This easy lemon bread is soft, moist and full of lemon flavor. It only needs 4 ingredients and doesn’t require any eggs. It is an easy one-bowl recipe and you don’t even need a mixer to make it.
This lemon quick bread comes together very easily. It is sweet, lemony and has a soft crumb. Most quick breads require eggs, but I wanted to specifically create an eggless version that tastes just as good.
Ingredients
- Lemons
- Self-rising flour
- Condensed milk
- Butter
Lemons: This cake contains lemon juice and lemon zest.
Self-rising flour: Self-rising flour is all purpose flour already premixed with baking powder and salt. If you don’t have self-rising flour on hand, you can also make your own by mixing together all purpose flour, baking powder and salt.
Condensed milk: Sweetened full fat condensed milk is used as a binder in place of eggs and is also used to sweeten the cake.
Butter: Melted butter is added to give this quick bread a soft cakey crumb.
How to Make Lemon Bread
The lemon juice, zest, condensed milk and melted butter are first mixed together. The self-rising flour is then folded in with a spatula. The batter is then poured into your prepared loaf pan and baked until done.
If desired you can add a simple lemon glaze on top before serving.
Lemon Bread Texture and Sweetness
This is a lemon quick bread so it has a cake-like texture. It is not like traditional bread. It is the same texture as banana bread or other types of quick bread. The bread is fairly sweet like your typical quick bread but not quite as sweet as cake.
More Lemon Recipes
4 Ingredient Lemon Bread
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter melted
- 1 (14 oz/397 g) can full fat sweetened condensed milk
- 1/3 cup (79 ml) lemon juice + 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 1/2 cups (192 g) self-rising flour see note before starting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line an 8 x 4 inch loaf baking pan with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the melted butter and sweetened condensed milk until fully combined. Add lemon juice and zest, stirring until smooth. The lemon juice will immediately thicken the mixture.
- Add the flour to the wet mixture, folding it in with a spatula until the flour is fully combined and there are no pockets of unmixed flour or streaks of flour paste. Make sure to only fold it in with a spatula so that you don't overmix the batter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan, spreading it evenly across and smoothing the surface with a spatula. Bake in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes, or until the surface is brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. When you apply light pressure on the surface of the bread it should bounce back instead of sinking in.
- Allow the bread to cool completely in the pan before cutting and serving. If desired, you can also drizzle or spread a lemon glaze on top before serving. Store uneaten bread in fridge or freezer.
Notes
- Self-rising flour: This recipe was tested with Gold Medal brand self-rising flour*. There is a varying amount of protein content for different brands of self-rising flour which will affect the texture and outcome of the bread. Gold Medal self-rising flour contains 3 grams of protein per 1/4 cup. Please use a brand of self-rising flour with 3 grams of protein per 1/4 cup for this bread.
- *This product link is an affiliate link. This means I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
- Homemade self-rising flour: If you don't have self-rising flour you can also make homemade self-rising flour. Make sure your all purpose flour has 3 grams of protein per 1/4 cup. Most all purpose flours contain 3 grams of protein per 1/4 cup but there are some brands that contain higher or lower protein amounts which will affect the recipe.
- Combine 1 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour, 2 and 1/4 teaspoons baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt. Whisk together until evenly combined before using.
- Optional lemon glaze: Combine 2 cups powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. Whisk to combine. Add more lemon juice as needed until the glaze reaches your desired consistency. Spread glaze over the top of the bread. This is enough glaze to cover the entire top of the bread. If you only want to drizzle on top, then make half of the glaze recipe. If desired you can also garnish with more lemon zest.
- Nutrition estimate does not include optional glaze.
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
I made this with gluten free flour but had to add baking powder and salt. I wasn’t sure how it was going to turn out but oh my goodness it was amazing! My husband is trying to convince me that I need to make this Lemon Bread at least once a week.
YUM! We’re so happy to hear you loved this recipe!!
Can I make this with limes, I have plenty.
We have not tested this recipe with limes so we are unsure of the final results! Let us know if you give it a try!
I can’t wait to try this lemon bread.
Will
Look forward to other recipes.
Thanks,
Libby
Thank you Libby! We hope you enjoy the recipe!