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 (5.3oz/150g)
- Orange Zest (from 1 Orange
- 3 Medium Oranges , juice only (See note 2)
- 1 stick Unsalted Butter , softened (2.8oz/110g)
- 2 cups All-Purpose Flour (10.6oz/300g)
- 3 tsp 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 (from ½ orange), 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 (10x4 inch/25x10cm) 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 (120ml) of orange juice for the batter + about ¼ cup (60ml) for pouring over the baked bread. 3 medium oranges (150g 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.
Jane says
“TIP:
1.As mentioned above, for an extra orangey flavor pour freshly squeezed orange juice right after it has been taken out the oven.”
I’m sorry but, it sounds like you’d have me pour the bread over some juice? Am I supposed to squeeze some additional juice and pour it on top of the loaf, and if so, how much??
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Hi Jane,
Thanks for your comment. Sometimes, when English is not one’s first language these misunderstandings happen. I apologize if I did not make it clear enough. Yes, I meant to pour the additional juice on top of the loaf. The amount is entirely up to you. I suggest 1/3 – 1/2 cup. Hope this helped.
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Hi Nancy. I am sorry to hear that you felt this way. I had no intention to be rude. I included ounces (imperial measurements) right away after her comment but I also mentioned how to convert when it comes to cups in case she was interested in those. To avoid any confusion with conversion I even explained the way to do it, in case it was needed.
I do not include cups measurements in my recipes as the size of cups vary from country to country and I don’t want to confuse anyone. Again, I apologize for the way it came out. Julia.
JUAN CARLOS FANCHIN says
Hello, Good recipe and easy to make
But I would like to know the dimensions of the mold.
THANK YOU
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Hi Juan Carlos! Thank you. The dimensions of this loaf tin are: 25x10cm or 10x4inch and it’s 7cm/3inch deep. Happy Baking!
Claire says
How much baking powder is in this recipe? Thanks
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Hi Claire, it’s 3 teaspoons.
SG says
Hi Julia,
The cake looks delicious. Could you please tell the exact amount (ml) of juice used in the recipe?
Thanks.
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Thank you! You will need about 120 ml of freshly squeezed orange juice.
SG says
Thanks for replying. Will let you know how it turns out.
Neira says
Hi Julia, I have baked your cake saturday and instead of the normal flour i used gluten free self raising flour but kept everything else as per your recipe and the result was amazing.
Most of my family is gluten free intolerant and they were all happy with the results… i only managed to eat one slice they finished all off.
Recipe is very easy to follow, dont understand some question that people make.
Very happy… Thanks!!
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Hi Neira, thank you so much for your feedback! I am glad to hear that the recipe also works with gluten free flour and more importantly that you and your family loved it!
Brian Ikenberry says
Thank you for the recipe!
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
You are welcome, Brian! :)
Betsy says
I love this recipe. I have made it several times. I sometimes make a glaze with confectioners sugar, orange juice and a little butter or cream cheese to drizzle on top. So delicious!
I usually don’t use metric measures, but have a kitchen scale, so it was easy to follow, nonetheless.
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Hi Betsy! I am so happy to hear that! That glaze sounds delicious! I will be updating this recipe for cups in the near future as well.
Beth Neels says
Orange is so delicious in baked goods! And, you just can’t get any better than a quick bread! So easy and so delicious!
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
It is, isn’t it?
ali randall says
I make a similar bread using grapefruits. I will have to try this recipe with oranges. This sounds like the perfect bread for gifting this holiday season.
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Mmm…I must try using grapefruits next time :)
rebecca says
this looks delicious! I want it right now!
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Thanks! :)
Allison says
I would love a slice of this with my coffee right now. It looks perfect! Trying it soon. :)
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
That’s great to hear!
Stephanie says
I love orange flavors in baked goods. It just gives it a ton of flavor without adding a lot sugar. This loaf would be perfect for breakfast or snacking. Yum!
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Definitely! :)
Natalie says
This orange bread looks so delicious! I have to try this recipe soon!
