Orange Cranberry Holiday Bread

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Orange Cranberry Holiday Bread has layers of sweet cranberry, pecan, and brown sugar filling woven throughout tender, orange-scented bread. Try it on a holiday morning or afternoon with a cozy cup of something warm.


Orange Cranberry Holiday Bread
Makes one loaf

Starter

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup cool water
1/8 teaspoon instant yeast

Dough
2 and 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 and 1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup soft unsalted butter
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk (reserve the white)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon orange flavoring
zest of one large orange

Filling
3/4 cup dried cranberries
3/4 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup brown sugar
5 tablespoons melted butter, slightly cooled 
sparkling sugar, for sprinkling top of loaf


1. To make the bread: Combine the starter ingredients, cover, and leave at room temperature overnight.
2. The next day, mix the starter with the dough ingredients (except the reserved egg white), kneading until elastic and satiny (about 5 minutes in a stand mixer). Spray a large bowl with cooking spray. Place dough in the bowl, then turn the dough over so that the top is greased. Cover and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 to 2 hours (depends on how warm the room is).
3. When the dough is almost risen, prepare the filling. In a medium bowl, mix the cranberries, pecans, and brown sugar together. Drizzle with the melted butter and mix well. You will have a somewhat loose, wet, sandy texture. Set aside.
4. Punch the dough down, then turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough into three equal pieces and flatten each piece into a rectangle about 4" by 12". If the dough is springy and difficult to flatten, get it as far as you can, let it rest for a couple of minutes, and then try again.
5. Sprinkle each rectangle of dough with a third of the filling, keeping it in a long strip down the middle of the dough. Starting with a long edge, fold each rectangle over in half, encasing the filling. Pinch to seal and lay seam side down.
6. You now have three, 12" long ropes of filled, sealed dough. Put the three ropes together, pinch the tops together, and braid. Tuck ends under.
7. Spray a 9" or 10" loaf pan with cooking spray. (An 8" X 4" loaf pan will be too small). Carefully transfer braid to pan. Cover and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 to 2 hours; it will depend on the temperature of the room. NOTE: You can let the braid rise on, and then bake on, a greased cookie sheet. It will be a little larger and flatter than if baked in a pan.
8. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Brush top of risen braid with reserved egg white, then sprinkle with sparkling sugar.
9. Bake the braid for about 30 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool before cutting.





Recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour.



Orange Cranberry Bread was baked for World Bread Day. Hundreds of bloggers from all around the world bake bread for this special day. It's a day to have fun and unite with other home bakers, but it’s also a day to honor our daily bread, to be grateful to have enough food, and to heighten awareness of world hunger. 

You can find out more about World Bread Day here:
World Bread Day 2013 - 8th edition! Bake loaf of bread on October 16 and blog about it!




43 comments:

  1. Joy, I love how pretty your braided cranberry holiday bread looks. Definitely good with more than a cup of tea ;)

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    1. Grace, I do like the way you think! ;) I let the bread rise a little too far on the second rising, but it was still really good. :) Thank you so much for coming by!

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  2. This bread looks so delicious. I bet it would be great on Christmas morning. Thanks for participating in World Bread Day.

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    1. Megan, that really does sound good, to have this for Christmas morning with a great cup of coffee or tea. :) This is the second year I have baked for World Bread Day; I enjoy it!

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  3. Hi Joy. Your bread looks amazingly delicious! I'm disappointed because I didn't know it's World Bread Day and I happen to be making bread today! Thanks for sharing your recipe with us and have a beautiful day.

    Hugs,
    Heather
    MySweetMission.net

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    1. Thank you, Heather! I do enjoy participating in World Bread Day. A WBD post was actually my very first post when I started blogging. :)

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  4. That bread looks delicious! I love making bread from scratch and if it wasn't going to be 89 here today I might even make some in honor of World Bread Day -- but not today! The dough would rise fast!

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    1. You are absolutely right- it was probably in the 80s or 90s here the other day when I made this, and on the second rising, it did go a little too fast and a little too far! But it was still really good. :) I hope that the weather cools off a little by the time I want to make it again for Thanksgiving morning! ;)

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  5. I love the jellied cranberry sauce - think I'll use that as a spread for this ;-)

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  6. Joy, this bread looks so yummy. Very pretty, too. I love to bake bread from scratch, but have never tried my hand at a sweet yeast bread. May have to try this one, though. Thanks for sharing the recipe.

