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Rustic Cranberry Walnut Bread – No Knead Version

Here is a rustic  Cranberry  Walnut  Loaf.   This is an  easy bake,   what  with being  no knead  and  all.   It is a  flavorful loaf  with lots of  whole  wheat  goodness in it.  The  whole  wheat  coupled  with  the  dried  cranberries  and   walnuts  adds  a  tinge  of  purple  to the  loaf.  As  no knead  loaves  go, this is a  high hydration  bread,  and  if  you are  in the  mood  I would  say make  the  dough  even  more  wet  that I did  in this  recipe. Cranberry Walnut NoKnead Bread

Here  we  are approaching   the   end fall..  Plenty of  seasonal  foods  in store.   The   touch of  cool  weather  is  is  prefect  for  for soups  and   home  made  breads. Our  family’s  favorite  of  this   season is  cranberries . As  for  me  I prefer  the   dried  variety ,  though  my kids  tend  to disagree ..

Every year  we  make   this  amazing  sweet cranberry  walnut   quick  bread.  This  year,  since   I  was  fascinated by  the   no knead  breads , I   decided  to   try a   savory   version .  It tuned  out  to be a beautiful  loaf , perfect  to go with   roasted pumpkin  soup,  kale  salad  or  just  toasted and  topped  with a  dash of  butter.

Usually  in  no knead  recipes   the  nuts  and   fruits   are added  after  the  first   rise.  But  here   everything  went  in  together, and  the  result   was a  purple  tinged    bread  with  wonderful nutty , tart  flavor.

Cranberry Walnut NoKnead BreadTake a  large  bowl add yeast,  flours  and   salt in  that  order.  Combine  well. I  used   unbleached  bread  flour and   whole  wheat   flour here.  The  cranberries  and  nuts  add   so much goodness  that  even if one  made  this with only all purpose  flour,  it  will  still  be  a  guiltless pleasure.  Make a  well  in the   center   pour 1 1/2 cups of water and mix with a wooden spoon until you have a slightly sticky dough (about 30 seconds).  It is  perfectly  OK  to use  your  hand to do the mixing,  but  really all it  takes is a spoon. The dough may need a bit more water,  so add one tablespoon at a time until all the  flour  comes  together in a  slightly sticky  mass. Cover  and  let  the   dough  rise  for  at  least  12  hours (overnight ).  The ambient  temperature  in my kitchen is barely  touching  70 degrees  now.  So it  was  perfectly   safe for  me  to let  it  rise  on the  counter top .  If  you  are on  a  warmer   region ,  refrigerate  the  dough   for a   couple  of  hours  to   slow down the yeast   activity.   Remember  this  is a  recipe  where  slow  fermentation  does  most of the  magic.

Once  it is   doubled  and   you  see  the   bubbles  as  in the   picture  (last row above), it  is   time  to  punch  down and  the  second  rise.  Use  the spoon to  deflate the dough.  It is  not  a  hard  task  as the  dough is not a  stiff  one, but  a  bit  soft  and   droopy.  Use a  flat  spatula to  scoop the  dough from the  sides  and bring to the  center.  In that process  you get to  see the beautiful gluten  stands  created  by  the   yeast.

Cranberry Walnut NoKneadBreadIf  you feel that it is  too  wet this is  the  time to add a  few  more  teaspoons  of    flour. Shaping a  wet  dough  is a  bit  tough.  The  easiest  way is  to  dust a  parchment  paper  with   flour  and  invert  the  dough on to  it.  Sprinkle  the  top of  the  dough  with more  flour  and  lightly shape into  a  log or boule or the  shape  you are looking  for.  Pick up the parchment and  transfer the  dough into a  loaf  pan or  bowl. Spray  the  top  with a little  bit  of  oil   and   cover  the   dough   with another  bowl  and  set  aside  to  rise  for  another  1  to to 2  hours .   This  method  forces the  dough to  take  the  shape of the  container. So make  sure  that  the  container  that  you choose  has  roughly the   same  dimensions as  the container  you are  going  to bake the  bread in.  You  can   refrigerate the   dough  at  this  point  or  up to 12  hours.
We are  looking  for  the   dough  to  double in size once again.  But  this  being  a  free  form   dough   it  is  difficult to  gauge  by  size .  Gently poke  the   dough   and  if it  leaves an  impression  then  it is  time.  If it springs back, let it rise 15 minutes more  and  test  again. Since  I  was   going  for  a  crusty  bread  I  wanted  to  try   baking  in a  heated pan.  For  this place  a  casserole  dish  in the  lower  third  of  the  oven , and  preheat   at  450°F .    Do not  open for  5 to 10  minutes  after  the   oven   thermometer   registers 450.  This is  done  to make  sure  that  the baking  dish is hot . Use an ovenproof  casserole  dish , or  a  cast iron  pa , but do not   preheat  with regular  loaf  pan.
When  you are   ready to bake  the  bread , open the oven, and with pot holders carefully place the pot on the  counter .  Remove  the  bowl  covering  the   dough , pick the   dough up  by holding  the   sides  of  the  parchment , and  gently  slide  it into  the   waiting  pan .   This transferring  technique is  something  that  I haven’t  mastered  yet , as  you can see  my dough is  not  in the   perfect   shape.  Cover  the   dough  with  aluminum foil or  or  the  casserole  lid . Transfer  the  dish to the  oven  and  turn down the   temperature  to  400°F and bake for 25 minutes.  Then, remove lid, and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes uncovered, at  350°F, until the crust is a deep golden brown. Remove pot from oven, let  rest  for  5  minutes  and carefully remove it  from  the pot, and let cool completely before slicing.

