Lemon Buttermilk Bread recipe made with simple ingredients and topped with a bright, fresh lemon glaze. Buttermilk adds a wonderful flavor and texture to this easy lemon sweet bread. Sweet quick bread for anyone who loves baking with lemon!
I could honestly eat a slice of this Lemon Buttermilk Bread every morning. I love the bright flavor and the sweet, tangy lemon glaze balances out the bread perfectly. Have it for breakfast, for lunch, give it as a gift- whatever you make it for, just be sure to SAVE this recipe!
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Lemon Buttermilk Bread ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1/4 cup light olive oil
1 heaping TBSP lemon zest
2 TBSP lemon juice
Lemon Glaze: you’ll just need 3 TBSP lemon juice and 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Tips for Making Fantastic Quick Bread
Quick bread requires no yeast, but instead uses other ingredients for leavening. You want the bread to be soft, tender and moist with great flavor. Here are a few tips on how to achieve that:
Make sure it’s fully baked! Most quick breads need to be baked until 200°F. I like to use a cooking thermometer and insert it at an angle pointing towards the middle of the bread- which is the part that bakes last. If it’s not fully baked, the loaf will sink in the middle. I had no idea the pan you use makes such a difference too! I prefer glass or ceramic bread pans, but you can read all about the best bread pan.
Don’t use an electric mixer! Just mix by hand in a mixing bowl with a whisk or even a spoon. When you overmix quick bread, the bread is tough and doesn’t rise as well. It’s almost impossible to not overmix the batter if you use an electric mixer.
Don’t feel like you have to whisk out all the lumps! Most quick bread has something in it that helps the bread be moist and flavorful. So mix just to combine, then let it be.
Let the batter sit before baking. I swear by this! Just mix all the required ingredients by hand, then let the batter sit for a good 5-10 minutes. The flavors meld and the batter rests, and the result is a higher rise once baked and a delightful crumb.
Storage & Freezing
Store leftover bread in an airtight container for up to 4-5 days. Bread can be refrigerated to last a few days longer.
Loaf can be frozen in a similar manner for up to 2 months.
Lemon Buttermilk Bread
Lemon Buttermilk Bread recipe made with simple ingredients and topped with a bright, fresh lemon glaze. Buttermilk adds a wonderful flavor and texture to this easy lemon bread recipe. Sweet quick bread for anyone who loves baking with lemon!
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a loaf pan with non-stick baking spray. Set aside.
In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. Make a well in the center and pour in wet ingredients- buttermilk, egg, butter and lemon zest and juice. Stir until ingredients are just mixed together.
Transfer bread batter to prepared pan. Bake for 50 minutes, or until bread is lightly browned and internal temp registers 190 degrees F. Remove from oven and let cool 15 minutes. Overturn bread from pan and cool fully.
Whisk together glaze, adjusting amount of powdered sugar until desired consistently is reached. Spoon over top of bread. Let glaze set, then slice bread and serve.
Video
Notes
Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Bread can be frozen for up to 2 months.
The easiest and best way to avoid sunken bread is to use a cooking thermometer to check the inside of the loaf. Fully cooked bread will register 200°F on a thermometer. My all-time favorite thermometer is the Thermapen. It’s super fast and incredibly durable. Another great cooking thermometer is the ThermoPop which is a more basic version that works just as well!
I began Butter, with a Side of Bread to delve deeper into my fascination with food! I love cooking easy, delicious recipes and trying out new products. Welcome and I hope you stick around! Meet Jessica & Nellie...
Bread came out so good! The bread was moist, light and airy. I made sure to mix by hand so as to avoid over stirring. After I poured the glaze over the bread I realized it was a bit too lemony for my taste but that was no problem, just sprinkled some powdered sugar on top. It sweetened it up plus place made it look prettier. LOL. Thank you for the recipe. Will make again!
Did you add the heaping tablespoon of lemon zest to the bread batter, along with the 2 TBSP lemon juice? And did you add the 3 TBSP lemon juice to the glaze? I’m super confused at how adding all that could yield no lemon taste.
AMAZING!! Everyone loves this bread, it is tangy and moist and delicious. Not too heavy, perfect any time of day. I added a couple more table spoons of butter to make it a little more moist 🙂 thanks for this recipe!
Hello I am quite sure that this is a good recipe but I have a sunken loaf. Darn.
I love buttermilk and after watching Ben Starr’s buttermilk 101 on youtube I did make my own and have used that in the recipe.
Could that be the culprit?
Maybe.
Or
Was the melted butter too warm when I w mixed it gradually into the wet ingredients?
Or
Was the egg that I took out of the fridge and warmed in warm water not the right temp?
or
is my oven thermometer as unreliable as my oven’s temperature?
The sunken loaf has reached its internal temperature 5 minutes before its time and the cake feels soft when pressed and toothpick is not dry.
I know there is a lot going on.
I have learned that baking takes persistence.
Worse yet when you have Beginners Luck and then everything goes South.
