★★★★★

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!

Loaf of orange bread on a wooden cutting board drizzled with orange glaze.
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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

Step by step photos for 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!

Step by step photos for adding glaze to orange bread recipe.

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!

2 loaves of glazed orange bread on a wire rack with two oranges in background.

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

Yield: 20 servings

Orange Bread

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 55 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

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.

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram

 Orange loaf is the sweetest way to start any day! 

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About Aimee

Aimee is a dessert lover (specifically rice krispie treats), workout enthusiast, self-taught foodie, and recipe creator.

Learn more about Aimee.

Affiliate Disclosure:**There may be affiliate links in this post! By clicking on them, or purchasing recommended items I may receive a small compensation. However, I only recommend products I love! Thank you for supporting Shugary Sweets! See my disclosure policy for more info**

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Posted on March 9, 2020

Comments & Reviews

  1. How well would this bake if I added fresh slices of orange to the top before baking? (Sorry, I put the question in the review on accident 😅)

    1. The recipe says you need 1/3 cup zest—but in my experience it will take a couple of oranges to give you that much zest.

      The recipe says you need 1/4 cup orange juice–but you might need two oranges to get that much juice. Just depends on how juicy your oranges are.

  2. Can you use orange extract instead of vanilla extract? Is the bread moist because I prefer breads with no glaze.

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