Just released Jan. 1, 2015 and instructional video for the Crusty Bread recipe:
Click on the link here: Crusty Bread Video
Out of all of my bread creations, I have to say Cranberry Orange Almond is probably my favorite.
I hope you have read the directions for Artisan No-knead bread or Crusty bread. It’s a good idea to start with either one of those recipes. I have once again supplied photo’s and step-by-step instructions for the recipes. There are hundreds of comments with questions, helpful tips and great suggestions for bread creations.
After following this recipe you will see how easy it is to create your own custom flavors of artisan bread. The sky is the limit.
I have shared a few of my favorite bread flavors. Now it’s time for you to share what are baking.
You will need:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped almonds (I’m using slivered. I wish I would have toasted them)
Zest from one orange
1 1/2 cups water (the water does not have to be warm)
In a large mixing bowl mix the flour, yeast,
Salt,
Orange zest.
I like to use a whisk to distribute the ingredients into the flour.
Add the dried cranberries, almonds that should have been toasted.
Stir them around to coat with flour.
Pour in the water. I just use what ever temperature that comes out of the tap. Hot or too warm would be bad. Cool water is good.
Dump the water in all at once.
Stir the mixture together just until the water is absorbed into the flour. Remember this is “NO-knead”.
Don’t mess with it any further. It’s as mixed as it needs to be.
Right now start heating your oven to 450 degrees. Once the oven reaches that temperature, put the pot or whatever you are going to bake your bread in, into the 450 degree oven.
NOW you need to heat that pot for 30 minutes. Just leave it in the oven for 30 minutes. Make sure the vessel in which you are baking your bread in can take the heat. If the manufacturer says not to heat pan over 425 degrees then DON”T.
Meanwhile…
This particular dough sat out for about 19 hours. Hey! Life got in the way. That is why I love this recipe. It is very forgiving.
The dough is sticky. VERY sticky so prepare yourself. It will stick to your hands. Heavily flour what ever surface you are using. I use a dough scraper to scrape the dough out of the bowl and I use it for shaping the loaf.
Once you remove the dough from the bowl you are going to be tempted to knead the dough…DON’T!! Remember this is “NO-knead” dough. If you start fussing with the dough too much, you will remove all the large air bubbles that have been forming for the past several hours. RESIST THE TEMPTATION TO KNEAD.
Shape the dough into a ball or a loaf. I’m using an oval pot so I’m doing an oval loaf.
My pots have been in the oven and they are ready for bread. I must note that I have preheated the lids as well.
Now you will see how cool the parchment is. Just lift the edges of the parchment and drop the loaf into the hot pan.
YES, the parchment can bake right along with the bread. I haven’t started a fire yet…yet.
Bake the bread for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes remove the lid from the pan and let the bread bake an additional 15 minutes.
Or until lovely and golden. If you are using cranberries, raisins, or other dried fruit you will notice that the if any of the fruit is on the outside of the dough, they will burn a bit. I just brush them off. No harm done.
This flavor is so great toasted or made into French toast. It, also, makes a great turkey sandwich.
Cranberry Orange Almond Artisan Bread
Cranberry and orange are a classic combo. They are perfect in this slow-rise bread when combined with crisp almonds.
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
- 1 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup chopped almonds I'm using slivered. I wish I would have toasted them
- Zest from one orange
- 1 1/2 cups water the water does not have to be warm
Instructions
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In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, salt, yeast and orange zest. Whisk together. Add dried cranberries and almonds, stir. Add water and mix until a shaggy mixture forms. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set aside for 12 - 18 hours. Overnight works great.
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Heat oven to 450 degrees. When the oven has reached 450 degrees place a cast iron pot with a lid in the oven and heat the pot for 30 minutes.
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Meanwhile, pour dough onto a heavily floured surface and shape into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let set while the pot is heating. Remove hot pot from the oven and drop in the dough. Cover and return to oven for 30 minutes.
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After 30 minutes remove the lid and bake an additional 15 minutes. Remove bread from oven and place on a cooling rack to cool.
