Glazed Poppy Seed Bread {A Readers’ Favorite}

 

Today I wanted to share with you one of my mom’s favorite recipes.

Poppy Seed Bread

She used to make this a lot in the fall and give it away as little gifts to people. She taught me how to make it, and I have been making it every year since!

This recipe makes 5 to 6 mini-loafs, the perfect size for sharing with others.

So I decided to make 4 batches and share them with the precious ladies I work with. I teach music two days a week at a Mom’s Day Out Program at an area church. It is the most wonderful place to work!

The ladies I work with are amazing. I was flooded with love and prayers when Mom first became sick. Many of them helped take care of my boys, so I could help take care of Mom and go to her many doctor’s visits.

And when Mom passed away, I cannot tell you how much these ladies blessed me. Many of them came to Mom’s visitation and funeral, they took turns making my family dinner for two weeks, they collected money to give me a gift card, they gave me a beautiful decorative frame for my home, and they prayed and prayed for me.

I felt their love in every hug and every tear as they comforted me.

I wanted to do something for them to show them how much they meant to me, so I made them each a loaf of Mom’s poppy seed bread.

Here is the recipe:

Poppy Seed Bread

3 cups flour

1 1/2 t. baking powder

1 1/2 t. salt

2 1/4 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

1 1/2 cups oil

1 1/2 T. poppy seeds

2 t. butter flavoring

2 t. vanilla

Mix together the above ingredients and beat for two minutes.

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Fill 5 or 6 mini-loaf pans 2/3 to 3/4 full.

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Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees.

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Glaze:

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup orange juice

1 1/2 t. vanilla

1/2 t. butter flavoring

Mix in a glass measuring cup. Pour over hot bread when removed from the oven. Let stand for 30 minutes.

Now, when Mom would make these, she would remove them from the pan, wrap them in plastic wrap, and tie them up with jute string.

She would usually attach something cute to it, like a tag with a scripture on it that she had made on her computer, or a small type of flower or leaf. She was great at “embellishing” a gift.

My attempt wasn’t quite as cute as what she usually did, but I thought it turned out nicely.

I just tied a fall leaf to each loaf with a card that said “Bless You”.

And my prayer is that God would bless my sweet friends for all the ways they have blessed me!

Mom and I talked about this recipe a few weeks before she passed away. She said that one time she made some of these and took them to work. (She was a secretary at a church.) And when a needy person would come to the church for help, she would give them a loaf of poppy seed bread to take home with them.

She thought is was such a simple way to show someone you loved them.

Can you think of some people this week that you could show God’s love to?

A teacher?

An elderly person?

A friend at work?

A neighbor?

Your Mom?

One batch of poppy seed bread would cover all of these people!

Make some poppy seed bread and take it to them with your own little note attached.

I know you will be blessed as much as they will!

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Recipe for Living

I shall pass this way but once.

Any good thing that I can do,

Any kindness I can show,

Let me do it now.

Let me not defer it or neglect it.

For I shall not pass this way again.

(This is a poem that Mom kept on our refrigerator when I was growing up. She also cross-stitched it and hung it on the wall in a frame. I memorized it as a child, not knowing fully what it meant. But I do now! We only get one life on this earth…let’s make the most of each moment!)

Thank you, Mom, for always teaching me (and showing me) it is better to give than to receive.

God bless you all!

 


19 Comments

  1. Looks yummers Traci and low and behold I have all of the ingredients here!! THat never happens. I can’t wait to make this – probably tonite with my girls. They love to bake with me. So great that you get to work with such sweet ladies.
    xoxo,
    Kim

  2. That’s a beautiful story. I’d love to make this bread for my 3 adopted soldiers. In November my friend and I are doing a big batch baking session so we can send our soldiers and their friends some yummy festive food. Can’t wait and I think I may need to put this on the list.

  3. Besides looking amazing… (yum!!) the story behind the bread is really what i enjoyed. My mom and I always made spaghetti together before she died and I always have the hardest time replicating her spaghetti! I wish I had written down everything she did when she made it! :) Hugs Traci!!

  4. This recipe is almost identical to the one my family makes. The only real difference is that we also add almond extract. It is so darn yummy, everyone loves it. And I also wrap them and give them out as gifts around the holidays. Thanks for sharing, I may just have to make some and give them out to others sooner! Sue

  5. Traci, your post today is such a blessing to me. The bread looks yummy, but even more important to me is the quotation from your mother’s refrigerator door. I have always known it was better to give than to receive, but the past couple of years I have been especially conscientious about not missing opportunities to help others. I have very little money to help people, but I have found the simplest things–like entertaining a young mother’s young children while she gets the baby loaded into the carseat–are ways of showing you care. When you help others, it creates a ripple effect. It gives those who receive and observe your actions the idea, and with just a tiny effort, you’ve made the world a better place, with people reaching out to help others. Interestingly, I’ve found the “ripple effect” has spread back to include me in unexpected times and ways. I believe most people are good and kind, but not everyone has had the benefit of a mother like yours to provide an example.

    I’m saying a prayer for you, your mother, and all who loved her.

    Jayni

  6. In reading your accounts of memories of your mom, we are all reminded of similar times with our mothers. Reading your posts of your mom makes our Wednesdays special. Kind of like a hug from mom.

  7. I just printed out the recipe! I have to admit I have only made pumpkin bread and I have always wanted to try new breads. This looks easy enough to make with the kids and they can make a cute note for their teacher. Thank you for the nice memory of your mother. She sounds like a wonderful person and it is so nice you are keeping her memory alive.

  8. I give pumpkin bread to our neighbors every year around fall….I love this recipe too! May have to change it up! I copied the poem…I love it :) Thanks for sharing!

  9. Hey girl–

    I remember the first time you posted this recipe. I made some, and everyone who tried it loved it. Then when I was looking through my recipes, I found a stack of recipes given to me by a wonderful woman who was about the same age as your mom. She was a lot like your mom, to tell the truth–a wonderful, gracious woman who happened to be a fantastic cook. Guess what was among that stack of recipes? Yep, the very same poppy seed bread! I guess it was one of those generational recipes that all the great Southern cooks had. Anyway, I surely am glad it got passed down! If anyone is reading this post and wondering if this bread is really as good as it looks, I can tell you for sure–IT IS!! Give it a try! It’s absolutely delicious!

    1. I know that’s a lot of oil, do you still need to prepare the pans with shortening and flour?

  10. This is the first time I’ve seen “my” recipe for Poppy Seed Bread. We’ve been making it for years and love it!! Sue

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