This Gluten-Free Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Bread is made with yogurt which makes it seriously moist and perfectly tangy. It's also sweet and citrusy, and a little nutty from the poppy seeds!
2heaped teaspoonsbaking powder(ensure gluten-free if necessary)
¼teaspoonbicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
For the syrup (optional):
2tablespoonslemon juice
4tablespoonsmaple syrup(or sub any other sweetener)
Instructions
For the bread:
Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit).
Place the coconut oil in a large bowl and melt over a saucepan of boiling water or in the microwave (skip this step if using any other oil).
Once melted, add the yogurt to the same bowl along with the lemon juice, lemon zest, maple syrup, vanilla, salt, poppy seeds and ground almonds.
Sift in the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda.
Mix well, adding a splash of any plant-based milk if it’s looking too dry.
Transfer mixture into a loaf tin lined with greased baking paper (I used a one-pound loaf tin).
Bake in oven for 45 minutes until risen and golden brown and an inserted skewer comes out clean.
Once out the oven, transfer the bread from the baking tin onto a wire rack.
For the syrup:
Whilst the bread is baking, mix together the lemon juice and maple syrup.
Drizzle it over the bread as soon as you’ve transferred it to the wire rack – it will soak into the bread better when it’s hot.
Tastes best eaten on the day it’s made, but keeps covered in the fridge for up to a few days. Reheat in the toaster if you like!
Notes
*You can use any type of plant-based yogurt: almond, soy, cashew or coconut yogurt all work well. If you can’t find plant-based yogurt, you can replace it with any type of plant-based milk, or use an equivalent amount of blended up silken tofu.**You can alternatively use almond flour.This is definitely a sweet recipe – it’s similar to Lemon Poppy Seed Cake. Tips for baking with lemons
For optimum lemon flavour, I would recommend using fresh lemons (not ones that you've had sitting in your fruit bowl for weeks!) and organic ones if possible.
You have to be careful when baking with lemon juice as the acidity and lemon flavour can really vary depending on the lemons you use.
I would recommend tasting the lemon juice you're using and adjusting the amount of lemon juice you use accordingly.
For the lemon zest, make sure you use unwaxed lemons.