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We all bought a pot of cranberry sauce to go with Christmas dinner. Now is yours in the fridge not being used? Well look no further, I've got you covered. To use it up, why not try adding it into some dough and making my cranberry sourdough bread recipe?
This is a great way to use up a half eaten jar of cranberry sauce after Christmas. The bread works well as a breakfast due to the sweetness the cranberries bring to it.
Really this recipe should really live in my money saving recipes section as this uses up leftovers in the fridge. I use the sourdough starter I made from Kensington Sourdough and it works so well for me. It comes from a 150 year old starter and has a definite tang to the taste!
Contents
Ingredients
As per a standard sourdough bread recipe, there are only 4 simple ingredients in this dough along with the cranberries.
If you are looking for bread dough styles and detailed instructions how to make it, try my bread dough calculator. This offers all weights and measures to get a great dough.
- Bread Flour - I like to use Shipton Mill flour. I'm not sponsored by them but I use them so that my flour remains consistent and I don't vary from brands and therefore grains. This means when I make my bread and feed my starter, I know it is the same stuff going in each time.
- Water - Water is water. Up here in Lancashire the water is nice and soft. However if you live in a hard water area you might find cool boiled water is better to use.
- Starter - My starter comes from the one I made from my Kensington Sourdough starter. However you can make your own starter too.
- Salt - Any simple table salt will do. I always try and add salt as late into the bread making process as possible to ensure if doesn't kill off any starter working and instead just keeps it under control.
See recipe card for quantities and more details.
Instructions
Sourdough is a long process and takes time and patience. However it is a rewarding bread to make, no matter what sort you do.
My instructions are fairly flexible and do not have definitive timings as it varies from place to place, climate, temperature etc.
Use my instructions as a guide but they are not set in stone. The more sourdough you make, the more used to the process you will become. That way you will be able to see when things are right (or not!).
Combine the flour and water and leave to autolyse.
Add starter to the mix.
Add in the cranberry and also the salt.
Perform 4 sets of stretch and folds, 30 minutes apart.
Cover and do an initial bulk prove until increased in size.
Shape and place in banneton, then prove overnight in the fridge.
Turn out of banneton and score before baking.
Bake at 200C for 30 minutes until crisp and golden on top and hollow when tapped underneath.
Remember that this bread can take a while to get right (even a few attempts). Don't lose patience and please ask any questions in the comments if I can help.
Hint: Cooking a baking stone works well in a conventional oven. You can get a rectangular baking stone from Amazon and these will serve you well for many breads.
Substitutions
You can do this exact bread with other ingredients than Cranberry. The beauty of sourdough is how flexible it is.
Another idea is you can add to the mix to make a new bread. How about trying a walnut and cranberry sourdough? Even top it with seeds to make it a multi grain loaf.
- Cranberry - try dried berries or even cherries. Walnuts make good subsitution (or addition too).
- Flour - use gluten free flour instead of white bread flour to make this gluten free. Make sure to adjust the starter accordingly too. I won't claim to be a gluten free expert though so please consult other blogs for guidance on these recipes.
This is why I like sourdough, it is so forgiving and flexible.
Variations
While this cranberry bread is a little on the sweeter side, you can try changing it out. To work well as a meal starter try putting some chopped olives in the place of the cranberries.
This is a nice recipe for dipping in bread oils and mint and garlic dips.
Equipment
The main piece of equipment you have to get is a banneton. While it is possible to make sourdough in a bread tin, a banneton is more traditional.
If you don't have one, line a tin or bowl with a teatowl and dust in flour. That will work as well but without the ridge effect. can have a big impact on how a recipe turns out.
If using a baking stone, remember stone bakeware takes longer to heat up than metal pans, and also retain heat for longer, so consider this on your cooking time.
Flour is important to get right too. A rice flour will work better for dusting as the bread dough will not stick to that if not contained in the dough mix. This makes it better to work with when shaping and storing.
There are plenty of rice flour varieties available from stockists. You don't need much for a loaf but it lasts a while so pick what works for you and what you can store.
Storage
Once cooked, the bread can be sliced and then frozen. This will keep for up to 3 months in the freezer. You can then take out what you need as an when.
Otherwise, this will keep fresh for up to 3 days.
