Orange Cranberry Bread Recipe (2024)

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Orange Cranberry Bread-sweet orange bread dotted with fresh cranberries and drizzled with an orange glaze! This bread is perfect for the holidays! It makes a great gift too!

Orange Cranberry Bread Recipe (1)

Every week, I go through the grocery store flyers to see what is on sale. Josh considers the flyers junk mail and used to throw them away, but he has learned that he will have to dig them out of the trashif he throws them away, so now he saves them for me. I look forward to flyer day every week. Yes, I am a nerd! When there is a good sale, I stock up! You should see the stash of butter, chocolate chips, and cereal we currently have! I can’t stop myself:)

I also love buying whatever produce is on sale. Fresh cranberries were on sale the week before Thanksgiving so I went crazy and bought six bags. Did I need six bags? Probably not, but I can’t resist a good sale! I made cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving, but I only used one bag. So now I am on a mission to put the rest of mycranberries to good use.

To use up a few cranberries, I madeOrange Cranberry Bread. Not only is this bread festive and perfect for the holiday season, but it is DEElicious!

Orange Cranberry Bread Recipe (2)

I love this bread because it is a quick bread and I am all about easy during the holiday season! Sure, the bread has to bake in the oven, but you can do other things while the bread is baking. Turn on a Christmas movie, read a book, deck the halls with boughs of holly…whatever you want to do! 🙂

Orange Cranberry Bread Recipe (3)

When the bread is done baking, I drizzle it with a sweet orange glaze. I am calling it bread, but it could easily pass as cake! Bread that tastes like cake? YES, please!

I love the sweet orange bread with the tart cranberries! The cranberry orange combo is a winner! You can serve this bread at Christmas brunch, for dessert, or make loaves to give to your friends and family! I made one large loaf, but you could make mini loaves to give as gifts!

Orange Cranberry Bread Recipe (4)

I am so glad I stocked up on cranberries because I am going to make this Orange Cranberry Bread again and again! I might even need to buy more, but only if they are on sale. I better go check the flyers:)

If you like this cranberry orange bread, check out:

  • Banana Bread
  • Zucchini Bread
  • Pumpkin Bread
  • Cranberry Almond Bread
  • Chocolate Banana Bread

Orange Cranberry Bread Recipe (5)


Orange Cranberry Bread Recipe (6)

Vegetarian

Sweet orange bread dotted with fresh cranberries and drizzled with an orange glaze! This bread is perfect for the holiday season!

4.74 from 143 votes

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 35 minutes mins

Servings 1 loaf

Ingredients

For the bread:

For the orange glaze:

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
  • 1 teaspoon orange zest

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350° F. Spray a 8 ½ x 4 ½ loaf pan with cooking spray and set aside.

  • In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder. In a small bowl, combine sugar and orange zest. Rub together with your fingers until fragrant. Whisk into the flour mixture. Set aside.

  • In a separate medium bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, orange juice, and vanilla.

  • Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined. Fold in the cranberries. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.

  • Bake for 70-75 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. If your loaf starts to get too brown drape a piece of foil over the top to finish baking. I did this during the last 10 minutes of the baking time.

  • Remove bread from oven and place on a cooling rack and cool for 15 minutes. Loosen the sides of the bread with a knife. Carefully remove loaf from pan. Let cool completely on wire rack.

  • While the bread is cooling, make the orange glaze. In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar, orange juice, and orange zest. Whisk until smooth. Drizzle the glaze over the bread. Cut and serve.

  • Note-store the bread, wrapped, on the counter for 2-3 days.

Have you tried this recipe?

Leave a comment below and share a photo on Instagram. Tag @twopeasandpod and hashtag it with #twopeasandtheirpod

Orange Cranberry Bread Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why is my cranberry orange bread crumbly? ›

Too much flour will make this bread crumbly and dry — how you measure the flour matters a lot in it turning out moist.

Can I substitute dried cranberries for fresh? ›

Can I substitute dried cranberries in recipes that call for fresh cranberries? Yes, dried cranberries work well in baked goods; however there is a ¼ cup difference in measurement. If a recipe calls for one cup of fresh or frozen cranberries, use ¾ cup of sweetened dried cranberries.

