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
- 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.
- 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.
- In a separate bowl, mix cranberries with 1/4 cup sugar.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Remove from oven and let cool completely before slicing.