I’m so happy to be hosting this round of Tuesdays with Dorie, and no, that doesn’t mean I’m having everyone over to my house! It means I get to post the recipe, which appears at the end of this entry. Thank you for the opportunity, Laurie and Jules!
Although this recipe took about eighteen hours to make, it was worth it. I started referring to it as my third child because I put so much care into it, making sure to measure exactly, knead lovingly and time correctly. I even had to take this little baby, still in dough form, to my parents’ house so it could finish its second rise. (My parents weren’t nearly as excited to see their bread child as they were to see their grandchildren.)
I used canned pumpkin and frozen cranberries, but the egg was fresh from one of Carol’s chickens.
The process itself wasn’t too difficult. It was just time-consuming. First came finding the ingredients. You would think it would be easy to find cranberries this time of year, but I think we were just a little too early. I did finally find some cranberries at Dominicks in the frozen food section, and I looked everywhere for mini loaf pans, finally settling on some disposable foil ones.
I started baking at 8:00 on Friday evening, and the dough was all mixed up by 9:15. After waiting until 11:15 for the first rise, the dough went into the refrigerator for a good night’s rest.
It was hard to get all of the cranberries and raisins to mix with the dough, but look how colorful!
I took it out the next morning around 9:00, and brought it to my parents’ house. When we arrived around 1:00, I formed it into loaves, covered it, and awaited the second rise.
The bread rolled out easily just by using my hands and some flour.
At 4:00, I put it in Mom’s oven for 35 minutes. This was the best part because it made the entire house smell like pumpkin pie and bread.
I couldn’t believe how much the bread rose during the second rise and baking.
We served the bread with a delicious dinner of grilled turkey breast, pasta salad, local corn, and caprese salad made with homemade mozzarella. I love coming home for dinner with the family. And did I mention it was a birthday celebration for my sister and me? Double fun!
The verdict: I enjoyed the texture of the bread; it was light and soft, but the cranberries were really sour. If I made it again, and I probably will, I might use dried cranberries instead. I brought a loaf of it to my in-laws the next day with some apple butter from my Foodie Penpal, and it was delicious! The sweet apple butter relieved some of the tartness of the berries.
If you are interested in making this yourself, check out the recipe below, or buy the book, Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan. To see other bakers’ renditions, visit the Tuesdays with Dorie blog.
Thanks for reading!
Cranberry-Walnut Pumpkin Loaves
Makes 3 Small Loaves
- 2 2/3 to 3 cups bread flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons tepid water (80 F to 90 F)
- 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 8 ounces (1 cup) pureed cooked pumpkin or butternut squash, fresh or canned solid packed (see note)
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup walnut pieces, toasted
- 1 cup plump golden raisins
- 2/3 cup cranberries (if frozen, thaw and pat dry)
Mixing and Kneading
Whisk 2 2/3 cups of the flour, the cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt together in a large bowl just to mix; set aside until needed.
Pour the water into a small bowl, sprinkle in the yeast, and whisk to blend. Allow the yeast to rest until it’s creamy, about 5 minutes.
In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar at medium speed until creamy. Add the pumpkin and egg and beat until blended. Don’t be concerned if the mixture looks curdled; it will come together when you add the dry ingredients.
Set the mixer speed to low and add the yeast, then begin to add the dry ingredients, about 1/2 cup at a time. As soon as the mixture starts to form a dough that comes together, scrape the paddle clean and switch to the dough hook. If your dough does not come together (it might be because your pumpkin puree was liquidy), add a few more tablespoons of flour.
Mix and knead the dough on medium-low speed for 10 to 15 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl and the hook now and then with a rubber spatula. At the start, the mixture will look more like a batter than a dough, but as you continue to work, it will develop into a soft, very sticky dough that will just ball up on the hook. (This dough develops much the way a brioche does.)
With the machine on low speed, add the walnuts and raisins, mixing only until incorporated, about 1 minute. Add the cranberries and mix as little as possible to avoid crushing them. (Inevitably some cranberries will pop and stain a patch of dough red; think of this as charming, and proceed.)
First Rise
Scrape the dough into a lightly buttered large bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and set aside at room temperature to rise until nearly doubled in bulk, about 2 hours.
Chilling the Dough
When the dough has doubled, fold it over on itself a couple of times to deflate it, wrap it tightly in plastic, and refrigerate overnight.
Shaping the Dough
At least 6 hours before you want to begin baking, remove the dough from the refrigerator. Leave the dough, covered in its bowl, until it reaches at least 64 F on an instant read thermometer. (This will take as long as 3 to 4 hours–don’t rush it.) If you don’t have an instant-read thermometer, look for the dough to be slightly cool and just a little spongy.
Lightly butter three 5 3/4- by 3 1/4- by 2-inch loaf pans.
