When I was growing up in Illinois, my mother would make loaves and loaves of her cranberry bread for our family, friends and neighbors. For days on end the house would be filled with intoxicating scents of fresh sweet bread and tart cranberries. She would pack the bread into individual baskets, or wrapped in a tea towel, and include a jar or two of her famous cranberry butter. It was tradition, not only for us, but for everyone we knew. They counted on that bread arriving on their door steps a few days before Christmas, and enjoying it all the way through New Years Eve.
Still to this day, my mom still bakes that same bread, and it is a staple of our holiday breakfast table. When my children were diagnosed with celiac disease three years ago, I wondered if the bread I so loved as a child would be able to be adapted to their change in diet. After a few trial runs, I am happy to say that the gluten free version is just as yummy and just as special as the original.
Phyllis’ Cranberry Bread
2 cups of sifted flour *(this can be regular white flour, or any gluten free all-purpose flour of your choosing).
½ tsp. salt
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1 cup sugar
1 beaten egg (this bread does wonderfully with egg substitutes)
2 tbsp melted butter
½ cup of orange juice
2 T hot water
½ cup chopped nuts (can be omitted)
1 cup cranberries, cut in half
Sift dry ingredients together. Add butter, orange juice and hot water to beaten egg. Combine with dry ingredients. Add nuts and cranberries and pour into a greased loaf pan.
Bake in a 325 degree oven for 75 minutes.
When done, remove from pan and brush with butter. Wrap in wax paper and place in the refrigerator for three hours.
Remove the paper and wrap in a towel. Keep in the fridge, and enjoy!
* For quick breads such as these, I prefer to use a pre-made gluten free mixture of flours. There are many versions, both commercial or homemade, that can be used. I store large containers of pre-made flour mixtures in my refrigerator for easy and convenient use
Heather Fontenot lives with her family on the Front Range of Northern Colorado. She has a passion for natural and creative living, and spends as much of her time outdoors as possible. She loves to knit, sew, garden, photograph, read and home school her two sweet little ones. She writes the blog, Shivaya Naturals, where she chronicles her life as a mother, artist, and gluten free baker.