Sourdough Cranberry Orange Bread
This is the loaf that finally brings cranberry and orange into the mix – a same-day sourdough discard quick bread with tart, jammy pockets of cranberry and enough fresh orange zest to make the whole kitchen smell like it.
No fermentation wait, no planning ahead: mix it, bake it, glaze it once it’s cool, and you’ve got a loaf that tastes like fall without a single can of pumpkin in sight.
Why You’ll Love It
- A great way to use up sourdough discard in a simple, no-wait quick bread
- Bright orange zest and juice cut through the tart cranberries
- Fresh or frozen cranberries both work, so it’s not limited to one season
- A light orange glaze finishes it without making it overly sweet
- Same easy, same-day technique as the site’s other discard quick breads
Ingredients
Volume measurements are included for convenience, but they’re approximate – for the most consistent results, weigh your ingredients on a kitchen scale, especially the flour.
Batter
- All-purpose flour (300 g / 2½ cups)
- Granulated sugar (150 g / ¾ cup)
- Baking powder (2 tsp)
- Baking soda (½ tsp)
- Fine sea salt (½ tsp)
- Sourdough discard, unfed (240 g / 1 cup)
- Large eggs (2)
- Neutral oil, such as vegetable or canola (100 g / ½ cup)
- Orange zest (1 Tbsp): from about 1 large orange
- Fresh orange juice (60 g / ¼ cup)
- Fresh or frozen cranberries (170 g / 1½ cups): if frozen, do not thaw first
Orange Glaze
- Powdered sugar (120 g / 1 cup)
- Fresh orange juice (2-3 Tbsp)
- Orange zest (½ tsp): for garnish
Equipment
- 9×5-inch loaf pan
- Kitchen scale
- Zester or fine grater
- Wire cooling rack
Sample Schedule (Same Day)
Same Day
- Mix batter and bake (~1 hr 15 min total)
- Cool completely before glazing (~20 min)
Sourdough Cranberry Orange Bread
Method
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan, or line it with parchment.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the sourdough discard, eggs, oil, orange zest, and orange juice until smooth.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir just until combined – a few streaks of flour are fine.
- Toss the cranberries with a spoonful of the dry mixture set aside beforehand (this keeps them from sinking), then fold them into the batter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
- Bake for 50–55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Tent loosely with foil after 35 minutes if the top is browning too quickly.
- Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before glazing.
- Whisk the powdered sugar and orange juice together until smooth and pourable but not thin. Drizzle over the cooled loaf and sprinkle with the reserved orange zest.
Notes
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How to Make It
1Preheat and prep. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan, or line it with parchment.
2Mix the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3Mix the wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk the sourdough discard, eggs, oil, orange zest, and orange juice until smooth.
4Combine. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir just until combined – a few streaks of flour are fine.
5Fold in the cranberries. Toss the cranberries with a spoonful of the dry mixture set aside beforehand (this keeps them from sinking), then fold them into the batter.
6Pan the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
7Bake. Bake for 50-55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Tent loosely with foil after 35 minutes if the top is browning too quickly.
8Cool. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before glazing.
9Glaze. Whisk the powdered sugar and orange juice together until smooth and pourable but not thin. Drizzle over the cooled loaf and sprinkle with the reserved orange zest.
Tips & Troubleshooting
- Toss the cranberries in flour first: this small step keeps them suspended through the loaf instead of all sinking to the bottom.
- Frozen cranberries: add them straight from the freezer, don’t thaw – thawed berries bleed color into the batter.
- Test for doneness at 50 minutes: ovens vary, and a dense fruit-studded batter like this can need a few extra minutes.
- Cool completely before glazing: a warm loaf will melt the glaze right off instead of letting it set into a thin coating.
- No fresh oranges: bottled orange juice works in a pinch for the glaze, but fresh zest for the batter makes a real difference – it’s where most of the orange flavor actually comes from.
How to Store
To store: keep covered at room temperature up to 3 days, or refrigerated up to a week.
To freeze: freeze the un-glazed loaf, whole or sliced, up to 3 months; thaw and glaze fresh before serving.
Nutrition
Per slice, based on 10 slices per loaf. Estimated from the ingredients used – provided for convenience and not a substitute for a precise calculation.
245
Calories
40g
Carbs
4g
Protein
9g
Fat
1g
Fiber
200mg
Sodium
Desi’s Notes
This is the loaf I make when I want something that tastes like fall without reaching for a single pumpkin can. Cranberries are tart enough that you really do need the full amount of sugar in the batter – don’t be tempted to cut it back or the bread turns sour instead of bright.
I use bottled discard that’s sat in the fridge a few days for this one; it doesn’t need to be fresh or particularly bubbly since it’s not doing any leavening here – the baking powder and soda handle that.
The orange glaze is optional if you want a lower-sugar version, but I think it’s what makes this one feel finished rather than just a fruit loaf.
Before You Bake
Scaling this recipe up or down? Run your numbers through the Sourdough Calculator. And if you want a printable reference for troubleshooting or timing, browse all six Printable Quicksheets.
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