Whole Wheat Cranberry Orange Winter Bread

A Loaf Rooted in Winter’s Rhythm

By December, Rhode Island’s shoreline has shifted into its winter dress. The leaves have long since fallen, the dunes hold only the stubborn stems of beach roses, and the air carries that sharp salt chill that makes you pull your scarf a little tighter. It’s in this season of bare branches and bright skies that baking becomes more than food; it becomes a way of grounding ourselves in warmth, memory, and neighborly tradition.

Why Whole Wheat Matters

Made From RI’s whole wheat flour is not just an ingredient … it’s a story of grain carried whole, with all its richness intact. In winter, when the landscape is stripped back to essentials, whole wheat feels right: hearty, grounding, and full of character. It anchors the brightness of cranberries and the lift of orange zest, just as the earth anchors the season’s stark beauty.

The Recipe

• 2 cups whole wheat flour (find the Rhode Island made version at Made From RI)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp nutmeg
• ½ cup butter
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup yogurt or buttermilk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup cranberries
• Zest & juice of 1 orange
• ½ cup walnuts or pecans (optional)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a loaf pan.
2. Whisk dry ingredients together.
3. Cream butter and sugar, add eggs, vanilla, yogurt, and orange juice.
4. Fold in dry mix, then cranberries, zest, and nuts.
5. Bake 45–55 minutes until golden. Cool.

Seasonal Notes

• Cranberries sparkle like ornaments against the loaf’s deep crumb, echoing the red berries that cling to winter hedges.
• Orange zest brightens the darker days, a reminder of light returning even in December’s stillness.
• Whole wheat flour grounds the bread in heritage, like stone walls holding steady through the frost.
• Giftable loaves wrapped in parchment and twine carry the spirit of neighborly exchange … bread as offering, bread as story.

“In the quiet of December, when the ferry moves slow across the bay and the dunes stand bare, a loaf like this becomes more than food. It is warmth against the cold, memory against the silence, and a neighborly gift that says: we are rooted here, together, in the season’s rhythm.”

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