Holiday Cranberry Sourdough [Video]

(Originally Published on December 2, 2017 by Trevor Wilson)

I love cranberry bread. Especially sourdough cranberry bread. I love it in all its glorious variations: cranberry walnut, cranberry pecan, cranberry raisin, cranberry pumpkin seed, cranberry poppy, spiced cranberry, etc.

But mostly, I just love plain ‘ol cranberry the best. Simple and delicious.

I make this bread every year during the Holiday Season – rarely the same way twice – and it’s always a hit. For this recipe here, I just wanted to go with an easy bare-bones version. Think of it as a template – a starting point from which to branch off with any variation you like.

Do you prefer cranberry and nuts?

Cool, replace a portion of the cranberries with nuts (half and half is a good starting point).

Do you want a lighter and more open cranberry loaf?

No problem, just reduce the whole grain and maybe increase the hydration a bit.

Or conversely, if you’re looking for a heartier loaf then you can increase the whole grain (FYI, a dense and delicious version is 50/50 whole wheat and a full 50% cranberries or cranberry/nut mixture).

In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever run into a cranberry bread that I didn’t like. Such a thing may not even exist.

But enough with all the acclamation, let’s get to the recipe!

Formula

85% Bread Flour
15% Whole Spelt Flour (or Whole Wheat)
75% Water
40% Cranberries (Dried Sweetened)
2% Salt
12.5% Starter (as a percentage of total dough weight)

Recipe (for 1x 800g loaf)

264g Bread Flour (or All-Purpose)
55g Whole Spelt (or Whole Wheat)
227g Water
148g Cranberries (Dried Sweetened)
7g Salt
100g White Starter @ 100% Hydration

Now, before we get to the directions I just want to take a moment here to discuss this formula. I personally prefer cranberry breads with lots of cranberries. A cranberry in every bite is just right. And the nice thing with cranberries is that it really is difficult to put in too many. Maybe that’s just because I like ’em so much.

This formula uses 40% cranberries — that’s a fair amount, and it makes for a good versatile loaf. But I’ve happily gone up and over 60% cranberries and loved every bite. If you like the cranberry/nut combination, then you can certainly go quite a bit higher than 40% — I tend to prefer a heavier loaf that’s dense with cranberries and nuts to one that’s lighter, but also light on the extras.

What I love about dried cranberries is that they’re sweet, but not too sweet. They also have that nice tartness to them. So they have a very balanced flavor. This is in contrast to raisins, which are really just sweet sweet. I have a hard time with raisin breads that are in excess of 20% raisins, or thereabouts. They’re just too damn sweet.

Maybe that’s just me, but if you decide to make a cranberry raisin bread (or cranberry/raisin/nut bread), then I would suggest actually reducing the percentage of dried fruit in order to compensate for the sweetness of the raisins. Perhaps something like 20% cranberries/10% raisins, or possibly 10% cranberries/10%raisins/20% nuts. Try to find that balance where the raisins don’t dominate (unless, of course, you love raisins as much as I love cranberries).

Directions

Mixing

I used a standard autolyse/mix method for this loaf, but in all honesty, I actually prefer the Premixing method for this particular formula. Premixing is easier and makes for a slightly more extensible dough, in my experience.

With the flours I use, 75% hydration tends to be the most difficult for me to hand mix. Stiffer dough is easier because it’s firm enough to comfortably knead in the bowl. And wetter dough is easier because it’s slack enough to use the Rubaud Method.

But 75% . . .

It just doesn’t seem to work well for either method (for me). I usually just end up flopping it around in the bowl somewhat haphazardly until it comes together. It’s not pretty, but it works.

Now actually, this is an ideal consistency for using Slap and Fold. It’s soft and yielding, but not so wet that it’ll splatter everywhere. If you like Slap and Fold then go for it.

