Christmas Inspired Cranberry Orange Soft Bread

Inspired by Christmas panettone, this fluffy and flavorful Cranberry Orange soft Tangzhong bread is packed with orange zest and tart cranberries. This sweet bread is absolutely perfect for the holiday season, in fact I would say it smells just like Christmas!

The tart cranberries paired with sweet, zesty orange makes such a perfect combo! This soft bread is so delicious; I reckon I’m going to start a tradition to remake this recipe every holiday season!

This Orange Cranberry bread is so fragrant and flavorful, you can even eat it on its own! No spread or butter required. 😉

This loaf is best eaten fresh within 1-2 days but in case you’re thinking of a homemade, edible Christmas gift, this preservative-free loaf, just like the Tangzhong Milk Bread, makes a great gift too! It stays soft for a couple of days thanks to the water roux method. I suggest up to 3 days stored in an airtight container, at room temp.

What are the key ingredients that you will need?

Orange Zest

We are going to firstly zest the oranges before juicing them. I highly recommend the additional step of rubbing the orange zest into the sugar beforehand, as this would release the citrusy essential oil, adding a deeper orange floral note to the dough. But you can of course skip this step, and just add both sugar + zest individually into the dough to knead. 

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Orange Juice

I prefer freshly squeezed orange juice and it is recommended to firstly strain the pulp before using. You’ll need 2-3 medium oranges to yield 120-150g of orange juice. Reserve 50g of orange juice for the main dough, and use remaining 100g of juice for the Tangzhong. For the Tangzhong, you can use 70-80g orange juice, and top up with 20-30g of water to make up to 100g of liquid. 

Dried Cranberries

I prefer going a little heavy handed with the cranberries, as I love having the juicy, tart goodness in every bite. You can reduce to 50g if you like.

Dried cranberries can be used as they are, but if you prefer them plump and juicier, soak in warm water for 10-15 minutes, then drain and pat dry before adding into dough. 

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I hope this recipe would make a good substitute for those who do not have the luxury of time to develop a pasta madre nor spend 3 days to make a panettone. 

Wishing you a Merry Christmas! If you do try this recipe, do leave me a comment below to let me know how you go. I also have a quick 1 minute video HERE if you’d like some visual guidance.

Few Things to Note

When it comes to bread making, there are many factors that will influence your dough and the end product. Recipes should be used as a guide, as you familiarize yourself with the process and dough.

For instance, your dough may require extra kneading time depending on the flour and its protein content. The method used to knead also needs to be taken into account as some machines work the dough quicker, whilst others may require a bit more kneading time.

Temperature and humidity plays a big part in how your dough rises. The amount of time required to proof your dough also varies depending on where you’re based at. For my second proofing, I usually heat up a cup of water in the microwave for 1 minute, then proceed to leave my dough inside the microwave to rise for 25-30 minutes. 

It’s also very important to try to get to know your oven, as every oven is different. My oven heats up quickly so when a recipe calls for 180°C, I sometimes drop it down to 160-170°C. Keep an eye out as the bread is baking. Adjust either the baking temperature or duration according to how your oven behaves.

FAQ

What is tangzhong and how does this help yield bread that stays soft and tender?

This is a popular Asian method that involves cooking a ratio of 1:5 flour with liquid (either milk and/or water) into a gelatinous looking paste. This paste is then left to cool before adding to the rest of your ingredients. The pre-gelatinized starch when cooked at high temperature is able to absorb a higher amount of liquid. When this is added to the dough, you are essentially adding more hydration to the dough. To put it simply, the dough is able to retain more water during kneading, proofing and baking. This in turn result in soft, cloud-like final baked product. 

Can I use whole egg instead of just the egg yolk?

By using just egg yolks, we are adding fat, richness and flavour to the bread. The fats from the yolk works to tenderise the crumb and lighten the texture which gives our loaf a rich and soft crumb. You can use the whole egg if you like, but you will have to adjust the recipe accordingly or you’d be adding too much hydration with the addition of the egg whites as well.

Can I omit milk powder?

You may opt to omit the milk powder but I wouldn’t recommend it. Milk powder adds fats, protein and flavour to the dough, that not only makes the dough richer and creamier in taste, but also helps dough rise higher. The addition of milk powder will also help yield a more tender crumb texture.

I wouldn’t suggest substituting milk powder with liquid milk as it is adding extra hydration to the dough, which may alter the texture of the finished product. In other words, adding milk powder gives you the same benefits of milk without the extra liquid, with a more concentrated % of milk sugar and protein that will benefit the dough.

Help! My dough is too sticky!

For bread maker users, check the dough 10 minutes into the kneading cycle. It should be smooth and the mixing bowl should be clean by now. If your dough is too sticky to manage, you may add 1 tbsp of flour at a time.

For Thermomix users, if you experience a stickier dough (particularly for TM6 users) you may want to increase to 290g of high protein bread flour in your main dough to be able to better manage the dough. If your dough is still too soft to handle, add 1 tbsp of flour at a time and knead for 15-20 seconds until incorporated.

Lightly oil your hands (and the pastry mat depending on how sticky your dough is) using neutral flavoured oil to shape dough into a ball. Apply the chafing technique by cupping your hands gently around the dough, apply a light, downwards pressure to the sides whilst simultaneously rotating the dough in a circular clockwise motion. Continue doing so until a smooth, even, and round ball is formed. 

How do I know if my bread is well proofed and ready to be baked?

You may perform the visual test to check. Lightly press the surface of the proofed dough with the tip of your finger for about 2 seconds and observe how fast the dough bounces back up.

• UNDER-PROOF: If it bounces back up too fast without any indentation, it isn’t ready yet, so give it more time.
• READY TO BAKE: It is supposed to bounce back up slowly, about halfway up and leave a slight indent.
• OVER-PROOFED: If the indent remains without bouncing back up, yes it is over-proofed, but don’t worry! You can still save it.

How to save an overproofed bread dough?

If the dough is overproofed, the gluten is being over-stretched and it will be unable to hold up the internal structure of the bread. The wall will highly likely fall after baking and the loaf would then collapse. If it isn’t severely over-risen, you have the option to quickly pop it into the oven to bake it right away. Otherwise what you can do to save it is by deflating your overproofed dough and reshape, then repeat the second proofing again.

Which oven rack and what oven setting should I use?

I suggest the second rack from bottom. I bake using top and bottom heat, with fan.

When to remove bread from tin?

Upon removing from oven, immediately remove it from the bread tin and let cool on a wire rack. This step is crucial in ensuring there is proper air circulation and that condensation does not happen causing your bread to get wet/soggy at the bottom.

When do I slice the bread?

Of course, I understand how hard it is to resist freshly baked bread. But! Slicing into your loaf of bread before it has cooled down completely may sometimes result in wet gummy crumb texture. Always let your bread rest for at the very minimum 30-60 mins, best for 1.5-2 hours. Just like how you would rest your meat after cooking, the same theory applies for your bread. By allowing your bread to cool completely, it helps stabilise the crumb structure.

Once it has completely cooled down, you may store entire loaf and slice only when you wish to consume. This is because the longer you rest it, the easier it will be to slice the bread. If you’re finding it tricky to slice a loaf of freshly baked bread, check out my video on how I slice soft loaves.

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