Cranberry Sourdough Bread With Walnuts

Cranberry sourdough bread is a rustic, hearty loaf terrific for toasting or turkey sandwiches! We added walnuts for extra flavour and texture.

photography by Sophie MacKenzie

It’s no secret that we are passionate about sourdough. There’s something so meditative about the process, and rewarding about lifting the lid from a Dutch oven to reveal a beautiful loaf inside.

We want to show you how to make cranberry sourdough bread using sourdough levain. A levain is basically a small amount of active sourdough starter you make the night before using cold starter from the fridge. We love baking with levain because you can make what you need, in any amount you want, without having to remember to feed your starter every day or two.

Baking sourdough bread is not a fast process (especially if using levain which adds an extra night). We promise however, most of the time is spent hands off, and the result is totally worth it!

If you don’t want to make levain, you can use active bubbly starter (if you are new to sourdough, check out this post called How To Make Sourdough Starter From Scratch). We use walnuts for this loaf because they’re such a compliment to cranberries, but you can switch in any nuts or seeds you like. We’ve got more tips and notes below, as well as links to tutorials on our site if you have any questions. Happy baking!

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Ingredients

• Levain — Sourdough levain is essentially a small amount of active sourdough starter you make the night before using cold sourdough starter from the fridge. For more information, we have a post called How To Make Sourdough Levain For Sourdough Bread.
• Flour — We used all-purpose white flour for this recipe.
• Salt — Fine sea salt is always a great option, however, regular iodized table salt also works.
• Dried Cranberries — We used dried sweetened cranberries, however, feel free to use unsweetened.
• Walnuts — Whole raw walnuts are great, however, feel free to toast them before hand for extra flavour. Toasted nuts must be cooled before adding them to the dough.

Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top, or scroll to the bottom of the post to see the printable recipe card with full ingredient measurements and complete instructions.

Method

Day 1: Make The Leavin

Make the levain in the evening before bed and let it activate in a warm, draft-free spot overnight. For full instructions on how to make sourdough levain, visit this post called How To Make Sourdough Levain For Sourdough Bread.

Day 2: Make & Shape The Dough

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TOP TIP
Slice the cranberries and walnuts into smaller pieces before adding them to the dough if you want.

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TOP TIP
We have a post called How To Shape Sourdough Boules if you are new to the concept. When shaping, aim for as much surface tension as possible without tearing the outside of the loaf.

Day 3: Bake The Cranberry Sourdough

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TOP TIP
If heat makes it too difficult to safely remove the final loaf and parchment layer, let the loaf cool directly in the Dutch oven. Don’t risk burning yourself.

Tips & Notes

• If you don’t want to make levain, skip to DAY 2 and use an equal amount of bubbly active sourdough starter.
• You can use a medium-sized mixing bowl lined with a tea towel if you don’t own a banneton. Be sure to dust the tea towel in the bowl generously with flour before placing the dough inside. Flour makes it easier to lift the dough away from the fabric.
• We love rice flour for dusting the inside of our bannetons. You can also use regular flour, or a mix of the two.
• A cast iron Dutch oven works best and can be enamelled or un-enamelled. We prefer cast iron for its even heat distribution and retention.
• Invest in a good pair of oven mitts!
• Walnuts can sometimes react to bread dough and turn an almost purple colour. It can look off-putting but is totally safe to eat.

We have a series of tutorials that may come in handy if you need:

• Sourdough Tools — Our Favourite Essential Sourdough Tools
• Levain — How To Make Sourdough Levain For Sourdough Bread
• Stretch And Folds — How To Stretch And Fold Sourdough
• Shaping — How To Shape Sourdough Boules

Substitutions

• Levain — Can be substituted with well fed bubbly active starter.
• All-Purpose Flour — You can use bread flour (also called “strong” flour) in place of all-purpose. You can also substitute a portion of the all-purpose flour for light spelt or whole wheat flour. These whole grain options absorb more water which can make for a more dense loaf with a tighter crumb.
• Dried Cranberries —Substitute an equal amount of any dried fruit you like. Raisins, dates, and blueberries are all great options.
• Walnuts — Use raw or (cooled) toasted walnuts. We also love pecans or a mixture of seeds like pumpkin and sunflower.

Storage

• Cranberry sourdough bread is best the day it’s first baked and sliced.
• Alex recommends wrapping your cooled loaf in a tea towel and storing it in a cold oven.
• Once cooled, I like to slice my whole loaf and store it in a large zipper top freezer bag. I keep the bread on the counter for two days, placing the whole bag in the freezer after that (if there’s any left). Frozen slices of sourdough are great for toasting.

Delicious (& Easy!) Toppings For Cranberry Sourdough Bread

Small-Batch Strawberry Jam With Bay Leaves
Maple Peach Whisky Jam
Rhubarb Compote
Raspberry Rhubarb Jam
Blackberry Chia Jam

If you make this recipe, let us know by tagging @baked_theblog + #bakedtheblog on Instagram! We love to feel like we’re in the kitchen with you.

The post Cranberry Sourdough Bread With Walnuts appeared first on Baked.