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Cranberry Walnut Yeast Bread

Cranberry Walnut Yeast Bread

A savory yeast bread studded with walnuts, fresh cranberries and black pepper – delicious for toasting, for sandwiches and for holiday gift giving. 

Homemade bread studded with cranberries and walnuts - perfect for the holidays.

Making homemade bread doesn’t have to be complicated – it just takes some time and elbow grease.

I’ve always liked to make bread – meaning the kind that requires yeast that you have to knead and let rise and rise again.

I never found it difficult, it’s more of a process – you basically need a day to see the whole thing through but there’s a lot of idle time involved. And once I got my KitchenAid Stand mixer for my wedding over 10 years ago, I kissed kneading dough good-bye as the trusty dough hook attachment takes care of that laborious process.

(Or you could also go the no-knead, bake in a Dutch oven bread way made famous by Jim Lahey of Sullivan Street Bakery. It really works!)

A special holiday yeast bread featuring cranberries, walnuts and black pepper.

So, this cranberry walnut bread is loose riff off of Saints’ Bread – an Italian slightly sweet and peppery bread that’s made on All Saints’ Day (November 1st) in Italy.

(Funny aside, when I first googled Saints’ Bread, it lead me to this.)

Hopefully, New Orleans fans will approve of this recipe, too.

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Cranberry Walnut Yeast Bread

Cranberry Walnut Yeast Bread


  • Author: by Deanna Segrave-Daly, RD
  • Yield: one 9-inch rectangle loaf or two 6-inch round loaves. 1x

Description

A savory yeast bread studded with walnuts, fresh cranberries and black pepper – delicious for toasting, for sandwiches and for holiday gift giving.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 (1/4 ounce) package active dry yeast
  • 1 cup warm water
  • 1/2 cup sugar, divided
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
  • 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
  • 1 cup fresh cranberries, chopped
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons white whole wheat flour
  • 2 teaspoons black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

  1. In a stand mixer bowl (or large bowl), add yeast, water and 1 tablespoon sugar. Let stand for about 10 minutes until the yeast is foamy.
  2. While yeast is proofing, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add walnuts and toast for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat.
  3. In a separate bowl, mix cranberries with 1/4 cup sugar.
  4. In bowl with yeast, add remaining 2 tablespoons oil, walnuts, cranberries, remaining 3 tablespoons sugar, 2 cups all-purpose flour, white whole wheat flour, black pepper and salt. Mix with a dough hook and slowly add remaining 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (1 tablespoon at a time) as the dough starts to take shape. Knead for about 5 – 7 minutes (using the heels of your hands if you don’t have a stand mixer) until dough smooth and elastic. Remove dough from bowl and form into a ball. Coat bowl with cooking spray and replace dough. Cover with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel. Let rise in a warm place for about 2 hours or until dough has doubled in size.
  5. Punch down dough and turn out onto floured surface. Shape into either one 9-inch rectangle loaf or two 5 1/2 – 6-inch round loaves. Place on oiled tray, cover with a kitchen towel and let rise again for about 30 minutes or until double in size.
  6. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake for about 25 minutes (for the 2 round loaves) or 30 minutes (for the 1 rectangle loaf.) Tap loaf and it will sound hollow when cooked through.
  7. Remove from oven and let cool completely before slicing.

Make a few extra loaves of this cranberry walnut bread for holiday gifts and your freezer.

Cranberry Walnut Yeast Bread

Check out Cooking Light’s online tutorial on How to Make Yeast Breads <– includes a great tip on creating a foolproof “bread rising” environment.

Do you ever make homemade yeast bread? What kind? Any special breads (quick or yeast) that you make only during the holidays? Please share – we love to hear from you.

rachel

Monday 8th of December 2014

yum, this looks like heaven!

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Arman @ thebigmansworld

Tuesday 2nd of December 2014

This looks delicious Deanna! I remember the first time I made bread (well, soft pretzels). I thought touching yeast was like playing with the devil!

Deanna Segrave-Daly

Tuesday 2nd of December 2014

Haha - great analogy :) This Philly gal loves that you've made soft pretzels!

Jennifer @nourishedsimply.com

Monday 1st of December 2014

I have never made anything with yeast. Too afraid I would screw it up. Guess I need to put my "big girl" pants on and try!

Deanna Segrave-Daly

Tuesday 2nd of December 2014

Jennifer - I know you could do it - I see all the amazing recipes that come out of your kitchen :)

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