Onward and upward. I am buying a new oven thermometer and going to get this “Simple” “Easy” recipe right.
I imagine what I could have done to a layer cake with frosting.
Yikes!
We actually have an entire section on this blog post above giving reasons why your quick bread may have sunk. Two of the biggest culprits is from overmixing the batter or overfilling the pan. If the internal temperature was met but the toothpick still came back wet then it’s most like the latter. Next time, divide the batter into two bread loaf pans and see what happens, you may have better luck.
It’s a good recipe but the ratios are a little off, not enough butter or oil, needs at least 1/2 cup oil or butter, more sugar, at least 3/4-1 cup, more zest and mix zest with sugar – that works great! But if you make recipe as is written, shorten bake time by 10-15 minutes.
I made this twice in one week to use up leftover buttermilk. It came out we well the first time that I did it again. I used butter instead of baking spray, and I used all the zest from 2 lemons, which is nearly double the amount called for. It was terrific. The texture is denser than most cake, but it serves well as a not-too-sweet dessert. Thanks!
Is there supposed to be melted butter listed in the ingredients? There are 2 comments that mention melted butter and a possibly incorrect ratio of fat to dry ingredients. Please look at this and correct or confirm! Only 1/4 cup oil doesn’t seem right!
I re-vamped the recipe to use olive oil as it gives quick bread a MUCH better texture than butter, surprisingly! Yes, ¼ cup light olive oil is correct. Remember, it also uses 1 cup buttermilk and 1 egg. : )
Jill says
Very salty. I recommend cutting the salt in half. It was a little overbearing.
Ella says
Bread came out so good! The bread was moist, light and airy. I made sure to mix by hand so as to avoid over stirring. After I poured the glaze over the bread I realized it was a bit too lemony for my taste but that was no problem, just sprinkled some powdered sugar on top. It sweetened it up plus place made it look prettier. LOL. Thank you for the recipe. Will make again!
Kaylie says
Thank you, Ella!
Dar says
It doesn’t have any lemon taste 😕
Jessica says
Did you add the heaping tablespoon of lemon zest to the bread batter, along with the 2 TBSP lemon juice? And did you add the 3 TBSP lemon juice to the glaze? I’m super confused at how adding all that could yield no lemon taste.
Ely Robles says
Thanks for this recipe! I loved it!
Sierra says
AMAZING!! Everyone loves this bread, it is tangy and moist and delicious. Not too heavy, perfect any time of day. I added a couple more table spoons of butter to make it a little more moist 🙂 thanks for this recipe!
Alison says
Thanks so much Sierra!
Forbes PERKINS says
Hello I am quite sure that this is a good recipe but I have a sunken loaf. Darn.
I love buttermilk and after watching Ben Starr’s buttermilk 101 on youtube I did make my own and have used that in the recipe.
Could that be the culprit?
Maybe.
Or
Was the melted butter too warm when I w mixed it gradually into the wet ingredients?
Or
Was the egg that I took out of the fridge and warmed in warm water not the right temp?
or
is my oven thermometer as unreliable as my oven’s temperature?
The sunken loaf has reached its internal temperature 5 minutes before its time and the cake feels soft when pressed and toothpick is not dry.
I know there is a lot going on.
I have learned that baking takes persistence.
Worse yet when you have Beginners Luck and then everything goes South.
Onward and upward. I am buying a new oven thermometer and going to get this “Simple” “Easy” recipe right.
I imagine what I could have done to a layer cake with frosting.
Yikes!
Nicole says
We actually have an entire section on this blog post above giving reasons why your quick bread may have sunk. Two of the biggest culprits is from overmixing the batter or overfilling the pan. If the internal temperature was met but the toothpick still came back wet then it’s most like the latter. Next time, divide the batter into two bread loaf pans and see what happens, you may have better luck.
T Huff says
It’s a good recipe but the ratios are a little off, not enough butter or oil, needs at least 1/2 cup oil or butter, more sugar, at least 3/4-1 cup, more zest and mix zest with sugar – that works great! But if you make recipe as is written, shorten bake time by 10-15 minutes.
Janet Einhorn says
I made this twice in one week to use up leftover buttermilk. It came out we well the first time that I did it again. I used butter instead of baking spray, and I used all the zest from 2 lemons, which is nearly double the amount called for. It was terrific. The texture is denser than most cake, but it serves well as a not-too-sweet dessert. Thanks!
Nellie says
Adding extra lemon zest is always a good idea!
Duy says
Is there supposed to be melted butter listed in the ingredients? There are 2 comments that mention melted butter and a possibly incorrect ratio of fat to dry ingredients. Please look at this and correct or confirm! Only 1/4 cup oil doesn’t seem right!
Jessica says
I re-vamped the recipe to use olive oil as it gives quick bread a MUCH better texture than butter, surprisingly! Yes, ¼ cup light olive oil is correct. Remember, it also uses 1 cup buttermilk and 1 egg. : )