Here is another option. I just happened to have 1/2 lb of Habanero Pepper Jack in the refrigerator. I chopped the cheese into 1/2-inch cubes. It measured to be just a bit more than 1 cup. Tossed the cheese in the with flour, poured in the water. Let the bread sit out overnight. (No the cheese won’t go bad without refrigeration).
Make as usual.
Love the cheese caves. This bread was so spicy it even made me cry.
How about this variation? Chocolate, Chocolate chip, Pecan Bread.
Add:
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped pecans
Mix as directed above.
I should mention that this bread makes fabulous french toast. Be sure to top with strawberries and whipped cream.
The sky is the limit with the variations of flavors you can make with this recipe:
Let’s use this post to gather ideas for the flavors you are creating. I absolutely love this bread with fresh herbs.
Please specify amounts. I can understand a handful of this and that, but new bakers really love having the exact amount stated. Thanks to the hundreds…no thousands of ideas you have sent to me. Now let’s gather them to one particular post.
Happy baking.
Oh, I forgot another favorite:
Seeded Artisan Bread
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
2 tablespoons poppy seeds.
Just mix in with the flour. Seeds can be raw or toasted. You choose.
Who’s next?? Send in your favorite(s) bread creations.
Also, let us know what you are baking your bread in. Are you using cast iron or crockpot or pyrex? Share.
Cant wait to bake this. Starting mine in about 20 minutes.
Please let me know how your bread turns out. I hope you love it!
Janet, Love your recipe, especially the variation with chocolate. Have you ever tried or thought of trying a variation using The juice from the orange and the pulp pureed together? Of course you woulH have to reduce the amount of water. Maybe using 3/4 cup of each.
Brilliant idea. I have not tried it, but I certainly will. I think 3/4 cup of each would work great. Because the orange juice has sugar in it, just keep an eye on the bread because it will brown quicker and darker. Let me know if you try it. Thank you so much.
I don’t have a cast iron covered pot 🙁 can I use a ceramic one without a cover? or anything else?>??
A cast-iron pot isn’t essential. You can use your ceramic pot at long as it can take the 450℉ temp. Just cover your pot with a doubled-up sheet of aluminum foil and crimp the edges tight around the rim of the pot. This should work just great! Please let me know if you have any more questions.
this Looks like an amazing recipe, just the thought of cranberry and orange, the CITRUS aNd sweetness.. omg
Before i try it out, Can i ask what’s tHe EquivaLent in grams and ml for the flour and water?
The flavor combo is so delicious. Here are the measurements:
450 gr flour
10 gr Kosher salt
3 gr yeast
315 gr water
Mix as directed with the cranberries and orange zest.
Love thEse bread reCipes! So easy! For the cranberry orange one, i juiced the orange after i zested it and used the juice plus water up to 1.5 cups to add more orange flavor.
YUM!!!!! Brilliant idea to add orange juice!
This bread is amazing!! Can i use bread flour instead of all purpose flour?
I’m so glad you like it! It’s one of my favs. Yes! You can use bread flour instead of all-purpose flour.
hi!
I’m new to your site. I am in search of a bread recipe that I can mix in the following ingredients to recreate something i’ve purchased from a vendor at our local summer farmer’s markets: lemon, mint and white chocolate. if you were to incorporate these three ingredients, what rations would you use? also, would you find it necessary to sweeten the bread more than what the white chocolate would already add? thank you for any insight. i love to bake (and cook), but I will say bread is not my specialty.
You could follow the recipe that I posted last week, White Chocolate Pecan Crusty Bread. I think you could add the zest of 1-2 lemons, 1/2 cup white chocolate chips, and fresh mint (1/4 cup – 1/2 cup). Fresh herbs just require a larger amount, but you hate to overpower the bread with mint! I’d start with the smaller amount and adjust from there. I’d love to hear how your bread turns out. Please send a pic.
This chocolate bread is UNREAL!!!!
I agree. Thank you so much.
The cranberry bread is amazing mixed into my thanksgiving stuffing!
Yum! Thanks for sharing.
The cranberry bread is so good Mixed into my thanksgiving stuffing!!
