Cranberry Walnut Bread

 I love Costco's cranberry bread but the thought of spending $9 for a loaf of bread when I bake all the time was just a little crazy.

I make a lot of artisan breads mostly sourdough. You can find some of my recipes on here, cheddar jalapenos been my favorite until I decided to throw some Parmesan cheese and artichoke together and that was really good. It may even beat out my cheddar cheese and jalapeno bread. I also make a Parmesan and roasted garlic bread. You'll find the recipes on this blog if you like to go check them out.

I have to say I love this bread it even beats out Costco's bread. There is not one thing I would change about it. I was going to add a little bit of cinnamon but I figured to give it a good review I'll just stick with the way it was written.

I hope you try this bread, it's really easy to make and it would just rise while you're sleeping and then you can get up in the morning and make the bread. It is so worth it.

Here's the link to the original recipe. Go over and check it out and tell her the crazy Baker sent you over to try her great bread. Let me know if you make this and what you think of it.

https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/no-knead-cranberry-nut-bread/

3 cups + 2 Tablespoons (390g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled), plus more for hands

2 teaspoons coarse sea salt (I find the flavor lacking using regular table salt)

1/2 teaspoon Red Star Platinum yeast (instant yeast)

3/4 cup (95g) chopped nuts (I like walnuts or pecans)

3/4 cup (105g) dried cranberries*

1 Tablespoon honey

1 and 1/2 cups (360ml) warm water (about 95°F (35°C))

I love Costco's cranberry walnut bread but the thought of spending $9 for a loaf is ridiculous I don't care how good it tastes.

I make a lot of breads normally I make sourdough breads. I'm so  glad I gave this recipe a try.

If you make it come back and let me know what you think.

Here is the original recipe link. 

https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/no-knead-cranberry-nut-bread/

Instructions

*No need to grease the bowl.* Stir the first 6 ingredients together in a large bowl. Stir in the warm water. The dough will be pretty sticky– don’t be tempted to add more flour– you want a sticky dough. Gently shape into a ball as best you can. Cover tightly with plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Set on the counter at room temperature (honestly any normal room temperature is fine!) and allow to rise for 12-18 hours. The dough will double in size, stick to the sides of the bowl, and be covered in air bubbles.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and, using lightly floured hands, shape into a ball as best you can. Doesn’t have to be perfect! Transfer dough to a large piece of parchment paper. (Large enough to fit inside your pot and one that is safe under such high heat. I use this parchment and it’s never been an issue.)

Using a very sharp knife, gently score an X into the top. Cover dough lightly with plastic wrap and leave alone for 30 minutes.

During this 30 minutes, preheat the oven to 475°F (246°C). (Yes, very hot!) Place your dutch oven (with the lid) or heavy duty pot inside for 30 minutes so that it’s extremely hot before the dough is placed inside. After 30 minutes, remove the dutch oven from the oven and carefully place the dough inside by lifting it up with the parchment paper and sticking it all– the parchment paper included– inside the pot. Cover with the lid.

Bake for 25 minutes with the lid on. Carefully remove the lid and continue baking for 8-10 more minutes until the bread is golden brown. Remove pot from the oven, carefully remove the bread from the pot, and allow to cool on the counter for 30 minutes before breaking/slicing/serving.

Cover and store leftover bread at room temperature for 1 week.

Notes

Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: The dough takes up to 18 hours to rise, so this is a wonderful recipe to begin 1 day ahead of time. You can also bake the bread, allow it to cool, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature before serving. You can also freeze the dough. Complete the recipe through step 2. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in a freezer-friendly container. To bake, allow dough to thaw overnight in the refrigerator, or for 2-3 hours at room temperature. Continue with step 3 and the rest of the recipe instructions.

Dutch Oven: 6 quart or higher dutch oven or any large oven-safe pot with a lid (lid is crucial– see post!). If your dutch oven is smaller than 6 quarts, you can halve the recipe (instructions remain the same, just halve each ingredient) or make the recipe as directed in step 1. Shape the dough into 2 balls in step 2. Bake them one at a time in your smaller dutch oven. While the 2nd dough waits, lightly cover and keep at room temperature. The bake times (25 mins and 8-10 mins) are both a little shorter for smaller loaves.

No dutch oven? See post above for alternative.

Yeast: If you don’t have instant yeast, you can use active-dry. I’ve never had a problem using active dry yeast in this recipe– and with no other changes needed. Works wonderfully!

Bread Flour or Whole Wheat Flour: I use all-purpose flour here since it’s more readily available to most bakers. However, I love baking bread with bread flour and it can definitely be substituted with no other changes needed to the recipe. You can also swap all-purpose flour for whole wheat flour. The bread will have a tougher and heartier texture, as expected. To maintain a chewy and softer texture, use half all-purpose flour and half whole wheat flour.

Cranberries: Dried cranberries (or raisins!) are best for this wet dough. I haven’t tried this bread with fresh or frozen cranberries.

Parchment Paper: If your parchment paper can only be heated to a certain temperature, bake the bread at that temperature. Bake the bread a little longer to compensate for the lower temperature.