Cranberries and Crunch

This light, quick bread gets a bit of heft from cornmeal, which adds texture and a little bite. After lightly buttering the baking pan, I sprinkle in a little cornmeal to give the loaf a nice crunch. The butter, meanwhile, adds extra flavor and helps brown the crust.

Just two tablespoons of butter, along with nonfat egg substitute, reduce the fat and calories. While similar breads can be made with nuts, I chose to leave them out.

Cranberry Cornmeal Bread

Active Work Time: 20 minutes

Total Preparation Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Look for coarse sugar at specialty food and baking stores.

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3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon yellow cornmeal, divided

1 1/2 cups flour

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

Juice and zest of 1 orange, divided

2 tablespoons melted butter

1/4 cup nonfat egg substitute (equivalent to 1 egg)

2 cups fresh cranberries, coarsely chopped

1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary

1 tablespoon white coarse sugar, optional

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Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch loaf pan and dust the pan with 1 tablespoon of cornmeal.

Stir together the flour, remaining 3/4 cup cornmeal, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Combine the orange juice, melted butter and enough water to measure 3/4 cup. Stir in the egg substitute.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour in the orange juice mixture. Add the cranberries, orange zest and rosemary. Stir just until all the ingredients are moistened. Spoon the batter into the loaf pan. Sprinkle the top with sparkling sugar, if using.

Bake until the bread tests done in the center, 45 to 55 minutes. Let it cool in the pan 5 minutes, then loosen the sides of the bread from the pan and turn the loaf onto a wire rack to cool. Slice and serve warm.

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12 slices. Each slice: 170 calories; 330 mg sodium; 5 mg cholesterol; 2 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 32 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams protein; 3.85 grams fiber.