Working on a lightly floured surface, divide the dough into thirds and pat each piece of dough into a 5-by 7-inch rectangle; keep a short end facing you. Starting at the top of each rectangle, roll up the dough toward you and seal the seam by pressing it with your fingertips. Seal the ends, then place each roll, seam side down, in a prepared pan.
Second Rise
Cover the pans lightly with a kitchen towel and allow to rise at room temperature for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until the dough has nearly doubled–it will rise to just above the rim of the pans.
Baking the Bread
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 F.
Bake the loaves for about 35 minutes, or until deeply golden. Remove the pans to a cooling rack; after a 5-minute rest, turn the breads out of their pans and allow them to cool to room temperature on the rack.
Storing
The breads can be kept at room temperature for a day or two or frozen, wrapped airtight, for up to 1 month. Thaw, still wrapped, at room temperature.
Note
To use fresh pumpkin or butternut squash, split the squash, remove the seeds, and place, cut side down on a baking sheet. Roast in a preheated 350 F oven for about 1 hour, or until meltingly tender. Scoop the softened pulp out of the shell and cool completely. One pound of squash yields about 12 ounces of cooked pulp.
Contributing Baker Steve Sullivan
from Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan. P 108-109. 1996.
Thanks for hosting. I, too really liked the texture of this bread, but found the cranberries too tart. I used ones. If I make this bread again, I will use dried cranberries.
Thanks! The texture was one of the best, wasn’t it?
Thanks for hosting! They look delicious and I bet they went well with your dinner. We have been just eating them for breakfast and anytime in between!
They did go well with dinner. Yum! I still have one left in the freezer. Maybe that will be for breakfast next week!
Yes, it was a little labor intensive. But not really a lot of hands on time. We liked it–can’t wait to have a piece toasted for breakfast in the morning.
Thanks for hosting.
Thanks for reading!
I love your first photo!! Beautiful! I too had a hard time keeping the cranberries incorporated with the dough. They seemed to keep finding their way out! This loaf did make for good toast. Thanks for hosting!
Thanks! That first photo was a fluke! Natural light helped a lot. I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who had rogue cranberries.
Your breads came out nice and bountiful. And, happy belated birthday!
Carmen
Thanks! My birthday is actually not until later this month, but since my sister was here, we killed two birds with one stone
Thanks for hosting Rebecca.
It was so much fun. Thanks for reading.
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Your mini loaves look great! I was dismayed when I read the recipe, but I loved this bread and would babysit the dough again without hesitation. I liked the fresh cranberries, but agree that it would be tasty with dried ones too. Thanks for hosting this week.
“Babysit” indeed!
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Great job hosting! I couldn’t believe the time this one took either but I think that’s just because it sounds so much like a quick bread when you read the title of the recipe. Glad you got to enjoy it with your family!
Thanks! I had fun hosting. It was a diva of a bread.
I completely agree that this recipe was time-consuming! Great loaves, and thanks for hosting!
Thanks! They turned out well since I figured more people than normal would be reading my post this time around
Following directions is key in baking, I’ve found.
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Thank you for hosting. I love your reference to the “bread baby”, I feel like that too sometimes. Your loaves look great!
Thanks for reading. We really did have to care for our precious loaves this time. And we got triplets!
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So pretty and tall! Thanks for hosting!
Thanks for reading. I enjoyed hosting and baking these!
A “happy birthday bread”, this is gorgeous! Hope you had a fantastic time!
Thank you very much for hosting and for the beautiful pictures…
Happy Birthday ♥
Thanks! We had a great day, although my birthday isn’t until later this month. It’s always good to celebrate early!
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Beautiful! Love that you took the “bread baby” to your parents. Thanks for hosting this week!
Thanks! I enjoyed hosting and carrying my bread baby across several counties.
The cranberries just add this beautiful vibrant color to this recipe. Great post. Thanks for hosting this week.
They did make the bread look good against a bright orange background. I bet Craisins would not quite have that effect.
Your loaves turned out beautifully. I also used fresh cranberries and they were a mixture of sweet/tart which balanced well with the currants. It sounds like your family had a lovely birthday celebration for you and your sister. Happy Belated Birthday and thank you for hosting.
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Thank you for hosting, you did a beautiful job. Craisins sweetened my bread prefect and I will definitely use them again! Blessings, Catherine http://www.praycookblog.com
Thanks for hosting! This was a great recipe- the bread had amazing texture. Yours look delicious!
Your loaves turned out beautifully! Happy Birthday and thanks for hosting!
Thanks for hosting this week! looks great
Your loaves are so pretty. It sounds like they were worth all that work!
Thanks for hosting! I just love that you brought the dough with you to rise at your parents. LOL. I felt the same way about the cranberries — too tart and I’ll use dried ones next time. Otherwise, this was such a great autumn treat!
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I have made this twice with dried crams are ally good loaf
I need to to thank you for this good read!
! I certainly enjoyed every bit of it. I have you saved as a favorite to check out new stuff you post…