Quick Orange Bread

Quick Orange Bread
The search for this bread came about because of two reasons - leftover orange juice and my own laziness. In our house OJ is not a regular item and when I do buy it, the carton stares at me every time I open the refrigerator. So I wanted to find ways of using the half which is always left over after CV is done with it. Hence the idea for a bread.
I added the quick part in the name because this recipe is just that - a quick, measure, mix and bake recipe. No yeast, no "letting it rise" and no kneading till the gluten develops. Mainly because I'm lazy, yes I accept my fault. And this was for just the three of us at home, no guests to impress. Hence I found this recipe perfect for the occasion.

Ingredients
1 3/4 Cups Flour
3/4 Cup Sugar
1 Tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/2 Cup Orange Juice
1/4 Cup Oil
1 Egg
1/2 Cup Raisins
1/2 Cup Chopped Nut
2 Tbsp orange peel

In a large bowl, mix all the five dry ingredients. In a seperate bowl, mix the next three wet ingredients and the orange peel. Stir the wet mix into the flour mix just until moistened. Now stir in the raisins and nuts. Spread into a greased 9"x5" loaf pan and bake at 350F in the oven for 50 minutes. Cool and then remove from pan.
Serving suggestion : This bread tastes best when served warm with softened cream cheese or honey butter. We tried w/ cream cheese and it was delicious. Just a little cheese goes a long way here.

recipe courtesy: www.grouprecipes.com from username noir.
picture courtesy: flickr.com

Cranberry Bread

Black Friday dawned nice and bright this year. But we were inside malls and missed dawn. For the rest of the family left at home, I prepared Cranberry-Orange Nut Bread. I baked it the previous day. So, it was well rested and room temperature, in short, ready to be devoured when they woke up. This is again a recipe from Taste of Home's Best Holiday Recipes (2004) and I have no complaints with that. Correct measurements with excellent results. Here's the recipe



Cranberry-Orange Nut Bread







Ingredients
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 cup orange juice
grated peel of 1 orange or
1 tsp orange extract
2 tbsp butter, melted
2 tbsp hot water
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
1 cup chopped walnuts

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. in a small bowl, beat the egg; add the orange juice, peel/extract, butter and water. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in the cranberries and nuts. Spoon into a greased 9in. x 5in x 3in. loaf pan. Bake at 325 F for one hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack.
Yield: 1 loaf

Serving suggestion: Serve warm with cream cheese or honey butter.

picture courtesy: google images, oceanspray.ca
no copyright infringement intended.