Lizzy Loves Food

  • Home
  • Recipes Index
  • Cuisines
  • Travel
  • About
  • Shop
  • Subscribe
menu icon
go to homepage
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Cuisines
  • Travel
  • Shop
  • Subscribe
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
search icon
Homepage link
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Cuisines
  • Travel
  • Shop
  • Subscribe
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
×
  • Dubai Ice Cream with Pistachio and Chocolate
  • Cucumber for Sushi on a plate
    Cucumber for Sushi called Naruto Roll
  • Grilled Cheese Sandwich and Tomato Soup
  • Amaretto Coffee A Taste of Italy
  • Roasting Beef Bones for Broth
  • Apple Tea Cake From Britain
  • Sunday Breakfast Brunch in America 
  • Happy New Year Family and Friends
  • Italian Christmas Themed Party Favors
  • Beef Stuffed Shells Italian American Dish
  • Apple Cider Donut with Ice Cream Dessert
  • ice cream in a bowl
    Cuisinart Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe
Home » Recipes » Sourdough » Cranberry Walnut Bread with Sourdough Discard

Cranberry Walnut Bread with Sourdough Discard

Published: Sep 15, 2023 · Modified: Mar 14, 2025 by Lizzy · This post may contain affiliate links

Jump to Recipe

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!

Contents hide
1 Equipment Needed
2 Dry Ingredients
3 Wet Ingredients
4 Tips & Tricks
5 Storage
6 More Loaf Bread Recipes
7 Cranberry Walnut Bread with Sourdough Discard

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

  • ham sandwich on the table with loaf of bread
    Sourdough Sandwich Bread from England
  • Sourdough Brioche
    Sourdough Brioche a French Favorite
  • Homemade Spelt Bread with slice bread
    Spelt Bread from Ireland
  • Gluten Free Bread 101
    Gluten-Free Bread Made in America

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!

slice of bread

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
  

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

Cranberry Walnut Bread with Sourdough Discard

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!

Sharing is Caring!

845 shares
  • Share
  • X
  • Email

About Lizzy

I love to cook, eat and find good places to have a great meal so no matter where I go I always ask the locals the same question, “Where’s a good place to eat?”

Comments

  1. Lisa says

    September 15, 2023 at 9:14 pm

    5 stars
    Love this bread!!!

    Reply
    • Lizzy says

      September 17, 2023 at 11:19 am

      Thank You, xoxo Lizzy

      Reply
  2. Arlene Michael says

    October 11, 2023 at 6:32 pm

    I am wondering why you use partly all-purpose flour in this recipe, rather than totally
    bread flour.

    Reply
    • Lizzy says

      October 12, 2023 at 6:27 pm

      I wanted more wholes in my bread with a little more chewy and a harder crust. I had to mix the two to get the result I wanted. It you use all purpose or just bread flour the results are very different. I made 4 loafs, this gave me the results I was looking for and my mom wanted. Hope you enjoy when you try the recipe, Lizzy

      Reply
  3. Rachel Anderson says

    December 04, 2023 at 10:53 pm

    2 stars
    I followed the recipe. This dough is so wet I can’t even do the stretch and folds without having to flour my hands. I have now transferred to a bowl to raise. I just hope this turns out but I expect complete failure. Any suggestions of what went wrong?

    Reply
    • Lizzy says

      December 05, 2023 at 2:44 am

      It is a wet dough and the weather will effected the bread. I do not use flour but water to wet my hands to work the dough and let the dough rest coverd. This helps for the gluten to bound. The other thing is the flour makes a big difference on making bread and I only buy King Arthur Organic Flour. This changed everything for me when I started making bread. I hope this helps, let me know if you need anything else. All My Best Lizzy

      Reply
  4. Rachel Anderson says

    December 05, 2023 at 4:59 am

    I let the dough rise and water was pooled in the dimples of the dough, the dough so wet it stuck to my hands. After the rise the dough collapsed. Returned to casserole to make like focaccia. I have been making bread and sourdough for years. My cranberries were dried and I did not let them soak but for 10 minutes and drained them before starting the recipe. My flour I used is from King Author same as you use. I have never in my years ever had such a mess as this. I am hoping it turned out so I can make biscotti. I live in North Texas and today we were dry, the humidity. The cranberries possibly retained too much water. I am going back to weighing my ingredients. I am truly glad someone has had luck with this but mine is a total failure.

