Cranberry Orange Bread Tested Recipe

Cranberry Orange Bread Recipe

Here is a delicious Cranberry Bread for you to try. This Cranberry Orange Bread pairs the tartness of fresh cranberries with the sweet citrus flavor of freshly squeezed orange juice. Besides its wonderful flavor, this Cranberry Orange Bread is lower in fat than most, as it uses only 4 tablespoons (57 grams) of butter and replaces the more commonly used milk with orange juice. I adapted this recipe from Jean Anderson's 'The American Century Cookbook' where she tells us that this recipe was developed by Ocean Spray around the middle of the 20th century.

For a little trivia; Ocean Spray began in 1930 and was formed by three cranberry growers who wanted to expand the market for their product (cranberries). Together, this cooperative did just that; first with the introduction in 1930 of Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice Cocktail, and again in 1963 with the introduction of the first fruit juice blend, Cranberry-Apple Juice Drink. They have had many successes since, one being sweetened dried cranberries that were introduced in the early 1990s.

Cranberries are a small, hard, smooth-skinned, round to oval-shaped, bright red berry that is native to North America. It is also known by the names craneberry, bounceberry, bearberry, cowberry, or lingonberry. The American Indians used the cranberry as both a food and a medicine. Sailors as well as settlers traveling westward were known to have used cranberries as a way to ward off scurvy. Today we know that cranberries are high in Vitamin C and are also used as an antioxidant.


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Cranberry Orange Bread: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place rack in the center of the oven. Grease (or spray with a nonstick vegetable spray) a 9 x 5 x 3 inch (23 x 13 x 8 cm) loaf pan.

Toast the pecans or walnuts for about 8 - 10 minutes or until lightly browned and fragrant. Let cool and then chop coarsely.

In a small bowl, combine the beaten egg with the orange juice and vanilla extract.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour with the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and orange zest. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend it into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir in the chopped cranberries and nuts. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 50 - 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes. Then remove the bread from the pan and let cool completely before slicing. This bread can be frozen.

Makes one - 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf.

References:

Anderson, Jean. The American Century Cookbook. Clarkson/Potter Publishers. New York: 1997.

Daly, Regan. In the Sweet Kitchen. Random House Canada: 2000.

Website: www.oceanspray.com