How do you soak cranberries for baking? ›

Measure out the amount of cranberries needed for your recipe and pour them into a bowl or a pot. Pour enough hot water over the cranberries to cover them all. Cover your bowl or pot to keep in the heat. Let sit for 20-30 minutes.

What makes homemade bread less crumbly? ›

Too much flour and not enough water can cause crumbly bread – people often do this if the dough is too sticky and they add more flour rather than kneading through it. Other culprits can be overproving or not kneading enough – the things you need to do to get a good structure.

How do you make bread soft and not crumbly? ›

Some techniques include using milk instead of water as some or all of the liquid, adding melted butter, or rubbing room temperature butter into the flour before adding liquid. Other soft breads, like Cuban bread, use lard instead of butter, which softens the bread and adds flavor.

Why should cranberries not be eaten raw? ›

Is it safe to eat cranberries raw? Cranberries are generally considered safe whether they are cooked or raw. However, because of their notoriously bitter, sharp taste, most people prefer not to eat them raw or unsweetened. This bitterness is due to the high tannin content of cranberries.

Can you use craisins instead of cranberries in baking? ›

Yes, Craisins® Sweetened Dried Cranberries work well in baked goods; however, there is a 1/4 cup (60 mL) difference in measurement. If a recipe calls for one cup of fresh cranberries you should use 3/4 cup (175 mL) of Craisins®. Craisins® should not be used in cooked sauces.

How long to soak cranberries before baking? ›

Rehydrate the fruits: Dried fruits can be quite hard and dry, so it's often a good idea to rehydrate them before adding them to your baked goods. To do this, simply soak the dried fruits in warm water or fruit juice for 15-20 minutes until they are plump and tender.

Are cranberries and craisins the same? ›

Raw cranberries (fresh or frozen) are high in nutritional value and fiber while being low in carbohydrates and calories. Dried cranberries (often known as "Craisins," a brand name), however, can be quite different. Since cranberries are so tart, most dried versions have added sugar.

Are craisins dried cranberries? ›

Dried cranberries may be marketed as craisins due to the similarity in appearance with raisins, although the word "Craisin" is a registered trademark of Ocean Spray. Craisins were introduced as part of a packaged cereal produced by Ralston Purina in 1989.

Should dried cranberries be soaked before baking? ›

If you are planning on using dried fruits, it may be a good idea to soak them first. Dried fruits can lose up to 75% of their volume during the drying process according to cookinglight.com. Once they are mixed with the other ingredients they will begin to reabsorb the moisture around them.

What takes the bitterness out of cranberries? ›

Add A Splash Of Vinegar

While citrus is a natural pairing for cranberry sauce, bright, savory vinegars like sherry vinegar, balsamic vinegar, and apple cider vinegar play well with the bitter-tart berries. Start with a little, then add more gradually. It's easy to overdo it when in comes to bold vinegars.

What kind of cranberries do you use for baking? ›

Choose. Although cranberries are almost always prepackaged, look for firm, plump berries with a deep red color. Avoid shriveled or soft berries.

Is it better to bake with fresh or frozen cranberries? ›

If cranberries are frozen then removed from the freezer then thawed, they will have a soft texture and are usable for cooking and baking. Adding frozen cranberries to recipes is often recommended.

Why did my cranberry bread fall? ›

Oven should have a consistent temperature

You need consist oven temperature to prevent your quick bread or cake to sink in the middle. Always preheat your oven and use an oven thermometer to check whether your quick bread is cooked. If not, continue baking until it passes the toothpick and thermometer test.

What makes a quick bread crumbly? ›

A coarse, crumbly texture: Your quick bread should be moist and dense. Too much fat (butter, oil, or shortening) or too much leavening (baking soda or baking powder) will cause the bread to be crumbly.

Why is my soda bread dry and crumbly? ›

Make sure you are using the correct amount of baking soda in the recipe. Too much or too little can result in a crumbly loaf. It's also possible that your oven wasn't hot enough when you baked the bread.

What causes close textured bread? ›

There may be several reasons for a dense, cake like texture in bread. It may indicate the kneading wasn't enough for the gluten to develop properly, or the dough was proved for too short a time or the dough may have been too dry. It is also worth checking the flour you used.

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