My mother-in-law has been baking this bread for years. Now that both Mike and his Dad have been diagnosed with Celiac Disease, she’s switched to making a gluten-free version. When I asked her for the recipe, her response was “Oh, you Sweetie. The Cranberry Cheese Bread is straight out of Betty Crocker pg. 52.” Here is the gluten-free version.
Cranberry Cheese Bread
- 2/3 cup sorghum flour
- 1/3 cup brown rice flour
- 1/3 cup buckwheat flour
- 2/3 cup potato starch
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3/4 cup orange juice
- 1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 cup cranberries, halved
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Combine the dry ingredients until well mixed.
- Cut the butter into small cubes, then cut into the flour mixture.
- Mix in the orange juice, cheese, egg, and cranberries.
- Pour into a greased loaf pan, then bake for around 70 minutes, until a knife inserted will come out clean.
- Remove the loaf from the pan after cooling for 5 to 10 minutes.
I just used store bought orange juice this time. However, I’d imagine the bread would be extra tasty if you used the zest and juice of an actual orange. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do. :)
Hey you Sweetie, I wouldn’t have known it wasn’t her recipe either! Hehehehe.
How did it turn out?
It was pretty fantastic. Like, this is one recipe where there’s nothing lost at all from having to go wheat-free. It tasted just like it always does.
I think the crust came out really well. It was actually kind of crispy. :)
Hi, Kalinda,
This looks awfully good! A quick bread with just one egg to sub for (we have dairy & egg allergies here) may work for us. And I actually have cranberries in my freezer! Do you think this would still be good without the cheese? What would be a good substitute for the buckwheat flour? I have lots of gf flours in the house, just not that one. Thanks!
Wow, that does sound great!
I wonder what it is about this recipe that makes it just the same in the gluten-free version as the glutenful version. How do other yummy breads work? Like chocolate applesauce cake, or banana bread? Are those just as good gluten-free?
Hi Margaret,
I’m not sure about the cheese. As far as taste goes, sure it will be different, but I bet it’d still taste good. However, I imagine the cheese contributes to holding the bread together (which is always extra important in GF foods, so I’m not sure how much of an issue that might be.
As far as a substitute for buckwheat flour, perhaps try millet? Try with whatever you have, I’d probably stay away from more rice flour though (to avoid the grittiness).
Kathy: We haven’t tried chocolate applesauce cake. But yes, we’ve had some pretty good success with banana breads. I suspect that you’re onto something as to the ease with which you can make sweet breads GF.
Hi, Margaret
I only used the buckwheat because I was short of my regular GF flour mix. (I loved the heartier taste that little bit of buckwheat provided, though.) Use what you’ve got and give it a try. But I agree with Kalinda that you might want to use one with more substance than straight white rice flour~~~especially if you have to eliminate the cheese. Do you use a cheese substitute? If not, you might also want to increase the salt just a tiny smidge.
Hi, Kathy
Yes, chocolate applesauce cake comes out perfectly when I use Andrea’s GF flour. http://www.andreasglutenfree.com/gourmetGlutenFreeStoreCatalog_c284234.html
Debbi (the mother-in-law)