Thursday, January 27, 2011

Iowa recipe: Orange Honey Bread


It was 4 degrees outside last weekend.  I didn't want to leave the house, not even to get a gallon of milk at the grocery store 5 blocks away.  But I did want to bake.

I've been buying oranges and lemons like they are going extinct.  They just look so bright and fresh in a world covered in white snow and gray ice.  Plus, I remember my mom peeling oranges for us every winter morning when I was a kid.  She insisted we needed to "get our Vitamin C."  Gosh, I miss those cozy mornings on the farm.


I turned to my Iowa State Fair Cookbook to find a recipe using my favorite citrus fruits.  I thought this orange honey bread looked perfect for a cold winter day.  It calls for a minimum of ingredients, all of which I already had in my pantry or fridge.  And instead of sugar, the bread is sweetened with honey.  I've been wanting to bake more with honey, so I decided to give this recipe a try.


The bread looks beautiful.  But it wasn't all that I was hoping it would be.  The orange flavor was a little too subtle, and the honey flavor a bit too strong for my taste.  Yet it's still a very pretty quick bread.  And I didn't have to leave the house to shop for ingredients.

Feel free to try this recipe when you need a taste of sunshine.  Enjoy!

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Fresh Orange Bread
  • 1 C. honey
  • 1/4 C. shortening
  • 1 egg
  • 1-1/2 tsp. grated orange peel
  • 2-1/2 tsp. baking powder
  • 2-1/2 C. all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 C. fresh orange juice
3/4 C. chopped pecans

Cream honey and shortening. Add egg; beat well.  Add orange peel.  In a separate bowl, mix baking powder and flour together; add to honey mixture, alternating with orange juice.  Stir in nuts.  Pour into two greased 4x8 inch loaf pans.  Bake in 325 degree oven for 55 minutes.  Remove from pans; cool on wire racks.

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