Cranberry Walnut NoKnead Bread

Cranberry Walnut NoKnead Bread

Cranberry Walnut No Knead Bread

By Syama
A rustic  no knead loaf  studded  with  walnuts  and   cranberries.   Being a  no knead  bread  it  very little  effort to make.  Mix  and  set  the  dough aside  for the  gluten  to develop slowly. The  flavors  are  perfect  for  fall and  the  method allows  you to   schedule  baking  according  to your  convenience. 
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 15 hours
Course Bread
Cuisine American
Servings 1 Loaf

Ingredients
  

  • 120 g Unbleached bread flour (1 C)
  • 240 g Whole  Wheat Flour (2 C)
  • 7 g Salt ( 1 1/4 Tsp )
  • 1 - 2 g Active  Dry  Yeast ( 1/2 Tsp )
  • 3/4 C Dried Cranberries
  • 3/4 C Walnuts  Coarsely chopped
  • 350 g Water (1 1/2 C plus extra)

Instructions
 

  • In a  large  bowl add yeast, flours  and   salt in  that  order.  Combine  well .
  • Make a  well  in the   center   pour 1 1/2 cups of water and stir  well to  combine  until  you have a  sticky dough. Add a  few  more  tablespoons of   water  1  tablespoon at a  time   and  stir  if  the   dough  seems  too  dry .
  • Cover  and  let  the   dough  rise  for  at  least  12  hours (overnight ) at a cool  place ,if the weather is warm  refrigerate the  dough   for a  few  hours .
  • Once  the dough has   doubled  in  size, stir  the   dough  with a  spoon   to deflate.  Mix  in a   couple  of  tablespoons of   flour  if  the   dough  seems  very sticky.  Transfer the dough to a floured parchment sheet and shape as needed. Place the parchment in a pan of desired shape cover loosely and let  rise  for 1 - 2  hours,  till  doubled ,
  • Preheat  the  oven to  450°F (230°C), with a the oven safe pan - dutch oven , cast iron pan or ceramic , not metallic or glass baking tins. Once the oven has reached the desired temperature let it heat for further 5 to 10 minutes to get the pan heated well.
  • Open the oven , slide the rack out, and carefully slide the dough into the heated pan. Cover with a lid or aluminium foil. Slide the rack back and close the oven door.Turn the   temp down to  400°F(200°C)  bake  covered   for  25  minutes. Remove the  cover, Reduce temperature to 350°F (175°C) and bake  for   another 15  to 20 mins.
  • Cool completely before  slicing .

Notes

Used either all purpose flour or bread flour in this recipe. I have had good
results with both.

Important: Nutrition Values are estimates. Actuals vary based on ingredients and serving size.

Tried this recipe?Mention @Oventales or tag #Oventales on Instagram

 

Notes

  • If  you   wish to   avoid   the  heated  pan  approach  let  the  second  rise  be in  a  loaf  pan and  bake  as  a regular loaf of  bread.
  • If you are looking  to bake on a  baking stone or  sheet ,  make  the  dough little  stiffer  than  shown here.   With  the  high  hydration  the  dough tends  to  flatten  out  more  than  rise  up.
  • Remember  to  use   good  quality  yeast , if  you  find  that  your   dough is  not   rising  at  all   after a  few  hours  it  is  time  to  check the   yeast  and   add  another  1/2tsp  yeast  good  quality yeast activated in couple of  tablespoons  of water and  a  touch of  honey .

Enjoy !!
Cranberry Walnut No Knead Bread
Originally published on Nov 2015. Updated  with  pictures .

 

Here  is  another   easy no knead  recipe to try No Knead Dinner RollsEasy No Knead Dinner  Rolls 

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