Bread Machine Cranberry Orange Bread

This bread machine cranberry orange bread recipe helps you to make an easy dessert or snack. It uses orange juice, cranberries and orange zest to make a delicious “quick bread” (similar to banana bread).

Cranberry Orange Bread with Halved Frozen Cranberries

Recipe Sections

1. Ingredients
2. Instructions
3. Helpful Tips

As you probably know, “quick bread” recipes (e.g. banana bread and pumpkin bread) use baking soda and/or baking powder to rise. These recipes produce muffin-like desserts and snacks. The bread machine recipe on this page is NOT for a yeast-based sandwich bread.

Cranberry Orange Bread with Dried Cranberries

Ingredients

• 3/4 Cup – Orange Juice – 177 milliliters
• 2 Large Eggs (lightly beaten) – 114 grams – Not extra large eggs or jumbo eggs
• 1/2 Cup – Vegetable Oil – 118 milliliters – Use a neutral flavored oil (e.g. corn oil) so the oil flavor does not negatively interfere with the cranberry & orange flavor.
• 1 Teaspoon – Vanilla Extract – 5 milliliters
• 2 Tablespoons – Orange Zest – 10 grams – To make fresh zest, you will need 2 medium/large oranges. See instructions below. Or you can use 1 tablespoon (5 grams) of commercially dried zest (instead of 2 tablespoons of fresh zest).
• 1 Cup – White Granulated Sugar – 200 grams – Use 2/3 or 3/4 cup of sugar if you want a less sweet cranberry orange bread.
• 2 Cups – All Purpose Flour – 240 grams – Do not use bread flour.
• 1 Teaspoon – Baking Soda – 5 grams
• 1 Teaspoon – Baking Powder – 4 grams
• 1/2 Teaspoon – Salt – 3 grams
• 3/4 Cup – Dried Cranberries or Halved Frozen Cranberries – 85 grams – See the tips section below for more info.

Servings – Approximately 12 slices

Equipment Needed – Measuring cup & spoons, soft flexible spatula, oven mitts, wire cooling rack… and of course, a bread machine!

Key Items – Orange Juice, Cranberries, Oranges and “Zester”

Halved Frozen Cranberries

Instructions – How To Make Orange Zest

• Wash and dry 2 medium/large oranges. FYI – Keep the oranges whole because it makes them easier to zest. For example, do not cut the oranges in half before zesting.
• Use a zester (a fine grating tool) to gently shave off the thin orange outer peel of the orange. FYI – Do not grate off any of the white layer (the pith) below the orange peel. It is bitter.
• Rotate the orange slowly as you grate in order to remove the peel evenly.
• Repeat with second orange.
• This should create roughly 2 to 3 tablespoons of orange zest (depending on the size of the oranges!!).

Instructions – How To Make Bread Machine Cranberry Orange Bread

• Bread Machine Settings – Cake/Quick Bread, Light Color Crust & 2 lb Loaf
• Zest the oranges (see instructions above).
• If using frozen cranberries, cut them in half. FYI – Be careful not to cut your fingers!
• Lightly beat the eggs.
• Remove the bread pan from your unplugged bread machine.
• Add orange juice, eggs, oil, orange zest, vanilla extract into the bread pan and then add the other ingredients (except the cranberries). Try to follow the order of the ingredients listed above so that liquid ingredients are placed in the bread pan first and the dry ingredients second.
• Put the bread pan back into the bread machine, close the bread machine lid and then plug in the bread machine.
• Enter the bread machine settings (Cake/Quick Bread, Light Color, 2lb) and press the Start button. FYI – Before making this recipe, please READ the tips section below for more information regarding the cake/quick bread setting. On your machine, this setting might be called “quick bread”, “quick bread/cake”, “cake”, etc. However, some manufacturers use the “quick bread” setting for rapid sandwich-type breads that use yeast (and not for quick breads such as cranberry orange bread that use baking powder/soda). Therefore, this setting can be very confusing… but the tips section below will help you to find the right setting to use on your machine. You need to enter the correct setting used by your SPECIFIC bread machine model or the cranberry orange bread could be under or overbaked.
• Add the cranberries after the first bread machine mixing cycle and before the second mixing (final mixing). FYI – If your bread machine only has one mixing cycle and it does not beep/signal when to add extra fruit/nuts, you should add them about 8 to 10 minutes after the machine has started.
• When the bread machine has finished baking the bread, unplug the bread machine and remove the bread pan. Use oven mitts when removing the bread pan because it will be very hot!
• After removing the bread pan from the bread machine, you should let the cranberry orange bread stay within the warm bread pan for 10 minutes (as this finishes the baking process).
• After the 10 minute “cooldown”, you should remove the cranberry orange bread from the bread pan and place it on a wire cooling rack to finish cooling. Use oven mitts when removing the bread.
• You should allow the cranberry orange bread to completely cool before cutting. This can take up to 2 hours. Otherwise, the cranberry orange bread will break (crumble) more easily when cut.
• Please READ the tips section below for extra information on how to make this recipe successfully and to avoid common bread machine problems with moister “quick bread” recipes such as cranberry orange bread.