Just made this with cranberries, almonds and chocolate chips. Instant favourite. WILl be baking again before the first loaf is done, for sure.
That sounds amazing. I will try adding the chocolate chips for sure. Heaven!
what temperature does the bread bake 450?
Yes.
do I bake the bread for 30 then 15 minutes more at 450 deg?
Yes that's correct.
Hi.. Thanks for the lovely recipe. I'm tempted to bake this one soon. I have a query . I do not have a pot for baking. Can i still bake it on a baking sheet or loaf pan? is it mandatory to cover the bake initially? Thanks.
Swati
Covering the pot creates a steam oven, which makes the crust so "crusty". You can cover a pot or oven proof dish with aluminum foil and crimp the edges down good. You can use a loaf pan or a baking sheet. The crust won't be so crisp.
I have been making this no knead bread with every concoction I can think of and giving bread to my friends and family…everyone loves the results.Did I mention that I worked at a bakery for 16 years….love to bake!
Wow, great recipe. Thank you. Love your "don't worry, be happy" style of writing/cooking.
HI..Lovely post.Thank you for sharing I want to try baking this recipe but I do not have any pot or cast iron utensil. Can i still bake this in a normal bread loaf pan? or on a baking tray?
Yes you can bake the bread in loaf pans. I have not tried it but many others have with great success. You can use a crockpot insert or even a glass baking dish with a lid as long as it can take the high heat. Happy baking.
I made this with toasted walnuts, dates, and a tbsp of molasses, trying to recreate something I had at a Scandinavian restaurant. I used my lodge cast iron lidded pot and parchment paper. A+ recipe.
I attempted to recreate a walnut bread that I tried at a Scandinavian restaurant in Portland. I used toasted walnuts and chopped dates and a tbsp on molasses with the recipe. Not exactly the same, but great! Also, I used my lodge dutch oven and parchment paper. A+ recipe!
I had great success with this. Best looking bread I have ever made.
Bravo. Keep up the great baking.
Hi,I am very keen to try your recipe but I stay in a tropical country with very hot weather. So, do I need to let the dough sit there for so many hours? I usually let my normal bread prove for some 45 minutes or so and they are ready. Thanks.
You may only need to let the dough rise for about 8-10 hours. Just watch the dough, if it appears to be airy and bubbly, then it is ready to be baked.
Thank you for this recipe! I made cranberry orange bread with toasted walnuts and added the tiniest bit of King Arthur Flour's "Fiore de Sicilia" extract (citrus/vanilla). The dough developed for 24 (!) hours—life got a bit busy–but the result is delicious. My husband said, "Wow. You made "store" bread!"
That sounds amazing. I have been wanting to order some of that from King Arthur for a while. Now I have a great excuse to buy some. Thank you so much for such a great idea.
I do roasted garlic,sundried tomatoes and, Blue cheese goes great with Buffalo Chicken dip.
Yum! That just sounds amazing. Thank you so much.
I have tasted blueberry, cranberry white chocolate yeast bread, and it is fantastic. Would this combo work? If so, what amounts of each should be added? As I recall there were bits of the white chocolate that were still visible and kind of melted in your mouth!
That sounds so delicious you just have to make it. I would use 1/2 cup of dried blueberries &1/2 cup dried cranberries. You could do 1/2 cup white chocolate as well, but I think I would want a little more chocolate with the bread, You could start with 2/3 – 3/4 cup. Add the fruit and chocolate to the flour mixture then add water. You will have to report back and let me know how the bread turns out.
This recipe sounds amazing! I really want to try adding passion fruit pulp into it, and I wanna add enough so that the taste gets through. However, I don't know if it'll affect the dry-wet ingredients ratio. Do you have any advice?
I think I would mix it with the water to make 1 1/2 cups liquid. I'm anxious to hear about the results. Keep me informed and good luck. Sounds deeeeelish!
Made the Cranberry Orange Almond bread a couple of days ago and it turned out perfect! I made french toast with it yesterday; my husband and I both loved it. It was so easy to make – can't wait to try the chocolate and pumpkin, sunflower and poppy seed versions. Thank you for such an easy, delicious recipe!
