Gluten-Free Whole Mandarin Orange Cranberry Bread

Hi Bakers, this one answers the question: Should you put a whole orange in your bread? You can, but make sure to seed it first, or you will have lots of tiny bits in your bread. This bake is lightly sweet with a good but bitter orange flavor. If you want something perfect with tea that's moist and orangy, this might be your bake! Try it and let me know what you think. Enjoy ~Carolyn

Gluten-Free Mandarin Orange Cranberry Bread

Adapted for gluten-free from The Black Dog Cookbook’s Recipe for Cranberry Tea Bread

Makes one 8” loaf

Dry Ingredients

1 3/4 cups Cup4cup Mulitpurpose gluten-free flour

1/4 cup blanched almond flour

1 teaspoon sweet rice flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients

4 tablespoons butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

2  large eggs

3/4 cup fresh orange juice

1/4 cup whole orange puree*

1 cup chopped fresh cranberries

Optional: 1/2 cup chopped pecans or almonds

Preheat the oven to 350F.

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together dry ingredients and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix butter and sugar together until well combined. Add eggs, orange juice, and orange puree and mix completely. Add wet ingredients to dry and stir until almost mixed. Add cranberries and stir in. Scoop into a lined or greased loaf pan. Bake for about 50 minutes or until the bread tests done in the middle. If bread is browning too much, cover with foil until done. Cool on a rack and add glaze if you desire. Enjoy!

Mandarin Orange Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons orange juice or more if needed to achieve the right consistency

1/4 teaspoon orange rind

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and drizzle over bread. Sprinkle some orange zest on top.

*To make the orange puree, cut the orange into quarters and remove seeds and extra pith. Blend with a stick blender until smooth. Measure out and use 1/4 cup for the recipe.