Blueberry Lemon Bread: a tender and sweet one-bowl baking recipe the whole family will love!
This post was originally published February, 2020. It was updated on July 24, 2021.
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Recently, a friend asked me what I'd be doing with my time if I was retired and money was no issue. I quickly replied, "cooking, baking, running, doing friend's hair, and traveling the world."
And, for the first time in my adult life, I realized I'm doing for work something which I'd be doing even if it wasn't for work. I was-- and am-- so grateful.
And so, this past Sunday -- my first full day off in 2 weeks -- I woke up only to rush downstairs and instantly start whipping up a new bread recipe I just couldn't get out of my mind.
Fighting off a head cold, I wanted something light and bright and I wanted something that could hold up for breakfast and snacks in the following days.
So, I grabbed my whole wheat pastry flour, melted some butter, zested and juiced my lemon, and snagged my frozen blueberries and was off to the kitchen races.
What resulted was a Lemon Blueberry Muffin Bread Recipe my Instagram friends insisted I share the recipe and one that reminded me of just how lucky I am to be able to do what I do... and I hope that you, can enjoy this bread and a career (however you define it) you love, too.
This Blueberry Lemon Bread is...
- Tender
- Delicate
- Sweet
- Light and bright
It's the perfect sweet treat that's low on work but high on reward. With only 10 minutes of work and one bowl, you have a delicious homemade treat the whole family will love!
Ingredients:
- Whole wheat pastry flour - found at Whole Foods, most major grocery stores, and on Amazon
- Sour cream
- Lemon zest & juice - both fresh and bottled lemon juice work
- Unsalted butter
- Sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla extract
- Blueberries - fresh or frozen
- Baking powder
- Salt
Recipe substitutions:
- Flour - can also substitute in part white whole wheat flour and part white all purpose flour for the whole pastry flour
- Sour cream - 2% or 4% Greek yogurt in the place of the sour cream
How do you make blueberry lemon bread?
- Preheat the oven and grease a loaf pan with non-stick spray or butter.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients until combined.
- Whisk in the wet ingredients until combined.
- Gently fold the blueberries into the batter until combined.
- Pour the bread batter into the baking pan. Sprinkle sugar on top of the batter and bake the lemon loaf until the bread is baked through and a knife inserted into the bread comes out clean!
Recipe pro-tips:
- Measure the flour by weighing it for the best results. I love and recommend this kitchen scale, but spoon and leveling the flour is the second most precise way of measuring flour.
- This recipe can also be made at high altitude. No recipe adaptations are needed.
- If you want to experiment with gluten-free 1-to-1 flour it will likely work, but I haven't done it myself yet so I can't make any guarantees. If you are gluten-free and want to try this out, please let me know how it goes in the comments.
Recipe FAQ's:
You can easily melt butter in the microwave. First, cut your butter into inch cubes. Next, put your butter in a glass bowl and cover the bowl with a paper towel.
Then, heat the butter at 30% heat for 1-1.5 minutes in 30 second intervals, or until the butter is melted.
Both fresh and frozen blueberries work perfectly in this recipe. If fresh berries are in season, they work perfectly in this recipe. Frozen berries are also great, however, and make this recipe doable year-round!
You zest a lemon by gently running a Microplane (or lemon zester) over the outside of the lemon peel. Don't zest the lemon down to the white pithy part, as this pith is bitter; instead, zest each section of the lemon peel and move on to the next portion of unzested peel.
Storage directions:
Store leftover bread in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
This bread also can be frozen in a freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months.
Serving suggestions:
There are so many great ways to serve this bread. Here are some of my favorite ways:
- For breakfast: with tea or coffee and scrambled eggs
- For a snack: toasted with butter and a banana
- For dessert: toasted or even ala mode!