I'm so glad you made french toast. It's just divine. You will love the other versions as well. Thank you so much for sharing your success.
dear Janet, thank you for making a non baker like me successful in baking my first ever loaf! however, i do have a problem with the crust. it is too hard. my kids complained that their teeth hurt chewing it. any idea what might have gone wrong?
This should help: Try putting your pot into the oven when you first begin to preheat. When the oven temp reaches 450F add the dough into the pot. That has help me. I have covered the baked bread with a dish cloth during cooling and it helps soften the crust as well. I sure hope this helps.
Tonight is the second time I'm baking this bread. The first time, I made lemon and rosemary. Tonight, I made cranberries, orange and almond. I use my Pyrex. Both times, the bread turn out lovely. However, the bread is sticking to the parchment paper like crazy. I ended up having to cut away the crust from the bottom of the bread. What a waste! Please help!
I recently discovered that parchment paper is not created equal. The best kind to use for this bread is a silicone coated parchment paper. Amazon carries it. I had the same problem you did. What a mess it was trying to peel off the parchment. I would rather of just lifted it out of the pans with my hand. I hope this helps.
I noticed that you used bittersweet chocolate in your recipe (if the picture is true to form) and was wondering if that made a drastic difference in how it tasted with semi-sweet…
I always use semi-sweet chocolate chips for everything. The bittersweet pictured are just a bit different than regular semi-sweet chocolate chips in the fact that they melt differently. Regular chocolate chips hold their shape after baking. I love the flavor of semi-sweet. Milk chocolate is just too sweet…in my opinion.
This was one of the easiest breads I h ever made and wow! What a great flavor. Thanks for the recipe.
You are welcome. This is my favorite version.
Tip from a reader:If your pot says not to heat it empty, put a couple bags of dried beans in it while heating. Then just dump them out before adding the bread dough. Keep the beans, they can be used again and again for heating the pan (you can also use them in a pie shell if baking it without filling,the beans will keep it from bubbling up and having to be broken down to get the filling in). I doubt you would want to eat those beans though after heating them dry.
For those asking about pizza stones, you can use a concrete stepping stone from the hardware garden department. I learned that from Alton brown on the Food Network. You can probably find his pizza episode online somewhere, maybe Hulu or Youtube.
I bookmarked this recipe months ago vowing to try my hand – for the first time – at making bread. I even bought white chocolate to make a sweet bread that I enjoyed so much as a child. Haven't done it yet because I don't really have any of the options to bake the bread in. Where I live is somewhat remote so to get even basic things is a challenge. The one thing I do have a friend who is a chef told me it will not work in the oven at 450 degrees. What I have is a Chantal enamel on steel 6qt pot. It has a glass cover with a metal handle. She believes the pot including the cover will not be able to handle the heat. So, I checked and researched this pot online and found one site that said that the most this pot can take in the oven is 375 degrees. My question is, since this is the only container I have that can bake this bread, can I possibly bake it at 375 degrees but just bake it a little longer..? Or does it have to be at 450 for it to work?
I have never tried baking at a lower temperature so I can't tell you if it will work or not, but I would certainly give it a try. I'm amazed at how creative people have been in what they bake the bread in. baked it on a baking sheet with a metal bowl inverted over the top and the bread worked great. Give it a try at 375. I'd bake it longer covered by 10 minutes, then remove the cover and bake an additional 15 minutes. Oh I hope this works. Let me know.
P.s. another tip if you don't have a plastic knob. Fold foil a couple of layers and put over the knob. It will be fine, but don't put it in the oven on pre-heat as the burner is on at the top. If I'm in a hurry, I'll put the pot in withput e lid during pre-heat and then put the lid on for another 10 min. It's been fine after my initial melt.
More great tips and helpful hints. Thanks again.
