Cranberry Walnut Bread with Sourdough Discard

I developed this Cranberry Walnut Bread recipe for my mom after she could not find her favorite bread. With a golden brown crust filled with cranberries and walnuts, nothing compares with this beautiful loaf of walnut cranberry sourdough discard loaf.

As we were talking on the phone she asked me for a recipe for cranberry nut bread, I said I did not have one but that there are tons out there. She had tried many times to get the same results as the bread she used to get at her local bakery. Nothing was working and she wanted to make a few to freeze and cut the cost. My mom has made many, many bread loaves in her lifetime so her frustration was real!  

My mission had begun, how to make the perfect loaf that my mother described. First, it needed a perfect crusty top with a soft center filled with cranberries and walnuts without being too sweet and plenty of eyes as we call it. You know the little wholes that bread has is what we call eyes.

The best time of year to make this bread like this is fall or for a Christmas morning to have toasted with butter on top. So the only thing to do was start now so I could make the sourdough cranberry walnut bread during the holiday season. Don't get me wrong it's great any time of year but I dream of the leftover bread to make turkey sandwiches on Thanksgiving.

If you live in the United States, you know that cranberries are a major thing during the holiday season cooking. I do remember driving by on the highway and seeing  Massachusetts Cranberry Bogs. It was always a treat because I knew Christmas was near when the ground was covered in red. 

So after a few trials and errors, I succeeded in the loaf to make my mother proud and my husband, I think he was even happier! He became my test eater so all loaves were good for him. Now let's get started so I can share with you my tasty bread for the perfect bite!

Equipment Needed

• 6-quart dutch oven
• use parchment paper
• oven mitts - good ones!
• stand mixer with hook

Dry Ingredients

• all-purpose flour
• bread flour
• active dry yeast
• sea salt
• crispy walnuts

Wet Ingredients

• dried cranberries - soak in hot water
• Water at room temperature
• honey
• sourdough starter

Complete Instructions 

• In a large bowl, place the cranberries in hot water, and let them soak for 10 minutes.

• Take the large mixing bowl of the mixer add all of the wet ingredients and mix all together.
• Add one cup at a time and mix, then add the rest and mix on low speed on the blender.
• Drain the cranberries and place them into the flour mixture until they're distributed evenly throughout. 

• The dough should feel wet and sticky at this time. Oil a casserole dish with a lid, place the dough, and cover for 15 minutes.
• Wet your hands then grab the edge of the dough to start the sets of stretch. Pull one end up, stretching it out as you pull upwards. Then place the dough that is in your hands back into the center. Turn the bowl a quarter turn repeat another stretch and fold. Place back in the bowl with the cover and wait 15 minutes each time to complete 4 rounds of stretch and folds. 

• Place the dough in a large bowl with plastic wrap and shower cap and place in a warm place. (My bread took 2 hours for the bread to rise to double in size. This will depend on the weather and the temperature in the home.)
• After the dough has risen once, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place a larger Dutch oven with the lid on and let it heat up with the oven temperature. 

• On a lightly floured piece of parchment paper, put some flour in the hands and remove the dough gently from the bowl so as not to disturb too many of the air bubbles. Shape the dough into a loaf or round shape depending on the shape of the Dutch oven pot.  
• Once you have a shaped dough, let the dough rest for a second rise on the flour parchment paper. Cover with a tea towel and let the dough rise for about 1 hour. The preheated oven should be on along with the pot inside at this time.

• Take a razor or a knife and make a crisscross design so it can inflate in the oven.

• Remove the preheated pot from the oven lift the lid and place it on the side. Remove the tea towel from the dough and carefully grab the parchment paper to put evenly in the center of the pot. Squirt some water on the inside side of the pot so it can steam inside when the bread is cooking. Place the lid on the pot and return it to the oven for about 20 to 30 minutes depending on your oven. Don't open the oven during this time.
• After 20 minutes have passed, remove the lid from the pot and continue baking for another 15 minutes. Once it is golden brown which is about 15 minutes, remove the bread from the pot and let it cool on a wire rack. 

• Wait until the bread cools a bit before cutting a slice. The bread continues to bake on the inside after it has been removed from the oven. If cut too soon the slice can be gummy or rubbery on the inside.
• Serve with butter or honey and enjoy!

Tips & Tricks

• I don't use fresh cranberries because they can be to soar for the bread.
• Orange zest or orange juice can be used to give it more of a seasonal taste. Add the grind and squeeze the orange just substitute the water portion of the recipe.
• I always talk about bake time on my blog because ovens are so different from one another. The best way to find the temperature of the oven is to keep a oven thermonitor inside when cooking.