For me, premixing this formula is ideal. It still gets a little sloppy when adding the starter, but because the dough is so much more fully developed it tends to smooth out quicker, and holds tension better so that it can be more readily kneaded in the bowl. Plus, there’s no doubt that the salt is fully mixed in since it was added at the start.

As for this particular loaf, I didn’t really plan this mix ahead of time so I went with a more standard mixing method. I first gave it a 90 minute autolyse. Just mix all the flour and water until it forms a shaggy clump. No need to develop the gluten. Then just let it rest for 1 or 2 hours.

When you’re ready to mix, just sprinkle on the salt and then add the starter. It’s okay if they touch. Actually, in this case it’s helpful. The liquid starter is wet enough to help dissolve the salt, which otherwise might be difficult to mix in without also adding some reserved water. So if you can get the starter fully worked into the dough, then you’ll know that you got the salt mixed in as well.

After the dough comes together and begins to smooth out, I add the cranberries. I just spread them out on top of the dough (and on the underside as well) then fold the dough a few times to get them incorporated. Then I just knead the dough in the bowl by rolling it into itself. I continue this until the cranberries are evenly mixed in and they stop popping out of the dough.

You don’t have to wait for this point to add the cranberries. You can add them in right at the start of the autolyse if you like. It won’t hurt the development of the dough. I prefer to add them after the dough is developed because sometimes when the cranberries come into direct contact with water they will “bleed” and stain parts of the dough pink. It’s purely an aesthetic issue, but I prefer to avoid it.

But I don’t add the cranberries when premixing. Partly to avoid the staining, but also because I worry about excessive enzymatic activity/wild fermentation due to the sugars in the cranberries. Maybe it would be fine, maybe it wouldn’t. I don’t know because I’ve never attempted it. If you decide to premix this recipe, then the call is yours. And if you do add the cranberries during the premix, please let me know how it goes. I’m genuinely curious.

Bulk Fermentation

This recipe will take somewhere between 4-6 hours to proof at room temperature. This loaf took 5 hours. You’re looking for a 30% to 50% rise in volume before you preshape. This loaf was around a 30% increase, and I probably would’ve taken it further if I had the time. I generally like to give it around a 50% rise for a more airy crumb.

I gave it a total of 3 folds at one hour intervals, and left it alone for the last 2 hours. Because there are so many cranberries in there, it adds a certain structural-strength to the dough. The dough is not as extensible as you would imagine a 75% hydration dough to be. So be careful with the folds – don’t over stretch/tighten/tear the dough. You can even skip the folds altogether if you prefer. I often do.

Also, keep in mind that all those cranberries are adding a lot of dead weight that the dough must overcome as it rises. Dough that is dense with fruit or nuts generally proofs slower. So don’t rush it. Make sure you get that minimum of a 30% increase in volume during the bulk.

Preshape

Prerounding the loaf into a simple boule should do. I used a bench knife here, but it’s a fairly strong dough and you may be able to shape it just fine with your hands. Whatever you prefer.

Just be sure not to make the preshape too tight – it’s such a dense dough that we need to be pretty careful not to compress it any more than necessary. High surface tension is not particularly beneficial to this loaf.

After shaping, give it a 30-60 minute bench rest. I gave it a full 60 minute rest to help the stiff dough relax a bit more, and covered it with a mixing bowl to prevent it from forming a skin. In warm humid weather, it may not need to be covered at all.

Shape

I shaped this into a batard using a light “cinching” technique. Even after an hour’s rest it was still a pretty strong dough – it didn’t become overly relaxed or slack. I tried to be careful not to compress the loaf too much – it really didn’t need much in the way of tension development. It was perfectly strong enough to stand on its own.

And it should go without saying – if any cranberries pop out while shaping then you’d best stick them back into the loaf, or eat them. I’m pretty sure wasting cranberries is a sin.

Proof

I placed this into a linen-lined basket that was lightly dusted with rice flour. Just a head’s up: cranberries will stain your cloth. It’s not really a big deal to me since it doesn’t affect anything (i.e. it won’t leave stain spots on other loaves after it’s been washed), but it does mar the appearance of the cloth. For this reason, I have one cloth that I always use when proofing cranberry bread (or any bread that might stain).

