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A sliced loaf of cranberry orange bread with cranberries in the crumb

Cranberry Orange Bread

A tender, golden quick bread with bright orange juice and zest and coarse-chopped cranberries in every slice. Grandma's Christmas loaf — one for the house, one for a friend.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings: 12 slices
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Calories: 165
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 3/4 cup orange juice
  • 1 tbsp orange zest from about 1 large orange
  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter melted (or vegetable oil)
  • 1 large egg room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries coarsely chopped
  • 1/2 cup walnuts chopped (optional)

Method
 

  1. Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan well and line it with a strip of parchment if you like easy lifting.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the orange juice, orange zest, melted butter and egg until smooth.
  4. Pour the orange mixture into the flour mixture and stir with a spoon just until combined — a few small lumps are fine. Do not beat it smooth.
  5. Fold in the chopped cranberries (and the walnuts, if using) until they are just distributed through the batter. It will be thick — that is right.
  6. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake 60–65 minutes, until the loaf is deep golden, cracked along the top, and a toothpick poked in the center comes out clean. If it browns too fast near the end, lay a piece of foil loosely over the top.
  7. Cool the loaf in the pan 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely before slicing — warm quick bread crumbles and gums up the knife.

Notes

Storage: wrap tightly and keep at room temperature up to 4 days, or refrigerate up to 1 week. The flavor deepens on the second day.
 
Freeze: wrap the whole loaf (or thick slices) in plastic and foil and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature, still wrapped.
 
Nutrition is an estimate per slice, without the optional walnuts.