Orange Bread

Bright and bursting with citrus, Orange Bread brings the taste of sunshine to your breakfast! Call it a bread or an orange loaf cake if you prefer–either way this recipe is big time hit!

Love bread for breakfast? Our Cranberry Almond Bread is a reader favorite! Or give our Amish Friendship Bread recipe a try next, comes with a starter recipe too!

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Our Favorite Citrus Bread

Orange Bread is one of my favorite loafs of all time. I even prefer it over this Lemon Loaf recipe!

Whenever I bring it to a potluck or serve it to friends, it disappears almost before I can even have a taste.

• Moist and bursting with orange flavor, this bread is unbelievably good.
• A shiny orange glaze poured on top of the bread fresh from the oven, takes this  loaf to the next level.

Once people try this, they never fail to ask for the recipe! It’s sweet enough to serve as a dessert but perfectly acceptable for breakfast, too.

I like this bread best served cold, right out of the refrigerator. A slice of ice cold bread is perfect for a warm summer morning, paired with my hot coffee.

Of course, I’d happily eat my Orange Loaf Cake with a tall glass of iced coffee too. The important thing is that there’s coffee and delicious bread. Priorities.

How to Make Orange Bread

The secret to the tantalizing orange flavor of this bread comes from two key ingredients: orange juice AND orange zest. You can taste the citrus goodness in every bite.

After creaming butter and sugar together, you add the zest from four whole oranges (get our tips on how to zest an orange), along with the eggs. Flour, baking soda and salt are added, along with the orange juice and yogurt.

Yogurt is the secret to moist orange bread! Similar to sour cream, yogurt helps lock in the moisture in this bread. It won’t dry out, even a couple of days after baking!

When the batter is mixed together, pour it into two greased loaf pans and bake for 45 to 55 minutes.

While the bread is baking, it’s time to make an orange syrup to put on top! Cook granulated white sugar with the juice from two oranges on low heat until the sugar dissolves.

When your loaves are done baking, let them cool in their pans for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack. Spoon syrup over cakes. Cool completely!

Top it off with an Orange Glaze

You don’t need much to add the perfect finishing touche to your orange bread. This glaze recipe is simple powdered sugar and orange juice.

While the bread is cooling, whisk together powdered sugar with orange juice until well combined.

Pour the glaze over the cake and allow it to dry. This bread is delicious without the addition of glaze on top but I think this frosting makes it extra special.

Store orange bread covered in the refrigerator or freeze!

Storing Your Orange Loaf

This recipe makes two orange loaf cakes because I like one to eat and one to freeze for later.

To freeze, wrap it in foil first then place the loaf in a freezer bag for storage. It’ll keep well this way for a couple of months, but I usually eat my second loaf within a few weeks.

Once you try regular orange bread, make sure to check out my Cranberry Orange Bread and my Blueberry Loaf recipes, too!

More Quick Bread Recipes

• Sour Cream Banana Bread
• Apple Cinnamon Bread
• Zucchini Bread – reader favorite!
• Double Chocolate Bread
• Pumpkin Bread
• Kringle Recipe

Continue to Content

Yield: 20 servings

Orange Bread

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 55 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

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Bright and bursting with citrus, Orange Bread brings the taste of sunshine to your breakfast! Call it a bread or an orange loaf cake if you prefer--either way this recipe is big time hit!

Ingredients

For the Bread

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2 ½ cups granulated sugar, divided
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 4 oranges, zested and juiced, divided
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ¾ cup orange juice, divided
• ¾ cup vanilla yogurt, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Glaze

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 3 Tablespoons orange juice

Instructions

1. Cream butter and 2 cup sugar in a mixer for 5 minutes. On medium speed, beat in eggs, one at a time. Add orange zest from all 4 oranges (about ⅓ cup).
2. In large bowl, mix flour, baking powder, soda, and salt. In another bowl, mix ¼ cup OJ (juice of 1 orange), yogurt and vanilla. Add flour and yogurt mixtures alternately to mixer in 3 additions.
3. Pour into two greased loaf pans. I line my pans with parchment paper on the bottom, then grease pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45-55 minutes.
4. While bread is baking, cook remaining ½ cup sugar with ½ cup OJ (juice of 2 oranges) on low until sugar dissolves. Cool cakes ten minutes in pan. Remove from pans to a wire rack. Spoon syrup over cakes. Cool completely.
5. To glaze, mix 2 cup powdered sugar with ¼ cup OJ (juice of 1 orange) with whisk. Pour over cake and allow to dry. Store in refrigerator or freeze.

Notes

• To freeze, wrap loaf of bread in foil first then place the loaf in a freezer bag for storage. It'll keep well this way for a couple of months, but I usually eat my second loaf within a few weeks.
• See blog post for more recipe tips and tricks!

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

20

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 330Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 62mgSodium: 254mgCarbohydrates: 56gFiber: 1gSugar: 40gProtein: 4g

*Nutrition facts are an estimate and not guaranteed to be accurate. Please see a registered dietitian for special diet advice.

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 Orange loaf is the sweetest way to start any day!