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Dried Cranberries Being Added To Batter

Bread Machine Cranberry Orange Bread – As Baking Finishes

Helpful Tips

• The tips below are designed to help bread machine “novices” and those who haven’t touched their bread machine in years.
• Click on this “print recipe” link if you want to print out this recipe. It includes all of the recipe’s ingredients and instructions. However, the recipe print function does not include my tips section. Please read the tips section in order to avoid common recipe problems.
• This recipe is part of Bread Dad’s series on easy Bread Machine Recipes such as banana bread, extra soft white bread, multigrain bread and French bread.

• Warning – The number 1 error that people make when creating a bread machine cranberry orange bread is using the WRONG setting. The people who have a problem often use the “quick” setting designed for fast sandwich bread recipes that use yeast… and NOT the “cake” or “quick bread” setting designed for moist quick breads (e.g. banana bread & cranberry orange bread) that use baking soda/powder. These are two totally different settings. You need to find the correct baking soda/powder “cake/quick bread” setting used with YOUR specific make & model of bread machine.
• To find the correct setting to use with some of the most popular bread machines, you should visit my Bread Machine Quick Bread Settings page. I set this up to help people find the correct setting for their particular bread machine. Please read this “settings” page as it could save you from a potential baking disaster!
• Another common error – Not premixing or scraping the sides of the bread pan. If you do not premix/scrape, you are very likely to have flour stuck to the sides of the bread pan and cranberry orange bread. For more information, read the premixing/scraping tips lower down on the page.
• Another common error – Making a cranberry orange bread that is too big for your specific bread machine. If you do, the cranberry orange bread will come out underbaked. For example, some supposedly 2 lb capable bread machines can only handle 1.5 lb “quick bread” recipes. Again, you should check out my Bread Machine Quick Bread Settings page because many visitors have left comments on whether various machines need extra baking time for 2 lb quick bread recipes (e.g. cranberry orange bread and banana bread).
• My cranberry orange bread recipe is a “quick bread” recipe similar to my popular recipes for Bread Machine Banana Bread and Bread Machine Pumpkin Bread. Quick bread recipes typically use baking soda and/or baking powder to rise (and they do not use yeast).

• Do NOT add the cranberries too early or they will get chopped up into tiny pieces by the bread machine’s mixing paddles. Depending on your bread machine, you want to add them about 8 to 10 minutes after the machine has started.
• For this recipe, you can use either 3/4 cup of dried cranberries or 3/4 cup of halved frozen cranberries (frozen berries cut in half).
• Dried cranberries are easier to use (as you do not have to cut them in half). Whereas, halved frozen cranberries tend to be juicier after baking the cranberry orange bread.
• I generally don’t use halved cranberries because they can occasionally throw off the liquid-to-dry ingredients ratio of a recipe. I prefer to use large whole cranberries (less moisture variability as the berry “shell” remains intact).
• However, for my bread machine cranberry orange bread, I like to use halved cranberries because they spread out better in the batter. Whole cranberries often float near the top of the batter.
• Just be aware – There is less control of the distribution/location of the berries when a bread machine is mixing the batter (versus when you hand mix a batter).
• I prefer to use frozen cranberries (versus fresh cranberries) for this recipe. They are easier to cut to cut in half and there is less leaking juice when cutting. Leaking juice can make the cranberries more difficult to cut.
• Use caution when cutting the cranberries in half so you do not cut your fingers.
• Before you cut the cranberries in half – Wash off any ice attached to the frozen cranberries and then dry them with a paper towel. You do not want to add any extra moisture because this can throw off the recipe.
• Visitors – Do you prefer to use dried cranberries or halved cranberries to make this recipe? Please post your cranberry thoughts in the comment section below.

