Cranberry and Walnut Bread

Remember the children’s rhyme for ‘Old Mother Hubbard’? Well here is my lame abridge version:

Old Mother Hubbard
Went to the cupboard,
To see what she could find.
The cupboard was full,
But what did she spy,
Two bags of cranberries tucked in a corner,
Oh what will she do?

Do you bake according to what you have in the cupboard??

Inspired with Marie’s post and with the recipe found at Rose’s blog, I felt an instant attraction with this bread. It could also be contributed by my curiousity with the slight pinkness in the bread, compliments of the 'cranberry juice'. The decision process also sped up since my bags of cranberries were nearing their use by dates! Ha ha

I agree with Marie that the recipe was rather long. Being me, I had to condense and organize it to a page so that I wouldn’t miss out any key points. Don’t get me wrong, I do appreciate Rose’s tips and step-by-step guide, I just didn’t want to be flipping through the pages and wondering which paragraph she wrote what and where, etc.

You know, my only regret with this recipe is….that I only made one loaf. I should have stuck with the original recipe which yields 2 loaves!

Was wondering whether to soak the cranberries in rum or water or juice (getting ahead of myself aren't I?). Finally decided to keep to the recipe. Will try variations later!

It proved to be an excellent bread….how can I describe it, the crumb was moist and yet filled with bursts of walnuts and cranberries with every bite and the crust was perfect all lightly crunchy/toasted….all translating to fabulous bread which my family enjoyed immensely.

It can stand on its own with a cup of coffee, no butter required. But if you are a die hard butter fan, of course you can have a light slather or slithering of butter or even wrap some cold ham around it. To me, it was a slice of perfection on its own, unadulterated with condiments or any sorts - with quite a high percentage of nuts and fruits, do you still need MORE? *Ask me on a different time and day and I may just say YES!!* Lolz

Could really taste the slight sourness of the sourdough!! I will probably give this another go and perhaps omit the Starter for a change. I’m thinking dates and walnuts or apricots and walnuts or may be the whole mix bag of dates, raisins, walnuts and apricots!! Ha ha…the combinations are endless, if you can stomach it!


Side note – Didn’t have malt sugar so used golden syrup instead. Not exactly a perfect substitute but it worked. Also used the foil tent after 10 min instead of 20 min as my oven temperature is a little inconsistent. Afterall once browned cannot be un-browned *pardon the bad pun*!