Sourdough Cranberry Orange Breakfast Loaf is sweet and citrusy with the well known tang from sourdough. A healthier version of my Grammas favorite holiday bread, this breakfast bread is a great start with your morning cup!
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Since I started my journey to a more nourishing life over a decade ago, transforming all my favorite recipes to sourdough has been one of my goals.
This cranberry orange breakfast bread is a family favorite that I would make for my Italian Gramma every year around Thanksgiving. She was a lover of all things sweet and it made me proud to make her something she loved.
With my Italian side, one way we celebrated Thanksgiving was by everyone making homemade treats and/or goods. My dad was the oldest of 10, so we would make 11 goody bags and every family made enough of their chosen item to put one of each into every bag. It’s a tradition that I grew up looking forward to every year. Thanksgiving was bigger than Christmas for our family.
When I was old enough this Cranberry Orange Bread was my contribution to the ever growing number of family goody bags. What’s not to love about the soft chunks of cranberry, the bright flavors from the orange zest topped with the sweetness of the sugary orange glaze.
Spread with soft butter or cream cheese, I hope this Sourdough Cranberry Orange Breakfast Bread is loved in your home as much as it is in mine.
Tips for Sourdough Cranberry Orange Breakfast Loaf
- My favorite way to zest citrus is by using a vegetable peeler and gently peel the entire orange. Then I mince it as finely as I can. Even if I dont need all of the zest, I can freeze it or dry it for later use. Peeling gives me the most zest out of the orange.
- This a sligtly tart bread. Add 1/2 cup additional sugar for a sweeter bread.
- The batter will be thick. The sourdough version is even thicker than my other version.
- This bread takes a full hour to bake, sometimes 1hr and 10 minutes are necessary. To check for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center. When the toothpick comes out mostly clean, it is ready.
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Ingredients for Sourdough Cranberry Orange Loaf
All Purpose Flour
Grated Orange Zest– I like to use a vegetable peeler to get the most zest off of the oranges, then I chop it finely. Whatever I dont use, I freeze or dehydrate for later use. I also recommend buying organic since the outside of conventional oranges are typically sprayed with preservative and ripening chemicals, not to mention pesticides. For More information on what’s on your food, visit What’s on My Food?.
Fresh Cranberries– These are much harder to find organic but Azure Standard has them if you buy them in bulk.
Pecans fall low on the list of contamination because of the thick shell they grow in.
Orange Juice ( I use the juice from the zested oranges)
Butter
Egg
Sugar
Baking Powder
Baking Soda
Salt
Tools you may need
- Handheld Mixer
- Spatula
- Mixing Bowls of various sizes
- Bread Pan
Instruction for Sourdough Cranberry Orange Breakfast Loaf
The night before, add sourdough, all purpose flour, orange juice, zest, and softened butter to a bowl. Mix the ingredients together, cover and set aside for 6-12 hours on the counter or up to 24 hours in the fridge.
The next morning, preheat the oven while you grease and flour your loaf pan.
Prepare your breakfast bread.
Whisk your egg and sugar and add it to your batter, mix till combined.
In a small bowl, mix together the salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Mix into the batter
Lastly, gently fold the cranberries and pecans into the batter.
Pour into the prepared Loaf Pan
Bake for one hour in preheated oven or until the loaf springs back gently when touched. Let stand 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool. Wrap with eco-friendly beeswax wraps or plastic wrap to keep fresh.
Optional: For a bit more sweetness, top with an orange sugar glaze. Mix orange juice with powdered sugar and drizzle over the top.
Other Recipes from our Farmhouse Kitchen
Easy New York Style Cheesecake
Sourdough Cranberry Orange Breakfast Bread
Sourdough Cranberry Orange Breakfast Loaf is sweet and citrusy with the well known tang from sourdough. A healthier version of my Grammas favorite holiday bread, this breakfast bread is a great start with your morning cup!
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour
- 1/2 cup Sourdough Starter
- 1 Tb Grated Orange Zest
- 1 1/2 cups Fresh Cranberries
- 1/2 cup Pecans, coarsely chopped
- 3/4 cup Orange Juice
- 1/4 cup Butter, softened
- 1 Egg
- 1 cup Sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- Optional for Sugar Glaze
- 1/4 cup Powdered Sugar
- 1 Tb Orange Juice
- 1 tsp Orange Zest
Instructions
- The night before, add sourdough discard, all purpose flour, orange juice, zest, and softened butter to a bowl. Mix the ingredients together, cover and set aside for 6-12 hours on the counter or up to 24 hours in the fridge.
- The next morning, preheat the oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit while you grease and flour your loaf pan.
- Whisk your egg and sugar and add it to your batter, mix till combined.
- In a small bowl, mix together the salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Mix into the batter
- Lastly, gently fold the cranberries and pecans into the batter.
- Pour into the prepared Loaf Pan
- Bake for one hour in preheated oven or until the loaf springs back gently when touched. Let stand 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool. Wrap with eco-friendly beeswax wraps or plastic wrap to keep fresh.
Orange Glaze
In a small bowl stir together the powdered sugar, orange juice and orange zest.
Drizzle over the top of the cooled cranberry orange loaf. Let the glaze solidify for 10 minutes before slicing or wrapping in plastic.
Notes
- For the biggest yield of zest from your oranges, try peeling them with a vegetable peeler and finely mincing them with a knife.
- This a sligtly tart bread. Add 1/2 cup additional sugar for a sweeter bread.
- The batter will be thick. The sourdough version is even thicker than my other version.
- This bread takes a full hour to bake, sometimes 1hr and 10 minutes are necessary. Test the middle with an instant read thermometer. It should be 200-210 F
Nutrition Information
Yield 12 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 105Total Fat 2gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 1gCholesterol 18mgSodium 209mgCarbohydrates 19gFiber 1gSugar 3gProtein 3g
Calculations are not always accurate.
This recipe looks great, but I don’t see any measurements. How much of each thing am I supposed to use?
Thank you so much for the heads up! I typically check my posts multiple times for mistakes and am not sure how I missed this. Must be pregnancy brain in full effect. Ive corrected it.