“[Lemon Bread] is a tart, deliciously refreshing bread with a character all its own.”
-James Beard, Beard on Bread
It was over 100 degrees yesterday–definitely not typical June weather in Minneapolis. Since Mike and I are lucky enough to have central air conditioning, I didn’t let the heat wave interfere with my plans to bake Lemon Bread.
Here are the ingredients:
I wasn’t sure how much lemon juice my lemon would yield–the recipe calls for 1/2 cup. I only got about 1/4 cup of fresh squeezed lemon juice, so I had to use lemon juice from concentrate for the rest. The batter was very light and fluffy, like the consistency of a thick butter cream frosting.
I greased my loaf pan heavily with butter and then floured it, per Beard’s instructions. The loaf was done after 40 minutes in the oven at 350 degrees. I let it cool for 10 minutes, and then turned the pan upside down. Like magic, the bread slid right out.
We had Lemon Bread for breakfast this morning. Mike thought that the lemon flavor was incredible; he liked it so much that he ate his slices plain. I thought that the lemon flavor was nice, especially when paired with homemade strawberry jam. However, the bread craved moisture–it was so dry and crumbly that some of the slices fell apart. Luckily, since this is one of Mike’s favorite breads, he will happily finish the rest of the loaf. Sometimes we just complement each other so nicely.