Walnut Cranberry Braid Food

CRANBERRY WALNUT BREAD

Steps:

• Combine *WARM WATER and YEAST in mixing bowl or stand mixer bowl.* Active Dry Yeast needs 100°F - 110°F water temperature. Combine and allow 5 minute rest until yeast activates.* Quick Rise Instant Yeast needs 120°F - 130°F water temperature. Combine and proceed to step 2.
• Add SUGAR, SALT, OLIVE OIL, FLOUR, CRANBERRIES, and WALNUTS to the mixing bowl (reserve 1/3 cup flour to assist mixing).Stir ingredients together with a utensil (or stand mixer on low speed) until a shaggy dough forms.
• Mix and knead dough with your hands (or stand mixer on low speed) about 5 minutes until it becomes stretchy and pliable. During mixing, sprinkle tiny amounts of the reserved flour into the bowl to prevent sticking.
• Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and shape into a tight, round form, tucking the sides under to form a seam on the bottom.
• Perform 1st proof/rise by placing dough in an oil-coated mixing bowl (or Instant Pot), seam side down. Cover with a towel or draped plastic wrap and allow to double in size (about 45 min).
• Deflate the dough (aka punch it down) to remove air bubbles. You can move on to the next step, or...Perform 2nd proof/rise by shaping the dough into a tight round and repeat step 5. (The 2nd proof/rise is optional, but recommended to further develop texture and flavor)
• Preheat oven to 375°F and let's shape these loaves...Transfer the dough onto lightly floured surface. Press to deflate air pockets and divide dough into 2 or 3 equal sections.Press each piece into a loose rectangle shape.Fold and press dough into itself until it becomes tight while forming it into the final shape (baguette, loaf, or round).Transfer to a prepared baking sheet or loaf pan. Brush surface with olive oil and cover to prevent air exposure.
• Perform final proof/rise by resting forms in a warm spot until nearly doubled in size.Score the dough by making 1/4" slits across each loaf with a razor or knife.
• Bake 20-25 minutes, rotating as needed for even browning.The bread will be golden brown. It should register an internal temperature of 190°F on an instant-read thermometer.
• Transfer loaves onto a cooling rack and rest 5 minutes.Remove loaves from pans and rest on the cooling rack until completely cooled (to retain moisture).Store cooled bread in a plastic bag or airtight container up to 2 days at room temperature or 5 days in the refrigerator.

NO-KNEAD CRANBERRY WALNUT BREAD WITH HONEY

Steps:

• Start with a large bowl and a wooden spoon, and add your flour to the bowl. Measure the yeast and add it to one side of the bowl. Measure the salt and add it to the other side.
• Using a wooden spoon, stir the yeast into the flour on its side of the bowl first and then stir the salt into the flour on its side of the bowl. This will prevent the salt mixing directly with the yeast. Give the whole mixture a few good stirs to make sure everything is combined.
• Add the cranberries and walnuts to the flour mixture and toss well to coat, and to make sure they're distributed evenly throughout.
• Measure the water. Make sure the water is at room temperature; water that is too warm or too cold can kill the yeast and prevent the bread from rising at all. Add the honey to the water and stir with a fork to combine.
• Pour the water in and stir with a wooden spoon. The dough will be rough and a bit sticky, but that's normal.
• Stir until all the flour is combined. This is not normal bread dough (there's no kneading involved in this recipe), so you don't need to be too concerned about the appearance of the dough at this point. Just make sure the ingredients are combined well.
• Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. It's a good idea to ensure there's adequate space left in the bowl for the dough to at least double in size. Place the bowl in a warm, draft-free place and let it rise for 12-18 hours.
• After the dough has risen for 12-18 hours, preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit (if you're using convection, 410 degrees. If your oven runs hot, 400 degrees). Place your Dutch oven with the lid on in the cold oven and let it heat up with the oven. If your dutch oven is black or dark-coloured on the inside, set your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit instead of 425. I recommend a 6 or 7-quart dutch oven for this recipe.
• Place a piece of parchment paper on the counter and dust it with flour so the dough doesn't stick to the paper. Rub flour on your hands and scrape the dough away from the sides of the bowl, gathering it in your hands as best you can (it may feel kind of fluid and not at all like regular bread dough) and forming it into a circular loaf on the parchment paper. Don't worry if it still looks a little rough in places - this lends to the rustic look of this loaf. If your dough is very fluid, simply add an extra 1/4 to 1/3 cup of flour to the dough as you shape it.
• Once you have it shaped, the dough needs to undergo a second rise (much shorter than the first). The goal is to handle the dough as little as possible at this stage because any amount of tugging at the rough can cause it to deflate after it has undergone its second rise. The next few steps will help prevent this. But don't worry if it deflates a bit. This bread dough is pretty forgiving.
• Sprinkle flour over the top of the loaf and loosely cover it with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming over the dough. The flour also prevents the plastic wrap from sticking to the dough so when you take it off at the end of the rise, it doesn't disturb the dough and wreck the rustic shape you've created. Let the dough rise for about 45 minutes. Your oven will also be preheating during this time (and so will your pot).
• Once 45 minutes have passed remove the plastic wrap from the dough and trim the parchment paper into a circle closely around the dough. If it doesn't look like the dough has risen that much, don't worry about it. The loaf will puff up a bit when it hits the heat of the oven.
• Remove the preheated pot from the oven and transfer the dough into the pot as carefully as possible by handling only the parchment paper. Place the lid on the pot and return it to the oven for 30 minutes. Don't open the oven during this time, and certainly don't take the lid off the pot; the crispness of the crust develops because of the steam that builds up in the pot during this 30 minutes.
• After 30 minutes have passed, remove the lid from the pot and continue baking for another 15 minutes. After the 15 minutes have passed, remove the pot with bread from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool. You'll probably hear it crackling as it cools - this is normal. Brush a little extra honey on the top of the bread now, if desired.
• If you can, resist the urge to cut into the bread until it has pretty much cooled completely. The bread continues to bake on the inside even after it has been removed from the oven and cutting it too early could result in the inside becoming gummy or rubbery.