Thanks so much for the recipe and encouragement!!, I've been making loaves for about a month now and am addicted! I know I'm a late comer to this, but I've tried yeast kneads breads and they are about 1/2 inch high. I also tried the other recipe to keep in your frog and that was a failure plus I don't have the room. My ca cordite is the cranberry orange. I am also working on perfecting a blue cheese walnut one. My extended family went apes over the extra sharp cheddar cheese. I also taught my FIL how to make bread over Easter because he loved my loaves. I now add 1/2 tsp vinegar to my loaves whether they rise overnight or I start it in the morning using 125 deg water. It makes a,of more bubbles and has a bit of a different crumb and a bit of a sourdough flavor. I also make 1/2 recipe loaves when we can't eat a full loaf in a day. I also made a cinnamon raisin one for French toast. 2 tsp cinnamon 1 c raisins. I think I'll add 3 tsp cinnamon and 3 tsps or more sugar to it. Thanks. So much.
Fabulous information. Thank you so much. All of your flavors sound amazing.
This bread is so amazing, I've been telling all my friends to try it out! I also tried the chocolate version and made french toast with it as you suggested (http://myweirdlifeunderarock.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/chocolate-french-toast.html) and it was amazing! Thank you for this great recipe:)
Your french toast looked amazing! I loved your fun blog. Thanks for the comment and thank you for linking my recipe. That is always appreciated.
Oh I totally forgot to comment on your KITTIES!!! Love them. I grew up with cats and kittens and it was such a great opportunity/experience. I would just love for my grandkids to go to your home to play with your kitties. How fun would that be??? You are a very talented blogger/photographer. Bravo!
Can you freeze this bread? I’d like to make a few versions for A family gathering and some for future french toast bakes.
Ive made this bread in multiple versions and its amazing – but never had to freeze ot (never lastes that long WITHOUT being gobbled up!)
Absolutely! It freezes great. I let the bread thaw out of the bag then re-crisp the crust in a 300℉ oven for about 7-8 minutes.
Thank you so much! (and thank you for following me as well!)
FYI…You might want to proof your active dry yeast for high altitude. Have found the loaf rises better. Comes out flat if you don't. Still tastes awesome though!
Just tried your no kneed crusty bread. So good! Thanks. And, I thought I might be able to add to your Q&A forum.
1) bleached flower worked great!
2) stainless steel dutch oven worked great — absolutely zero sticking. Didn't oil it or anything. (Figured the oil would smoke immediately on a 450 degree bottom.) Just dumped the blob onto the stainless and it came out perfect.
Thanks!
-Doug
can this bread be baked on a stone with a pan of water underneath?
Yes it can. I have had a few comments stating that they had great success on a stone with a pan of water. Let me know your results. Best of luck.
Just made one with pureed sweet potato, pecans, brown sugar, cinnamon and ground cloves. Yummy!
Have been adding in a little ground flaxseed and wheat germ for extra fiber.
OH MY GOSH!! That sounds absolutely amazing. I'm going to try it for sure.
One of our favorites is white chocolate blueberry, but our staple is herb, pepper jack cheese.
That just sounds amazing. Thank you so much for sharing.
Chocolate bread does sound great! I cook my bread on a pizza stone and throw 1/2c water into the bottom of the oven to 'steam' the bread. I love making cranberry wild rice bread or a really seedy alpine loaf with poppyseeds, pumpkin, sesame, hemp, flax, oats, really whatever I have on hand!
Hi Jessica. Wow, wild rice. That is so intriguing to me. I bet it has an amazing chew. I would love to know what amount of rice you add to the loaf and I'm assuming it is cooked. Thanks for sharing.
I make one with a big roasted oignon with fresh basil.. love it
Thanks, Melissa. I really need to try an onion loaf. Sounds great.
whats an….OIGNON…???
Hi Gayle, Melissa is referring to an “onion”.
The chocolate bread just blew my mind; I wouldn't have come up with that one on my own!
I really like to toss in a few cloves of minced garlic and about a cup of shredded cheese for garlic cheese bread. And I have used my Pyrex cooking dishes as well as a enamel coated cast iron Dutch oven. It all works great!
Thanks for the great recipe ideas!
Sounds amazing. Thanks for the creation and especially for letting everyone know that a Pyrex dish works great.
Is the Yeast measurement REALLY JUST one half teAspoon??????
Yes, it is REALLY just 1/2 teaspoon.