Cranberry Orange Bread Recipe

Moist cranberry orange bread made with fresh orange zest, tart cranberries, and crunchy pecans. An easy quick bread perfect for breakfast or gifting.

Course Bread

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 1

Total Time 1 20

Servings servings

Calories 296kcal

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Grease and flour a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
Toast pecans in a dry frying pan over medium heat. Stirring until fragrant and beginning to turn golden brown.Chop pecans finely.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir in orange zest, cranberries, and toasted pecans. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together butter, sugar, and egg until smooth.
Stir in orange juice. Beat in flour mixture until just moistened.
Pour into prepared pan.
Bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until the bread springs back when lightly touched. Let stand 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool. Wrap in plastic when completely cool.
For mini loaves, bake 45-50 minutes

Don't over mix. Stir just until ingredients are combined. Mix wet ingredients in one bowl and dry ingredients in another and then combine. Overmixing causes tough bread.
Fresh ingredients. Be sure your baking soda and baking powder are fresh. If it is too old your bread won't rise well. Use fresh squeezed orange juice for the best flavor.
Don't allow batter to sit in the pan for very long before putting it in the oven. The baking soda and powder begin working as soon as they are wet so if the batter sits too long it may not rise as well.
If the top browns too quickly, loosely tent the bread with foil during the last 10–15 minutes of baking.
Let the bread cool before slicing so it holds together well, especially if gifting.