Lemon Blueberry Bread with Lemon Glaze
This Sour Cream Blueberry Bread is a quick bread that can be in the oven in just about 10 minutes! It comes out incredibly moist and tender and is drizzled with a tart lemon glaze.
OVERVIEW
- Skill Level: Beginner
- Techniques Used: Muffin Mixing Method
- Components Used: Lemon Glaze for Quick Breads & Muffins
This blueberry bread with lemon glaze is kind of a quick bread/pound cake hybrid. It comes together very quickly the way a banana bread would, but it has the texture and richness of a pound cake!
You can use fresh or frozen blueberries for this bread. It is also made with sour cream which keeps it very moist and pairs well with the tangy lemon flavor. If you do not have sour cream on hand, you could also use plain or vanilla yogurt.
BLUEBERRY BREAD INGREDIENT FUNCTIONS
- Flour is the main structure of your bread. I have not yet tested this with gluten free flours, but if you want to try it I suggest using an all-purpose gluten free baking blend.
- Baking Powder is what leavens the bread, giving it lift and keeping it light and tender!
- Sugar not only sweetens the bread but holds onto moisture. This ensures it will not dry out quickly.
- Salt is needed in all baked goods to help round out the flavors so they do not taste flat.
- Sour Cream adds moisture to the bread and helps add a bit of a tangy flavor.
- Oil adds richness to the bread and keeps it tender. Fat reduces gluten formation and is needed for tender baked goods. Melted butter could be substituted, but because butter solidifies once cooled, it won’t stay quite as tender.
- Eggs help bind the bread together and also help leaven it.
- Vanilla is only used for flavoring the bread and could be left out or substituted for another extract if desired.
- Lemon Juice is only used for flavoring the bread and could be left out or substituted for another juice, such as orange juice, if desired.
- Lemon Zest is where the most intense lemon flavor comes from because the lemon peel holds the lemon oil. It is only used for flavoring the bread and could be left out or substituted for another zest like orange or lime zest.
- Blueberries are the main flavor of the bread and could be substituted with another kind of berry like raspberries, strawberries, or blackberries. Both fresh and frozen works well!
How to Make Blueberry Bread with Lemon Glaze
The mixing method for this bread is the muffin mixing method. This mixing method reduces gluten formation and keeps the bread very tender and moist.
Step 1: Mix the Dry Ingredients Together
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all of your dry ingredients until well combined.
Step 2: Mix Together Your Wet Ingredients
In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together all of your wet ingredients including the lemon juice and lemon zest.
Step 3: Combine Wet Ingredients into Dry Ingredients
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and use a spoon or spatula to combine. Do not use a whisk or you might over-mix the batter.
Step 4: Fold the Blueberries into the Batter
Add your fresh or frozen blueberries into the batter and gently fold in, being careful not to break them. This batter is very thick so it will suspend the berries throughout without having to toss them in flour before adding them.
Step 5: Pan & Bake the Bread
I like to line my loaf pan with parchment paper for easy removal. You can see how to line the pan easily in this quick video…
Pour your batter into the pan and top with more blueberries. Bake until a toothpick comes out of the center clean. Allow to cool on a cooling rack completely before glazing.
Step 6: Glaze the Bread
Once the bread is completely cooled you can whisk together the ingredients for the glaze and pour it over. I like to grate a bit more fresh lemon zest over the top as well to give it a beautiful visual.
This bread is the perfect easy brunch addition. It looks and tastes very impressive but is so easy to put together!
MORE RECIPES FROM BAKER BETTIE!
If you enjoyed this recipe, you might like to try these other delicious blueberry lemon desserts!
Sour Cream Blueberry Bread with Lemon Glaze
This Sour Cream Blueberry Bread is a quick bread that can be in the oven in about 10 minutes! It comes out incredibly moist and tender and is drizzled with a tart lemon glaze.
Ingredients
For the Bread
- 210 grams (1 ¾ cups) all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 200 grams (1 cup) granulated sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 240 grams (1 cup) sour cream, room temperature
- 56 grams (¼ cup, 60 milliliters) oil, any neutral oil like canola, vegetable, grapeseed, safflower, etc
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons (30 milliliters) lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 300 grams (2 cups, 1 pint) fresh or frozen blueberries, divided
For the Glaze
- 120 grams (1 cup) powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 2-4 tablespoons (30-60 milliliters) lemon juice
Instructions
Prep
- Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C. Line a 9x5 inch (22x12 cm) loaf pan with parchment paper or spray with non-stick spray and set aside.
- Rinse and pat the fresh blueberries dry. If using frozen, no need to thaw but lightly toss in extra flour before adding to the batter.
Make the bread
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour (210 grams/ 1 ¾ cups), baking powder (2 teaspoons), sugar (200 grams/ 1 cup), and salt (⅛ teaspoon).
- In a separate mixing bowl, lightly whisk together the sour cream (240 grams/ 1 cup), oil (56 grams/ ¼ cup), eggs (2 large), vanilla extract (1 teaspoon), lemon juice (2 tablespoons), and lemon zest (2 teaspoons).
- Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir together until just combined. The batter will be pretty thick. Do not over-mix. Gently fold about 225 grams (1 ½ cups) of the blueberries into the batter.
- Pour the batter into the loaf pan and sprinkle the remaining blueberries (about 75 grams/ ½ cup) over the top.
- Bake for 55-70 minutes until a toothpick comes out of the middle with a moist crumb.
- Cool completely on a cooling rack before removing from the pan and glazing.
Make the glaze
- Place the powdered sugar (120 grams/ 1 cup) and lemon zest (2 teaspoons) in a mixing bowl.
- Add enough lemon juice (start with 2 tablespoons/30 milliliters) to the bowl until the consistency is thick but pourable. If the mixture gets too thin, you can add a bit more powdered sugar.
- Spread the glaze over the top of the cooled bread. Store loosely wrapped in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
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120 Comments on “Lemon Blueberry Bread with Lemon Glaze”
Yayyyy!!! Thank you SO much for doing me this favor girl. I had so much fun on our day too and I cannot waaaait to hang again! <3!
Looks delish!
Obsessing over that glaze!
Awww, I love both you and Kayle! It’s a blogger guest post match made in heaven. This quick bread looks ridiculously good – going to check out the post!
This looks insanely good. The glaze, too, mmm, perfect with blueberries! I have a bb/lemon glaze/greekyogurt cake recipe from about a year ago. Your bread is just gorgeous! Pinned!
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I’m going to give this a go, it looks so good ☺
Could I use less (not non-fat) sour cream in this recipe?
Was a little confused about the lemon and zest..do I include that in both the glaze and the wet batter mix?
Hi Linda! Hold off on making this, I’m going to retest is tomorrow. I’ve been getting differing reviews on it so I am going to retest and update the recipe!
I wanted to love this recipe, it smelled amazing! I baked for 90 minutes, saved it for dessert and found out it was raw inside and baked around the edges. I was so disappointed. I followed the recipe exactly and used fresh berries.
Hi Lyndin! The recipe has been retested multiple times and is updated now!
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This is fabulous! My family couldn’t get enough of it. I wasn’t too fond of the glaze. It tasted too much like the confectioner sugar. It’s great without the glaze, though. Next time, I’m going to try lemon sauce.
So glad you and your family loved it Stacy!
I made this recipe with a few alterations. I used S/R flour as I didn’t have any baking powder. I used lime juice and rind not lemon. I had small quantities of several fresh berries left over in punnets, including blueberries, raspberries and strawberries, which I used in place of all blueberries. It was delicious! Even without the icing which I didn’t make. Fabulous hot from the oven with it’s crunchy crust, or cooled, plane or with cream or ice-cream or spread with butter. Yum!
WOW Loina! Your rendition sounds absolutely wonderful!
Lemon juice is not just for flavoring the cake. It actually react with the baking powder and baking soda, releases gas bubbles and help rising of the batter.
In some instances it does, yes! But for this recipe specifically, it is really only flavoring the bread. Baking powder already has enough acid built into it to interact with and leaven our our bread. But if there was baking soda in the recipe, then yes, the lemon juice would interact with that!
I found that letting it sit for a while (I made it while the loaf was cooling, which took a bit) and adding a little vanilla really helped.
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Hi Greg! So sorry to hear that you didn’t enjoy this recipe. This is a style of bread called a “quick bread” which is much different than a yeast bread. It is sweeter, more of a hybrid between a muffin and cake texture and flavor wise. You want to make sure that you do not mix too much with recipes like this or they will become dense and tough. But, by design, it is more dense than a yeast bread.
Can this be frozen
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Hi Elizabeth! I’m so sorry to hear that. I did test this recipe quite a few times when I originally published it, however that was over 6 years ago and I haven’t made it recently. I will put it on my list to re-test it again soon to make sure it is written properly and will update you.
Hi Laura! I am going to retest this recipe tomorrow. I had several people make it this week with good results, but have also had you and other people in the past report that it was too moist. I will update it after I test it a few times!
This looks YUMMY!!! I’m drooling, I just can’t wait to try this at home.
Thank you so much for sharing this awestruck recipe.
Keep sharing:)
Let me know if you do try it Alicia and how it turns out! <3
Can this recipe be made as muffins, and if so, what would the baking time be? Many thanks!
Hi Blair! I’ve never tried it, but I think you definitely could! I would go for around 20-30 minutes. Just keep an eye on them!
Can I use greek style yogurt instead of sour cream?
Yes you can!
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Hello,
I would like to do mini loaves to give away as gifts. How do you recommend I adjust the baking time?
Hi Tina! I haven’t ever baked this in mini loaves so you will just need to keep an eye on them. Check on them around 20 minutes and then bake a little longer if needed. I would guess about 30 minutes total
I made this yesterday (will soon post mise en place photos) and was delighted by the good taste. My loaf pans are just a bit smaller than yours, so I had to bake for longer time.
I was concerned about the taste of the glaze, it was very tart, so I checked the recipe and yes, I put in the 2 TBSP it called for. Glad I didn’t start with 4 TBSP!! But, the glaze really complemented the bread. Good job and good instructions for an uncertain baker.
