Cranberry Bread, makes 1 - 9”x5” loaf
This is special and festive enough for the holidays.
I also like to make a special bread with cranberries. Taking advantage of the cranberry’s availability, I’ve made this in the spring. As in my cranberry conserve recipe, this also features cranberries with oranges.
Ingredients:
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 ½ teaspoons of baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt (optional)
¼ cup shortening
¼ cup orange juice—fresh from the orange
1 tablespoon grated orange rind
1 egg, beaten
1 cup chopped nuts
2 cups coarsely chopped cranberries
- Mix together the flour, baking powder, soda, and salt, if you’re using. Cut in the shortening.
- In a small bowl, combine orange juice and grated rind with the beaten egg. Pour the liquid into the dry ingredients to dampen.
- Add nuts and cranberries. The cranberries should be barely chopped. You want their special effect in the bread to be of bright spots of festive color, rather than a blanket of solid color.
- Grease the pans well (extra shortening). Push the mixture into the pan evenly and let it rest while oven heats to 350 degrees F. Bake for 60 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean and dry.
- Gently release the loaf from the pan… often breads like this will taste better when they are a day old, but I wouldn’t know. This gets eaten the first night at my house.
This is a recipe from my book The Good Food Compendium - An indispensable guide to sensible nutrition and eating pleasures for those who care about fine fare and wholesome living.