11/20/2010 - Cranberry-Walnut Celebration Bread

Just the thing for Thanksgiving! I've been saving this one and the anticipation has been building. I love the flavor and loyalty (that "yum" that stays in your mouth after you're finished eating) that walnuts bring to bread, and how can you go wrong with dried cranberries?

This is a relatively quick bread to make. I stirred together the sugar, flour, salt, and yeast, and then mixed in orange extract, eggs, milk, butter, and water. Then I kneaded a few minutes, added a pile of dried cranberries almost as big as the dough itself, kneaded a few more minutes, added the chopped walnuts, and continued kneading until everything was evenly incorporated. I let the dough rise for about two hours until it had doubled, and then I shaped it into a double braid. I divided the dough into three portions, and then stuck two portions back together. I divided that larger bulk of dough into three equal pieces, rolled them out like snakes, braided them, and placed them on my baking sheet. I did the same with the smaller portion of dough, and then I placed the small braid on top of the large one, pressing it down slightly. I brushed the loaf with an egg wash and left it to proof, uncovered, for an hour and a half. Then I baked the loaf at a fairly low temperature for about an hour.

This was a great bread. It looked fabulous, it tasted fabulous. We spread it with raspberry jam and a smidge of horseradish and sandwiched leftover chicken breast and provolone inside. The only way it could have been better is if it had been leftover cranberry sauce in place of the jam and turkey in place of the chicken. Next year this will be my Black Friday bread.