Description
This moist lemon blueberry bread delivers bright citrus flavor and juicy berry bursts in every slice. Greek yogurt keeps the crumb tender for days, olive oil adds lasting richness, and fresh lemon zest woven through the batter makes the whole loaf taste like sunshine.
Ingredients
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp fine sea salt
- ½ cup cane sugar
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon zest (from about 2 lemons)
- ¾ cup whole-milk Greek yogurt, room temperature
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing the pan
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1½ cups fresh or frozen blueberries (add frozen ones straight from the freezer)
- — Optional Lemon Glaze —
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8×4-inch or 9×5-inch loaf pan with olive oil on the bottom and all sides. Line with parchment paper if desired, leaving overhang on the long sides for easy removal.
2. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl until uniform. Set aside.
3. Combine sugar and lemon zest in a large bowl. Rub them together between your fingertips for 30 seconds until the sugar feels slightly damp and smells powerfully of lemon. This releases the citrus oils directly into the sugar.
4. Add Greek yogurt, olive oil, eggs, and vanilla extract to the lemon sugar. Whisk until smooth and creamy with no visible streaks.
5. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet bowl. Fold with a spatula using slow, sweeping strokes until the flour just disappears — small lumps are perfectly fine. Stop mixing the moment you see no dry streaks. Overmixing toughens the crumb.
6. Add the blueberries and fold with broad, gentle movements until evenly distributed. The batter looks very thick — this is correct, not a mistake.
7. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake on the center rack for 40–50 minutes. Test at 40 minutes: a toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs. The top should look deep golden brown.
8. Let the loaf cool in the pan for 1 full hour before slicing. Cutting earlier gives a gummy center. Run a knife around the edges, then invert to release.
9. Optional glaze: Whisk powdered sugar and lemon juice until smooth and pourable. Drizzle over the fully cooled loaf. Let set 15 minutes before slicing.
Notes
Flour measurement: Spoon flour into the measuring cup and level with a straight edge. Never scoop directly from the bag — it packs the flour and dries out the bread.
Frozen blueberries: Add them straight from the freezer without thawing. This prevents purple color from bleeding through the batter and keeps the berries intact.
Thick batter: The batter looks much thicker than typical cake batter. That is the Greek yogurt doing its job. Trust it — it bakes into a perfectly moist loaf every time.
Glaze tip: Only glaze a fully cooled loaf. Glazing a warm loaf causes the glaze to soak in and disappear rather than set on top.
Berry swaps: Substitute raspberries, blackberries, or small-diced strawberries. Keep total berries at 1½ cups.
Storage: Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and store at room temperature up to 3 days. Do not refrigerate — cold air dries it out faster. Freeze individual slices up to 3 months.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American