Tolls needed to make this recipe:
- Large mixing bowl
- Microplane (a lemon zester)
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Whisk
- Silicone spatula
- 8 x 4" glass baking loaf pan (1.6 quarts)
More tasty baking recipes:
- Lemon Bars
- Brown Butter Banana Bread
- Healthy Apple Cinnamon Bread
- Lemon Sugar Cookies
- Gluten-Free Zucchini Bread
- Gluten-Free Peach Cobbler
- Funfetti Cake Mix Cookies
- Protein Breakfast Cookies
- Vegan Coffee Cake
- Fudgy Date Brownies
- Peanut Butter Brookies
- Peanut Butter Pumpkin Dog Treats
- Peanut Butter Dog Treats
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Blueberry Lemon Bread
A delicate bread that has all the texture and goodness of a lemon loaf, this Blueberry Lemon Bread has a delicate crumb, a crunchy sugar topping, is brimming with bright lemon flavor. It only takes one bowl (and no stand mixer!) to make! Serve slices lightly toasted with a light spread of butter for the best brunch or snack!
Use whole wheat pastry flour and full-fat sour cream (not low-fat) for the most tender crumb.
You can use either fresh or frozen blueberries-- whatever looks best! If using frozen, do not thaw them before mixing them into the batter. To make this just as a lemon bread, just omit the lemons from the recipe.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (or 250g) whole wheat pastry flour*
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅔ cup + 1 tablespoon granulated white sugar, divided
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled for 1-2 minutes
- 2 large eggs, brought to room temperature
- ¾ cup sour cream or Greek yogurt (not low-fat), brought to room temperature**
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice (or juice of 1 lemon)
- 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (or zest of about 1 lemon)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cup fresh or frozen blueberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees & spray an 8-inch x 4-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the pastry flour, baking powder, salt, and ⅔ cup sugar until combined.
- Add in the eggs, sour cream, lemon juice, melted butter, grated lemon zest, and vanilla extract and whisk in thoroughly for 30-45 seconds, or until no clumps remain.
- Sprinkle blueberries over the batter and fold them in gently with a rubber spatula until the blueberries are just mixed in. Pro-tip: if using frozen blueberries, stop mixing once the berries start streaking blue juice throughout the batter.
- Pour the batter into the loaf pan and sprinkle 1 tablespoon sugar evenly over the top.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Move the pan to a wire cooling rack and let cool for 5-10 minutes. Turn the bread out of the pan onto the rack and let it cool until room temperature and serve!
Notes
* Whole wheat pastry flour will give you the best end result. I love Bob's Red Mill brand or Whole Food's 365 brand whole wheat pastry flour. If you don't have or can't find, you can do half all-purpose white flour and half whole wheat flour.
** Full-fat sour cream or 2 or 4% Greek yogurt work for this recipe. Don't use a low-fat sour cream or yogurt as the fat helps the bread be nice and tender.
1. Take out the eggs and sour cream 30 to 60 minutes before starting the recipe. To bring the eggs to room temperature quickly, just place them in a cup or small bowl and cover with room temperature (not hot) water for 5 minutes.
2. For best results, either weigh or spoon and level your flour in measuring cups. This will keep the bread nice and light.
3. This bread will store in an air-tight container at room temperature for 3-4 days. It will freeze in an air-tight container for 2 months.
4. For best results, make sure you have your oven preheated to the correct temperature.
5. You want fresh lemon zest for this recipe. You create lemon zest by gently running a Microplane (or lemon zester) over the outside of the lemon peel. Don't zest the lemon down to the white pithy part, as this pith is bitter; instead, zest each section of the lemon peel and move on to the next portion of unzested peel.
6. To serve the bread toasted just toast each slice on low heat for 1.5-2 minutes, or until just browning around the edges. Smear with 1 teaspoon butter and enjoy!
8. You can also make this bread a simple lemon loaf by omitting the blueberries from the recipe.
Nutrition Information
Yield
12Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 307Total Fat 11gSaturated Fat 6gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 4gCholesterol 56mgSodium 212mgCarbohydrates 47gFiber 5gSugar 14gProtein 8g
This nutrition breakdown is just an estimate of the nutritional value of this recipe and cannot be taken as facts. The owners of Mae's Menu are not nutritionists or dieticians and therefore cannot be held accountable for this nutrition estimate. Please contact your nutritionist or medical professional for a nutritional breakdown of this food. Furthermore, this food is not intended to prevent, diagnose, cure, or treat any disease.
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