This Cranberry Bread Recipe is a quick bread that bakes a super moist and soft loaf dotted with fresh cranberries and scented with fresh oranges.
It is then finished off with an orange glaze, you won't be able to stop at one slice! Oh and did I tell you, this batter comes together in about 5 minutes.
Try these soft and chewy Cranberry Orange Cookies next!!
You will also love my Chocolate Banana Bread recipe. If you like your breads to be on a healthier side, try my Healthy Banana Nut Bread made with whole wheat instead.
If your are only in Holiday mood at present, you just cannot skip this readers' fave Overnight Monkey Bread Recipe!
What are your favorite flavors to bake during fall? Pumpkin? Cinnamon? Maple?? If asked to me, I would answer Cranberry in a heartbeat.
Enjoy this loaf as breakfast, a quick snack, gifting or as a sweet Holiday dessert, up to you! Shall we call it dessert though? Let us. For it's so bright and festive looking.
This sweet and tart bread comes together super quickly in just a matter of 5 minutes prep time. Does it get any better? Yes, it does. This one is a no yeast bread and you don't even need a mixer to whip this batter up!
We are calling it a bread, but you don't need yeast to ferment it. So this bread bakes pretty quickly from scratch and is very simple to put together!
Ingredients and possible substitutions:
Cranberries: Lets talk about the cranberries first. You can use both fresh or frozen berries in this bread. Chop cranberries in food processor if you wish. I have used them whole. If using frozen berries, just bake them in bread for 1-2 minutes extra. You don't need to thaw the berries. Thawing the berries can cause them to bleed in the batter.
Oranges: You will need both zest and juice of an orange in this recipe. Bottled orange juice can be used if you like, but don't leave out the zest if you take that route. Press orange between your palms or against counter top to release its juices easily before cutting it.
Baking Powder: You will need baking powder in this recipe as a leavener. Make sure the leavener is fresh and is not expired before adding into the batter.
Oil: Any kind of flavorless oil like vegetable, canola or even avocado oil can be used to moisten this bread. Oil is the real moist maker in this recipe. Do not substitute it with butter.
Vanilla: Please opt for pure vanilla for best flavor. Imitation vanilla just doesn't match the flavor of real vanilla in my opinion.
To make it:
Mix orange zest, juice, oil, sugar, milk, room temperature egg and vanilla together till they are well combined.
Next sift in flour, salt and baking powder over this mixture that you prepared above and fold. Also fold in fresh/frozen cranberries coating them in a tablespoon of flour.
Bake the bread till done in a pre-heated oven.
Put the glaze on only when the bread has completely cooled down. Or else the glaze can melt on the bread. Not a great sight. Not that I am telling you this with any experience of my own! 😉
Expert Tips for a perfect Loaf:
Always measure your ingredients as opposed to eyeballing them. Over measuring flour and sugar can lead to a dry and crumbly bake. On the contrary if you under measure these ingredients, results can be a flat and not well risen bread due to more moisture content than required.
How to well distribute berries in the batter? Best way to get berries from floating on top of batter is to use a thick batter to make bread. Coating berries in about a tablespoon of flour helps too.
Its a good idea to zest your orange first before juicing it. The crust of orange is hard and easy to zest when you haven't juiced or softened it.
A hand whisk is just enough to mix well everything in this recipe. You seriously don't need an electric mixer here. If you end up over whisking/mixing the batter, result can be a hard baked loaf.
Want to add nuts to your loaf?
If you like texture contrast in your bread or you love that pecan cranberry combination, add around ½ a cup of chopped pecans to your batter. Pecans can easily be substituted with Walnuts here.
Should I chop Cranberries before adding them to the batter?
It is a personal preference. But if you think one whole cranberry is too tart for your taste to eat in one bite, you can easily chop them in halves or even quarters.
I have used whole cranberries here. I think the bread is sweet enough with the glaze that you won't find it tart even when you don't chop the berries.
How long to bake this bread for?
Baking time and temperature can also vary slightly if the temperature of your oven is not accurate. Or it can vary depending on the size or material of your baking dish, altitude that you are on. I suggest investing in an oven thermometer as well.
But the bread is perfectly done when it passes the toothpick test. Don't end up over-baking it. So keep a close eye on your over when you reach closer to the bake time.
Covering the bread with Foil:
When you are half way into baking, loosely cover your bread with an aluminum foil to prevent it from over browning on top before the center bakes through.
Storing the loaf:
This loaf stays good at room temperature for 2-3 days. For a longer storage I recommend freezing it.
If you liked this recipe, please give it a star review! Also, tell me in the comments below, how did it turn out for you! How did your family or guests like it?
How did you personalize it? And don’t forget to share your wonderful creations with me on Instagram at #greedyeatsblog Let's be friends on Pinterest and Facebook too!
Recipe
Cranberry Bread Recipe
Equipment
- 1 9x5 Bread/Loaf Pan
- 1 Hand Whisk
Ingredients
- 2 Cups All purpose flour
- 1 ¼ teaspoons Baking Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- 1 Cup Granulated sugar
- ½ Cup Oil
- ½ Cup Milk
- 1 large Egg
- zest of 1 Orange
- 2 Tablespoons Orange Juice
- 2 teaspoons Pure vanilla extract
- 1 Cup Cranberries Fresh or Frozen
For Orange Glaze:
- 1 and ½ Cups Confectioners' sugar
- 3 Tablespoons Orange juice
- ¼ teaspoon Pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven o 350°F (177°C) and spray a bread pan with baking spray and line it with a parchment paper. Set aside for now!
- Now in a large mixing bowl, whisk together sugar and oil. Next add in an egg, orange juice and zest, milk and vanilla. Mix them all in too till everything is well combined and nicely incorporated.
- Now sift flour, baking powder and salt over wet ingredients and fold just till the flour disappears into the batter. Toss fresh cranberries in a tablespoon of flour to coat them.
- Fold cranberries in the batter too. Pour bread batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 50-55 minutes or till a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean. When you reach halfway of baking duration, cover the top of bread with aluminum foil loosely. This will prevent over browning of the bread.
- Allow the bread to cool down on a wire rack completely in the bread pan for about 15-20 minutes. Then flip it out and allow to cool completely on the wire rack.
- Once the bread has cooled completely pour glaze and slice.
For the Orange Glaze:
- Whisk confectioners' sugar, vanilla and 3 tablespoons of orange juice in a small bowl until well combined. Add up to a tablespoon of more orange juice if needed to reach the desired consistency.
Kristine
YUM! I love cranberry bread. I especially like the orange in your recipe. Can’t wait to make this!
Rose
My first instinct was to say, 'perfect for this time of year.' That's not the case though, because for me, this recipe is perfect any time of year!! I love cranberries.
Ramil Hinolan
This is perfect for the holiday season. The combination of fresh cranberries and orange glaze are festive and delicious.