Sunday mornings usually mean some type of pancakes at our place. This weekend however, we decided to try something a little different and bake a gorgeously golden loaf of orange cranberry soda bread and I am so glad we did.
This bread is not only a breeze to bake, we had our fruit spiked loaf nestled in the oven in less than 10 minutes but is a delicious alternative to our usual pancakes.
Preparing this loaf is much like baking a batch of scones, you rub a little butter into flour, add milk to create a dough, shape and bake until golden and cooked. Its very simple and just like scones, this loaf also freezes beautifully. Our surplus loaf was cut into thick slices, wrap individually and popped into the deep freeze ready to be enjoyed later in the week.
Grace had the best fun making this loaf, not only because she was in charge of measuring the ingredients which resulted in flour absolutely everywhere but playing and kneading the dough has to be the best fun a 2 year old can have in the kitchen.
The flavour of this bread is just lovely. The cranberry and orange work together beautifully to create the most amazingly flavoured loaf and I just love that the cranberries caramelise throughout the orange scented dough. We served our loaf, still warm, alongside a little fresh fruit and fresh orange juice.
To create your own gorgeously golden loaf of cranberry orange soda bread simply…
Begin by preheating your oven to 190 degrees celsius (375F). Line an oven tray with baking paper.
Place the flour, bicarbonate of soda, sugar, salt and butter into the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine.
Place the milk, egg and orange zest into a jug and whisk to combine.
With the motor running on low pour the wet ingredients into the dry and continue to mix until just combined.
Add the cranberries and pulse to combine.
Tumble the dough onto a floured board and with floured hands knead a few times to shape into a round loaf. This dough is quite wet and will require a little extra flour (3-4 tablespoons, no more) to knead and shape.
Place the dough onto the prepared tray and cut a X into the loaf using a sharp knife.
Bake for 45-50 minutes or until golden and a skewer removes cleanly. Once cooked the loaf will sound hollow when tapped.
Place the loaf a wire rack to cool.
Slice the still warm loaf into thick slices and enjoy.
orange cranberry soda bread
adapted from Ina Garten
INGREDIENTS
4 cups (600 grams) plain flour
4 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon bicarbonate soda
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons (80 grams) butter, cut into cubes
1 3/4 cups (440 mls) buttermilk, well shaken
1 egg
zest of 1 orange
1 1/2 cups (180 grams) dried cranberries
METHOD
Preheat oven to 190 degrees celsius (375F). Line an oven tray with baking paper. Place the flour, sugar, bicarb soda, salt and butter into the large bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Place the buttermilk, egg and orange zest into a jug and whisk to combine. With the motor running slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry and pulse to combine. Add the cranberries and pulse to combine. Tumble the wet dough onto a floured board and use floured hands to knead 3-4 times and shape into a round loaf. (NOTE: this dough is meant to be quite wet and sticky, only add just enough flour to allow you to shape the dough). Place the dough onto the prepared tray and cut a X into the loaf using a sharp knife. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until golden and a skewer removes cleanly. Once cooked the loaf will sound hollow when tapped. Place on a wire rack to cool.
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I made this Cranberry and orange bread today and have to say I was very disappointed ;0( I followed the ingredients exactly but the dough was soooo wet that I had trouble getting it out the processor then it stuck to my floured surface and I had to add a lot more flour to it to even get it onto the baking tray!? I know it says it should be a wet dough but mine was just so unworkable is there anything I could have done wrong I do lots of home baking and enjoy lots of your recipes ;0) xxx
Hi Claire! I am so sorry you were disappointed with this recipe. But it doesn’t sound like you did anything wrong at all, just like traditional irish soda bread this dough is just super sticky and wet. I tried to display it’s stickyness in my photos to help my readers along, I’ll add a note about using a rubber spatula to get the dough out of the processor and onto the board. Were you able to get your loaf into the oven? If so, were you happy with the results? Thanks for your feedback Claire, I really appreciate it. I try my best to make my recipes easily understood but perhaps something was lost in translation with this one. Sorry again. Kayla xxx
I made this loaf for Sunday Brunch yesterday for my husband and almost 1 year old girl. I had been looking forward to it all week, and loved the result even more than I thought I would, everyone thought it was delicious. I sneaked out of bed first thing in the morning to make it, popped it into the oven and joined the rest of the family back in bed for another 45 min. The smell of it cooking in the oven was just perfect! What I hadn’t realised was that the cranberries I bought were infused with cinnamon, which actually worked really well. Thanks very much for sharing this recipe, can’t wait to have some more slices from the freezer soon!
Hey there! Just thought I would comment to say this turned out perfectly for me! I was a bit worried being an ordinary baker (!) but I didn’t find the dough that wet at all? I think it may be to do with the consistency of the pumpkin maybe? My pumpkin was no where near as liquidy as your photos so I wonder if that is it? Anyway, my 1 year old absolutely loves it as he does with all of your recipes I’ve tried so far! Thanks so much – this is the first time I’ve had cooking motivation in a long time thanks to your easy, healthy (but not completely health crazy) recipes!! Leah x
Wonderful. I am so happy you had a success and your little one enjoyed it! Thank you and have a great weekend. xx
Hi, had the same problem that the dough was extremely sticky. Even with added flour it never looked like yours and I didn’t dare adding too much flour. I got it in the oven but it ended up underbaked inside and crispy brown outside. If I had left it in longer it would have been roasted outside….have you tried variations to turn just put it into muffin tins? Do you think this could work?
Actually, sorry,please remove my comment. I just put your chip measurements into a cup to gr/mls converter and they seem to be off. Less buttermilk and more flour to start with according to good to know.co.uk converter….shall try again….
This loaf was just beautiful! It will absolutely become one of my regular bakes and went down well with the whole family! I didn’t have buttermilk and am non dairy so substituted with a 50/50 mix of soya yoghurt & almond milk. The dough was wet but not unworkable at all.
Thank you for another wonderful recipe!
My pleasure! So happy you enjoyed it!! X
This was outstanding! A real crowd favourite!
YAY! Thanks for letting me know. Kayla xx
Hi can this recipe be done with soda bread flour? , is it the same as plain flour?
We don’t have soda bread flour in Aus – but I am thinking you can use it and omit the baking powder (check the box to see if the flour has a baking agent in in). If so, then you can use it. Happy baking xx