Cranberry Walnut Sourdough Bread
Cranberry Walnut Sourdough Bread is the perfect bread for the holiday season. The addition of festive cranberries and toasty walnuts to a classic sourdough base produces a delicious and cozy loaf, perfect for serving at your holiday table!
Servings 1 loaf
Equipment
- Digital kitchen scale
- Large mixing bowl
- Dough whisk optional
- Bench scraper optional
- Bread banneton
- Bread lame
- Large dutch oven
- Heavyweight oven mitts
Ingredients
Leaven
- 50 grams white flour
- 50 grams whole spelt flour
- 100 grams warm water
- 2 tablespoons active sourdough starter
Dough
- 325 grams warm water, divided
- 100 grams leaven
- 400 grams white flour
- 100 grams whole spelt flour
- 10 grams sea salt
- 90 grams raw walnuts
- 100 grams dried cranberries
Instructions
Make the Leaven
- The night before baking, mix the leaven. Add the active starter, flours, and warm water into a container—I like to use a one-litre deli container for this—and mix until fully combined and no bits of dry flour remain.
Mix the Dough
- The next morning, use the float test to check if your leaven is ready for baking. Fill a small bowl or cup with warm water, then add a spoonful of the leaven. If it floats, it is ready to be baked with. If it sinks, let it ferment for another hour or so before completing the float test again.
- Add 300 grams of the warm water to a large mixing bowl. Add 100 grams of the leaven; the remaining leaven will become your new starter, and stir well to disperse.
- Measure in the all-purpose and whole spelt flours. Mix everything well until a sticky dough has formed. I use my hands for this process. Cover the bowl with a clean dish towel and let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- After the initial resting period, add the salt and 25 grams of warm water. Squeeze the dough between your fingers to combine. Fold the dough onto itself and cover with the towel. You are now in the bulk fermentation phase.
Bulk Fermentation
- To encourage the development of the bread's gluten, a series of stretch and folds, or "envelope folds," are completed in 30-minute intervals throughout the 3 or 4-hour bulk fermentation. To complete an envelope fold, reach into the bowl with a clean hand and grab the bottom of the dough, stretch it up, and fold it back over itself. Repeat 3 more times, rotating the bowl 90 degrees between each fold. You have now completed one envelope fold. Cover the dough and allow it to rest for 30 minutes, then repeat another fold.
- On the second envelope fold—30 minutes into the bulk fermentation—add the cranberries and walnuts. Complete the fold as normal to begin incorporating the cranberries and walnuts. Do not worry if they do not look well incorporated after this initial turn. As you complete the remaining turns over the course of the bulk fermentation, the cranberries and walnuts will become more incorporated.
Shaping the Loaf
- Transfer the dough to a clean, floured work surface. Lightly flour the dough, then, using the bench scraper and one hand, shape the dough into a round shape. Cover and let rest on the work surface for 30 minutes—this is known as the bench rest.
- For the final shaping of the loaf, lightly flour the surface of the dough, then use the bench scraper to flip the dough so the floured side is now on the work surface.
- Grab the edge of the dough closest to you, and stretch it up and over itself. Repeat this movement with the sides of the dough to your left and right. Lastly, stretch the edge of the dough furthest from you up, then fold it over itself, rotating the dough away from you so the seam side is now facing down.
- Flour your bread banneton with a 50/50 mix of white flour and rice flour to prevent the dough from sticking. Transfer the shaped loaf to the banneton, flipping it so the seam side is now facing up in the basket.
The Final Rise
- When it comes to the final rise, you have two options. Option one: you can allow the bread to rise at room temperature for 3 to 4 hours before baking. Option two: you can delay the final rise by transferring the shaped loaf to the fridge to rise slowly overnight, then bake it the following morning.
Baking the Loaf
- Put the Dutch oven into the oven, then preheat the oven to 500℉. If the final rise was done overnight in the fridge, remove the loaf from the fridge 20 minutes before baking to come to room temperature.
- Flip the loaf out onto a square of parchment. Using a sharp bread lame, carefully score the loaf with your desired pattern. A singular line across the middle or a square on the surface of the dough works best, in my experience.
- Using heavyweight oven mitts, carefully remove the preheated Dutch oven from the oven. Carefully transfer the scored loaf into the Dutch oven and cover with the lid. Reduce the oven temperature to 450℉ and bake the loaf covered for 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, remove the lid and bake for a further 25 to 30 minutes, until the crust is a deep golden brown. Remove the loaf from the oven. Flip the bread out onto a cooling rack. Allow the bread to cool completely before slicing.