I let this loaf proof at room temp for 1 hour and then put it in the fridge for around 20 hours. The next day I baked it directly from the fridge. I probably should’ve let it sit out at room temp for a bit longer, maybe another 30-40 minutes, before refrigerating it – it was still a bit young when I baked it. Doing so would’ve helped to open up the crumb a bit more. If you decide to retard your loaf, you will have to adjust proof times for your refrigerator, your dough, and your conditions.

If you let it proof entirely at ambient temps, then you’re probably looking at 2-4 hours or so.

Generally, I prefer the flavor of this bread when it’s proofed at room temp – it has a bit more of a sweet earthiness to it. But it’s good either way. I decided to refrigerate this one because it was late afternoon, and here in Vermont that means daylight is quickly fading. I didn’t want to film the scoring video with only the kitchen lights, so I decided to refrigerate it and wait until the next day for some natural light.

Score

One thing to be aware of when baking in a dutch oven or combo cooker is that cranberries will stick to the hot cast iron. You end up with these little burnt chunks of cranberry on the pan. You can scrape most of it off, but usually the rest will just need to burn off over the course of the next few bakes. It’s not really a big deal, but it’s kind of annoying — especially if you end up with a big smoky chunk on there.

For that reason, I like to cut out a slip of parchment paper to line the pan with before I set the loaf in it. Actually, what usually happens is that I always forget this little step with the first loaf I make during the season. Then — after discovering the burnt cranberries and cursing my poor memory — I use the parchment for the follow-up bakes. If you look closely at the pan before I add the paper, you’ll see the charred remnants of Thanksgiving’s loaf still stuck to it. Happens every year.

The only other thing to really note here is that loaves full of dried fruit, or nuts, or seeds, can be more difficult to score. This is especially true with nuts and seeds (especially if the surface of the loaf has been encrusted with them).

Basically, these objects are hindrances – they obstruct your cut path and make getting a smooth clean cut more difficult. So you will need to be swift and decisive with your cuts. If you hesitate or move too slowly then the blade will snag and drag. And if you cut too lightly then it will bounce and rebound off the objects and ruin your cut.

But be careful – carelessly swinging a blade through nuts and seeds can be dangerous. The blade might ricochet off a nut and take an unplanned detour into your finger. Or the blade might even snag a seed and pop entirely off the lame (this has happened to me, and it’s not cool).

That said, if you decide to make just a plain cranberry loaf like this one then it’s not too bad. Dried fruit, while still getting in the way, is much easier to cut through than seeds or nuts.

I gave this loaf a single slash down the center, but feel free to score however you wish.

Bake

I baked this in a preheated cast iron combo cooker at 450F (232C) for 20 minutes covered, then rotated and finished for another 25 minutes uncovered. I allowed a fairly bold bake since I knew it was just going to be me eating it.

But typically, when I bring it over to holiday gatherings I will bake it much lighter since that’s how most folks like it. In those cases, I usually go with 425F (218C) for 40-45 minutes total. Feel free to bake to whatever color you prefer.

Cool and Enjoy!

Okay, so I ignored my own advice and cut into this while it was still a little warm. I just couldn’t help myself. This bread is soooo good when it’s fresh, warm, and smothered in butter. So I guess I’ll spare you the lecture. This time.

Cheers!

Trevor J. Wilson

Original comments no longer active.

