Whole Wheat Bread with Walnuts and Cranberries

Well, technically it's 44% whole wheat bread, but who's punching numbers here (besides me)?

This, right here, is a 100% deeeeeeeelicious bread.

So delicious that I baked six loaves already and plan on making another four in the next two days. That's pretty legit.

This bread made me believe in the power of toasted nuts... i.e, the extra depth of intensely nutty, woody (can I say woody?) flavor that magnifies the blend of whole wheat and molasses. That, paired with tart-sweet dried cranberries, was bread heaven.

This recipe is low-maintenance, straightforward, and virtually foolproof. If you measure correctly, then you won't have issues with mixing and kneading. The only hindrance I found was the position of the oven rack. The very first time I baked this bread, the fire alarm went off...and some things went down. The middle hadn't fully risen and the bottom was burned. I was bummed out. But baking near the middle instead of the bottom rack fixed that problem, and I just had fun with the process.

Baking bread at home is special that way. You learn as you go. You get to know your dough.

This bread is wonderful to have for breakfast with some good coffee. But it's also rustic yet tender enough to serve at the dinner table with your entrees. I like it plain and slightly warmed, but you can eat it with a slab of butter, jam, honey, whatever you like.

So it is with many blessings that I send you sweet souls to bake your own breads. Have fun, and eat to your heart's content.

And please, please don't burn down your house.

Starting with toasted nuts should be one of the fundamentals of baking.

It sounds tedious, but it's so worth it. Most cooks set their ovens to 350 and toast the walnuts in an aluminum-lined pan for about ten minutes. But you can definitely use your stovetop. Use a nonstick pan over medium heat and just watch that they don't burn.

Above is my dough coming together.

Shout out to my phone peeking from the bowl's edge. Real life baking FTW.

A sprinkling of flour does the trick. The point is to use the minimum amount of flour necessary, just until the dough is manageable. Too much and you'll have a tough bread.

By the way, I don't really like the kneading part. The full ten minutes of kneading by hand is no fun, even for me. This is one of the times when I really, really wish I had a stand mixer with a dough hook. Maybe one Christmas Santa will deliver it for me.

Orrrrr I can save up enough money and buy that sucker like a boss. Just march into the store and grab that KitchenAid.

One day, it will happen!

Double loaves= double the happiness.

These cuties really do rise to double their original size. So prepare accordingly.

Takin' a peek....
 
It's taking its beauty rest, is what it's doing.

See the gluten in the dough and the walnuts and the cranberries and everything coming along so nicely?  You know you're gonna have a lovely bread.

And lovely indeed, it is.

Happy baking!

Whole-Wheat Bread with Walnuts and Cranberries

*makes 2 large round loaves*

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for kneading
• 2 cups whole-wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 (1/4-oz) package fast-acting yeast such as Fleischmann's Rapid Rise yeast
• 1 cup warm water (120° to 130°F)
• 1/2 cup warm milk (120° to 130°F)
• 1/4 cup light molasses (not robust or blackstrap)
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 2 1/2 cups walnuts (8 oz), lightly toasted and coarsely chopped
• 1 1/2 cups dried cranberries (7 oz)

Directions:

1. Whisk together flours, salt, and yeast in a bowl. Whisk together water, milk, molasses, and butter in another bowl until combined well, then stir into flour mixture until a wet dough forms. Stir in walnuts and cranberries. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead, working in just enough additional flour to prevent dough from sticking, until smooth and elastic, 7 to 10 minutes. Form dough into a ball and put in an oiled bowl, turning to coat, then let rest in bowl, uncovered, in a draft-free place at warm room temperature 10 minutes.
2. Divide dough in half and form into 2 balls. Arrange about 4 inches apart on a large baking sheet. Loosely cover with oiled plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled, about 1 hour.
3. Preheat oven to 425°F with rack in the middle.
4. Lightly sprinkle dough with some flour and bake until golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.

From Gourmet