Zesty Orange Bread

If you're sick of banana bread give this orange bread a try. Julia told me about this recipe from Williams Sonoma. It is the texture of a banana bread but with the flavor of orange . Because there is the zest of 3 oranges it really has a lot of orange flavor. This is a great bread to make into mini loaves for gifts. They also have a yummy lemon bread that I've made and will post. They're both really good.


Ingredients:
Zest of 3 oranges
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbs. water
5 Tbs. unsalted butter
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
3/4 cup plain yogurt
3/4 cup milk
For the orange syrup:
3 Tbs. sugar
3 Tbs. fresh orange juice

Directions:
Preheat an oven to 350ºF. Grease and flour a 1-lb. loaf pan. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the orange zest, 1/4 cup of the sugar and the water, stirring until the sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes. Add the butter and stir until melted, about 1 minute. Set aside. In a bowl, stir and toss together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and the remaining 1/4 cup sugar. Set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, yogurt, milk and reserved orange mixture until smooth. Add the flour mixture and stir until just blended. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. Meanwhile, make the orange syrup: In a small bowl, combine the sugar and orange juice. Set aside, stirring occasionally; do not worry if the sugar does not dissolve completely. Remove the bread from the oven and transfer the pan to a wire rack. Using a fork, gently poke the top in several places. Stir the syrup, then slowly drizzle it over the hot bread. Let the bread cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn the loaf out onto the rack and let cool completely. Makes 1 loaf.