Spiced Cranberry & Orange Bread

It has been a hectic week and I was in the mood making some bread to help get rid of the built up stress. I was walking back from uni and thoughts of cinnamon and raisin bread kept running through my head. I started to gather my ingredients and went to get the raisins, only to find…I’d run out of raisins. Humph. I had a rummage around and found some dried cranberries and so decided to make a spiced cranberry bread instead. I added ground ginger, mixed spice and the grated rind of an orange as I adore the flavour of orange and cranberry together.

Feeling happier I set about making my bread, breathing in the orange and spices. It was then able to sit happily on my windowsill while I got on with an essay before being baked and devoured as a reward.

I was a little worried that I had overcooked the crust slightly, but upon slicing I found it to be perfectly soft and tender within, the egg keeping it moist and springy. The zesty orange is the first flavour to hit your palate, closely followed by a sweet tangy cranberry and a subtle spicy after-note. The bread is not overly sweet so I won’t feel at all guilty having it for breakfast tomorrow, lightly toasted with some jam.

This is also my entry to Zorra’s 3rd World Bread Day. Click here for all the info.

Spiced Cranberry & Orange Bread
Ingredients
250g strong plain flour
45g caster sugar
1tsp dried yeast
40g butter
1 egg
125ml milk
1 tsp mixed spice
½ tsp ground ginger
1 orange
50g dried cranberries

Method
Add the flour, yeast, mixed spice, ginger and sugar to a bowl. Grate in the rind from the orange. Cut the butter into small pieces and rub through the flour mixture until its evenly blended in.
Heat the milk until warm to the touch but not hot. Beat the egg into the milk and pour over the flour mix.
Bring it together with your fingers until it forms a soft dough. Add the cranberries and kneed until well distributed.
Cover the bowl with cling film and leave to prove for 1 hour until.
When the hour is up, turn the dough out onto a well floured surface and knock it back by kneading gently.
Shape the dough into a log and place into a 450g/1lb loaf tin. Leave it a warm place to rise and double in volume for 1½ - 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 200C. Bake the loaf for 22-25 minutes until a deep golden brown in colour and hollow sounding when tapped.
Allow to cool for a few minutes before transferring to a wire wrack to cool.
Serve with jam or a light spreading of cream cheese.

Update: The complete roundup of all 246 entries can be found here.