Baking for Mr. Fritz: Cranberry Bread

The title of this blog post will be amusing to those who know me, because the truth is, I don't really bake. Unlike my sisters -- who can bake cookies, cakes, fudge and more at what is basically a professional level -- I did not inherit my mom's baking gene. I don't have the patience for measuring things carefully and, well, I guess that's my main problem: I don't have the patience to measure things carefully, which is the key to baking success. Nevertheless, I feel like I ought to at least try to satisfy Mr. Fritz's active sweet tooth with something more than just his daily ration of two Entenmann's donuts. So, I decided to give this Everyday Food recipe for Cranberry Bread a try.

It's a fairly simple recipe: mix up the dry ingredients (flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt) in one bowl and the wet ingredients (melted butter, one large egg, and some whole milk) in another. Add the wet to the dry, fold in a bag of fresh cranberries, pour into a buttered and floured loaf pan and bake for 350 for an hour and 15 minutes.


I will admit, the freewheeling cook in me surfaced briefly while I was pulling it together and I ended up modifying the recipe just a bit: I had some leftover light coconut milk from another recipe, so I subbed that for the whole milk. I thought it might cut some of the tartness of the cranberries, plus I just didn't want to waste it. Hopefully it will work similarly to regular milk. I guess when it comes down to it, you can take the cook out of the kitchen but you can't take the kitchen out of the cook. Or something like that. Verdict on my Frankenloaf? Very tasty! Maybe I should try this baking thing more often. Or perhaps I shouldn't push my luck...