Walnut Cranberry Wheatberry Bread
Yet another nut and berry loaf. I baked a few experimental loaves around the end of 2024 then I forgot about it until I pulled a piece from the freezer and realized it was delicious. The wheatberries really help the texture.
The recipe can be prepared from unfed starter and doesn't require much direct attention.
Total Preparation Time
Total preparation time is around 16 hours (mostly waiting).
- 10 minutes arranging ingredients
- 3 minutes mixing levain
- 8 hours waiting on the levain
- 3 minutes mixing
- 8 hours rising
Ingredients
Levain
- Flour - 46g
- Sugar - 9g
- Water - 46g
- Starter - 18g
Dry
- Flour - 425g
- Salt - 8g
Wet
- Water - 275g
Mixins
- Cranberries - 100g
- Walnuts - 62g
- Wheatberries - 30g (dry weight)
Method
- Mix levain and let sit overnight
- Cook wheatberries. I cook them for 4 minutes in a pressure cooker but whatever works to make them plump, not chalky
- Combine everything and mix the dough until it's stretchy
- Stretch and fold after 20min
- Rise 4 hours
- Work the glutin again, forming it into a loaf and put into a greased and floured cast iron pan, cover with a pie plate
- Rise 2 hours
- Cook at 450F (232C) for 24 minutes, uncover and cook 4 minutes more
Notes
This recipe was an opportunity to try different cooking techniques. Putting the dough into a hot skillet will keep it from sticking, but it's dangerous and difficult when the dough sticks to your proofing container.
With this recipe I started doing the final proof in the skillet covered with a steel pie plate. This worked well until the dough rose enough to stick to the top. Now I'm greasing and flowering the pie plate
Prepared
- 241204 - First preparation, too wet, overproofed
- ?????? - Tried with 471g flour (calculated at ~70% hydration)
- ?????? - Baked in cold oven at 450 uncovered and the top was burnt
- 250216 - I baked covered with a pie pan and the bread rose until it pressed into the lid (but not enough to stick)
- 250224 - The covered with a pie pan method resulted in disaster when it rose enough to stick to the lid. Instead of potentially deflating the bread I went ahead and cooked it with the intent of flipping it in the oven, removing the cast iron, and browning the bottom instead, but I missed the alarm and when I remembered the oven was only lukewarm. It took some effort chipping the bread out of the pie pan. Next time grease and flour the pie pan? Either that or watch the second rise more closely.
- 250301 -