Cranberry Nut Bread

I have come to realize that basements and attics are not my friends. Instead they conspire to keep me from throwing things away or at least make it easier for me to procrastinate on making the throw away/sell/give away decisions. Over the years I have, with much reluctance and some remorse, thrown away many cooking magazines, however, I cannot seem to be able to part with my back issues of Fine Cooking, Cook's Illustrated and Saveur. For me these are the magazines that have taught me the most about cooking, significantly added to my knowledge about food, and have been sources of inspiration. Even in this day and age of the searchability and accessibility of recipes on the internet, nothing replaces the experience of leafing through a back issue of a food magazine (and not every recipe printed in every magazine has an accessible electronic version).

As I was trying to reduce the clutter and chaos I have created in the basement, my stream of thoughts went something like this, 'when is the last time you went through those boxes containing old issues of food magazines?', 'how many of the recipes in those magazines are you really ever going to make?', 'how many of those recipes do you really want to make?',  and 'even if you made one recipe a week from all of those magazines how many decades or rather centuries would that take?' As I was on the cusp of a moment of rationality and on the verge of making decluttering progress, I came across a recipe for a Cranberry Nut Bread in a back issue of Cook's Illustrated. Not just any Cranberry Nut Bread recipe, but 'the best Cranberry Nut Bread' recipe. Finding a recipe with the words 'cranberry' and 'best' in them was enough to convince me to hold on to those back issues. Not to mention that I suddenly I found a reason to justify the purchase of some small loaf pans I picked up at an estate sale. So much for having a moment of rationality.

In addition to using cranberries to make the (best ever) Spiced Cranberry and Dried Cherry Chutney and (insanely delicious) Nantucket Cranberry Pie, I had found another recipe to put my love of cranberries to good use.

Whenever cranberries come into season I cannot walk through the produce aisle without either putting a bag in my cart or just admiring their deep red color (my affinity for the color red is due in large part to the colors of a school district I had once worked in, one having an Indian as a mascot). In a sea of mostly greens, yellows and a little bit of orange, red cranberries reign as one of the most beautiful, versatile, deliciously tart autumnal fruits.

To coarsely chop the cranberries for the bread I used a small food processor. After measuring one and one half cups of cranberries, I processed them them batches to ensure they were not liquified or finely minced. You can easily chop them with a knife, but the food processor worked well.

Like in many cranberry recipes, the orange plays a critical supporting role. In the list of ingredients in this 'best' recipe, only one orange was listed. But for whatever reason, I needed two Valencia oranges to get 1/3 cup of orange juice (sometimes it is a good thing when I buy more than what I need). In addition to the juice from the oranges, the bread contains one tablespoon of orange zest. The combination of the tart cranberries and sweetness of the oranges makes for a bread with great flavor.

Like most 'quick' breads, this bread also comes together in a bowl (no need to bring out the mixer). The wet ingredients are combined with the dry ingredients just until the entire mixture is moistened and no streaks of flour can be seen. The coarsely chopped cranberries and toasted pecans are then gently mixed in. Over mixing a 'quick' bread results in a somewhat tough and without a tender crumb bread due to too much gluten in the flour. Note: While the Cook's Illustrated called for using toasted pecans, toasted walnuts and even pistachios would pair well with the cranberries.

After spraying the small loaf pans with vegetable spray and lining them with parchment paper, the batter was divided equally among them. Whenever I am dividing a batter between two or more pans I always weigh them to ensure uniformity in baking.

The breads are first baked for 20 minutes in a 375 degree preheated oven. The oven temperature is then reduced to 350 degrees and they continue to bake until lightly golden or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean. For the smaller loaf pans, the breads baked for an additional 20 minutes. However, if using a 9"x5" pan, the cranberry nut bread will continue to bake upwards of 40-45 minutes.

This is a dense, moist bread. I added some sparkling sugar on top of the breads before placing them in the oven (for some added crunch and a little bit of sparkle), however, they would be equally delicious without it (although maybe just a little less pretty). This is one of those breads so flavorful and scrumptious (the kind where you want more than one slice) all on its own, a schmear of butter or cream cheese would actually ruin it.

In a season where everyone is making pumpkin or banana bread, the Cranberry Nut Bread is a refreshing change. Whether you are making it to enjoy at home or packaging it up to gift friends and neighbors, it should definitely be one of the breads you make while cranberries are still in season. It might end up being declared the 'best' cranberry nut bread by more than just me and Cook's Illustrated. And hopefully you will be as happy as I am that I hung on to my 1999 issue while still managing to  reduce the clutter and chaos in the basement and throwing away quite a few 'they shall remain nameless' magazines.

Recipe
Cranberry Nut Bread (adapted from the Cook's Illustrated Cranberry Nut-Bread recipe, 1999)

Ingredients
1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (used 2 Valencia medium sized oranges)
1 Tablespoon grated orange zest
2/3 cup buttermilk
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, cooled slightly
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries, measured first then coarsely chopped
1/2 cup pecans, toasted then coarsely chopped (toasted walnuts or pistachios would work as well)
Optional: White Sanding Sugar for finishing

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line three 3.5"x6" pans or one 9"x5" pan with parchment paper, spraying sides and bottom of pan with vegetable spray. Set aside.
2. Coarsely chop cranberries (if using a food processor, chop in batches). Set aside.
3. In a medium sized bowl, mix together buttermilk, orange juice, orange zest, melted butter and egg until combined. Set aside.
4. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
5. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Using a rubber spatula stir until just moistened. Stir in cranberries and pecans (be careful to not over mix).
6. Divide equally into the three pans or pour all batter into a single pan. Liberally sprinkle sparkling sugar, if using. 
7. Bake for 20 minutes at 375 degrees. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and cook for an additional 20 to 25 minutes or until top is golden and a toothpick inserted into center of pan comes out clean. Important note: If baking in a 9"x5" loaf pan, baking time will be an additional 40 to 45 minutes.
8. Cool bread in pan(s) for at least 10 minutes, then transfer bread to wire rack to cool at least one hour before cutting.

Cape Neddick Lighthouse in York, Maine (photo taken in September 2014).

Gay Head Lighthouse in Aquinnah, Massachusetts, Martha's Vineyard (photo taken in September 2014)

Portland Headlight Lighthouse in Cape Elizabeth, Maine (photo taken in the fall, 2013)