• Optional – If you want to use 1 cup of dried unsweetened cranberries, you do not need to adjust the recipe. However, if you use 1 cup of dried sweetened cranberries, you should consider reducing the sugar by at least 1/4 cup. Therefore, you would use 1/2 to 3/4 cup of sugar (versus the 1 cup called for in the recipe). Sweetened dried cranberries have lots of added sugar (so you do not need to add as much white granulated sugar).
• Optional – I tried adding 1 cup of halved frozen cranberries but they added too much moisture. The cranberry bread came out slightly underbaked. Therefore, if you want to use 1 cup of halved frozen cranberries, you will need to reduce the orange juice to 2/3 cup (versus the 3/4 cup called for in the recipe).
• Warning – The addition of halved cranberries means more potential for moisture variability. This means that the cranberry orange bread might need to be baked for a few minutes longer (depending on your bread machine). Some supposed 2 lb capable bread machines are in fact better with 1.5 lb recipes (and have a harder time baking a 2 lb quick bread). If you have one of these machines, you will have to bake the cranberry orange bread for longer in your bread machine. Check on my Quick Bread Settings page because many visitors have left tips & suggestions on how time various bread machine needed. The page covers many popular bread machines.
• Optional – Once your bread machine has finished, wear oven mitts and use a digital bread thermometer to test if the cranberry orange bread has been fully baked. It should be fully baked if the internal temperature of the center of the bread is around 200 to 205 F. If the temperature is close (e.g. 195 F), you can just leave the pan in the still hot bread machine for a few minutes. If it is far off, you might need to use the “Bake” setting on your machine to bake it for an extra 5 to 10 minutes. Just keep testing the internal temperature until it is perfect!
• FYI – Halved frozen cranberries add extra moisture to the batter (whereas dried cranberries generally do not). This is why the top crust of the cranberry orange bread using halved frozen cranberries looks more bubbly (than the top crust of the cranberry orange bread using dried cranberries). See the pictures at the top of this page for an example of what I am talking about.
• The extra moisture from the halved frozen cranberries creates more steam and this generates more bubbles in the crust.
• If you like cranberry orange recipes, check Bread Dad’s recipe for Cranberry Orange Muffins.

• Zest is key to great cranberry orange bread! Orange zest provides a lot of the flavor and aroma.
• If you use only orange juice (and no zest), your bread machine cranberry orange bread will have only a VERY mild orange taste.
• What is orange zest? Orange zest is the thin orange outer layer of the orange peel. You only want to use this layer when making orange zest. You do NOT want to use any of the white layer (the pith) under the orange part of the peel. The white part is more bitter & has very little orange flavor. To learn more about the “science” of zesting, you should read the Wikipedia article on Zest (Ingredient).
• Always wash & dry the oranges before zesting. You want to wash off any dirt, chemicals, etc.
• Try to use organic or unwaxed oranges when making the zest. Some supermarket oranges are coated with wax to extend their shelf life, make them look shinier, etc. However, this wax can trap dirt & pesticides on the fruit. Therefore, it is better to use unwaxed or organic oranges in order to reduce this potential problem.

• In order to zest the oranges, you need to use a zesting tool (see picture above with the 2 oranges) or very fine grater.
• I like to use 2 tablespoons of orange zest to make this bread machine cranberry orange bread because it adds a stronger orange flavor & aroma.
• FYI – To make 2 tablespoons of orange zest, you will need roughly 1 1/2 to 2 large oranges (or 2 to 3 medium-sized oranges).
• For a milder orange flavor, you should use 1 tablespoon of zest. However, if you use only 1 tablespoon, the tartness of the cranberries will stand out more. FYI – To make 1 tablespoon of orange zest, you will need roughly one large orange.
• Be sure to shake up your orange juice container before adding the orange juice to the pan. The top layer of the juice can be quite “thin” before shaking the container.

