Whole Wheat Lemon Blueberry Loaf

This healthy and perfectly sweet lemon blueberry loaf made with 100% whole wheat makes the best whole-family approved snack. This loaf is undoubtedly moist and hearty. It makes an ideal breakfast, afternoon snack, baked good to bring to a friend who just welcomed a baby, or can certainly be enjoyed as a dessert.

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Why You’ll Love this Loaf

This recipe is such a great one to have on hand. I love it for so many reasons and I think you will too!

1. This recipe provides an especially great way to use up those blueberries in your fridge that aren’t quite fresh enough to eat anymore.
2. This recipe is indeed easy and only uses simple kitchen staples – no stand mixer required!
3. This loaf is enjoyably sweet, while also being hearty and healthy.
4. This loaf is unquestionably toddler and husband approved. It can be enjoyed for breakfast, a healthy snack, or even as dessert. I personally love to serve this one with coffee or tea when we have someone over for an afternoon visit. You know when it isn’t meal time, but you’d like to serve something delicious – this is your answer!
5. This loaf is the perfect baked good to bring to a neighbour, as a host gift, or to a friend who just welcomed a baby.

Baking with Fruit

I love easy baking recipes that utilize fruit, especially fresh berries. I prefer to have a variety of fresh berries in our home. Sometimes, this means that the end of the packages of berries get old before we can eat them all. Using aging produce in a loaf is a perfect way to still enjoy it while avoiding wasting produce and money.

This recipe also works just fine with frozen berries. If you enjoy baking with fruit, here is a tip. Always keep a couple bags of frozen berries in your freezer. Then, if you stumble upon a recipe like this and don’t have berries in your fridge, you have them in your freezer and are ready to go!

Best Loaf Pan

I can not share this recipe without letting you in on a little secret. Recently, I just discovered the absolute best loaf pan. Never have I had a loaf pan that I’ve loved and I’d tried them all – ceramic, glass, metal etc… Whenever I went to remove the baked loaf from the pan, it always felt like a gamble as to whether or not it would be stuck. I do not use cooking spray and no amount of buttering the pans ever seemed to make a difference. Now I use this lodge cast iron loaf pan and I’ve never again had an issue with my loaves sticking to the pan.

Tips for Using a Cast Iron Loaf Pan

1. Before baking a loaf in your pan, pre-heat the oven as per the recipe with the loaf pan inside. Simultaneously allowing your loaf pan to pre-heat aswell. Pre-heated cast iron is extra non-stick.
2. Dollop 1-2 tsp of butter on the pre-heated cast iron loaf pan. Swirl the butter around so that it evenly covers the bottom of the pan, and reaches each of the corners. This helps to continue building the seasoning on your loaf pan.
3. After you bake, use a scrub brush with a splash of water to wash the inside of the pan. Be absolutely sure that it is thoroughly dry before putting it away.
4. I personally like to store my cast iron pans right in my oven. I occasionally even leave them in there when I pre-heat my oven for other dishes. I find this helps to reinforce the seasoning on the skillets and bakeware.

Measuring Whole Wheat Flour

If you are using store bought whole wheat flour for this recipe, you’ll be able to measure the flour with a trusty measuring cup.

If you are milling your flour at home, I recommend to measure your flour with a weigh scale. Grain mills produce an ultra sifted flour that has a lot of air in it, so using a measuring cup won’t provide as accurate of a measurement.

Ingredients for Whole Wheat Lemon Blueberry Loaf

1. 250 grams of fresh milled flour. I prefer this recipe with hard red wheat berries, but you can use wheat berries of your choosing. Or 2 cups of store bought whole wheat flour.
2. 2/3 cup & 1 _^1/2 tbsp of cane sugar, divided
3. 2 tsp of baking powder
4. 1/2 tsp unrefined salt
5. 1/3 cup of melted salted butter
6. 3/4 cup of full fat sour cream
7. 2 large eggs
8. 3 ^1/2 tbsp of lemon juice
9. 1 tbsp + 2 tsp of lemon zest
10. 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
11. 1 ^1/2 cups of fresh or frozen blueberries

Instructions for Whole Wheat Lemon Blueberry Loaf

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350F and grease a standard loaf pan. (If using a cast iron loaf pan, be sure to follow the tips above)
2. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk melted butter, 2/3 cup of sugar, and sour cream until well combined.
3. Add eggs, lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla and whisk until well incorporated.
4. In a large mixing bowl, whisk whole wheat flour, baking powder and salt.
5. Add wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
6. Fold blueberries into the batter gently, you don’t want to crush the berries.
7. Fill loaf pan with batter and tap on the counter a few times to remove any air bubbles.
8. Evenly sprinkle 1 ^1/2 tbsp of sugar over the top of the batter.
9. Bake loaf for 55-65 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the centre comes out clean and the edges are just starting to turn golden.
10. Allow loaf to cool in pan for 10 minutes (5 minutes if using cast iron loaf pan) and then transfer to cooling rack.
11. Serve warm.

Optional Substitutions for Loaf Recipe

• Fresh milled flour from hard red wheat berries can be substituted with other wheat berries of your choosing, or storebought whole wheat flour.
• Cane sugar can be substituted with coconut sugar, or granulated white sugar.
• Sour cream can be substituted with homemade or store bought greek-style yogurt. Either option needs to be full fat.
• Fresh and frozen blueberries work equally well. Blackberries, raspberries, or a combination of berries make a delicious alternative for this loaf.

How to Serve Whole Wheat Lemon Blueberry Loaf

You simply can not beat a slice of this loaf when it is fresh and warm from the oven. With that said, it is still perfectly delicious cold from the refrigerator, or re-heated in the microwave.

Storing Whole Wheat Lemon Blueberry Loaf

If you’re serving this loaf to guests for afternoon tea, storage is unlikely to be a consideration. However, if your family is planning to enjoy this loaf over a few days, it is easy to store.

This whole wheat lemon blueberry loaf can be kept on your counter for a few days in an airtight container, or for up to a week in your fridge in an airtight container.

You can also bake this loaf ahead and freeze it, or freeze the leftovers to enjoy at another time. Depending on how you are planning to enjoy it from the freezer, slicing the loaf before you freeze it can allow you to thaw out one piece at a time for snacks or lunches.

Links to my Favourite Kitchen Tools for this Recipe

Mason Cash Mixing Bowl

My staple, easy to clean whisk

Organic Vietnamese Cinnamon

Lodge Cast Iron Loaf Pan – single

Lodge Cast iron Loaf Pan – 2 pack (This is a very handy set to have if you plan to use your loaf pans for sandwich bread recipes that often make two loaves!)

KomoMio Eco Plus Grain Mill

Other Baking Recipes that Use Whole Wheat Flour

Best Ever Classic Cinnamon Buns with Cream Cheese Icing

Whole Wheat Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Enjoy this Whole Wheat Lemon Blueberry Loaf Recipe!

Please let me know if you try this recipe and enjoy it! Share it on IG and tag me @theprairiewife, or leave a comment below. Don’t forget to pin this recipe for later by clicking on any of the images in the post above. Be sure to check back often for more from scratch recipes, recipes that use whole wheat flour, and healthy home baked snack recipes from my kitchen to yours!