Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter a 9x5-inch loaf pan or spray with baking spray.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In another large bowl, whisk together milk, oil, orange zest and juice, egg, and vanilla until well combined.
Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture and stir just until combined. Fold in the cranberries. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake for 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Let the bread cool in the pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Carefully remove and let cool completely on the wire rack.
For the Glaze:
In a small bowl, whisk together sugar, orange juice, and vanilla until smooth and desired consistency. Drizzle over the cooled bread. Garnish with orange zest before slicing, if desired.
Notes
Don’t use an electric mixer, or you could over-mix the batter, resulting in a dense loaf or large holes in the crumb. Just use a spatula and mix until everything is just combined.
It is much easier to zest the orange before juicing.
Bring your eggs and milk to room temperature so they incorporate fully into the batter.
Measure your flour correctly! Adding too much flour will lead to the cranberry bread ending up dense. The best and easiest way to measure flour is by using a scale. If you don’t have one, then fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle it into your measuring cup, and use a knife to level it off.
For a smooth glaze, sift the powdered sugar before whisking it together.
If the top of the loaf is browning too quickly, cover the pan with some tin foil.
To get more juice out of an orange, roll it under your palm on the countertop to loosen the juices.