• Do not sprinkle orange zest on top of the batter. It will dry out and/or turn bitter when baked in your bread machine. The orange zest to needs to be thoroughly mixed into the moist batter.
• Optional – After zesting the 2 large oranges, you can use these “leftover” peeled oranges to make fresh squeezed orange juice for this cranberry orange bread. However, depending on the size of the oranges, you might need a little extra orange juice (e.g. from store bought juice) in order to reach the full 3/4 cup of juice needed for this recipe.
• If you would rather use a ready-made commercial product (instead of grating some oranges), you should look for dried orange zest and NOT dried orange peel. Dried orange peel often is more bitter than dried orange zest because it often includes some of the bitter white layer (the pith) under the thin orange outer layer of the orange. You can find this product online or in the spice section of major supermarkets (but not all supermarkets carry it).
• If you use dried orange zest, you should only use 50% of the fresh orange zest listed in my recipe. Therefore, instead of 2 tablespoons of fresh orange zest, you would use only 1 tablespoon of dried orange zest. Dried zest has had the water removed and this concentrates the orange flavor.
• However, fresh orange zest usually has a brighter flavor and stronger aroma than packaged dried orange zest.
• Visitors – Do you prefer to use homemade orange zest or a commercially made dried zest? Please post your orange zest suggestions & tips in the comment section below.

• You should use large eggs (and not extra large or jumbo) in order to make this recipe. If you use extra large or jumbo eggs, you will be adding extra moisture and your cranberry orange bread might come out underbaked. FYI – In the USA, they sell different-sized eggs which are usually labelled as large, extra large or jumbo.
• Optional – For a less sweet (and less “breakfasty”) cranberry orange bread, you should reduce the sugar to 2/3 or 3/4 of a cup (instead of using the 1 cup of sugar called for in the recipe).
• You should use a NEUTRAL flavored vegetable oil (e.g. corn) in order to make this bread machine cranberry bread.
• Stronger flavored oils (e.g. peanut oil or extra virgin olive oil) may NEGATIVELY impact or change the taste of cranberry bread. You want to use an oil that has very little flavor (so it does not interfere with the banana flavor).
• If you want to use olive oil, I would recommend using a “mild”, “light” or “extra light” olive oil as they would have the least flavor impact on the bread machine cranberry orange bread. Unfortunately, extra virgin and virgin olive oil have stronger flavors and are more likely to negatively impact the taste of your bread machine cranberry bread.
• This recipe uses oil because it helps to make the cranberry orange bread taste more moist. If you use butter, the bread will taste a little drier (as oil is a liquid at normal room temperatures and butter is usually a solid).

• Use FRESH ingredients (e.g. baking soda and flour) for the best results. For example, if you use stale baking soda and/or baking powder, your bread machine cranberry bread will not rise properly and will be too dense. Baking soda & powder is best if used within 6 months of opening the container.
• Ingredients such as flour & sugar should be stored in airtight containers in order to avoid contamination from moisture (in the air), dust, pests, etc.
• Flour (when stored in an open bag and not in an airtight container) can absorb a lot of moisture from the air. This extra moisture throws off recipes and can lead to underbaked quick breads, quick breads “soups”, etc.
• If you are using flour that has been stored in an open bag, your cranberry orange bread might require a little extra baking time (due to the extra moisture absorbed from the air).
• This recipe uses all purpose flour and not bread flour. If you use bread flour to make this recipe, you will get a tougher and more rubbery cranberry orange bread. Bread flour is best for sandwich bread recipes. All purpose flour is best for softer “quick breads” that use baking soda/powder (such as banana bread & pumpkin bread).
• Do NOT open the lid of your machine during the baking cycle. This can cause your bread to be underbaked (as you are letting heat out). The baking cycle for this recipe typically starts 20 minutes after the machine is turned on.