That is so great to hear! I’m so glad you enjoyed the bread!
Superb blueberry lemon flavor! In the effort to maintain good taste while lessening the fat and sugar, I used light sour cream and ¾ cup sugar (will try ½ c. next time – it was still super sweet!). I made a simple lemon curd instead of the glaze, with cornstarch, sugar, and the lemon amounts, and just microwaved it. Turns out the loaf didn’t even need it (but who can resist a bit of lemon curd on the side?). My only concern is perhaps I used too many blueberries – they permeate the loaf so much that it’s quite moist (I used the recipe amount of fresh blueberries). But the taste, oh WOW. SO good.
Made this recently and it was too delicious! Now making it again for my birthday this week!
That’s so great to hear Shanthy! I’m so glad you like it!
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Will it still be moist/good if I omit the glaze?
Rae
I skip the glaze and it was still so moist!
Just made this. Turned out perfect! Cooked for 70 minutes. I could eat the whole loaf before bed tonight. But I’ll try not to. Fortunately there are 3 men in house that will make sure I don’t!
I made this recipe with excellent results. I would like to substitute strawberries in for the blueberries, and would like your opinion as to any adjustments to ingredients that should be made.
Thanks!!
My stepdad and me had great fun assembling process. We now have the dessert in the oven and will enjoy with our afternoon tea.
Thank you for this easy to follow recipe and all the wholesome ingredients that we in our cupboard and fridge.
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Super easy and delicious! So so good!
Hour and 10 mins and still not cooked in the middle. Looks great but either the temp or time is off in the recipe. I followed recipe exactly.
I’m so sorry you had that result! I updated this recipe last year and it’s been tested multiple times with good results. How long did you end up baking it for?
Can I substitute with raspberries?
Do you recommend I thaw frozen strawberries and mash them if I want to replace the blueberries?
This looks delicious! I have extra blueberries in my fridge right now that need to be eaten so this recipe is perfect!
So moist and overflowing with blueberries. I did not glaze it and it was delicious. Only alteration was to cut the sugar down to ½ cup, it was still sweet with the blueberries! Lovely. I searched for this recipe under the recipe title and it doesn’t match the URL recipe title.
Hi! What sour cream should I use? I’m looking for recommendations as I’m not great in the kitchen, so I’d like to follow the recipe exactly how it is. By the way , I just made the blueberry, chocolate chip, pecan muffins… they smell amazing and look beautiful!! Thanks for the recipe!
Full fat sour cream will give you the most rich flavor. So glad you like the muffins!
Could I use monk fruit sugar, coconut or almond flour, low cal sour cream ect..?
Can’t wait to make this blueberry loaf cake
This sounds yummy! I want to try it but I’m not a big fan of vegetable oil. Can I substitute butter in this recipe?
Yes, you can use melted butter. You could also use a different type of oil such as canola, sunflower, or melted coconut oil.
What can I use if I don’t have a loaf pan?
You could turn these into muffins! Spray a muffin tin with oil or butter or line with parchment cups. Bake at 425 F for about 10 minutes and then turn the oven heat down to 350 F (175 C) for about 5 more minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs.
Just made this and it’s delicious. I used plain nonfat Greek yogurt (I didn’t have sour cream) and followed the recipe as written. 60 minutes at 350 was perfect. Would be fine without the glaze but if you have a sweet tooth, glaze it. Keeping this recipe.
So glad you liked it! Using greek yogurt is a good tip!
Wonderful recipe. Thank you.
I made it with half blueberry and half golden berries. Delish.
The lemon base flavour is perfect.
Yum!
Followed directions exactly. Terrible over dense, texture. Lemon and blueberries have great flavor and that’s all that made this edible. The baking time has to be way off; after 90 minutes it’s still wet and very little rise. Not worth the time and effort.
I’m so sorry you didn’t like it! Were you able to weigh your ingredients? I suspect that may have been the issue. That will ensure the texture is light and fluffy. And can also affect bake time.
I made this with limes and it came out wonderful. The glacier is so bright and the texture like muffins. It would make a nice dessert for dinner as it’s not heavy. This recipe is a keeper.
Not glacier, flavor. Darn autocorrect.
I was looking for a handmade no machine type blueberry bread. I love it! Thank you
You’re welcome!
This recipe doesn’t make enough for a 9×5 :/
Hmmm, this recipe was tested using a 9×5 loaf pan. Did you use weight measurements for your ingredients or volume? Sometimes there can be a variance when using volume so I always suggest using weight.
The bread has a good flavor but a very spongy texture. I this how it is meant to be or did I do something wrong?
I wonder if it was over-mixed. You only want to mix enough to incorporate everything. Over-mixing can lead to a spongy texture.
Unfortunately after cooking on bake 375 for 70 mins blus fan bake 375 for a further 35 mins this was still a bit soggy in the middle, edible, but very solid. My conclusion is that there are too many blueberries. I made another loaf, very similar with just one cup and it was cooked in 70 mins…
Your recipe instructions are the best out there! My loaf is in the oven now. Can’t wait to taste it! Thank you
Enjoy!