A slice of orange bread is the perfect treat for breakfast or coffee break. Delicious on its own but addictive with a generous layer of butter and your favorite jam!
This orange bread is a yeast-free loaf which means there is no kneading nor proofing required. So if you are looking for a hassle-free citrusy sweet bread recipe, this is it.
My other favorite citrus bread recipe is Lemon Lavender Loaf. If you top it with candied lemon slices it would make a great gift for the Holidays.
Other tasty quick bread recipes include Honey Cranberry Bread or Poppy Seed Banana Bread. They too have easy preparation with no kneading required.
How to make Orange Bread
Get a large bowl and beat the eggs with sugar until pale. This takes about 2-3 minutes. Once done, add in zest from one orange, orange juice and butter.
Give it a quick mix. Use a spatula at this stage as using an electric mixer would turn messy. It only needs a quick stir.
When done, add flour and baking powder. Now it’s important that these two have been sifted and mixed together beforehand.
Now give everything a mix with the electric mixer until all ingredients are well combined and form thick-ish batter.
Pour this into a loaf tin that you have lined with baking parchment.
Baking this orange loaf cake takes about 1 hour. To make sure this orange bread is ready just insert a wooden skewer or toothpick inside and when it comes out clean you can take it out.
Extra tips
- If you want to gift this orange bread to your loved ones, go the extra step and garnish the top with candied orange slices. Dipped in chocolate or sugar they are the perfect topping for this tasty bread.
- To check for doneness always insert the wooden skewer/toothpick in the middle of the loaf as it can be done around the edges while still raw in the middle.
- Note that the baking time may slightly vary depending on the type of oven you have.
- Because you are using zest from the orange I recommend buying organic oranges.
- Try adding finely chopped candied orange peel to the batter for the extra citrusy flavor and different texture.
This orange bread recipe is based on a recipe from an old cook book called Bread, Cakes & Biscuits by Mary Norwak. I made some changes to the original recipe. Reducing the amount of sugar was one of them as the original orange bread was way too sweet to my liking.
My version has just the right amount of sugar in it. I think it’s better adding more sweetness by spreading it with honey or jam rather than having a loaf that is way too sweet on its own.
This is an old post that has been updated with new photos and more detailed instructions and tips as well as recipe card with measurements in cups and grams.
Want to see how to make Orange Bread? Watch the video!
Orange Bread
Ingredients
- 2 Eggs (small-medium)
- 1½ cup Granulated Sugar (5.3 ounces/150 grams)
- Orange Zest (from 1 orange)
- 3 Medium Oranges , juice only (See note 2)
- 1 stick Unsalted Butter , softened (2.8 ounces/110 grams)
- 2 cups All-Purpose Flour (10.6 ounces/300 grams)
- 3 teaspoons Baking Powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream the eggs with sugar until smooth and pale.
- Add orange zest, freshly squeezed orange juice and softened butter. Mix with the electric mixer.
- Sift in the flour and baking powder (mix these two ingredients beforehand) and mix well with the mixer. Pour the batter into a loaf tin (10×4 inch/25×10 cm) lined with baking paper.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 375°F/190°C for 1 hour or until an inserted skewer comes out clean.
- When ready, take out from the oven pour some more orange juice over the loaf. Let it sit for about 10 minutes before transferring onto a wired rack. Let cool completely.
Notes
- All-purpose flour (US) = Plain flour (UK).
- You will need to get ½ cup (120 ml) of orange juice for the batter + about ¼ cup (60 ml) for pouring over the baked bread. 3 medium oranges (150 grams each) should be plenty but if you have oranges that are rather dry on the inside you might need one extra.
- The baking time may vary slightly depending on your oven.
- For more tips I recommend reading also the text above recipe card.
Carly says
Mine sank in the middle too, but the taste is absolutely amazing! So delicious! I will make this again this weekend.
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Thanks for your feedback, Carly! I am not sure what the problem can be: The most common reasons for cakes to sink in the middle are: an over-filled cake tin, over-mixing the batter or high oven temperature. Try reduce the oven temp slightly and use a large loaf tin if you have one. Hope this helps!
Jenni says
I’ve made this bread now twice. It is absolutely delicious. Mine doesn’t split at the top but still wonderful. I used blood oranges the first time and navel oranges today. When cooled I’m slicing and taking plates to friends. I made 2 loaves today.
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Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Hi Jenni, I am so happy to hear that. Happy baking! :)
Tanya says
Hi Julia,
I very rarely leave comments on recipes that I try. But your orange bread is so delicious, I could not leave it unsaid. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I am making it again today – but 2 loaves instead of one. One is gobbled up too quickly :)
Best,
Tanya
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Thanks so much for finding time to leave a comment, Tanya. It means a lot! Happy baking :)
Wern says
I just made this orange cake. I used 1 cup All-Purpose-Flour and 1 cup Whole Wheat Bread Flour. For the topping, I mixed the juice with some butter and pour it onto the cake. The cake is moist and delicious. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Thank you for your feedback, Wern. And thanks for letting us know that your substitutions worked well!
Mary A Zeldenrust says
You forgot to let us know when to add the butter.
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Hi Mary. Please see step 3 in the recipe card. You can also watch the video that is above the recipe card or check process photos, if you are not sure about something. Happy Baking!
Diane says
Why zest a whole orange and then only use half?
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Hi Diane. Thanks for pointing that out! It was an error in the recipe card that has already been fixed.
Dolly C. says
It’s amazing, super delicious ! A favorite from
Now on!
Bruce Thompson says
This is a wonderful recipe as written. On my second bread loaf, I wanted to bump up the fiber content so added:
2 TB (20 grams) ground flaxseed
2 TB (20 grams) chia seeds
3 TB (30 grams) sunflower seeds.
That second loaf also turned out great.
Highly recommend the original version, or my own adjustments should you desire more fiber.
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Hi Bruce. Thank you for your feedback and also for finding time to leave your version of this recipe! Other readers will definitely find useful! Happy Baking :)
Maria F. says
I made this yesterday and EVERYONE at home LOVED IT! It is SO GOOD!!!! Thank you so much for sharing it.
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
That’s great to hear, Maria F. Thanks so much for finding time to leave feedback!