Annissa says
These is such a gorgeous bread recipe! I can smell the orange flavor from the photos! Yum!
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Thanks, Annissa :)
Cutrina says
This bread was so yummy I added a banana to the oranges and turned out perfect!
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Thanks for your feedback, Cutrina! Glad to hear it worked out well with added bananas.
Marlene says
Very easy recipe . I made a mistake following the first instructions where it says to mix the eggs and butter, my fault for not scrolling down where everything was perfect. It is baking right now.
Suzanne says
Having brought fresh oranges back home from our tree in FL, I was looking for recipes to use them in. This was PERFECT! I used a little extra zest, but everything else just as written – this is a keeper for sure! I wonder if it would freeze well?
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Hi Suzanne! That’s great to hear! I have never tried freezing this bread as it always disappears fast from the table so not sure about that.
Anne says
Hi :-) I made this orange bread and the taste was great, but it turned out to be dense and rather hard.
What did I do wrong? Overmix it? It was sunken in the middle too..
Also, I was wondering if 3 teaspoons of baking powder had to do with it? Could I use less next time?
Thank you for your help!
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Hi Anne! There can be many reasons for the bread to turn dense and sunken in the middle. Overmixing can be one of them. Also, did you use 1/2 cup of orange juice as instructed? Adding more liquid to batter can cause the “sinking”. I don’t recommend reducing the amount of baking powder used. Hope this helps.
Tina says
This orange bread is delicious! I used 4 of the smaller Satsuma oranges and got 1/2 cup juice for the dough and about 1/4 cup to pour over the top, just as you recommended. The only issue I had was the bread started to burn around the edges while still not being quite done in the middle. I think my oven runs a little hot so I’ll be turning it down a little next time. Can’t wait to try your Lemon Lavender Loaf next!
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Thanks so much for your feedback, Tina! Every oven is (unfortunately) different so sometimes it can be challenging when baking something for the first time. Hope lowering the temp will work for you. Happy baking! :)
Jack Roseman says
I made this cake yesterday. It fell in the middle probably from too much stomping around in the the kitchen. I remember my mother chasing me out of the kitchen when I was a kid so her cakes didn’t “fall”. I think you should change the directions about adding the juice to “add 1/2 cup of the juice to the batter” in case someone skips the notes and adds the whole 3/4 of a cup. Also is it zest from 1 orange or 1/2 orange? Ingredients list says whole orange, directions say to add zest from 1/2 Orange I used zest from a whole small orange. It was fine. Also my oranges weren’t super sweet so I added some honey to the juice that I poured over the cake.
We all agreed it was delicious. Thank You.
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Hi Jack. Thanks for your feedback. I will try to fix the recipe and make it more clear for our readers! Hope you find here more recipes you like!
LizD says
Perfect gift recipe. I plumped dried cranberries in orange juice and added to batter. I also added them to the top of the loaf. Beautiful! Another gift could have orange icing dripped on top.
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Great suggestions, LizD. Thanks so much for your feedback and rating!
Charlotte Orr says
Can you use self rising flour and if you can then you don’t put in the salt and baking soda, correct? Or am I wrong?
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Hi Charlotte. I haven’t tested this recipe with self raising flour so not sure.
Susan Davies says
Made your orange cake and it turned out lovely except it was a little dry.I work in grams instead of cups and on my conversion chart it converted 2 cups of all purpose flour to 240 grams instead of 300 grams do you think this could be what made it slightly dry.I will make again and try adjusting the flour.Many thanks for the recipe.
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Hi Susan. I recommend using my conversion when they are provided as I convert them myself and they are more accurate. However, using less flour should not cause the bread turn dry. Did you use enough orange juice? Did you pour the remaining orange juice over the baked bread? That usually helps. Another think that could have caused it is the altitude you live at. It affects baking in many ways – i.e. liquids evaporate faster so it would be worth having a look at it, if that is your case. This recipe was developed at a sea level. Hope this helps!
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.
.
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 crack. 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!