Orange Cranberry Bread
on Nov 11, 2022, Updated Oct 29, 2024
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Studded with fresh and dried cranberries and flavored with fresh orange, this quick bread recipe is perfect for the holidays.
This quick bread recipe includes a combination of dried and fresh cranberries to give the bread as much texture and cranberry flavor as possible. The bread would be welcome as a breakfast treat, a snack, or as part of a holiday spread. It is a sweet bread, but the tartness from the cranberries shines through, and it wouldn’t be out of place on a dinner table with a roast turkey or classic glazed ham.
Table of Contents
Orange Cranberry Bread: Studded with fresh and dried cranberries and flavored with fresh orange juice and zest, this is a holiday bread to make and share.
Ingredients
- All-purpose flour
- Sugar
- Baking powder – The leavening agent.
- Dried cranberries – Make sure your dried cranberries still have some moisture, some give; they shouldn’t be too dried out.
- Fresh cranberries – You can use either fresh or frozen cranberries in this bread. You don’t even have to defrost the frozen cranberries. Once you chop the berries, they will start to thaw, and the little pieces will finish defrosting as soon as the bread begins baking in the oven.
- Butter – Use unsalted.
- Eggs
- Fresh orange juice – If possible, use fresh orange juice — this should be pretty easy, as you also want to use fresh orange zest in the recipe, so you can just go ahead and juice a couple of oranges after you’ve zested them.
- Grated orange zest – Zest will offer a more concentrated orange flavor and brightness to the loaf.
Kitchen Smarts
If your dried cranberries are on the drier side, you can let them soak in the orange juice for 30 minutes before straining them out, saving the orange juice, and proceeding with the recipe as directed.
If a significant amount of OJ was absorbed into the dried cranberries as they soaked, you can add a bit more to make the 3/4 cup.
How to Make Orange Cranberry Bread
- Combine the dry ingredients: Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, dried cranberries, and fresh cranberries.
- Combine the wet ingredients: Combine the butter, egg, orange juice, and orange zest.
- Make the batter: Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and stir just until combined.
- Bake: Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees F for about 1 hour. A toothpick or wooden skewer inserted into the middle of the bread comes out clean with just a few moist crumbs sticking to it.
Storage
Store the quick bread wrapped tightly in plastic wrap on your countertop for up to 1 week. It can also be frozen for up to 4 months.
What to Serve With Cranberry Orange Bread
Top slices with a smear of room temperature butter, either salted or sweet cream, as you like. A drizzle of honey on top of the butter would also be lovely.
More Quick Bread Recipes
- Mini Banana Bread Loaves
- Carrot Raisin Bread
- Best Pumpkin Bread
- Molasses Cornbread
- Apple Pumpkin Bread
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Orange Cranberry Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 1 cup fresh cranberries (roughly chopped)
- ½ cup (1 stick) butter (melted)
- 1 egg (lightly beaten)
- ¾ cup fresh orange juice
- 1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease one 9-by-5-inch loaf pan.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, dried cranberries, and fresh cranberries.
- In a small bowl, combine the butter, egg, orange juice, and orange zest. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir just until combined; it’s ok to see a tiny streak of flour in some places. Scrape into the prepared pan.
- Bake for about 1 hour, until a wooden skewer inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then turn the bread out of the pan and cool completely, upright, on the wire rack.