• Flour sticking to the sides of your bread machine cranberry bread? Unfortunately, bread machines have a harder time mixing moister sweet quick bread recipes (versus drier sandwich bread dough). Therefore, after the first mixing cycle has fully stopped (and before the second & final mixing cycle has begun), I like to scrape the sides of the bread pan with a flexible silicon spatula (not a metal spatula). This loosens any flour that may be sticking to the sides of the bread pan (because a bread machine mixing “paddle” doesn’t quite reach the sides of the bread pan). For safety purposes, I do not scrape the sides of the bread pan when the mixing blade is moving. In addition, people should not stick their hands inside bread machines. Moreover, people should always wear oven mitts when dealing with a bread machine because the bread pan & bread machine interior can get quite hot.
• Nevertheless, ALWAYS follow the instructions included in the manufacturer’s manual for your specific bread machine in order to safely scrape the inside of your bread pan.
• Some people get around this issue by PREMIXING their ingredients. They will first mix all of the ingredients by hand in a mixing bowl and then add it to the bread machine bread pan (versus adding all of the ingredients to the bread pan and letting the bread machine mix everything). While this is an extra step, premixing the ingredients greatly reduces the potential for any unwanted small flour “clumps” and/or flour sticking to the sides of the finished cranberry orange bread. After hand mixing the ingredients, you should just follow the rest of the recipe instructions (e.g. enter proper bread machine settings and so on). However, always remember to add the ingredients (or hand mixed batter) to the bread pan when the bread pan is out of the bread machine and the bread machine is unplugged.
• If you premix the ingredients, you should consider removing the paddles from the bread pan (while the machine is unplugged and the pan is not in the machine). This will prevent the ingredients from being mixed potentially too much. Overmixing can lead to “gummier” cranberry orange breads. You also get the benefit of a much smaller paddle hole in the bottom of the cranberry orange bread (only from the paddle “pole”).
• Weird Fact – If you do not mix by hand, the cranberries seem to cluster in the center of the bread machine cranberry bread. This is due to the mixing action of the paddles. They create a mini whirlpool drawing things into the center.

• If you have a problem with a quick bread recipe, please make sure that you are following the recipe exactly. You will need to make sure that you are inputting the correct bread machine settings, using the exact ingredient measurements (e.g. don’t eyeball the measurements versus using a measuring cup), using the exact ingredients called for in the recipe (e.g. baking soda/powder versus yeast or all purpose flour versus bread flour), etc. Please don’t “wing” things with recipes unless you are willing to live with your experiments!
• Please read the instructions/manual included with your bread machine in order to use it safely and effectively. Recipe instructions & settings may differ slightly depending on the brand & model of bread machine utilized.
• Long-term storage – If you want to keep your cranberry orange bread for more than 1-2 days (depending on your home’s temperature & humidity), you will need to freeze it. Please read Bread Dad’s How To Freeze Banana Bread for more details. The storage details on that page will also work for a bread machine cranberry orange bread.
• If you would like to read my reviews of the bread machines that I own & use to create my bread machine recipes, please visit my Best Bread Machines page. It covers bread machines such as Briskind, Hamilton Beach and Zojirushi. The page provides my thoughts on the machines’ strengths and weaknesses.

• If you are looking for additional bread machine “quick bread” recipes, please visit Bread Dad’s recipes for Bread Machine Banana Bread, Bread Machine Pumpkin Bread, Bread Machine Cornbread (sweet), Bread Machine Gingerbread and Bread Machine Zucchini Bread.
• My recipes are based on US ingredient measurements (e.g. US cups & tablespoons). However, as a courtesy to our European visitors, I have also included some very ROUGH European equivalents (e.g. grams & milliliters). Since I rarely use European measurements when baking, please let me know in the comment section below if any of the European ingredient measurements need to be changed (e.g. for XYZ ingredient, milliliters are more commonly used versus the grams information listed in the recipe).
• Always wear oven mitts/gloves when dealing with a bread machine. The bread pan and the rest of the bread machine can get very hot during the baking process. This means that the bread pan and bread machine is likely to be very hot when you attempt to remove a baked good from the bread machine and/or bread pan.
• For more easy bread machine recipes (e.g. white bread, pizza dough, cornbread, French bread, whole wheat bread, etc.), please visit Bread Dad’s main section on Bread Machine Recipes.

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Reference Sources

1. Wikipedia, Bread Machine
2. Wikipedia, Cranberry
3. Wikipedia, Orange
4. Wikipedia, Quick Bread

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