Yogurt Cranberry Bread

We heralded the brilliance (and tartness) of cranberries in last week’s post (cranberry clafoutis) so we’ll refrain from repeating ourselves here. Instead we’ll just rave about the moistness (sorry) of this yogurt cranberry bread, which, yes, also contains bright crimson pops of color and fall crispness, but which also is a comfort food of the season and deserves to be your next baking adventure. If you’re celebrating turkeys and pies and all the drowsy effects of tryptophan in two weeks, this is another recipe to add to the Thanksgiving dessert table. Quick breads have a sort of humble elegance to them: rustic and simple, but with often more heightened flavors and softer textures than their more dressed-up counterparts. This quick bread, cranberry style, is one of those lovely, unassuming desserts that can grace a dinner party or the breakfast table on a Monday morning.

The brilliance of quick breads is that they take minimal effort – far less than either true raised breads or actual cakes, and require no decorating or trimming once out of the oven. They are wholly capable of satisfying an entire crowd without so much as a tip out of the pan and a butter knife does the rest of the work. I always envision quick breads as the perfect casual dessert to make for a new neighbor on the block, bringing it around wrapped in a kitchen towel and handing it to them after ringing the doorbell, just like they did (seemingly more frequently) in the 50s and 60s. Whatever happened to that lovely tradition? Understandably, it’s a bit trickier to do this in a city apartment block – I admit I don’t know any of my neighbors well and am usually unaware when a new one moves in. If you’re tucked away on a nice neighborly street though, maybe starting up this tradition again isn’t a bad idea?

As will all of our recipes, take liberties! This is the perfect version for us, but we’ll also come back to it time and again and change a few measurements or add a new ingredient, which you absolutely should as well. It’s very much like poetry in that sense – our grandmother goes back to poem’s she’s written years ago and finds new words or turns of phrase, or entirely new directions for the poems that just didn’t have their time in earlier readings. Finding ways of always being better in everything we do is an essential part of living, to avoid getting stuck or stagnating in any way. Recipes are the perfect way to practice that growth mind set, and with that said, do what tastes good!

Tag Sisters Sans Gluten on Instagram if you snap a photo of your bread!

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Gluten Free Yogurt Cranberry Bread

Light, cranberry-packed quick bread

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time50 minutes mins

Course: Breakfast, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free

Keyword: bread, cake, cranberry

Servings: 10 people

Calories: 150kcal

Author: Amelia Farber

Equipment

• Loaf pan

Ingredients

Dry ingredients:

• 3/4 Cup Gluten Free 1-1 flour mix with xanthan gum
• 3/4 Cup almond meal or flour
• 1/4 Cup golden flaxseed meal
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp each: ground cardamom, nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon

Wet ingredients:

• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 Cup melted salted butter
• 1 tsp orange zest
• 1/2 Cup orange juice
• 3/4 Cup white sugar
• 1/2 Cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 Cup fresh whole cranberries
• 3/4 Cup chopped pecans

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit and then grease a loaf pan (or an 8-inch round pan for a cake approach) with butter or cooking spray. In a medium bowl, whisk all of the dry ingredients together until combined.
• In a large bowl, whisk together all of the wet ingredients until homogenous and creamy. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and mix thoroughly. Add in the cranberries and pecans and stir together with a spatula or wooden spoon. Pour the batter into the greased loaf pan and bake for 50 minutes or until a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean (for the 8-inch round pan, bake for 40 minutes or until done).
• Let cool partially before turning the loaf out of the pan and slicing for the perfect fall snack!

Food photography and styling by Amelia Farber