Cranberry-Orange Bread with Salted Pecan Streusel

Cranberry-orange bread always feels like a holiday treat just bursting with winter fruit flavor. It’s a lovely treat to make for yourself or to offer as a gift to teachers, friends, and family. My version is healthier than many you’ll find, made with whole-grain flour and less sugar. See below for a few tips and how-to photos.

Yield: 12 servingsAuthor: Ann Taylor PittmanPrint Recipe

Cranberry-Orange Bread with Salted Pecan Streusel

prep time: 15 minscook time: 50 minstotal time: 65 mins

I adore cranberry-orange bread, but it's often swimming in sugar and made with refined white flour. I worked on this healthier version and absolutely love it. It's moist (sorry, but that's the best word for it!), full of citrus flavor and intermittent pops of cranberry tartness, and crowned with the most delicious salted pecan streusel. Here's the thing, though (yep, there's a thing): I love that streusel so much that I wanted there to be plenty on top of the bread. It's a little heavy, so it sinks down into the batter a bit and prevents the bread from doming. I tried the bread with less streusel and just wasn't as happy with it. So sunken streusel it is!

ingredients:

Bread:

• 8 oz. whole-wheat pastry flour (about 2 cups)
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 Tbsp. grated orange zest (from 1 large navel orange)
• 1/2 cup fresh orange juice (from 1 large navel orange)
• 1/3 cup whole buttermilk
• 3 Tbsp. canola oil
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 cup chopped fresh or frozen, thawed cranberries (1 cup whole cranberries = about 1 cup chopped)

Streusel:

• 1/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans (no need to pre-toast; they'll toast on top of the bread as it bakes)
• 3 Tbsp. light brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp. salted butter, melted
• 1/4 tsp. kosher salt

instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8 x 4–inch loaf pan with parchment paper (see tip below). 
2. To prepare the bread, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl; stir with a whisk to combine.
3. Combine granulated sugar, orange zest (it's easier to zest the orange while it's whole, before you cut it and squeeze out the juice), orange juice, buttermilk, oil, vanilla, and egg in a medium bowl; stir well with a whisk to combine. Add wet mixture to flour mixture; stir with a silicone spatula to combine. Fold in cranberries. Spoon batter into prepared loaf pan. 
4. To prepare streusel, combine oats, pecans, brown sugar, butter, and salt; stir well to combine. Sprinkle evenly over batter.
5. Bake at 350°F until bread springs back when pressed in center and a wooden pick comes out clean, about 50 - 55 minutes. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan (with parchment paper) and cool on a wire rack.
6. For mini loaves (I used 3 [6 x 2 1/2–inch] paper baking molds), spoon about 1 cup batter into each of 3 molds. Divide streusel evenly over loaves. Bake at 350°F until bread springs back when pressed in center and a wooden pick comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool in paper molds. 

NOTES:

Calories 209; Fat 7g (sat 2g); Protein 3g; Carb 33g; Fiber 3g; Sugars 16g (added sugars 14g); Sodium 144mg

Created using The Recipes Generator

When prepping the loaf pan, line it with parchment paper to make removal much easier. Place the paper down on a surface, place the pan in the middle, and make diagonal cuts from each corner of the paper to the corner of the pan.

This makes it easier to fit the paper into the pan, firmly into the corners.

Next, I call for whole-wheat pastry flour here. It’s an ingredient I absolutely love and use all the time. It’s finer in texture than whole-wheat flour or white-wheat flour, making it ideal for baking projects. Here’s the kind I use:

Last little tidbit. Please take note of my words above about the streusel. There’s a good bit of it.

And that gives you excellent coverage over the batter:

Trust me, you wouldn’t want any less! The bread is delicious just as it is. It’s just a little less poofy, that’s all.