Storage

I will store my bread for 4 to 6 days in an airtight container if it doesn't get eaten by my husband. Or I will freeze all my bread in an airtight container for at least 4 months.

More Loaf Bread Recipes

As my mom and husband devour this delicious bread one thing is for sure, it will not be easy to save any leftovers once it's out of the oven. This is a very easy bread recipe with big results. Most of it is waiting and folding the dough so nothing complicated to do when making this cranberry walnut sourdough bread recipe. I hope you enjoyed visiting today and let me know if you make this, until next time my beautiful friends, as my quest continues for the perfect bite!

Cranberry Walnut Bread with Sourdough Discard

Lizzy Cascalheira

Mom's favorite Cranberry Walnut Bread recipe, golden crust filled with cranberries, walnuts, and sourdough discarded for a moist center.

4.50 from 10 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 4 hours hrs

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Course Bread

Cuisine American

Servings 12

Calories 204 kcal

Equipment

• 6-quart dutch oven
• use parchment paper
• oven mitts - good ones!
• stand mixer with hook

Ingredients

  

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Dry Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour ¼ cup for floured surface or 3 tablespoons as needed
• 1 cup bread flour
• 2 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• ½ cup chopped walnuts

Wet Ingredients

• 1 cup dried cranberries - soak in hot water
• 1 cup water at room temperature add ¼ cup water if needed
• 3 tablespoons honey
• ½ cup sourdough starter this will make it ferment and moist

Instructions

 

• In a large bowl, place the cranberries with hot water, and let them soak for 10 minutes.
• Take the large mixing bowl of the mixer add all of the wet ingredients and mix all together.
  
• Add flour, one cup at a time and mix, then add the rest, including the walnuts and mix on low speed on the mixer.
  
• Drain the cranberries and place into the flour mixture until they're distributed evenly throughout.
  
• The dough should feel wet and sticky at this time. Oil a casserole dish with a lid, place the dough and cover for 15 minutes.
  
• Wet your hands then grab the edge of the dough to start the sets of stretch. Pull one end up, stretching it out as you pull upwards. Then place the dough that is in your hands back into the center. Turn the bowl a quarter turn repeat another stretch and fold. Place back in the bowl with the cover and wait 15 minutes each time to complete 4 rounds of stretch and folds.
  
• Place the dough in a large bowl with plastic wrap and shower cap and place in a warm place. (My bread took 2 hours for the bread rise to double in size. This will depend on the weather and the temperature in the home.)
  
• After the dough has risen once, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place a larger Dutch oven with the lid on into the oven and let it heat up with the oven temperature.
  
• On a lightly floured piece of parchment paper, put some flour in the hands and remove the dough gently from the bowl so as not to disturb too many of the air bubbles. Shape the dough into a loaf or round shape depending on the shape of the Dutch oven pot.
  
• Once you have a shaped dough, let the dough rest for a second rise on the flour parchment paper. Cover with a tea towel or a plastic cake cover with a lid and let the dough rise for about 1 hour. The preheated oven should be on along with the pot inside at this time so it can warm up.
  
• Flour the top of the loaf and spread evenly. Take a razor or a knife and make a crisscross design so it can inflat in the oven.
  
• Remove the preheated pot from the oven lift the lid and place it on the side.
  
• Carefully grab the parchment paper to put evenly in the center of the pot. Squirt some water on the inside side of the pot so it can steam inside when the bread is cooking.
  
• Place the lid on the pot and return it to the oven for about 20 to 30 minutes depending on your oven. Don't open the oven during this time.
  
• After 30 minutes have passed, remove the lid from the pot and continue baking for another 15 minutes. Once it is golden brown on top, which is about 15 minutes, remove the bread from the pot and let it cool on a wire rack to cool.
  
• Wait until the bread cools a bit before cutting a slice. The bread continues to bake on the inside after it has been removed from the oven. If cut too soon the slice can be gummy inside.
• Serve with butter or honey and enjoy!

Video

Notes

• I don't use fresh cranberries because they can be too soar for the bread.
• Orange zest or orange juice can be used to give it more of a seasonal taste. Add the grind and squeeze the orange just substitute the ½ the water portion of the recipe.
• I always talk about bake time on my blog because ovens are so different from one another. The best way to find the temperature of the oven is to keep the temperature inside when cooking.
• This bread is wet so depending on the climate add 1 tablespoon of flour at a time 

Nutrition

Serving: 12gCalories: 204kcalCarbohydrates: 39gProtein: 5gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 0.4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 391mgPotassium: 67mgFiber: 2gSugar: 12gVitamin A: 1IUVitamin C: 0.1mgCalcium: 12mgIron: 1mg

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!