Orange Bread

Quick and easy orange bread with fresh grated orange zest, golden raisins, and an optional orange lemon glaze.

By
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
Elise founded Simply Recipes in 2003 and led the site until 2019. She has an MA in Food Research from Stanford University.
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Updated March 11, 2022
Elise Bauer
Orange Bread
Elise Bauer

Feeling the winter blues? There's nothing like brightening up a cold day with a a loaf of citrusy zesty orange bread.

Unlike much of the country, Sacramento isn't blanketed in snowy white in the dead of winter. We are blessed instead with plenty of green, with flowery shows of red and pink from camellias, and displays of bright orange and yellow from the grapefruit, lemons, kumquats, and oranges decorating the citrus trees that grow everywhere around here.

Orange Bread
Elise Bauer

Citrus season is the winter, and when nothing else seems to want to grow, we have an abundance of fruit.

For this recipe I used a couple navel oranges from our tree, but truly any orange will do. It's the zest that has the highly flavorful orange oil that you need for this quick bread.

Orange Bread

Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 50 mins
Total Time 65 mins
Servings 8 to 10 servings
Yield 1 loaf

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup butter

  • 3/4 cup sugar

  • 2 eggs

  • 1 1/2 tablespoons orange zest (or more for intense orange flavor)

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour

  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1 teaspoon baking powder

  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

  • 1 cup plain yogurt

  • 1/2 cup golden raisins, chopped

Optional Glaze:

  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice*

  • 1 teaspoon orange juice

  • 1/3 cup powdered sugar

  • *Seville orange juice or sour orange juice (can replace the lemon juice), optional

Method

  1. Preheat oven and prepare loaf pan:

    Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 4x8-inch loaf pan. To make it easier to remove the loaf from the pan, you may want to lay down a wide strip of parchment paper, along the length of the bottom of the loaf pan, and up the narrow sides. Butter this as well.

  2. Beat butter, sugar, eggs, zest:

    Beat the butter until fluffy, about 2 minutes on high in an electric mixer. Add the sugar and beat for an additional 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until completely incorporated after each addition. Beat in the orange zest.

  3. Whisk together dry ingredients:

    In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.

  4. Add yogurt and dry ingredients to butter sugar mixture:

    Add the yogurt and dry ingredients by thirds, starting with the yogurt, alternating the additions. Beat only until just incorporated. Mix in the golden raisins.

  5. Pour batter into loaf pans and bake:

    Immediately pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Place in middle rack of 350°F oven. Bake for 45-50 minutes*, until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.

  6. Cool:

    Cool on a rack in the pan for 5 minutes. Then remove the loaf from the pan and cool for another 10 to 15 minutes.

  7. Prepare glaze:

    While loaf is cooling, prepare optional glaze if using. Whisk together the lemon juice, orange juice, and powdered sugar until smooth and there are no lumps. Place loaf on a serving plate. Use a toothpick or skinny skewer to poke holes in the top of the loaf and drizzle the glaze over the loaf.

    *If you are using a 5x9 loaf pan, the loaf will be done earlier. Check at 40 minutes. You can use this recipe for muffins, in which case the cooking time should be 20-25 minutes.

Links:

Cranberry Orange Nut Bread here on Simply Recipes

Glazed Lemon Bread here on Simply Recipes

Sweet Orange Cinnamon Pull Apart Bread from How Sweet It Is

Blood Orange Loaf Cake from Annie's Eats

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
256 Calories
8g Fat
42g Carbs
5g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8 to 10
Amount per serving
Calories 256
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 8g 10%
Saturated Fat 4g 22%
Cholesterol 55mg 18%
Sodium 307mg 13%
Total Carbohydrate 42g 15%
Dietary Fiber 1g 4%
Total Sugars 21g
Protein 5g
Vitamin C 2mg 8%
Calcium 86mg 7%
Iron 2mg 9%
Potassium 156mg 3%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.