Orange Molasses Bread

This quick bread skips the yeast entirely, relying on baking soda and baking powder for lift. The result is a dense, moist loaf where molasses and fresh orange fight for your attention in the best possible way.

Evaporated milk is the secret weapon here. It adds richness and a slightly caramelized dairy flavor that regular milk just can’t match. Combined with orange zest, orange juice, and unsulphured molasses, you get a batter that smells like the holidays before it even hits the oven.

The technique is dead simple: sift the dry ingredients, mix the wet separately, then stir them together just until blended. Overmixing will make the crumb tough. The batter goes into a lined loaf pan and bakes low and slow until a toothpick comes out clean.

Kitchen Tips

• Line the pan with wax paper AND grease it. This bread sticks like nobody’s business without both.
• Stir the batter just until the flour disappears. You should still see some streaks. Overworked quick bread batter develops gluten and bakes up rubbery.
• Use unsulphured molasses, not blackstrap. Blackstrap is too bitter and will overpower the orange.
• Let the loaf cool completely in the pan before removing. It’s fragile when warm.

Variations

• Swap the nuts for dried cranberries or chopped dates for a fruitier loaf.
• Replace orange juice and zest with lemon for a molasses-lemon bread that pairs well with tea.
• Add warm spices like cinnamon and ginger to lean into a gingerbread-meets-citrus flavor.