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    1. Nancy, thank you so much- we really enjoyed it. It has put me in a holiday frame of mind! :)

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  7. Joy, this bread is absolutely stunning! I would love to share this at a holiday event, but I have never made a bread with a starter so I will have to practice and we will enjoy the first attempts by ourselves :) I must go read more about World Bread Day. ~Hugs~

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    1. Kris, I think this was my first time to bake with a starter, too. It wasn't as complicated as I thought it might be. :) The hardest part was braiding those filled rolls of dough. I had made braided bread before, but not using filled pieces of dough. It was worth the trouble, though! :)

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  8. Looks like a good one for Christmas morning!

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    1. Jenne, I think so, too. I may even bake it again for Thanksgiving morning! :)

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  9. What a pretty loaf, Joy! I bet it is wonderful with tea :)

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  10. What a gorgeous bread! Cranberry and orange go so well together. YUM! :)

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    1. Anne, thank you! Cranberry and orange may be my very favorite flavor combination...either that or dark chocolate and orange! :)

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  11. Wonderful loaf I can nearly smell its heavenly scent through the screen. ;-) Thank you for participating in World Bread Day 2013!

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    1. Thank you, Zorra, and thank you for all your hard work on this wonderful project! I’ll see you next year for World Bread Day 2014! :)

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  12. Love this recipe! Have you, or know anyone that has, tried it gluten free?

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    1. Michelle, I haven't tried it. I adapted this recipe from King Arthur Flour (link is in post), so I checked their website: kingarthurflour.com. They have lots of GF recipes, and a couple of them looked very similar to this one. Hope this helps! :)

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  13. This is a beautiful bread, Joy. I love your description of cranberries, pecans, and brown sugar "woven" through the loaf. How nice would it be to wake up to this for breakfast Thanksgiving or Christmas morning?!
    Thank you for linking!

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    1. Thank you, Michelle! I am making this again for Thanksgiving morning- we loved it! I'm going to watch it more carefully this next time I make it- I let it rise too long, and the braid got all distorted. It still tasted great, though, and it definitely didn't stop me from getting seconds. ;)

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  14. Looks so beautiful and delicious. It reminds me very much of a Bulgarian Holiday bread we make. Pinning and saving your recipe. Hope to try it out very soon!
    Maria
    www.musicteachingandparenting.com

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    1. Maria, I would love to know more about the Bulgarian Holiday Bread! I'll check your blog to see if you have the recipe there. Thank you so much for the visit, and for pinning! :)

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  15. It looks fantastic!!
    I bake Challahs each week, so I'm going to use your filling and make this wonderful bread
    Thank you!!

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    1. Winnie, I am so happy you liked the filling- we really enjoyed the flavors. :) Thanks for stopping by!

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  16. Joy, what a lovely treat! Cheers from Carole's Chatter

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    1. Carole, thank you so much- we really enjoyed it! Thanks for stopping by! :)

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  17. This bread looks so delicious! I love making bread and lately I have been craving cranberries! Thanks for sharing at the Home For the Holiday link party!

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    1. Thanks, Cynthia! It really does have the seasonal flavors. :) Thank you for Home For the Holidays!

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  18. Joy, this bread is absolutely beautiful!!! Thank you so much for joining us and sharing at Best of the Weekend! Pinning and sharing! Hope you have a happy Saturday! xoxo

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    1. Thank you, Cindy, and as always, a big thank you for hosting Best of the Weekend! :)

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  19. What a great recipe, I think I could actually make it without destroying it...thanks for sharing. Happy Sharefest.

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    1. Karen, I know you could!! You're a mommy- you're up to any challenge! ;) Thank you so much for visiting from Sharefest! :)

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  20. This sounds really good! Thanks for sharing your recipe with this week's Throwback Thursday party.

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    1. Thank you, Paula, and thanks for hosting Throwback Thursday- it's always fun! :)

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  21. Hi JOY
    I was browsing around and came across your blog, thisBread looks amazingly delicious. Thank you for the recipe. I will come back soon.

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