Top tip
The cranberry dough can get a bit messy to work with as it is a wet dough. If you want to reduce how wet it is (known as hydration) drop it down to 70% or even 65%. Use my bread dough hydration calculator to work out the amounts you need.
FAQ
The dough could be over proved meaning you have left it too long in the bulk prove stage. While it probably won't rise very well, you can still cook it. Otherwise, roll it flat and bake it into some sourdough starter crackers.
Yes for sure. At the shaping stage, split the dough into smaller portions and make into bread rolls at that point.
Feed your starter and if it has doubled in size within 4 hours and has lots of bubbles then that is a good sign it is ready to use.
This is a test to make sure your starter is ready. If you take a spoonful of starter and drop in water it should hang at the top floating. If it sinks, it's not ready.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Cranberry Sourdough Bread Pairing
I think this bread would go well along side these dishes:
The Recipe
Sweet and Irresistible Cranberry Sourdough Bread
Equipment
- 1 Banneton
Ingredients
- 400 g Bread flour
- 280 g Water luke warm
- 2 tablespoon Cranberry sauce
- ½ tablespoon Salt
- 75 g Sourdough starter
Instructions
Mixing the dough
- Mix together the water and the flour and leave for an hour. This is the autolyse time which helps build strength with the gluten formation in the bread dough.400 g Bread flour, 280 g Water
- Add in the sourdough starter and mix together for a few minutes. Leave it for 30 minutes.75 g Sourdough starter
- Add the salt and mix in. Leave to stand for another 15 minutes or so.½ tbsp Salt
- Now add in the cranberry sauce. Don't worry about it being too mixed in at the moment. It will mix as we perform the stretches.2 tbsp Cranberry sauce
- Now we are going to perform the stretch and folds. With wet (or oiled) hands, pull the dough up from one side and tuck it into the middle of the bowl. Then turn the bowl a quarter turn, pull up the dough and tuck in. Repeat this until you have done 2 rotations of the bowl (about 8 stretch and folds). This is one set of stretch and folds.
- Perform 3 more sets of stretch and folds 30 minutes apart. So pull and turn 8 times round. Then leave the dough for 30 minutes, then again 8 more times... and so on.This will take 2 hours to complete the full set of stretch and folds.
Resting (proving) the dough - Bulk prove
- Once you have completed the stretch and folds, the dough needs to remain covered for it to increase in size and get some bubbles in it. Cover it with a damp cloth or shower cap while this happens. Timing is difficult to say as it depends on climate, temperature, how active the starter is etc. Go for an initial guess of 3 to 4 hours but be prepared it could be 8 or 10 hours depending on the above factors.
Shaping and 2nd proving - Overnight prove
- Once risen, prepare a banneton with some rice flour. Flour a work surface and shape the dough into the shape of your banneton. Aim to keep a tight surface by tucking and pulling the dough towards yourself as you shape. Use a dough scraper as a help to stop it sticking.This part takes time and practise. Do not give up! If you get stuck, please drop me a comment and I'll help you where I can.
- Place the dough in the banneton and then cover with cloth/shower cap. Leave to prove overnight in the fridge for up to 24 hours.
Baking
- Preheat your oven and baking stone (if using) for at least 30 minutes.If using a Dutch oven style pan, but this in the oven to preheat.If you want, you can just use a normal baking tray instead. Just make sure it is pre-heated.Also - place a baking tray in to the bottom of the oven to preheat too (this is going to have water in it to create steam).Flip your banneton onto some baking paper and score the sourdough as per the picture. Use a sharp knife or baking lame to achieve this. If you want you can do a design on it too.
- Just before you put the bread in the oven, pour some boiling water into the baking tray in the oven to create steam. Put your bread in on the baking stone or on the tray. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes.If baking in a dutch oven, bake covered for 20 minutes and then uncover and bake for another 25 minutes.
- You can tell it is ready by looking for a brown crust on the top and a hollow sound when the bread is tapped underneath.Leave on a cooling rack to cool.
Notes
Nutrition
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One response to “Cranberry Sourdough Bread”
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Delicious bread, especially good for using up the extra cranberry sauce! Fresh or defrosted from frozen, the bread is still great for sandwiches or to toast for breakfast! Definitely would recommend xx
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