Almond Poppy Seed Bread

Look at me--food posts two days in a row! This might be the closest I come to nesting; I am totally fine without doing any of the cleaning/organizing stuff, but sign me up for spending more time in the kitchen and building a stockpile of recipes to be able to fall back on once baby gets here. And this bread is definitely a good place to start. It's sturdy enough that I imagine it would freeze well, although I can't say that we've ever tried that because we eat through the loaves quickly enough without needing to freeze them. I'm not even sure we would need to stock our freezer with any of these loaves before baby comes, either--the recipe is easy enough to prepare that I could do it while baby is napping (does that totally make me sound like an overly optimistic/ambitious novice Mom? Yes? Well, I guess I'll learn soon enough).

Oh, and don't be tempted to forgo the glaze. While I love me some almond extract (like in this recipe) and the unique flavor that the extract gives the bread, the glaze just gives it that extra boost of sweetness that takes this bread from delicious to delectable. And maybe makes it just slightly addicting.

Almond Poppy Seed Bread
(recipe originally found here)

Bread:
3 cups flour
2 1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3 eggs
1 1/2 cup milk
1 1/8 cup vegetable oil
1 tbsp poppy seeds
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp almond extract

Glaze:
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 tsp almond extract

Preheat oven to 350*. Grease two 9x5 loaf pans. Mix all bread ingredients together and beat for two minutes. Pour into pans and bake for 45-60 minutes (begin checking at 45 minutes until you know how quickly it will cook in your oven). In a small bowl, mix together all glaze ingredients. Loosen bread from the side of the pans and poke some holes in the top. Pour the glaze over the hot loaves, making sure to cover the entire top. Let cool completely before removing from pans.

We do store the second loaf in the fridge for the few days it takes us to eat through the first loaf just because I'm worried the glaze would make it susceptible to getting moldy more quickly if left at room temperature for an extended period of time, but it should be fine at room temperature for at least four or five days (covered, of course).