Comments

1. Chee Ming saysDecember 3, 2017 at 4:47 AMYum! My favourite too. Thanks for sharing. Now I can bake my own cranberry sourdough. =DReply
   • Trevor Wilson saysDecember 4, 2017 at 9:01 PMI hope you enjoy it as much as I do! Good luck!Cheers!TrevorReply
   • Martha Kowalak-Perez saysDecember 11, 2017 at 7:17 PMHappy holidays, thank you so much for your good and delicious work. This recipe is just what I need this year!Reply
     • Trevor Wilson saysDecember 20, 2017 at 9:20 PMThanks Martha! I hope the recipe serves you well!Cheers!TrevorReply
2. Suzanne saysDecember 5, 2017 at 12:59 PMThanks Trevor! Great stuff as usual. Retarded overnight in the fridge and straight in 500F for 20 min, then 460F 20 min more, on stone wirh steam on lava rocks. Toasted the walnuts and made sure to do the little love tap 😉Reply
   • Trevor Wilson saysDecember 20, 2017 at 8:37 PMHa! The love tap is everything!Reply
3. Lori Harrington saysDecember 7, 2017 at 11:36 AMThis looks so delicious! I may also try this with raisins and cinnamon. Thank you for sharing!Reply
   • Trevor Wilson saysDecember 20, 2017 at 8:43 PMThanks Lori! Adding raisins and cinnamon sounds delicious!Cheers!TrevorReply
4. Janet Pistilli saysDecember 10, 2017 at 7:48 PMYou are so Talented. Love watching how you fold the dough. You make it look so easy. Thank you for sharing the Love. 🙌Reply
   • Trevor Wilson saysDecember 20, 2017 at 8:44 PMThanks for the compliment Janet! Playing with dough is fun!Cheers!TrevorReply
5. Phyllis saysDecember 10, 2017 at 8:18 PMYour videos never disappoint but HOW do you keep your hands so clean?At 75% hydration, my dough looks much wetter than yours does in the video. I do wet my hands and it helps but it is not foolproof for me. I will absolutely try this recipe and leave a comment when I do.Reply
   • Trevor Wilson saysDecember 20, 2017 at 8:49 PMHey Phyllis, the thing is that 75% isn’t the same across the board. If your flour doesn’t absorb water as well mine then you’ll end up with a wetter (and stickier) dough. Hydration is always relative. The best thing to do is to adjust the water until you get a dough that’s comfortable for you to handle. Dough consistency matters more than hydration. Find a consistency that works well for you. That’s what matters most — happy hands make good bread.Cheers!TrevorReply
6. cheryl s. saysDecember 10, 2017 at 8:46 PMHi Trevor,
   About a week ago I made the Cranberry Bread (with the walnuts) and I have to say, it was wonderful, absolutely wonderful! Definitely, I’ll be making it again. Thanks for sharing this great recipe with your fans.Reply
   • Trevor Wilson saysDecember 20, 2017 at 8:50 PMThat’s great Cheryl! Cranberry walnut is definitely a winner! I’m glad you enjoyed it!Cheers!TrevorReply
7. Vivian saysDecember 10, 2017 at 9:43 PMHi Trevor ,can’t wait to bake this bread.
   Would I be able to substitie my Einkorn all purpose flour and Einkorn whole grain flour for your percentages?
   Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you.
   VivianReply
   • Trevor Wilson saysDecember 20, 2017 at 8:53 PMHi Vivian, you can certainly switch out flours at your discretion. You’ll end up with a different bread, but that’s not a bad thing. Einkorn is delicious, and I imagine it would make for a fantastic cranberry loaf! The best thing to do is just experiment and see what you get. Good luck!Cheers!TrevorReply
8. Carol Mahon saysDecember 11, 2017 at 2:06 AMThanks very much for this. Looking forward to trying it!Reply
   • Trevor Wilson saysDecember 20, 2017 at 8:53 PMI hope you like it Carol!Cheers!TrevorReply
9. Leslie Ruf saysDecember 11, 2017 at 2:19 AMHi Trevor, just love cranberry and pecan sourdough, and with a little cherry as well it is incredible. My question – could this dough be used to make buns? LeslieReply
   • Trevor Wilson saysDecember 20, 2017 at 8:57 PMHi Leslie, you can definitely make buns with this dough. The thing is whether they’ll be buns that you like or not. Sourdough buns are delicious, but they can be tough or crusty unless care is taken. When I bake sourdough buns, I try to make sure to bake them on the lighter side so that they’re soft and tender. But it’s really just a matter of taste. Give it a shot and see what you think!Cheers!TrevorReply
