Wild Rice, Pecan and Dried Cranberry Bread

Wild Rice, Pecan and Dried Cranberry Bread

from kingarthurbaking.com
30 min

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup (113g) ripe (fed) sourdough starter
  • 1 1/4 cups (283g) lukewarm water
  • 2 tablespoons (35g) honey
  • 1 cup (113g) King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast or active dry yeast
  • 2 teaspoons (12g) salt
  • 3 1/2 cups (420g) King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour*
  • 2 cups (340g) cooked wild rice, lightly packed
  • 1 1/2 cups (170g) pecans, lightly toasted and coarsely chopped (See "tips", below.)
  • 1 cup (142g) dried cranberries

Directions

  1. 1

    Weigh your flour; or measure it by gently spooning it into a cup, then sweeping off any excess.

  2. 2

    Mix together the sourdough starter, water, honey, whole wheat flour, and yeast in a glass or ceramic bowl, beat until very smooth, cover, and let sit for 1 to 2 hours, or until very bubbly.

  3. 3

    Transfer this bubbly mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer, beat in the salt, then gradually add the bread flour, beating to combine.

  4. 4

    Switch to the dough hook, and knead for about 8 minutes on medium speed. At the end of this time, the dough should be cohesive and on the slack side, but not extremely sticky.

  5. 5

    Knead in the wild rice, pecans, and cranberries. If you have trouble getting all these "extras" into the dough, knead the stubborn ones in by hand. Note: you can knead this dough completely by hand if you don't have a mixer; it'll be sticky, but not so sticky you can't handle it.

  6. 6

    Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and set aside to rise until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

  7. 7

    Gently deflate the dough, divide it in half, and shape each piece into a round. Place the rounds into two well-floured 9 1/2" round lined bannetons, or well-floured 9" bowls, cover, and let rise again, this time until not quite doubled in size, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 425°F.

  8. 8

    Transfer the rounds to a cornmeal-sprinkled or parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.

  9. 9

    Turn the oven down to 375°F and bake for a further 20 to 25 minutes, or until a digital thermometer inserted in the center of one of the loaves registers 190°F.

  10. 10

    Remove the bread from the oven, and cool it completely on a rack.

  11. 11

    Wrap well, and store at room temperature for several days; freeze for longer storage.