Basic Loaf Recipe for Cranberry Breads

Cranberry breads are awesome. This is the basic recipe that I use when I want to add cranberries and other fruit, whether fresh or dried to my bread. If you follow the recipe you’ll see that it’s got a banana base which gives it flavor without added sugar, leaving you feeling satisfied without that sugar crash people get when they eat dessert. Another good cran recipe if you like this type of dessert is the cranberry banana muffins post. Good to eat any time of year. Now, back to the loaf; this recipe is pretty straightforward and will become a staple in your home if you like to have your desserts be both tasty AND healthy (as much as possible anyway).

The Recipe

Ingredients

Recipe Ingredients

1 3/4 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs
1/3 cup soft butter
2 mashed bananas

Directions

Recipe Directions

In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients. In another bowl, mix the eggs, butter and mashed bananas.
Stir into dry ingredients until well combined. (***Note: at this point you’d add your fresh cranberries and other fruit).
Grease a small loaf pan and pour batter inside.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

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Notes & Options:

There are lots of ways to modify this bread to spice it up, down or just change it to suit your palate. You can try:

– Using fresh cranberries is always best but if you can’t then frozen work just as well for a cake or loaf.

– Add some extra nuts to the batter gives this loaf a satisfying crunch. I recommend walnuts or almond pieces.

– Brushing the top of the loaf (before it goes into the oven) with melted butter and sugar makes it a tad more appealing to the eye, AND to that first bite.

Make it Healthy – Replacing the sugar in the batter with granulated sweetener will ensure your loaf is sugar free and purely a starch food. Like eating fruit and bread – much healthier.

Enjoy