10. Gus saysDecember 11, 2017 at 5:00 AMTrevor, thanks for the new video, incredible as usual! I’ve bought your book and I can now notice small details that escaped me before. Highly recommended to anyone who thinks your videos are useful. Great value for money too.I would like to ask you if you could make a video showing your hands movements when kneading **from your viewpoint**. We can only see it from the reverse side, and it’s a lot harder to understand and do when looking that way. It looks so easy when you achieve nice round balls, but I make such a mess when I try kneading your way 🙂
    Thank youReply
    • Trevor Wilson saysDecember 20, 2017 at 9:04 PMHi Gus, thanks for the kind words! Much appreciated! I agree, getting videos from a first-person perspective would be extremely useful. I’ve tried to do this in the past (check out the shaping scene in my Tartine-Style video), but the problem is that I just don’t have the equipment to do it well. When I’ve done first-person perspective in the past I had to set the tripod between me and the bench. It’s a very awkward thing (wrapping my arms around the tripod), and messes up the flow of my movements. Maybe someday I’ll get a “GoPro” and then it’ll be easy.Cheers!TrevorReply
11. Samuel saysDecember 11, 2017 at 8:48 AMHi Trevor,
    Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge. It is so helpful.
    Tell me please why do you calculate the starter amount as part of a total dough weight but not as a part of a all flours? Thank you.Reply
    • Trevor Wilson saysDecember 20, 2017 at 9:14 PMHi Samuel, I like to calculate starter as a percentage of total dough (rather than baker’s percentage) because it helps me to easily calculate a recipe’s total hydration, and lets’ me switch out different amounts of different hydration starters with ease. To better explain my reasoning, I’ve copied and pasted a post I made over at thefreshloaf.com a while back. It pretty much sums up my thinking on the matter . . .“When developing a recipe, what matters to me is the percentages for the final dough. This includes the flour and water in the leaven. It does me no good to picture in my mind’s eye a 70% hydration dough, for example, only to have not included the flour and water in the leaven which may then bump up (or down) the total hydration quite considerably.So at first, I always calculate a recipe sans starter. Once I have the total amount of ingredients, I then decide how much starter there will be as a portion of the total dough weight. It can be a bit arbitrary, I admit. Typically, I either . . .1) Base it as a percentage of the total dough weight — so for an 800 gram loaf I may decide that I want it to be 10% starter by weight, in which case I will use 80g of starter. Or if I want the dough to move faster maybe I’ll use 20% starter by total dough weight (160g). Or for slower moving dough I may use 5% total dough weight (40g).Or . . .2) Base the amount of starter on 25g multiples. So starter might be 25g, or 50g, or 75g, or 100g, or 125g, or 150g, etc. I have no logical reason for using these multiples other than that the numbers are intuitive and pleasing to me. I could just as well use multiples of 10g or 20g or 15g or even 7g or whatever.Once I have my final dough percentages, and my starter amount as a portion of the total dough weight, I simply remove the water and flour that’s in the leaven from the total ingredient amount.So . . .If I have an 800g recipe that’s been calculated at 60% hydration with 2% salt my total ingredients would be 500g flour, 300g water, 10g salt. (yes, i know that’s actually 810g, but I don’t sweat the small stuff — if I scale the recipe for many more loaves then I will adjust for the extra). So if I decide to use 10% starter as a percentage of total dough weight (80g) and my starter is 100% hydration (which means my starter contains 40g water and 40g flour), then I simply subtract the flour and water in the starter from the total ingredients to get my final recipe: 460g flour, 260g water, 10g salt, and 80g starter @ 100% hdyration). If my starter were 50% hydration (approx. 