    Reply
    • Lizzy says

      December 05, 2023 at 1:31 pm

      Thank you for reaching out to me, I have made this recipe 4 times before I posted the recipe so today I will make it again and see what is the problem.I'm so sorry for this was unsuccessful for you. All My best Lizzy

      Reply
  5. Melissa Thomas says

    December 05, 2023 at 1:52 pm

    5 stars
    Love this recipe tried it last night and the family loved it. I would use more cranberries for my next one.

    Reply
    • Lizzy says

      December 05, 2023 at 1:59 pm

      I was thinking of making it with other dry fruits, glad you enjoyed the recipe, xoxo Lizzy

      Reply
  6. Lisa Jackson says

    December 05, 2023 at 1:55 pm

    5 stars
    I made this with my daughter and added more honey but the texture of the bread is perfect with a golden crust, thanks for sharing!

    Reply
    • Lizzy says

      December 05, 2023 at 1:57 pm

      Thank you so much, xoxo Lizzy

      Reply
  7. Vikki says

    January 10, 2024 at 7:47 pm

    Hi, I would like to make this without a dutch oven. Any suggestions? I've read that you can shape the loaves and put them on a sheetpan, with another sheetpan underneath that you put ice cubes on. Do you think this will work?
    Thanks so much,
    Vikki

    Reply
    • Lizzy says

      January 14, 2024 at 9:50 am

      Good da Vicki, I have not tried it because the Dutch oven gives it a steam to puff up and then when the lid is oven for the end the crust gets crispy. I've only tried that method with French bread that you mentioned. Let me know how it turns out if you make it that way. Would love to know, thanks for reaching out, xoxo Lizzy

      Reply
  8. Lizzy says

    May 28, 2024 at 1:07 pm

    5 stars
    Love this recipe

    Reply
4.50 from 10 votes (5 ratings without comment)

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




HI! I'm Lizzy

Pencil drawing of Don Quixote

I was born in Reims, France to Portuguese parents. Being exposed to different cultures growing up has given me a passion for exploring new places and foods to cook! So follow me to the kitchen to enjoy a journey full of flavors. > Read More

Moving to Florida

Looking to Rent a Winter Home
or Buy a Home?
Call Jeffrey Thomas
727-337-6230 or visit newconstructionforsale.com

Recent Posts

  • Cranberries & Walnut Sourdough Bagels

  • Pumpkin Spice Coffee Syrup by Monin

  • Carrot Juice in a glass on the table
    Carrot Juice Carrot Juice! for Winter Months

  • Caviar with Blini a Russian Tradition

Donate Animal Adoption

Popular

  • soup
    7 Day Detox Cabbage Soup

  • grits
    Places to Eat in Charleston SC

  • Air Fryer Corn Ribs on plate
    Air Fryer Corn Ribs from New York

  • rice custard
    Portuguese Rice Custard Recipe

  • My 30 Days on Intermittent Fasting Results

  • My 30 Day Diet with No Carbs

  • fois gras
    What is Foie Gras a Classic French Appetizer

  • fish cakes
    Portuguese Fish Cakes are Bolinhos de Bacalhau

Food Map of Recipes

Find your favorite recipe destination on the map to cook an authentic meal from the region. Find a destination recipe →

Recipes by Diet

  • Low-Carb

  • Gluten Free

  • Vegetarian

  • Vegan

Footer

↑ back to top

LIZZY LOVES FOODS IS A PARTICIPANT IN AN AFFILIATE ADVERTISING PROGRAM DESIGNED TO PROVIDE A MEANS FOR US TO EARN FEES BY LINKING TO AFFILIATED SITES.

  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • Mail

ABOUT

Meet Lizzy
Health
Portfolio
Web-Stories

RECIPES

Diet
Course
Experiences
Menopause

CUISINE

Recipes by Country
American Recipes
Where Locals Eat
Food Map

RESOURCES

Contact Lizzy
Resources
Privacy Policy
Terms and Conditions

Copyright © 2016-2025 Lizzy Loves Food

Rate This Recipe

Your vote:




A rating is required
A name is required
An email is required

Recipe Ratings without Comment

Something went wrong. Please try again.

Terms and Conditions - Privacy Policy