Cranberry Walnut Sourdough Bread Recipe (2024)

Looking for a treat? Walnut cranberry sourdough is exactly what you need! Tangy cranberries, crunchy walnuts, and delicious sourdough, you can’t go wrong.

As I continue baking sourdough regularly, I continue to experiment with quantities, bake times, cold proofing, long bulk ferments, and especially inclusions.

These days, my favorite versions of sourdough are absolutely loaded with dried fruits, nuts, cheese, herbs, and spices. I love trying different ingredients to keep things interesting!

Plus, creative flavors take my sourdough bread recipes to the next level. And this sourdough cranberry walnut bread is definitely next level!

This cranberry walnut sourdough bread recipe is dedicated to experimenting.

Tips + Tricks

No. 1 –>If you’re overwhelmed with all things sourdough, I can help you! I have guides on everything from making a24 HOUR SOURDOUGH STARTER, toPICKING THE BEST STARTER JAR, toFEEDING SOURDOUGH STARTER, toSTORING SOURDOUGH STARTER, toPROOFING IN THE FRIDGE, toFREEZING SOURDOUGH BREAD, toUSING UP DISCARD, and more.

No. 2 –>Don’t have a banneton basket? I have a guide onBANNETONS AND BANNETON ALTERNATIVES!

No. 3 –>I’ve included times in the directions within the body of the post and a baker’s schedule to help give you an example of how I work this recipe into my day. You can shuffle the times as they work for you!

No. 4 –> If you like fully loaded bread with extra inclusions you can add up to 125g dried cranberries and 100g chopped walnuts as I did for the loaf in these photos. It can be a bit more difficult to work with, though, just a word of caution.

Key Ingredients

Active sourdough starter:Your starter should have been fed within the last approximately 6-8 hours and has at least doubled in size. This recipe is based on a sourdough starter with 100% hydration (equal amounts of flour and waterby weight,not volume.)

Dried cranberries: I like to use sweetened dried cranberries for this recipe. They add a little sweetness to go along with the tart tang. Choose really fresh dried cranberries that are still plump, fragrant, and delicious for the best results.

How To Make Cranberry Sourdough Bread

Make the dough (1:00 pm):

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine 330g warm water with 150g of active sourdough starter until mostly combined. I like to use a Danish dough whisk, but anything will work.
2. Add 500g bread flour to the bowl and mix until a shaggy dough forms. Knead the dough with your hands until all the shaggy bits are incorporated.
3. Cover the bowl and set aside for 45 – 60 minutes.

Stretch and fold (1:30 -3:30 pm):

1. Uncover the bowl, sprinkle 10g of salt on top of the dough, then, using damp hands, grab the dough and gently pull it until the flap is long enough to fold over itself, then fold the flap, rotate the bowl 90 degrees, repeat 4 times. Recover the bowl, and set it aside for 30 minutes
2. Add 100g dried cranberries and 80g chopped walnuts to the bowl, then repeat the stretch and fold process at least 3 more times. The intervals can be as short as 15 minutes, or as long as 60 minutes, but it should be completed at least 4 times during theBULK FERMENT.

Pre-shape + shape (4:00 pm):

1. Lightly flour the work surface and use a bowl scraper to turn the cranberry walnut sourdough out onto the floured surface. Try to get the smooth top part face down so that the sticky underside is on top facing you, this will make shaping the dough easier.
2. Fold the edges into the middle, alternating sides as though lacing the dough together. Then starting from the bottom, tightly roll the dough into a batard. Stop there if making a batard, or tuck the long ends underneath to create a boule.
3. Allow the dough to rest covered for 20 minutes.
4. Place your hands underneath the dough and using your pinkies, apply pressure to the dough and drag it along the work surface to increase surface tension in the dough. Avoid overtightening the dough because it may tear with the inclusions.
5. Dust the top of your boule or batard with rice flour, then use a bench scraper to pick up the dough, flip the dough, and place it upside down, or seam side up, into a banneton to prove. Don’t have a banneton? Check out theseBANNETON ALTERNATIVES.

Cold proof:

Cover the banneton with a reusable plastic bag and place it in the fridge. During the proving period, the dough will rise in the banneton, but due to the cool temperatures in the fridge, it won’t be a marked difference. See my post onPROOFING SOURDOUGH IN THE FRIDGEfor more information.