53g flour and 27g water) then my recipe would be: 447g flour, 273g water, 10g salt, 80g starter @ 50% hydration.I don’t like calculating starter in baker’s percentage because it leads me down a dark rabbit hole . . . if i want to make an 80% hydration dough, and I decide to use starter in the amount of 20% by baker’s percentage, how do I calculate that?Well, to determine how much starter 20% is by baker’s percentage I first need to know how much flour is in the dough. But how can I determine how much flour is in the dough when part of the flour is in the starter? And how can I determine how much flour is in the starter when I can’t even determine how much starter is in the dough?I don’t like this kind of circular thought. I’m sure there are some mathematically inclined folks out there who have an elegant formula for just this sort of thing. But I hate math. It just seems easier to me to know the total ingredients in the loaf and then to portion out the starter afterwards. This way, an 80% hydration dough is always exactly 80% hydration.Sometimes, when relaying a particular recipe, I may calculate out the amount of starter and/or pre-fermented flour by baker’s percentage after the fact. But that is only for the convenience of others. Those numbers are not how I calculated the recipe in the first place.This is what works best for me. It allows me to picture hydration accurately when formulating recipes, and to easily account for my ever changing whims when it comes to the amounts and hydrations of starter that I use.”Cheers!TrevorReply
      • Samuel saysDecember 30, 2017 at 11:01 AMTrevor thank you so much for this reply. I understood now.
        I did myself the dough calculator for me in a excell file. I use its all the time and without can’t bake the bread at all. If you want I’ll give it you. But I calculate all the components as a flours ratio. I used to so many years already :).
        Thank you very much for your explanation. Happy New Year to you and to all your family.Reply
      • Frank Ciraci saysJanuary 11, 2018 at 12:49 PMTrevor you were the first, (and always go to person), that gave me the courage to bake bread. I am mathematically challenged so I just stick to the gram numbers you have in your receipes. (I always get great bread, I think partially because I can feel the dough, but also I find your video’s easy to understand). That said I would sure like to understand percentages, that is to say I’d like to get deeper into the experience of bread making. Can you direct me someplace that my simple mind can understand percentages? Thanks. You have brought much joy to my life and my friends that eat my bread. Maybe I should say “our” bread!Reply
12. Diane saysDecember 12, 2017 at 4:18 PMMade my first loaf today, but didn’t retard it, as it seemed ready and I had the time to bake it off. Do you find that you get a better oven spring by retarding and then baking it cold right out of the frig?Reply
    • Trevor Wilson saysDecember 20, 2017 at 9:25 PMHi Diane, in general, a retarded loaf has a greater potential for ovenspring than a loaf proofed entirely at ambient temps. But it always comes back to fermentation and handling. A well-fermented and handled loaf proofed at ambient temps will have a better ovenspring than a poorly fermented and handled loaf that is retarded overnight in the fridge. However, all else being equal, you’ll get a better ovenspring with retarded dough versus ambient.Cheers!TrevorReply
13. Peter Lutek saysDecember 13, 2017 at 9:10 AMThanks so much for this one, Trevor!Recently, I’ve been using small amounts of vital wheat gluten, which has really helped me get satisfying structure in loaves with a high percentage of whole grains. Generally, I’m 97% whole grains and 3% vital wheat gluten now. For this cranberry loaf, I went about 50% whole grain on my first batch yesterday, and it’s fantastic. Here’s my outline:43.5% unbleached all-purpose flour
    40% whole wheat flour
    15% whole spelt flour
    1.5% vital wheat gluten
    75% hydration
    40% cranberries
    2% salt
    18% starter (as a percentage of total dough LESS cranberries!) 🙂I did it all in a day, with no cold retard.Your comment about looking for 30-50% increase during bulk was a really helpful guide!cheers, buddy!
