Lemon-Poppy Seed Fruit Bread
A festive fruit bread, fragrant with lemons and sweetened with creamy dates. Also gluten-free!
Servings: 10 slices
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk
- 1 cup Medjool dates
- 1 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 1 1/4 cup oat flour can be ground into flour in a blender
- 3/4 cup millet flour can be ground into flour in a blender
- 2 1/2 tbsp poppy seeds
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 1/3 cup ground almonds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
- In a small bowl, add the almond milk, dates, and almond extract. Allow the dates to soak for about 15 minutes in order to soften. After soaking, pour this mixture into your blender or food processor and process until smooth and creamy. It is okay to have some pieces of chopped date pieces in the finished batter. They will break down more in baking and will provide a yummy texture in the bread.
- If you're making your own flour, grind the oats and millet (separately) in a high speed blender. I have also used a coffee grinder for grinding small amounts of grains. It works great!
- Mix all the dry ingredients together: oat and millet flour, baking powder, and poppy seeds.
- Spoon the date mixture into the dry ingredients and blend. Then add the lemon juice, zest, and nuts. Stir until all the ingredients are mixed well. You should have a nice, creamy batter.
- Spoon the batter into a non-stick bread pan or line a standard bread pan with parchment paper or a silicone bread baking liner.
- Bake in a preheated oven for about 50 minutes until the bread is evenly browned and a toothpick comes out clean. Let it stand for about 15 minutes before removing from the pan. You will want it to cool somewhat before slicing (15 minutes minimum). Enjoy!
Notes
CHEF'S NOTE: Another date that works very well is Sukkari dates. These are more golden in color than Medjool dates and slightly smaller. But they are always moist and need no soaking. They are very creamy and a little sweeter than Medjools. I buy ours at a Middle Eastern market near us.
If you are out of baking powder or want to eliminate it altogether, you could add the tablespoon of lemon juice to a cup of the almond milk. Let it sit for 2-3 minutes. This will make a homemade "buttermilk" which will help the bread to rise just as baking powder does.