Cranberry Walnut Sourdough Bread

This cranberry walnut sourdough bread is full of delicious flavor and textures. The soft, moist crumb of the bread pairs perfectly with crunchy walnuts, and sweet-tart cranberries. The cinnamon swirled throughout is just the cherry on top.

Whenever I make this bread recipe, it doesn’t last long – in fact, the kids can hardly wait until it cools enough to start slicing.

But if I can get them to save it for later, this is a really nice bread to serve at breakfast or brunch.

I like to toast it, and put a little butter on it, but cream cheese is also a solid option.

This bread is made using the stretch and fold method, meaning that you neither need a stand mixer, or to stand and knead it by hand. While, like all sourdough, it takes time to develop the fermentation, this bread definitely fits into the “easy recipe” category.

Equipment needed for making sourdough bread

In this recipe, I wanted to showcase making a beautiful boule, without any equipment the casual baker wouldn’t already have in her kitchen, and you can see this in the video just above the recipe card.

Similarly to our sourdough hamburger buns recipe, this means no bamboo proofing baskets, dough whisks, etc. The only thing you might not have that I use is a bread oven, which is essentially a shallow dutch oven with a deep lid – and upside down dutch oven if you will.

My traditional dutch oven is huge and unwieldy (it’s meant for camping), so I decided to go ahead with my ceramic-coated bread baker instead. Just know that any oven safe pan will work – I’ve even used a stainless steel soup pot with a glass lids, and two metal loaf pans – one to hold the bread, and one to act as a lid. They’ve all worked great!

Ingredients for Walnut Cranberry Sourdough Bread

• Active sourdough starter
• All purpose flour
• Water
• Salt
• Cinnamon
• Walnuts
• Dried cranberries

You’ll notice that this bread is not sweetened. This heightens the flavor of the cranberries even more. Since the dried cranberries are heavily sweetened, and absorb moisture from the bread to make them a bit juicy, they really stand out, and balance out the flavors in this bread.

Sourdough Starter Notes

Your sourdough starter has a huge impact on the bread you make with it.

This recipe is made using a white flour starter.

Before using in this recipe, the starter should be fed, and, reaching its peak activity. I want to see lots of big bubbles, in a thick, strong starter. That’s when it’s ready to weigh out to add to your recipe.

The hydration of your starter will affect the hydration of your loaf. This might sound scary, but let me measure you, it’s not that big of a deal. There is room for error on either side of the hydration equation. You just need to get close.

With that said, I’d rather see a thick starter than a thin one that will just pour out of the jar. I tend to feed mine at a 2:1.5:1 ratio. So for 200 grams of starter, I’d add 150 grams of flour, and 100 grams of warm water.

Substitutions and swaps

Everyone always wants to put their own spin on a recipe, that’s the nature and beauty of baking! So here are some simple variations you can make, based on your own preferences.

• Raisins. While we love cranberries, you might be a raising guy or gal, and that is a swap you can make perfectly at a 1:1 ratio.
• Other nuts. Pecans are the most popular nut to swap out for the walnuts, and it’s another one you can easily make at a 1:1 ratio.
• Cinnamon – if it’s not your thing, feel free to leave it out.
• Other dried fruits and nuts. Use your judgement to make it your own.
• Orange zest would be an excellent addition 
• In terms of flour and salt, I wouldn’t change those – of if you do change them, be aware that your experiments will change the texture of your bread. Be aware that substituting whole wheat flour will make your loaf heavier, and result in less oven spring.

How to make Sourdough Cranberry Walnut Bread

1. Start by feeding your sourdough starter in the morning.
2. When the starter has come to its peak, proceed with the recipe.
3. In a large, non-reactive bowl such as glass or wood, add warm (110º or less) water
4. Pour, or spoon sourdough starter on top of water, and whisk to combine
   
5. Add flour and salt, and stir with a strong fork, or dough whisk, to fully incorporate. It should be a fairly shaggy dough – stiff, but still storable, and too shaggy to knead.
   
6. Let rest for an hour
7. Sprinkle dough with cinnamon, cranberries, and walnuts
   
8. Wet hands, and stretch and fold the dough four times, turning the bowl 1/4 of a turn, and rewetting hand each time.
   
9. Cover, and let rest 45 minutes.
10. Repeat the stretch and folds three more times at 45 minute intervals for a total of four sets of stretch and folds
11. Let dough rest 30-45 minutes
12. Turn onto a clean, and lightly floured surface, and shape into a ball, scraping rough edges underneath of ball until you get a smooth top
    
13. Let rest another 30 minutes
14. Turn dough into a tea towel-lined bowl or proofing basket or banneton
15. Pull edges of dough toward the center, to create a seam, tightening the ball, which is now upside down in the bowl
    
16. Cover with towel ends, and refrigerate overnight for bulk fermentation
17. When ready to bake, remove dough from fridge, and turn onto a piece of parchment paper, seam side down.
18. Place dutch oven, with its led, in oven and preheat to 450º, letting dough rest for at least 30 minutes while oven heats.
19. Score bread, after oven is preheated, using a very sharp knife, or razor blade. I usually score a long slice down the length of the loaf, about 1/3 of the way toward the edge, to aid in oven spring. Any other scoring is really up to your preference.
20. Remove dutch oven from oven, and place dough, on its parchment paper into it. Add 1-2 ice cubes, between the parchment and the dutch oven, not directly touching the bread.
    
21. Place lid on dutch oven, and place back into the center of the preheated oven.
22. Let bake 25 minutes with the lid on.
23. Remove lid, and let finish baking until a deep, golden brown – about 20-25 minutes more.
24. Remove from oven, and remove bread to cool on a wire rack
    
25. When at least partially cooled, slice and enjoy.

Other sourdough recipes for you:

• Overnight sourdough cinnamon rolls
• Flaky sourdough biscuits
• Sourdough discard waffles
• Sourdough chocolate chip cookies
• Sourdough pizza crust recipe

 

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