Country style cranberry walnut bread is chock full of both fruit and nuts, sweetened with a hint of cinnamon and molasses.
Cranberry Walnut Bread
By Sue Lau | Palatable Pastime
My recipe of the day is for cranberry walnut bread as part of #CranberryWeek which begins today and continues all week long as bloggers jointly share their favorite cranberry recipes.
The Inspiration
This bread is actually a riff off an old ABM recipe I have been making since the 1990’s. When I first got an ABM years ago I also picked up a book called Electric Bread and was using recipes from that. They had an apricot bread recipe that used jam and I adapted that out to use dried cranberries and the old Knott’s Berry Farm raspberry-cranberry jam. After a time, I couldn’t get that jam anymore so made this less trying to do without.
With Walnuts
Not long ago I came across a wonderful artisan loaf that was dense with cranberries, walnuts and apricots. I was going to do a version of that for today but spaced on using the apricots, and realized after the dough was going. My dough isn’t short anything- I was just mixing up the ideas between the two breads in my mind when putting it together.
Betwixt, Between, Be Better
So this dough is somewhere between the two breads. I know my old ABM recipe wasn’t using any molasses, although I am pretty sure it’s in the bakery bread. And theirs was a sourdough wheat blend, but I just went with white. The cranberry sauce blends out to take the place of the rasp-cran jam I used to use. Essentially cranberry sauce is just a jam anyway.
Aw Nuts!
The nuts in the photos don’t show up that well- they may look like underdone spots in the dough from their color but I assure you it’s not the case. Those are just sliced walnuts.
Thumb’s Up
The bread really is very good- I think I have exceeded either of the two breads that inspired this. The only thing that wanted for more was the cut I made with a lame that didn’t really take. It looks like a slight dent instead of a better crease. You can try your luck with that if you want but the bread will taste great either way.
Cranberry Week
It’s Cranberry Week! See all the other delicious cranberry recipes being shared today (and follow #cranberryweek to see even more):
- Cranberry & Brown Sugar Glazed Turkey Meatloaf from Savory Moments
- Cranberry Butter from Daily Dish Recipes
- Cranberry Glazed Meatballs from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
- Cranberry Jalapeno Cream Cheese Dip from Sweet Beginnings
- Cranberry Orange Marmalade from Books n’ Cooks
- Cranberry Prosecco Punch from Our Good Life
- Cranberry Salsa from The Freshman Cook
- Cranberry Swirl Mini Cheesecakes from Our Crafty Mom
- Cranberry Walnut Bread from Palatable Pastime (You are Here!)
- Easy Homemade Cranberry Vanilla Liqueur from Family Around the Table
- Homemade Granola Recipe (with cranberries & coconut) from Caroline’s Cooking
- Jalapeno Cranberry Bombs from Cookaholic Wife
- Pear and Cranberry Salad from A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Polar Espresso Cookies from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
- Roasted Maple Bourbon Cranberry Sauce from Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
- Sugared Sparkling Cranberries from Cheese Curd In Paradise
- Tart Cherry Cranberry Sauce from The Spiffy Cookie
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Blueberry Raisin Bread
Cloverleaf Dinner Rolls
Sweet Potato Biscuits
Cranberry Banana Nut Bread
Cranberry Walnut Bread

Cranberry Walnut Bread
Ingredients
- 16 ounces bread flour (3 cups)
- 1-1/4 cups warm water (110F-115F)
- 1 envelope active dry yeast
- 2 tablespoons nonfat dry milk
- 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup jellied cranberry sauce
- 2-4 tablespoons adjustment bread flour (if needed)
- 1 cup dried sweetened cranberries
- 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Combine bread flour, warm water, yeast, dry milk, salt, cinnamon, vegetable oil and cranberry sauce to make a dough, kneading about five minutes.
- Add additional adjustment flour as needed to bring dough together and become only slightly tacky.
- Work in the cranberries and walnuts and form into a ball; place in a greased deep dish pie plate and cover with oiled plastic wrap.
- Let rise in a warm, draft-free location at about 80F for two hours. I use my Breville smart oven air on the proofer setting.
- Punch down the dough, folding in the sides and pinching closed; turn over and let rise again for one hour.
- About half hour into the last rise, preheat your oven to 350F.
- Bake bread in the preheated oven for 45 minutes or until browned and 190F internally. It will have a hollow sound when tapped.
- Let bread cool completely then store in an airtight container.
This sounds so tasty – I debated making a cranberry walnut bread too, but it would have been quite different, one thing I love about breads. The molasses sounds like a great addition.
I like that you use the sauce and the dried cranberries for this yeast bread. I was expecting a quick bread when I read the name of the recipe.
Um, yum!!! Can I get some of this for breakfast please???