CRUSTY CRANBERRY WALNUT BREAD

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment, combine the instant yeast and water. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes.
• Add the flour, salt, sugar, and melted butter. Mix until the dough comes together, then knead for about 10 minutes by hand on a lightly floured surface or with the dough hook of the stand mixer. If needed, add more flour, in small amounts, to keep the dough from sticking to the bowl or your hands.
• Add the walnuts and cranberries and knead them in until they are distributed throughout the dough. This is best done by hand unless you feel your mixer can handle the task.
• Oil a large bowl. Transfer the dough to the bowl and roll over to coat all sides. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Sprinkle lightly with cornmeal.
• Punch down and transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Divide into 2 portions and form each into tight rounds. Place on the prepared baking sheets. Cover the loaves with a lightweight kitchen towel and let rest for 45 minutes.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 F. Position the oven rack in the center of the oven.
• Bake the loaves for 30 to 40 minutes, until they are nicely browned and sound hollow when tapped on the bottoms. The internal temperature will be around 195 F when done.

CRANBERRY-WALNUT BRAID

Steps:

• Stir 3 cups flour, sugar, yeast and salt in large bowl to blend. Add buttermilk, 2 eggs, melted butter and orange extract and stir vigorously until well blended. Gradually stir in enough hot water to form soft, slightly sticky dough. Transfer dough to floured work surface. Knead dough until smooth and slightly tacky but not sticky, adding more flour if necessary, about 7 minutes. Knead in dried cranberries 1/3 cup at a time; then knead in walnuts. Form dough into ball.
• Oil large bowl. Add dough to bowl, turning to coat with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, then towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Lightly oil heavy large baking sheet. Punch down dough. Turn dough out onto floured surface. Divide dough into 4 equal pieces; then divide 1 dough piece into 3 equal pieces and reserve. Using palms of hands, roll out each of remaining 3 large pieces on work surface to 13-inch-long ropes. Braid ropes together. Tuck ends under and pinch together. Transfer braid to prepared baking sheet. Roll out each of reserved 3 small dough pieces to 10-inch-long ropes. Braid ropes together. Tuck ends under and pinch together. Brush large braid with some of egg glaze. Place small braid atop center of large braid. Brush small braid with some of egg glaze. Let rise uncovered in warm area until almost doubled in volume, about 1 hour 15 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 325°F. Brush loaf again with egg glaze. Bake until loaf is deep golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on bottom, about 45 minutes. Transfer loaf to rack and cool at least 45 minutes before slicing. (Can be prepared ahead. Cool completely. Wrap tightly in foil and freeze up to 2 weeks. Uncover and thaw at room temperature.)

CHEDDAR WALNUT CRANBERRY BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 350*F.
• In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda. Stir in orange and lemon rinds. Cut iin the shortening with a pastry blender or two knives until the mixture is like coarse meal.
• In a medium bowl, stir together the mixed juices, cheese, and eggs. Add to the flour mixture, stirring until just combined; do not overmix. Fold in the cranberries and walnuts.
• Pour the batter into a buttered and floured 9"x5"x3" loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool completely. Serve warm with butter or cream cheese. Enjoy!
• To store:.
• Wrap snugly in foil or seal in plastic bags. Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks. Freeze up to 3 months.