull apart is likewise, sweet, buttery and lemony with a bit of crunch from the poppyseeds.  And that glaze . . .  perfection!

If you are looking for a delicious, quick and easy breakfast bread to wow your guests with  the next time you have company, and  you are fond of lemon and poppyseeds, then this lovely bread  was tailor made for you!

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE LEMON & POPPYSEED PULL APART BREAD

A few standard baking cupboard ingredients. You may have to pop to the store to buy the lemons and the poppyseed, but I am betting you pretty much have everything else in place!

For the filling:

• 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
• 2 TBS finely grated lemon zest
• 2 TBS poppyseeds
• pinch of salt
• 2 TBS softened butter

For the dough:

• 3 cups self-rising flour (see recipe notes)
• 1/2 cup (120g) cold butter (1 stick)
• 1 1/2 cups (360ml) whole milk

For the glaze:

• 2 TBS fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 TBS butter, melted
• 1 tsp Limoncello (optional)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch salt
• 1 cup (130g) Icing sugar

 

I used the finely grated zest of two large lemons. Do wash them really well before zesting to help remove any pesticides or bug dirt.   I only used the juice of one half lemon. The rest I put into a zip lock baggie to store in the refrigerator. I am sure I will use them up this week.  Alternately you could just juice them and then freeze the juice.

I tell you in the recipe notes how to make your own self raising flour.  I use salted butter. 

 

Limoncello is an Italian Lemon Liquor. Its very nice if you have it, but don't worry if you don't. I keep a bottle in my cupboard just for cooking and baking.

 

HOW TO MAKE LEMON & POPPYSEED PULL APART BREAD

None of this is very complicated!  The picture above shows all of the steps perfectly as far as assembling the bread goes, moving from top left down and to the right, with the fresh baked loaf having been pulled from the oven as the large picture.

Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6. Butter a 9 by 5 inch loaf tin really well and line with baking parchment paper leaving an overhang for lifting out.

Make the filling. Measure the lemon zest into a bowl and add the sugar. Rub together until lovely and fragrant. Stir in the poppyseeds and salt. Set aside.

To make the dough, measure the flour into a bowl. Cut the butter into bits and drop into the bowl.  Using a pastry blender, cut the butter in until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Stir in the milk using a fork, mixing until you have a soft dough. Tip out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently a few times until the dough comes together.

Using a floured rolling pin, roll the dough out to a 12 by 20 inch rectangle. Trim the edges to straighten using a pizza cutter.

 

Spread the softened butter evenly over top of the dough. Sprinkle the filling over top evenly, pressing it down lightly so that it adheres.

Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into five evenly sized strips crosswise. (4 by 12 inch strips). Stack these five rectangles on top of each other.

Using a pizza cutter, cut the stacked rectangles cross wise into four equal squares. Place the squares into the prepared loaf pan, cut sides up. (refer to photograph)

Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, covering it loosely with a sheet of tinfoil if it starts to get too brown.

While the loaf is baking make the glaze. Whisk all of the ingredients together to give you a nice thick pourable drizzle. If it is too thick, you may add a bit more lemon juice to give you the right consistency.

Remove the bread from the oven and place the loaf tin on a wire rack, which has been placed over a sheet of wax or parchment paper. Pour half of the drizzle icing over top of the loaf while it is still in the pan as soon as you take it from the oven. Leave for fifteen minutes.

Lift out of the pan and pour the remaining drizzle over top. Let cool slightly before pulling apart to eat and enjoy!

I was really pleased with how this turned out.  The edges were all lovely and caramelized with sugar and lemon, whilst the center was light and fluffy, squidgy and buttery. 

Put the kettle on because you will want to enjoy this with a lovely hot cup of whatever morning bevvie you enjoy most!

This is not a great keeper, so do bear that in mind as you will want to eat it all on the first day.  This would make a lovely breakfast dish when you have guests to entertain!

If you are as big a fan of lemon recipes as I am, you may also want to check out the following tasty lemon creations!

LEMON KISSES -   These cookies are crisp, buttery and full on lemony!  Wowza wowza!   Pucker up because these cookies are going to slap you with a lovely lemon kiss! Prepare to fall in love. These are a real favorite around here!

LEMON FILLED BREAKFAST BUNS - Premade sweet slider buns, filled with a lush lemon curd filling and nicely glazed prior to baking. Finished off with a lemon drizzle glaze and some zested lemon. These are fabulously tasty, simple to make and oh so easy! This is another small batch recipe, making four reasonably sized servings.

Yield: One 9-inch loaf

Author: Marie Rayner

Lemon & Poppyseed Pull Apart Bread

Prep time: 20 MinCook time: 40 MinTotal time: 1 Hour

This delicious quick bread is very easy to put together and so delicious when it's done. Be warned, it is impossible to resist. It also should be eaten on the day that it is made, preferably while still warm.

Ingredients

For the filling:

• 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
• 2 TBS finely grated lemon zest
• 2 TBS poppyseeds
• pinch of salt
• 2 TBS softened butter

For the dough:

• 3 cups self-rising flour (see notes)
• 1/2 cup (120g) cold butter (1 stick)
• 1 1/2 cups (360ml) whole milk

For the glaze:

• 2 TBS fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 TBS butter, melted
• 1 tsp Limoncello (optional)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch salt
• 1 cup (130g) Icing sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6. Butter a 9 by 5 inch loaf tin really well and line with baking parchment paper leaving an overhang for lifting out.
2. Make the filling. Measure the lemon zest into a bowl and add the sugar. Rub together until lovely and fragrant. Stir in the poppyseeds and salt. Set aside.
3. To make the dough, measure the flour into a bowl. Cut the butter into bits and drop into the bowl.
4. Using a pastry blender, cut the butter in until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
5. Stir in the milk using a fork, mixing until you have a soft dough. Tip out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently a few times until the dough comes together.
6. Using a floured rolling pin, roll the dough out to a 12 by 20 inch rectangle. Trim the edges to straighten using a pizza cutter.
7. Spread the softened butter evenly over top of the dough. Sprinkle the filling over top evenly, pressing it down lightly so that it adheres.
8. Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into five evenly sized strips crosswise. (4 by 12 inch strips). Stack these five rectangles on top of each other.
9. Using a pizza cutter, cut the stacked rectangles cross wise into four equal squares. Place the squares into the prepared loaf pan, cut sides up. (refer to photograph)
10. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, covering it loosely with a sheet of tinfoil if it starts to get too brown.
11. While the loaf is baking make the glaze. Whisk all of the ingredients together to give you a nice thick pourable drizzle. If it is too thick, you may add a bit more lemon juice to give you the right consistency.
12. Remove the bread from the oven and place the loaf tin on a wire rack, which has been placed over a sheet of wax or parchment paper. Pour half of the drizzle icing over top of the loaf while it is still in the pan as soon as you take it from the oven. Leave for fifteen minutes.
13. Lift out of the pan and pour the remaining drizzle over top. Let cool slightly before pulling apart to eat and enjoy!

Notes

You can very easily make your own self rising flour. For every cup of flour simply whisk in 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder and 1/4 tsp of salt.

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