Cranberry Walnut Sourdough Loaf

 

As I mentioned in my last post on sourdough bread, the basic loaf contains the simplest of ingredients (just flour, water, and salt, activated by a small sourdough starter).  That simple beginning creates a basic culinary template on which you can apply endless variations.

My wife and I volunteer every week at our church's mission center and one of our fellow volunteers always brings some sort of homemade baked goods to share.  He's very good with sourdough breads and my favorite so far was a cranberry walnut loaf.  I thought I could duplicate it but make it out of whole grain so it would be healthier.  I used my regular sourdough starter, freshly-ground whole wheat flour, roasted walnuts, and a generous amount of dried cranberries ("Craisins").  There's no added oil so the loaf is even low-fat (the only fats are the natural--and healthy--ones in the walnuts).  Besides that cranberries and walnuts are both very good for you.

Our friend had suggested baking the loaf in a parchment-lined cast-iron dutch-oven inside your regular oven.  I couldn't find our cast-iron dutch oven so I made it in an oven-safe pot with a lid.  It turns out that the dutch-oven (or in my case pot) serves to contain the large loaf as it raises so it grows vertically.  With the lid on it didn't brown the top very well so after 20 minutes in the oven I took it out, lifted the loaf out using the corners of the parchment paper, and set the loaf directly on the rack to brown and finish cooking.  It came out great and is amazing with butter and honey.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sourdough starter
• 1.5 cups luke-warm water
• 1 Tbsp salt
• 4 cups whole-wheat flour (I prefer hard-white winter wheat) plus enough more to make the dough spring back when you poke it
• 1/4 cup vital wheat gluten (enables the whole wheat flour to make light and fluffy bread)
• 1/2 cup walnuts chopped and roasted on medium heat until lightly toasted
• 1/2 cup of Craisins or other dried cranberries (I'm sure it would be delicious with fresh cranberries.  I just haven't tried that)

Instructions:

Mix the water into the sourdough starter and add the salt.  Stir in half the flour and keep adding it (kneading with your hands or a mixer if you have one) until you get a dough that's not too sticky and springs back when you poke it.  Flour a counter and knead the bread to work up the gluten.  Cover the dough in a bowl and let rise until double.  Spread the Craisins and the roasted walnuts on the counter and press the dough into them.  Knead the dough until the nuts and Craisins are thoroughly integrated.  Make a ball and pinch off any irregular parts on the bottom.  Put the irregular pinched part into the bottom of a pot lined with parchment paper so the smooth round surface is up.  Proof (raise) it in a warm oven (I heat mine for just a couple of minutes and then leave the oven light on--the residual heat and the heat from the oven light make for great proofing).  Let the bread rise until double then turn the oven on to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  Bake for 20 minutes with the lid on the pot, then take the pot out and remove the loaf carefully (I lifted it with the corners of the parchment) and set it directly on the rack in the oven for another 10 minutes to finish cooking and to brown the crust.

Try it.  It's delicious and good for you too!