WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS This simple bread is often subpar; too heavy, or so overly sweetened that the contrast between the tart berries and what should be a slightly sweet, cakelike bread is lost. We were looking for a crust that was golden brown and evenly thin all the way around and an interior texture that was somewhere between a dense breakfast bread and a light, airy cake. Taming the puckery tart of the cranberries was one route to delivering an above-average loaf.
USE THE QUICK-BREAD METHOD Creaming, where butter is aerated with sugar, produced a loaf that was too light, so we turned to the quick-bread method. We combine the liquid ingredients and dry ingredients separately, then stir them together. And like the name says, this method is quick, which makes it even more convenient to whip up a loaf.
USE TWO LEAVENERS The best breads we found in our testing use both baking powder and baking soda—baking powder enhances the flavor, while baking soda supports the structure and promotes browning.
BALANCE THE SWEET AND TART Yes, tart cranberries require sugar to help make them palatable, but some breads we tried were overly sweet. We use just 1 cup sugar to 1½ cups cranberries to give us a sweet, but not-too-sweet loaf. As for the cranberries, we found no difference between fresh and frozen berries in our bread.
REACH FOR ORANGE ZEST PLUS JUICE TO BRIGHTEN FLAVORS Orange and cranberries are often partnered together and we can see why. The sweet, bright, citrusy flavor of orange offsets the puckery tang of cranberries. Orange juice alone doesn’t add much flavor, but zest increases the presence of orange and the flecks of the zest also add a hint of color to the interior of the bread.