How to make Orange Cranberry Walnut Sourdough Bread
Orange Cranberry Walnut Sourdough Bread
Bring a burst of citrusy brightness, tart cranberries, and nutty crunch to your sourdough game with this unforgettable Orange Cranberry Walnut Sourdough Bread. Whether you’re baking for a holiday brunch or want a slice of something special with your morning coffee, this recipe is a showstopper.
Why You’ll Love Making This
• Combines tangy, sweet, and nutty flavors in every bite
• Teaches advanced techniques like stretch and folds
• Perfect for gifting or impressing guests
Equipment Needed
• Kitchen scale
• Dutch oven
• Mixing bowl
• Danish Dough Whisk
• Bench scraper
• Dough scraper
• Bread lame or razor blade
• Oven mitts
• Cooling rack
• Bread knife
Ingredients Breakdown
• 75 g bubbly sourdough starter
• 75 g fresh-squeezed orange juice (1/3 cup; about 1 orange)
• 1 tbsp orange zest
• 95 g honey or maple syrup (5 tbsp)
• 370 g warm filtered water
• 250 g bread flour
• 250 g all-purpose flour
• 10 g sea salt
• 90 g dried cranberries
• 75 g chopped walnuts
• 1 tsp cinnamon
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Mix the Starter & Liquids
In a large bowl, combine the water, orange juice, and sourdough starter. Stir with a whisk or Danish dough whisk. - Add Dry Ingredients
Add bread flour, all-purpose flour, cinnamon, and sea salt. Stir until shaggy. Finish bringing the dough together with your hands if needed. - First Rest
Cover with a damp towel; rest 45 minutes. Set a timer. - Soak Cranberries & Walnuts
While dough rests, soak cranberries in juice or water, and walnuts in warm water for 30 minutes. Drain and pat dry. - Add Cranberries & Walnuts
After 45 minutes, add inclusions in three parts: sprinkle 1/3 of the cranberries/walnuts on top, then fold dough over itself four times, repeating until all inclusions are incorporated. Total folding should take about 2-3 minutes. - Rest & Stretch
Cover dough; rest 30 minutes. With wet hands, perform a set of stretch and folds: grab an edge of dough, stretch up, and fold toward center, turning the bowl until complete. - Additional Stretch & Folds
Do 3-4 more sets every 30 minutes if possible to build gluten strength. - Bulk Fermentation
Cover and let dough rise 6-8 hours or overnight at room temperature, until almost doubled with visible air bubbles. - Shape the Dough
Lightly flour your surface. Gently turn out the dough, shape into a ball or oblong, and let rest 5 minutes. Tighten dough by dragging it across your surface in multiple directions. - Second Rise
Place dough seam side up in a towel-lined bowl or banneton. Cover with damp towel; rise 2-4 hours.
Now we can BAKE!
- Preheat Oven & Dutch Oven
Preheat oven with Dutch oven inside at 450°F. - Score & Bake
Transfer dough (smooth side up) to parchment paper. Score with bread lame or sharp knife. Carefully place into Dutch oven. Bake 30 minutes covered, then 20-25 minutes uncovered, until deep golden. - Cool Completely
Lift bread from Dutch oven; cool fully on a rack before slicing.
Pro Tips for Success
• Lightly oil dough before overnight fermentation in dry environments to avoid a tough skin.
• Use a shower cap or damp towel during overnight rise.
• Avoid excess flour during shaping to maintain friction needed for a tight loaf.
• For warm climates, refrigerate dough during second rise, removing 30 minutes before baking.
FAQs from Home Bakers
Can I use all bread flour instead of half all-purpose?
Yes—using 100% bread flour will give a chewier, more structured crumb.
My dough seems sticky—is that normal?
Yes—enriched sourdoughs with inclusions like cranberries and walnuts tend to be stickier. Resist adding extra flour; use a bench scraper to help handle it.
How do I know it’s done baking?
The bread should be deep golden with an internal temperature of at least 200°F.
What Makes This Orange Cranberry Walnut Sourdough a Keeper
This loaf is the perfect marriage of flavors and textures—sweet, tangy, and crunchy—baked into a hearty, artisan-style sourdough. It’s a must-bake recipe that will quickly become a household favorite.
Want to Explore more Sourdough Recipes, Tips and Techniques?
- Unleash the Magic of Homemade Sourdough: A Step-by-Step Guide
- How to Feed and Maintain a Sourdough Starter
- Sourdough Discard Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Muffins
- Orange Cranberry Sourdough Bread
Orange Cranberry Walnut Sourdough Loaf
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Measure out the water, orange juice, and sourdough starter in a mixing bowl, and stir
- well with a fork, whisk or Danish dough whisk using a kitchen scale.
- Add the bread flour, all purpose flour, cinnamon and sea salt, and stir again.
- Use your hands to bring the ingredients together if necessary. (It may look shaggy).
- Cover with a damp towel and let it sit for 45 minutes. (Make sure to set a timer.)
- Soak the dried cranberries in juice (orange or apple, you can also use water).
- For softer walnuts, soak them in some warm water.
- Let both soak 30 mins, then drain and pat dry (let air dry until its time to work with the dough.
- After 45 minutes, add the cranberries and walnuts in three parts: Dump 1/3 of the
- cranberries on top of the dough and begin folding the dough over and on top of itself,
- about four times, incorporating the inclusions. Do this two more times until there are no
- remaining cranberries. Do this for about 2 – 3 minutes or until the inclusions are evenly
- distributed in the dough. The dough will be stiffer and sticky.
- Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel and set a timer for 30 minutes to allow the dough
- to rest.
- With wet hands, grab a portion of the dough and slowly stretch it and fold it towards the center over the dough
- Keep turning the bowl and repeat the process until all parts of the dough is covered. This completes one set of stretch and folds
- You’ll want to try to get most of the add-ins to the center of the dough during this
- process. Form the dough into a smoothish ball, and place the towel back in the bowl.
- I recommend doing additional stretch and folds if time permits. Do these every 30 minutes for 3-4 more times to further develop the gluten structure.
- Let the dough rise for 6-8 hours, or overnight. It should almost double in size and appear
- soft on top. Small air bubbles may appear as well.
- This is the BULK RISE.
- Add a light dusting of flour to a baking mat or clean surface. Remove the dough to the mat and gently form into your desired shape, usually round or oblong. Don’t punch the dough down because you don’t want to remove all the air. Let dough sit for five minutes.
- After five minutes, use your hands to pull the dough toward you, dragging it along the mat to tighten it up. Repeat in the other directions to tighten.
- Place the dough, seam side up in a bowl lined with a towel or a prepared banneton
- basket. Cover with a damp towel and let it sit for about 2-4 hours.
- This is the SECOND RISE.
- Prepare for baking
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees with the Dutch oven inside.
- Once preheated, carefully move the loaf to a piece of parchment paper, smooth side up.
- Take a bread lame or a sharp knife and score the bread a couple of times.
- Place the bread and parchment paper into the Dutch oven.
- Bake for 30 minutes with the lid on.
- Then remove the lid and bake an additional 20-25 minutes, or until bread is nice and
- golden on top and bottom.
- Remove the pan and then use parchment paper as handles to lift the bread out of the pan.
- Place on a cooling rack.
- Let the bread COMPLETELY COOL before slicing
