Monday, November 15th, 2010
quickest cranberry bread
My favorite part of Thanksgiving has always been my grandma’s cranberry relish. The past few times she’s served it (Thanksgiving or otherwise), she’s wisely placed the serving dish next to my plate. The lip-smacking sweet-tartness is one of my favorite foods on earth and one that I now make in my own home. I love the tartness of simple, fresh cranberries – that which turns most people away and to the sweetened, dried variety.
It’s kind of rare to find a recipe that happily channels the cranberry without suffocating it with sugar, but I’m pleased to report that this is one of them. Next time I think I’ll add a bit of orange zest to truly capture cranberry relish in bread form, but this bread is pretty darned delicious just the way it is. And in a burst of serendipity, it’s ridiculously easy to make.
Cranberry Bread
Three Many Cooks
My one and only issue with this bread is that thanks to the fact that it’s so moist (and therefore delicious), it doesn’t keep very well – for about three days max. I think next time I’ll make it in muffin form and freeze a few.
Makes 1 loaf
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups light brown sugar, packed
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 large egg, beaten
3/4 cup milk (soy is fine!)
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 12 ounce bag of fresh cranberries*
1 tablespoon raw sugar
Grease and flour a 9- by 5-inch loaf pan. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 350°F. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Meanwhile combine egg, milk and butter in a small bowl. Add wet mix to dry mix and combine thoroughly then stir in cranberries. Pour batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle with raw sugar. Bake until golden brown and a cake tester comes clean, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Let cool a few minutes. Run a knife around pan to loosen bread. Turn onto a wire rack to cool completely.
*I only had one of those precious but tiny 7-ounce containers of cranberries when I decided to make this, so I used that plus a medium pear, coarsely chopped. Yum!
High-Altitude Notes: Use scant measurements of baking powder and soda, and bake for about an hour at 375°F.
i love the tartness that cranberries add to baked goods. this quick bread looks so yummy!
This looks soooooo good! I love quick breads and I love cranberries just as they are as well. Good idea also to add some pear! Can’t wait to make this!
thanks ladies – glad to share the cranberry love.
Hey Laura- Carolyn from FBC Bentonville. I too LOVE cranberry bread & have a very similar recipe- I only wish fresh cranberries could be purchased year round here! I noticed you said something about adding orange zest & I would agree with that idea because my recipe calls for a small amount of orange juice (no milk in my recipe). The taste of the bread is so wonderful with the sweetness of the sugar & orange juice but with a little bit of tart flavor too. Love your blog!