Lemon Blueberry Bread

I may be a good cook, but baking is a whole other story.  When I stumbled across this recipe, though, I was intrigued.  Blueberries are a staple in New Jersey in the summer, and I *heart* lemon.  So, I busted out my Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer and decided to give this lemon blueberry bread a try!  I followed the recipe to a tee, except for the poking holes part before pouring the glaze on top.  I forgot.  Oops.

I really only ran into one small problem…removing the bread from the loaf dish.  I should have let it cool in the pan longer.  (I gave it 30 minutes, but it definitely could have used more.  It wasn’t an epic fail, but the bread cracked and crumbled a teeny bit.)

Start with the basics…

• Preheat the oven to 325º.
• Butter a loaf pan.

• Sprinkle some sugar into the loaf pan.  (Make sure you get the sides too!)

Then, combine the dry ingredients…

• Combine 1.5 cups flour with 1 teaspoon baking powder.

• Add 1/4 teaspoon salt.

• Whisk to combine.

Onto the wet ingredients…

• Add 1 cup sugar to the bowl of your stand mixer.  (You could also use a regular bowl and a hand mixer.)

• Add 6 tablespoons unsalted butter (at room temperature).

• Turn on the mixer, and cream until fluffy.

• Add 2 larges eggs, one at a time.  (Keep the mixer going as you add the eggs and wait until the first is fully incorporated before adding the second.)

• Add the zest of 1 lemon (about 2 teaspoons).  (Save the lemon though…you’ll need the juice later!)

• Pour 1/2 cup milk.  (I used skim.  Still not sure if that made a difference or not…)

• Add the flour mixture and milk, alternating.  (Make sure you start and finish with the flour mixture.)
• Halfway through, it should look like this:

• Once combined well, stop the mixer.

• Dust 1 pint of blueberries with a little flour.  (I may not be a baker, but I know this will help to keep them from sinking to the bottom of the batter.)

• Add the blueberries.

• Gently fold them into the batter.

• Transfer the batter to the loaf pan.

• Place the pan in the oven and cook for about 1 hour, until the bread is golden and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

While waiting for the bread to bake, make the lemon glaze (I made it with about 5 minutes left on the baking timer)…

• Add 1/3 cup sugar to a small saucepan.

• Add the juice of the lemon you zested earlier.

• Bring to a boil.

• Stir until the sugar is dissolved and remove from the heat.

• Pour the glaze onto the bread.

• Cool, in the pan, on a wire rack for at least 45 minutes.  (I only did 30 minutes and paid the price!)

• Then, remove from the rack and let cool completely.

Although it was a little crumble at first, once the bread cooled completely, it was really easy to work with.  And, it was delicious!  It’s the perfect combination of sweet and sour.  The blueberries add a burst of flavor every now and then.  It was so good that this non-baker would give it a try again one day.

Enjoy!