    .pltk.Reply
    • Trevor Wilson saysDecember 20, 2017 at 9:30 PMHey Peter, sounds like you’ve got a good method going! I like the higher percentage whole grain you’re making here! Sounds delicious! I’m glad you’ve found my suggestion regarding bulk rise helpful! And I admit, I’m a fan of an ambient proof myself — makes for a somewhat sweeter loaf, which is just perfect for this particular recipe.Cheers!TrevorReply
14. Grahame Connolly saysDecember 17, 2017 at 5:40 AMThanks Trevor! Just as you described……………..yummy! Your video has inspired me to ask Santa for a Lodge Combo this year. I baked it on a stone with a steam tray in the oven but I would imagine the Lodge will improve the experience.Baked it yesterday afternoon ………….. all gone now 🙁CheersGrahame (UK)Reply
    • Peter Lutek saysDecember 19, 2017 at 2:31 PMyeah, grahame… this one does disappear in a flash, doesn’t it! 😉cheers from Canada!
      .pltk.Reply
    • Trevor Wilson saysDecember 20, 2017 at 9:44 PMThanks Grahame! I’m glad you like the recipe! You’ll definitely enjoy baking in the combo cooker — it’s just so easy and consistent. I absolutely love my combo cooker! I think I’d get rid of my scale before I get rid of my combo cooker!Cheers!TrevorReply
15. Grace Lim saysDecember 31, 2017 at 2:29 PMHi Trevor,Happy New Year 2018. Thanks for this recipe.I am having some trouble with it, not sure if the summer heat is affecting the dough, it is 28-30C here at the moment. The dough is very sticky and I am unable to get the crumb right. Tried it twice now. Maybe the cranberries here are too moist. Maybe my starter is struggling in the heat. I plan to try again by mixing and kneading at night when the temperature cools down.What do you think?Reply
    • Grace Lim saysJanuary 9, 2018 at 6:22 PMI have it figured out. It WAS the summer heat here in Australia. I now bring my starter and dough to work where it is a cool 22C. The last two loaves turned out great!Reply
16. ML DiGirolamo saysDecember 31, 2017 at 9:04 PMI’ve known for a while now that the handling of dough is most important and watching your videos for technique has been inspiring.I like an open crumb but I like a tighter, lacier crumb too. That was the signature of my Mom’s bread.I think I’ll try subbing raisins for the cranberries but I’m going to give your recipe and technique a faithful try.Thank you.Reply
17. S.T. saysJanuary 1, 2018 at 9:46 AMI have made this twice. Beautiful, easy, delicious. Takes a long time to make and disappears in minutes! Hmmmm. Maybe next time I’ll make two at a time. Thank you for making me a sourdough baker!Reply
18. kristi meyers saysJanuary 18, 2018 at 9:59 AMJust ordered your new ebook and can’t wait to get into it this weekend! Question about the cranberries, do you ever soak your cranberries?Reply
19. Elisa H saysFebruary 8, 2018 at 1:22 AMLove your cranberry walnut formula! Made it three times, twice with dried unsweetened cherries. Absolutely delicious! Going to bake this weekend using the premix method you mentioned.
    When are the walnuts and cranberries added, please? And yes, you guessed it, I’m a newbie to sourdough!
    Thank you for enriching my world with this recipe!Reply
20. Patricia saysMarch 4, 2018 at 12:42 PMHello from France Trevor,
    Thank you so much for your share, it really makes sense to me the way you are in relation with your dough and I try to stick to your explanations to build my skill. I use flours made from natural ancient french wheat that are unmutated (Touzelle, Rouge de Bordeaux, Barbu…). The dough is weaker and requires much delicacy, because it develops only about 7% gluten naturally, but the flavour is so incomparable. I have a question: in your videos, you work with a dough of less than a kilogram, so one hand is enough to handle the dough. I want to make a 4 kilos dough, so how do I apply your gestures with 2 hands? Or do I have to split my dough in smaller parts?
    Thank you for your answer!
    —PatriciaReply
