I
have a real weakness for eating sweet things in the morning. I try to have my
daily bowl of oat bran cereal but sometimes I treat myself to a slice of this
lovely tea bread. The name 'Lemon Blueberry Bread' says it all as
this bread is bursting with juicy sweet blueberries and brushing on a hot lemony
glaze just as it comes out of the oven, not only infuses the bread with a nice citrus flavor
but it also makes the bread tender and moist. This is a recipe I have been making for years; ever since I cut it out of
a 1991 issue of Bon Appetit magazine.
Lemons have the ability to bring out the best in any fruit they are paired
with. A lot of recipes call for lemon zest (the outer yellow skin) as this
is where the lemon hides most of its flavor. For this very reason I try to
buy organic lemons for some commercially grown lemons are sprayed with
insecticides. But, either way, it is good practice to always wash your lemons
thoroughly, that means with soap and water, before using.
Wild blueberries are excellent in this quick bread as are their
cultivated cousins. Blueberries are
rich in antioxidants, high in fiber, high in potassium, and low in sodium.
Because blueberries are now sold in plastic containers, check the
underside of the container for any wet spots or staining. I usually open
the container to make sure that the blueberries are a nice dark blue color with
a dusty white bloom, and that they are firm, plump, and fragrant. The
white bloom is the blueberry's natural protection against the sun and is a
sign of freshness. When folding fresh blueberries into any batter use a
light hand so they don't crush and stain the whole batter
blue.
Preheat oven to
350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place the oven rack in the center of the
oven. Butter
(or spray with a non stick vegetable spray) the bottom and sides
of a loaf pan (9 x 5 x 3 inch) (23 x 13 x 8 cm). Set aside.
In a separate bowl, whisk
together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of your electric mixer,
or with a hand mixer, beat
the butter until softened (about 1 minute). Add the sugar and continue to beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs,
one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract
and lemon zest. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture (in three additions) and
milk
(in two additions) alternately, starting and ending with the flour. Mix
only until combined. Gently
fold in the blueberries.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 55 to 65
minutes, or until the bread is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the
center comes out clean.
Meanwhile, in a
small saucepan, bring the 1/3 cup (66 grams) of sugar and the 3 tablespoons of
lemon juice to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
When the bread is
done, remove from oven and
place on a wire rack. Pierce the hot loaf all over with a wooden skewer or
toothpick and then brush the top of the loaf with the hot lemon glaze. Cool the
loaf in the pan for about 30 minutes then remove from pan and let cool
completely on a wire rack.
Makes 1
loaf.
Sources:
Beranbaum, Rose
Levy. 'The Cake Bible'. William Morrow & Company, Inc. New York: 1988.
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