This gluten free cranberry bread is super moist, lightly sweet and only just a bit tart. It's the perfect quick bread for your holiday table!
Cranberries are a bit of a funny little fruit. They can be so tart that they make you pucker just to think about them.
But they cook down quickly, so they're barely recognizable—especially when you add some sugar. Since this is the time of year we have to bake and cook with cranberries. And with this gluten free cranberry recipe, you'll want to.
A proper quick bread should be perfectly browned on the outside, then soft and lightly sweet on the inside. This is definitely a proper quick bread. It takes about an hour to bake, since there is plenty of moisture in the batter. The reward is a super moist and tender bread, and one that doesn't burn during baking.
The fresh cranberries are indeed tart. They have a tendency to clump, like anything you might mix in to quick bread batter. You want them to be spread all throughout the batter during baking.
Just be sure to follow the instructions below for halving the cranberries, and then tossing them with a tablespoon of the dry ingredients before folding them into the batter. It helps them stay put during baking.
Delicious flavor variations for this cranberry quickbread
This classic holiday quick bread should be on every table this season. To make it into a cranberry-orange quick bread, add the zest of one small orange to the batter.
For even more orange flavor, squeeze the juice out of that orange, too, and use it to replace some of the milk in the recipe. The batter may look a bit curdled, but it will bake beautifully.
Festive Gluten Free Cranberry Bread
Equipment
- Stand mixer with paddle attachment or handheld mixer
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons (84 g) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar plus 1 tablespoon
- 2 (100 g (weighed out of shell)) eggs at room temperature, beaten
- 2 ½ cups (350 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend (I used Better Batter; please click thru for appropriate blend info)
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains it)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- 10 ounces fresh cranberries halved
- ½ cup (4 fluid ounces) milk at room temperature (See Recipe Notes)
- ½ cup (108 g) sour cream at room temperature (See Recipe Notes)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease or line a standard 9 x 5-inch loaf pan and set it aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or a large bowl with a handheld mixer, place the butter. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy.
- Add the 1 cup of granulated sugar and the eggs, beating well after each addition.
- In a separate, medium-size bowl, place the flour blend, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda and salt, and whisk to combine well.
- Place the cranberry halves in a separate, small bowl. Add about one tablespoon of the dry ingredients to the cranberries, and toss to coat. Set the cranberries aside.
- To the bowl with the butter and sugar mixture, add the dry ingredients, alternating with the milk and sour cream, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. The mixture will be thick but smooth.
- Add the cranberries and reserved dry ingredients, and mix gently into the batter until evenly distributed throughout.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, and smooth the top. It will nearly fill the pan.
- Smooth the top with a wet spatula, and sprinkle with the remaining tablespoon of sugar.
- Place the pan in the center of the preheated oven and bake, rotating once, until golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (about 1 hour).
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 20 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Slice and serve.
Notes
Festive Gluten Free Cranberry Bread
Equipment
- Stand mixer with paddle attachment or handheld mixer
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons (84 g) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar plus 1 tablespoon
- 2 (100 g (weighed out of shell)) eggs at room temperature, beaten
- 2 ½ cups (350 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend (I used Better Batter; please click thru for appropriate blend info)
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains it)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- 10 ounces fresh cranberries halved
- ½ cup (4 fluid ounces) milk at room temperature (See Recipe Notes)
- ½ cup (108 g) sour cream at room temperature (See Recipe Notes)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease or line a standard 9 x 5-inch loaf pan and set it aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or a large bowl with a handheld mixer, place the butter. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy.
- Add the 1 cup of granulated sugar and the eggs, beating well after each addition.
- In a separate, medium-size bowl, place the flour blend, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda and salt, and whisk to combine well.
- Place the cranberry halves in a separate, small bowl. Add about one tablespoon of the dry ingredients to the cranberries, and toss to coat. Set the cranberries aside.
- To the bowl with the butter and sugar mixture, add the dry ingredients, alternating with the milk and sour cream, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. The mixture will be thick but smooth.
- Add the cranberries and reserved dry ingredients, and mix gently into the batter until evenly distributed throughout.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, and smooth the top. It will nearly fill the pan.
- Smooth the top with a wet spatula, and sprinkle with the remaining tablespoon of sugar.
- Place the pan in the center of the preheated oven and bake, rotating once, until golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (about 1 hour).
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 20 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Slice and serve.
Notes
Thanks for stopping by!
