Orange Bread
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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)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar (5.3 ounces/150 grams)
- orange zest (from 1 orange)
- 3 oranges , juice only (see note 2)
- 1 stick unsalted butter , softened (4 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 and pour some more orange juice over the loaf. Let it sit for about 10 minutes before transferring onto a wired rack. Let cool completely.
Video
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 the recipe card.
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!
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! :)
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!
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.
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?
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.
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.
This bread was so yummy I added a banana to the oranges and turned out perfect!
Thanks for your feedback, Cutrina! Glad to hear it worked out well with added bananas.
These is such a gorgeous bread recipe! I can smell the orange flavor from the photos! Yum!
Thanks, Annissa :)
This orange bread looks so delicious! I have to try this recipe soon!
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!
Definitely! :)
I would love a slice of this with my coffee right now. It looks perfect! Trying it soon. :)
That’s great to hear!
this looks delicious! I want it right now!
Thanks! :)
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.
Mmm…I must try using grapefruits next time :)
Orange is so delicious in baked goods! And, you just can’t get any better than a quick bread! So easy and so delicious!
It is, isn’t it?
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.
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.
Thank you for the recipe!
You are welcome, Brian! :)
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!!
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!
Hi Julia,
The cake looks delicious. Could you please tell the exact amount (ml) of juice used in the recipe?
Thanks.
Thank you! You will need about 120 ml of freshly squeezed orange juice.
Thanks for replying. Will let you know how it turns out.
How much baking powder is in this recipe? Thanks
Hi Claire, it’s 3 teaspoons.
Hello, Good recipe and easy to make
But I would like to know the dimensions of the mold.
THANK YOU
Hi Juan Carlos! Thank you. The dimensions of this loaf tin are: 25x10cm or 10x4inch and it’s 7cm/3inch deep. Happy Baking!
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.
“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??
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.