Tea Bread Tuesday: Orange Pecan Bread

This recipe came from “The Silver Palate Cookbook.” It wasn't bad, but I don't think I'll be making this one again. The bread was crumbly and too sweet, and, worst of all, my husband, the ultimate judge, just shrugged his shoulders when I asked him how he liked it - it didn't even rate a “Not bad, but it could have used a little more . . . ” I wonder if we are suffering from tea bread fatigue . . . I may need to reassess whether to continue this series on a weekly basis or do it less frequently . . .

And, by the way, thank you to all my wonderful blogging friends who rack your brain every week to comment on essentially the same thing - another tea bread . . . It's nice of you to humor me while I work this project out of my system . . . I so appreciate you!

Here's the recipe - for the terminally curious:

8 tablespoons (1 stick) sweet butter, softened
¾ cup granulated sugar
2 eggs, separated
grated rind of 1 large or 2 small oranges
1½ cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
½ cup fresh orange juice
1 cup shelled pecans, chopped

Orange Glaze

¼ cup orange juice
¼ cup granulated sugar

1. Pre-heat oven to 350ºF. Grease an 8½ x 4½ inch loaf pan.
2. Cream the butter. Add ¾ cup sugar gradually, beating with an electric mixer until light. Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time, and the grated orange rind.
3. Sift the flour with baking powder, baking soda and salt, and add dry mixture to the batter alternately with ½ orange juice, beginning and ending with flour. Gently mix in the pecans.
4. Beat the egg whites until stiff and fold them carefully into the batter.
5. Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan, set on the middle rack of the oven, and bake for 50 to 60 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, make the glaze. Spoon the hot syrup over the bread as soon as the bread is removed from the oven. Cool in the pan on a wire rack.

1 loaf