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The first bag of fresh cranberries shows up in the store at the end of October, and in my mother’s kitchen that meant one thing: cranberry orange bread, baked that same week and every week after until the berries disappeared again. My husband eats a slice with his morning coffee and says the tart berries wake him up better than the coffee does. My mother said exactly the same about my father forty years ago. It is a plain, tender quick bread, but the orange is in every part of it: zest rubbed into the sugar, fresh juice in the batter, and a thin orange glaze over the top.
The cranberries go in whole and raw. In the oven some of them burst and bleed pink into the crumb, and the rest stay round and tart, so every bite has a sour little pop against the sweet orange. The one problem with whole berries is that they love to sink and pile up in the bottom of the pan. Here is the full recipe, and the small steps that keep the cranberries spread evenly from the top of the loaf to the bottom.
Why this cranberry orange bread works
- Zest rubbed into the sugar. Rubbing the orange zest into the sugar with your fingertips pulls the orange oil out of the zest, so the whole loaf tastes of orange, not just the glaze.
- Fresh juice for most of the liquid. Orange juice in place of most of the milk gives a bright, tender crumb.
- Cold, floured berries. Chilled cranberries tossed in a spoon of flour grip the batter and stay suspended instead of sinking.
- A thick batter. A batter that holds a spoon holds the berries up. A runny batter lets them fall.
- A thin glaze, on a cool loaf. Brushed on once the bread has cooled, the glaze sets as a thin sweet shell and does not soak in.
Ingredients
Makes one 9x5 inch loaf, about 10 slices. The measurements are in US cups with grams in brackets.
For the bread
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (250g), plus 1 tablespoon for the berries
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
- Finely grated zest of 1 large orange
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup fresh orange juice (180ml), from about 2 oranges
- 1/4 cup whole milk (60ml)
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled (75g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries (150g), rinsed and dried
For the orange glaze
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar (90g)
- 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
Fresh cranberries keep for weeks in the refrigerator and freeze perfectly in the bag, so buy an extra bag when they first come in. Frozen berries go into the batter straight from the freezer, still frozen. Leave the cranberries whole; chopped berries turn the crumb pink and wet.
How to make cranberry orange bread
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees (175°C). Butter a 9x5 inch loaf pan and line the bottom and long sides with a strip of parchment, leaving the ends hanging over as handles.
- Put the cranberries in the freezer while you make the batter. Cold berries hold their shape and stay put.
- In a large bowl, rub the sugar and orange zest together with your fingertips for a full minute, until the sugar is damp, pale orange and fragrant.
- Whisk the 2 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into the orange sugar.
- In another bowl, whisk the egg, orange juice, milk, melted butter and vanilla until smooth.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and fold with a spatula only until no dry flour shows. The batter should be thick. A few lumps are fine.
- Toss the cold cranberries with the 1 tablespoon flour until each one is lightly coated, then fold them gently into the batter with three or four turns of the spatula.
- Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, until the top is domed, cracked and golden and a toothpick in the center comes out with no wet batter. If the top browns too fast, lay a sheet of foil loosely over it for the last 15 minutes.
- Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then lift the loaf out by the parchment and let it cool completely on a rack.
- Stir the powdered sugar with enough orange juice to make a thick but pourable glaze. Spoon it over the cooled loaf and let it run down the sides. Let it set for 15 minutes before slicing.
Tips that make the difference
- Rub the zest into the sugar for a full minute. It is the step that turns a cranberry bread into a cranberry orange bread.
- Fold the berries in last, with as few turns as possible. Stirring breaks them and turns the batter pink.
- Check the center in two places with a toothpick. A burst berry can look wet, so you are looking for raw batter, not juice.
- Wait until the loaf is completely cool before slicing. Warm, it crumbles around the berries.
Variations
- Pecan. Fold in 1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans with the cranberries.
- Muffins. Divide the batter among 12 lined muffin cups and bake for 20 to 24 minutes.
- Sugar top. Skip the glaze and sprinkle the top with coarse sugar before baking for a crunchy crust.
- Lemon. Use lemon zest and juice in place of the orange for a sharper loaf.
Storage and make-ahead
Keep the loaf wrapped at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the refrigerator for up to a week.
The bread freezes well, unglazed, for up to 3 months. Wrap it tightly, thaw it on the counter, and glaze it the day you serve it.
A slice warmed for a few seconds in the toaster oven tastes freshly baked again.
Frequently asked questions
How do I keep the cranberries from sinking to the bottom?
Keep them cold, toss them in a spoon of flour, and fold them into a thick batter at the very end with only a few turns. Cold floured berries in a thick batter stay spread through the loaf.
Can I use frozen cranberries?
Yes. Use them straight from the freezer, still frozen, and add 5 minutes to the baking time if needed.
Can I use dried cranberries?
You can, but the loaf will be sweeter and you lose the tart pop. Use 1 cup dried cranberries soaked in hot orange juice for 10 minutes and drained.
Why is the bread dense?
Usually the batter was overmixed. Fold only until the flour disappears; quick bread batter should look thick and a little lumpy.
Buy two bags when the cranberries first come in and put one in the freezer. Some morning in February you will be glad you did.
Cranberry Orange Bread (Whole Fresh Cranberries, Orange Glaze)
Cranberry orange bread: a tender quick bread with orange zest rubbed into the sugar, fresh orange juice in the batter and whole fresh cranberries folded in, baked at 350 degrees for 55 to 65 minutes and finished with a thin orange glaze.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (250g), plus 1 tablespoon for the berries
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- Finely grated zest of 1 large orange
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup fresh orange juice (180ml), from about 2 oranges
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries (150g), rinsed and dried
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees (175°C). Butter a 9x5 inch loaf pan and line the bottom and long sides with a strip of parchment, leaving the ends hanging over as handles.
- Put the cranberries in the freezer while you make the batter. Cold berries hold their shape and stay put.
- In a large bowl, rub the sugar and orange zest together with your fingertips for a full minute, until the sugar is damp, pale orange and fragrant.
- Whisk the 2 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into the orange sugar.
- In another bowl, whisk the egg, orange juice, milk, melted butter and vanilla until smooth.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and fold with a spatula only until no dry flour shows. The batter should be thick. A few lumps are fine.
- Toss the cold cranberries with the 1 tablespoon flour until each one is lightly coated, then fold them gently into the batter with three or four turns of the spatula.
- Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, until the top is domed, cracked and golden and a toothpick in the center comes out with no wet batter. If the top browns too fast, lay a sheet of foil loosely over it for the last 15 minutes.
- Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then lift the loaf out by the parchment and let it cool completely on a rack.
- Stir the powdered sugar with enough orange juice to make a thick but pourable glaze. Spoon it over the cooled loaf and let it run down the sides. Let it set for 15 minutes before slicing.
