Orange - Cranberry Bread
Submitted by marek
Orange cranberry bread with yellow cornmeal for a slightly gritty crumb, fresh cranberries simmered with orange zest and sugar, then folded into a tender quick bread.
YIELD
1 loafPREP
20 minCOOK
60 minREADY
80 minThis quick bread gets its character from two things most cranberry bread recipes skip: yellow cornmeal in the batter and cranberries that are simmered before they go in.
Cooking the chopped cranberries briefly with orange zest and sugar softens their sharp tartness and releases their juice, so every slice has streaks of ruby-red fruit instead of hard, sour pockets. The cornmeal adds a subtle grit to the crumb that gives each bite more texture than a standard all-flour loaf.
Don’t overmix once the cranberry mixture goes in. Quick breads toughen when you work the batter too hard. A few lumps and uneven streaks are exactly what you want.
Kitchen Tips
- Sort through the cranberries and toss any soft, wrinkly ones. They’ll turn mushy and bitter in the bread.
- Let the cranberry-orange mixture cool completely before folding it in. Hot fruit melts the butter in the batter and changes the texture.
- The loaf is done when a toothpick comes out clean, usually around 55 to 60 minutes. The cranberries can make the center look underdone even when it’s not, so trust the toothpick.
- This bread slices better the next day once the crumb has fully set.
Variations
- Add chopped pecans or walnuts for crunch.
- Swap orange juice for fresh-squeezed blood orange juice when it’s in season for a deeper citrus note.
- Fold in white chocolate chips for a sweeter, holiday-worthy loaf.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat oven to 325F degrees.
Position a rack in the middle of the oven.
Butter an 8 ½×4 ½×2½-inch loaf pan.
Sort the cranberries and discard any soft ones.
Coarsely chop them and place in a small saucepan over low heat.
Add the orange zest and ½ cup of the sugar and heat slowly just to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
Set aside to cool.
In a bowl stir together the flour, cornmeal, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
Set aside.
In a separate bowl combine the butter and the remaining ½ cup sugar.
Beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Beat in the egg. Stir in half of the flour mixture, and then the orange juice and water.
Stir in the remaining flour mixture and then the cooled cranberry mixture.
Do not overmix.
spoon the batter into the prepared loaf pan.
Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean, 55 to 60 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes.
Turn out onto a wire rack and let cool.
Slice and serve.
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