Hi, I’m Nicole. I create gluten free recipes that really work and taste as good as you remember. No more making separate meals when someone is GF, or buying packaged foods that aren’t good enough to justify the price. At Gluten Free on a Shoestring, “good, for gluten free” just isn’t good enough! Come visit my bio!
Heather says
This was absolutely delicious! My Turkish husband (where bread is the center of every meal) has been great with following a GF lifestyle with me but said that this was the first bread item he’s had since making the big switch that tasted like “real” bread! He can’t wait until your bread baking book comes out and neither can I! Thanks for the great recipe xo
Hollie says
My favorite gluten cranberry bread had orange juice and zest in it. I added pecans or walnuts for crunch. But the best part was a burnt butter icing. I never thought I would taste that bread again… You’ve made it possible with this recipe. The kids and I missed out on cranberry bread last year, but never again. Thank you!!
AllieBoBallie says
This is yet another recipe that makes me excited to get Gluten-Free on a Shoestring Bakes Bread, which I pre-ordered from Amazon about two seconds after I read the first blog post that mentioned it.
The bread I miss the most from my pre-gluten-free days is the challah my mom used to bake on a regular basis and still bakes occasionally. Her mom (my Nana) was the executive secretary at a Los Angeles synagogue that produced a cookbook of traditional Jewish recipes (back in the 1950s or 1960s), and I’m 99% sure the recipe originated from one of the synagogue’s members or that member’s family. The bread is so rich and eggy, so moist but flaky, and so freaking fantastic in every possible application (sandwiches, toast, grilled cheese, french toast, bread pudding, etc.) that I made it constantly in college. Perhaps better than the bread in and of itself is the fact that it would remind me of home, my mom, and my Nana who passed when I was in high school. If I get advanced notice of my own death, I will make a loaf and revel in eating it before I go the way of all things.
2doghouse says
I also pre-ordered your book and can’t wait to make something that tastes like bread. I bought a cranberry pound cake a few weeks ago. It was so bitter tasting I had to throw it out. I’ll definitely make this one.
Samantha says
This sounds amazing! My mom makes cranberry bread with orange zest and some orange juice. I haven’t been able to re-create this in a gf recipe. Think it would work in this one? Can I omit some of the ingredients to add the orange that I fondly remember?!
Donia Robinson says
Hi Samantha, I was thinking the same thing! This is Nicole’s response to my comment about it: “Try replacing a bit of the milk with orange juice (fresh-squeezed if you
can) and add some orange zest. I bet it would be awesome!” I made the bread yesterday without orange yesterday (there is one slice left), and I plan to make an orange-ified version soon!
Donia Robinson says
BTW, my husband is cranky because I have not made the brownie brittle. Cranberry bread is all well and good, but where’s the brownie brittle??
Diane says
Can you use egg replacers with this recipe??? I have an egg allergy.
doris hull says
I’m alergic to casine. Any suggestions for replacing the milk products? Don’t have time to experiment this close to “T” Day. I also have your other books (also donated copies to my public library) & am waiting on my Amazon pre-order. Thanks for sharing so many wonderful recipes on your blog. Love, Doris
Donia Robinson says
Hi Doris, I am a rebellious friend of Nicole’s. Anytime she posts a recipe I want to make, I tweak it to make it dairy free so I can eat it without being sick. I actually made this recipe this morning. Instead of butter, I used 50% vegan margarine and 50% shortening. (Margarine has more water than butter does, and shortening has no water at all.) Then, I used almond milk for the milk and sour cream (going a little shy on the amount since the milk is thinner than sour cream, of course). I actually do this quite regularly with her recipes – use dairy-free milk in place of sour cream or yogurt, and it seems to work well for me. Is it exactly like hers? Probably not. Is it very moist and tasty, with the right balance of sweet and a little sour from the cranberries? Definitely! I don’t think I will hear any complaints from my family!
Donia
Tanya says
Is your book going to be available for Ibooks? If so when, I want to buy the book but I use it on my IPad. I have your other books as well?
Nicole Hunn says
It sure will be, Tanya. I’m afraid I don’t know when, just as I don’t know when it will be available in kindle format, except that it will all certainly be available by the official publication date, 12/10. I hope that helps!
karen says
That looks yummy Nicole! can’t wait to try it. Hey, what is going on with Amazon? they sent me a third shipping delay on your cookbook–check this out-they are driving me crazy!