Pre-heat oven (8:30 am):

1. Place your dutch oven, cloche, or desired baking dish in the oven and preheat to 450f. If you don’t have a dutch oven, I do have a recommendation onHOW TO BAKE SOURDOUGH BREAD WITHOUT A DUTCH OVEN.

Bake (9:30 am):

1. Once the oven is preheated, remove the dough from the fridge and invert the banneton onto a sheet of parchment paper.
2. Use a lame, sharp knife, or clean razor blade to score the dough, I usually like to make one deep curved slash when adding inclusions, but you can get as fancy as you like!
3. Carefully remove the dutch oven from the oven, and using the parchment paper as a sling, transfer the sourdough loaf from the counter into the dutch oven.
4. Bake the dough at 450f covered for 20 minutes and uncovered at 450f for 25-30 minutes, or until the loaf is cooked through. You can test the doneness of the loaf with an instant-read thermometer. Bread is cooked once it reaches 205 – 210 degrees Fahrenheit internal temperature.

My apologies, I didn’t take pics of the baking process, so I’ll borrow from mySAME DAY SOURDOUGH RECIPE– both recipes use the same baking process,BATARD BANNETON, and dutch oven.

My apologies, I didn’t take pics of the baking process, so I’ll borrow from my same day sourdough recipe – both recipes use the same baking process, batard banneton, and dutch oven.

Cool:

1. Remove baked bread from the dutch oven and transfer it to a wire mesh cooling rack to cool completely before slicing. I like to leave it for at least 2 hours before slicing, as slicing too soon can affect the crumb and texture of your loaf.
2. Check out my guide onSTORING SOURDOUGH BREADto ensure it stays fresh for days, or learnHOW TO FREEZE SOURDOUGHbread for a rainy day.

Baker’s Schedule

• Day 1 –>
  • 7:30 am:Feed your sourdough starter
  • 1:00 pm:Mix up the dough.
  • 3:30 pm:Stretch and fold process is complete.
  • 4:00 pm:Pre-shape and shape dough, then slide it into a lastic bag and place in the fridge for up to 48 hours.
• Day 2 –>
  • 8:30 am:Set a dutch oven into the cold oven and preheat both together at 450f.
  • 9:30 am:Flip the cranberry walnut loaf onto a parchment paper square, score the top of the loaf then bake.

Batch + Storage

Batch:

This recipe bakes a nice-sized loaf of sourdough cranberry bread. This is the perfect amount for our family of 4 to serve with at least 2 meals.

Storage:

If you’ve got leftover sourdough, you’ve got serious willpower! There are a couple of ways toSTORE SOURDOUGH BREADto help prolong its quality after cutting.

Your boule can be kept cut side down on a cutting board for up to 12 hours before the crust becomes too crisp. This is our go-to. I recommend transferring it to a bread bag after 16-18 hours though.

Your sourdough loaf can also be frozen. ToFREEZE SOURDOUGH, cool the loaf to room temperature, then tightly wrap it in plastic wrap, slide it into a bread bag, seal it up, and stick it in the freezer for 1-2 months. To use after freezing, remove the loaf from the freezer, unwrap, and allow it to come to room temperature (1 -2 hours) before slicing and enjoying.

Variations + Substitutions:

• Swap the walnuts for pecans
• Add a pinch of cinnamon or cardamom!
• Add some fresh orange zest
• try different dried fruits, like raisins or blueberries

More Awesome Sourdough Recipes!

Recommended Equipment

Brod + Taylor folding proofing box:As mentioned above,THIS PROOFING BOXhas revolutionized my sourdough baking, and really reinvigorated my love of the dough. As an added bonus, it folds up in a nice compact little package when it’s not in use.

Cast iron dutch oven: Much of the success of this bread depends on having a heavy-ass cast iron dutch oven, as it traps in steam and boosts the oven spring of your sourdough.

The blue one in these photos is a 6-quart oval dutch oven that I find perfect for baking batards. As an added bonus, due to the shape, I can fit this dutch oven and a round one in the oven to bake double the volume! If you don’t have a dutch oven, I have a guide onHOW TO COOK SOURDOUGH WITHOUT A DUTCH OVEN.

Scale:It’s really hard to make sourdough without a scale. Sorry, but them’s the facts! bread baking and bread dough are a bit of a science. AGOOD KITCHEN SCALEwill treat you well over a huge range of recipes, not just sourdough. Think ofHOMEMADE BACON!

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