21. Armando saysApril 30, 2018 at 4:39 AMDear Trevor,my name is Armando and I’m an italian professional (at the beginning!) baker.I’m reading your Open Crumb Mastery.It’s very, very, very interesting. It was for me like a breath of fresh air. And there are many things I have yet to discover!So, I have a question for you.I work only with sourdough, but but the result, excellent on the level of taste, does not satisfy me on the aesthetic level.The crumb is not very open and in the outermost part of the slice it almost seems that the dough is slightly crushed, especially the upper part, which is the one underneath during rising in the banneton.I use a stiff starter (50% hydration) in the measure of 19% of total dough weight and 65% hydration, for the total formula.Furthermore, for reasons of work organization, but also to get more aromas, I chose the slow proof, which I do in cold storage for 14-16 hours at a temperature of about 12° C (53.6° F).So, my question is: does this choice (slow proof) change anything from what you suggest in your book?Many thanks in advance!ArmandoReply
22. Armando saysApril 30, 2018 at 4:40 AMDear Trevor,my name is Armando and I’m an italian professional (at the beginning!) baker.I’m reading your Open Crumb Mastery.It’s very, very, very interesting. It was for me like a breath of fresh air. And there are many things I have yet to discover!So, I have a question for you.I work only with sourdough, but but the result, excellent on the level of taste, does not satisfy me on the aesthetic level.The crumb is not very open and in the outermost part of the slice it almost seems that the dough is slightly crushed, especially the upper part, which is the one underneath during rising in the banneton.I summarize the characteristics of my dough (white flour).I use a stiff starter (50% hydration) in the measure of 19% of total dough weight and 65% hydration, for the total formula.Furthermore, for reasons of work organization, but also to get more aromas, I chose the slow slow proof, which I do in cold storage for 14-16 hours at a temperature of about 12 ° C (53.6 ° F).So, my question is: does this choice (slow proof) change anything from what you suggest in your book?Many thanks in advance.ArmandoReply
23. Ka Ling saysNovember 7, 2018 at 12:33 AMHi Trevor,I had tried baking this recipe and i didn’t add all the water in as those flour that i can find in malaysia doesn’t absorb so much water as compare to yours. I also reduces the amount of cranberries. The rest i follow exactly. My final dough didnt have that much oven spring the volume also smaller by 1/4. Can i know the flour brand that you are using? Im using all purpose flour + 55 g wholemeal flour.Reply
24. Peter Lutek saysDecember 4, 2018 at 9:45 AMhi trevor… i made this loaf a bunch last year; always love it!i’m curious if you’ve ever tried using fresh cranberries… i imagine they’ll break up more, and the hydration will need adjustment, but i’d like to go after more of that beautiful TANG that i’ve always enjoyed in yeasted cranberry loaves.cheers… hope you’re well!
    .pltk.Reply
    • Peter Lutek saysDecember 15, 2018 at 11:22 AMok… i made a 2-loaf batch 500g flour), using a 340g package of frozen cranberries. i thawed the cranberries, then crushed them with a potato masher — that yielded 100g of juice, so i just subbed that in for part of my water. it turned out that i needed to add some more flour before my bulk ferment, and then some more again when forming the loaves. so there’s still a fair amount of fluid contributed by the thawed cranberries, even after crushing and draining. total added flour was 145g.i also used 66g of sugar.it worked pretty well in the end, although a fair amount of air got knocked out of the dough with the additions of flour along the way. sweetness was about right for my taste – just enough to balance the cranberries, without seeming like a sweet bread.once i do another batch or two, with the flour corrected right from the start, i’ll report back…Reply
25. Jennifer saysDecember 16, 2018 at 3:42 PMThis is the best freaking thing ever. Outdoes raisin bread by a kilometer.Cut into it about 20 mins after taking it out of the oven, and can’t stop eating it. No butter, no nothing.It is glorious.Thanks and merry, merry, Trevor!!Reply
26. Peter M. Cartella saysJanuary 7, 2019 at 11:49 PMWOW!
    Fantastic recipe.
    Wish i could attach a photo.Reply