Hunn, Nicole “Gluten-Free on a Shoestring Bakes Bread: (Biscuits, Bagels, Buns, and More)”
Estimated arrival date: December 13, 2013 – December 17, 2013
Nicole Hunn says
Hi, Karen, I’m afraid that delay is on my publisher’s end once more (although it will NOT happen again as I am expecting a review copy hot off the presses any day now). BUT, the good news is that my publisher’s amazon rep has promised to do everything he can to ship pre-orders still on November 25, as originally planned (even though amazon will be receiving the book a week later than originally planned). So ignore that date from amazon, and get ready to receive the book (fingers crossed!) the week of Nov. 25 (depending upon the speed of your shipping!).
Marianne says
Hope so…I just got the delay message too, ordered in August…can’t wait!
Jennifer Sasse says
Me too – on.the.verge.of.tears.!!!
Nicole Hunn says
SO SORRY! I’m really so so sorry, everyone. It apparently took the production department at my publisher quite a long time to incorporate very carefully all of the changes I did in the last stage of production. That is what my editor said caused the delay. So it’s my fault, I guess! But I am actually expecting a hot-of-the-presses copy “any minute” so I know it’s not going to be delayed again! And, Karen, ALL denominations of prayer are gratefully accepted! Pray pray pray!
karen says
OK! We are all going to pray that this comes out on November 25 so we all stop whining to you! :-)
Charlotte Moore says
I keep looking at your flour percentages. I can not figure out the best way to do this. I can do ounces but these percentages throw me. Is there a way to figure out easily?
Nicole Hunn says
Charlotte, please read the top section on the flour page about “How to Use These Infographics.” It gives an example using 1 cup of the Mock Better Batter mix. The percentages are used to make the recipe adaptable to smaller and larger amounts of flour than just 1 cup.
Louanne Bertrand says
Nicole, you are my hero! Taking a leave day tomorrow to get ready for
the painter, will pop this in the oven so I can have a treat when I’m
done with the linen closets!
Nicole Hunn says
Sounds good, Louanne! Oddly, organizing the linen closets sounds like a great day to me. :)
Louanne Bertrand says
I made your bread last Friday – so delicious and just perfect for the season. The husband loved it and asked me to make it weekly. I tossed in some walnuts just because we love nuts – love!
Jennifer Sasse says
Thank you for another great recipe – this looks divine – both yummy and pretty! I can’t wait to see what else you have up your sleeve for the holidays!
Nicole Hunn says
Thanks, Jennifer!!
Kayla Mary says
Could I use coconut sugar instead of granulated sugar?
Nicole Hunn says
Hi, Kayla, Good question. I haven’t tried this recipe with that substitution, so I can’t be sure. Although I love baking with coconut palm sugar, I find that it does behave a bit differently than regular granulated. I’d try experimenting with a bit less coconut sugar, by weight (say, 175 grams instead of 200?). Let us know how it turns out!
Anneke says
Leave the sprinkling of sugar off the top? Really? There are people who do that? Huh. I am not those people!
Nicole Hunn says
I know, right, Anneke?! I try to accept people and their differences. But sometimes, I struggle. ;)
Jennifer Sasse says
This is why we all get a long….
Donia Robinson says
I will be making this today! I have a mega bag of cranberries (yes, from my beloved Costco), and I was going to search your site last night for cranberry recipes. But then I had do emergency bake some white sandwich bread for lunches today, so I didn’t.
Oh, and one of my favorite quickbreads pre-GF was the cranberry orange bread off the fresh cranberries package (Ocean Spray brand, maybe?). So I might have to do a taste-off between your bread with and without a little orange… ;)
Nicole Hunn says
Ooooh that sounds good, Donia! Try replacing a bit of the milk with orange juice (fresh-squeezed if you can) and add some orange zest. I bet it would be awesome! xo Nicole
Jennifer Sasse says
I concur – that would be so lovely – tell us how it goes Donia. And I have another recipe for you with cranberries that I’m loving – naturally GF too! I will send today.
Linda says
I was just coming on here to ask what you thought of incorporating some orange. I made this recipe this afternoon and it was delicious! But I do think I would like a bit of orange in it, and I was wondering if just zest would do it or if I should use some oj, too. Do you think maybe 1/3 cup oj as a milk replacement? And by the way, I love your recipes. I haven’t tried one yet that doesn’t come out just like you show it! This was a beautiful loaf of bread, and a great use for the cranberries that have been in my freezer for awhile – they worked just fine thawed and sliced in half.
Donia Robinson says
The Ocean Spray recipe I referred to above uses all orange juice as the liquid and 1 Tbsp grated orange peel.
Bethany says
oooo…something possessed me to purchase a ginormous bag of chopped candied orange peel from nuts.com – they might be going into this bread as well as into any/all muffins, hot breakfast cereal, and anything else that lends itself to orange!