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Whole Grain Cranberry Walnut Sourdough Bread
I think this whole grain cranberry walnut sourdough bread makes the perfect breakfast toast. It checks off the boxes of flavor, nutrition and satiety with major whole grain flavor and nutrition, hefty amounts of walnuts and cranberries, and a crumb that’s capable of holding a lot of melted butter or a thick layer of cream cheese.
My original go-to formula for dried-fruit-and-nut bread was only 50% whole grain flour, and I wanted to increase its nutrition and heartiness. I played around with wheat types and ratios, and came up with this tasty and soft combination of red fife, sprouted spelt and white sonora wheats. Originally, I used rye for about 1/6 of the flour, but after a couple of loaves, I decided its earthiness overpowered the baking spices aroma of red fife and the nuttiness of spelt. I switched to white sonora to add a softer creaminess to the flavor. I love the balance of this new combination.
As you look at the photo gallery below the recipe, you’ll see that the dough is so heavy with walnuts, cranberries and whole grain goodness that it doesn’t expand much in the bowl. But when you turn the fermented dough out onto your countertop, there’s webbiness and the crackling sound of air releasing.
In my testing, I struggled to produce a tall loaf using a no-knead strategy (which worked fine at 50% bread flour), so I added some active gluten development to the process. I did an early lamination to add the walnuts and cranberries to the dough, as well as one coil fold at the 60-minute mark also for gluten development and to shift around the moisture-absorbing walnuts and cranberries.
You can learn more about lamination in this blog post where I describe my results from laminating dough early vs. late in the bulk fermentation. Many people put additions into their dough during the pre-shape — in fact, this is likely where the idea to laminate lean doughs originated — but I find that dough additions are more evenly spaced when they’re added earlier in the process, and I like how cranberries and walnuts impact the crumb color and flavor over time.
I don’t pre-soak the cranberries because the dough is high enough hydration to plump them up during the bulk fermentation, and I don’t toast the walnuts because I like to toast the bread and don’t want the walnuts to burn from double toasting. I also love the lavender color imparted by the untoasted walnuts.
A Note on Wheat Types
This bread is comprised of red fife, sprouted spelt and white sonora wheats. You should feel free to make substitutions, though for similar results, I suggest at least 60% of your flour be a fairly strong red wheat, and less than 20% be a weak-gluten or soft wheat. Moreover, some wheats are more thirsty than average (Ethiopian blue tinge emmer) and some are less thirsty (einkorn), so you may need to adjust the hydration of your dough if you change the wheat varieties.
Whole Grain Cranberry Walnut Sourdough Bread
Three different, deliciously balanced whole grain wheat flours, filling and tasty walnuts, and bursts of sweet dried cranberries make this bread an awesome choice for breakfast or snack. I love it toasted crispy-warm and then saturated in salty butter or covered with a thick layer of melting cream cheese. The nutritious whole grain crumb is soft and aromatic, and the nut and dried fruit additions are satisfyingly generous.
Ingredients
Instructions
Mixing and Bulk Fermentation
Preshaping, Bench Rest, and Shaping
Baking
Shopping List
Whole Grain Cranberry Walnut Sourdough Bread