Cranberry Orange Sourdough Bread
This festive sourdough combines dried cranberries with bright orange zest in a lightly sweetened dough. The sweet starter (fed with honey rather than just regular flour and water) creates a softer crumb that complements the fruit perfectly without turning the bread into dessert territory.
Cranberry Orange Sourdough Bread
Ingredients
Sweet Starter
- 10 gms sourdough starter
- 10 gms honey
- 50 gms bread flour
- 50 gms water
Main Dough
- 285 gms warm water
- 120 gms sweet starter (from above)
- 500 gms bread flour
- 10 gms salt
Orange Sugar
- 2 oranges, zested
- 25 gms sugar
Cranberry Inclusion
- 4 oz dried cranberries
- 2 oranges, juiced (same oranges as the orange sugar)
Instructions
Night Before: Make the Sweet Starter
- Mix 10 g sourdough starter, 10 g honey, 50 g bread flour, and 50 g water in a jar. Stir until combined, cover loosely, and ferment overnight at room temperature (10-14 hours). It should be bubbly and doubled by morning.
Morning: Mix the Dough
- Combine 285 g warm water and 120 g sweet starter in a glass bowl, stirring to dissolve. Add 500 g bread flour and mix no dry flour remains. The dough will be shaggy. Cover and rest 1 hour (fermentolyse).
Prepare Inclusions
- While dough rests, combine zest from 2 oranges with 25 g sugar in a mortar and pestle (or rub between fingers) until fragrant. This releases the citrus oils.
- Combine 4 oz dried cranberries with juice from 2 oranges (the ones you zested). Let soak while the dough rests.
Add Salt and Orange Sugar
- After the hour rest, sprinkle 10 g salt and the orange sugar over the dough. Knead until fully incorporated. Let rest for 30 minutes.
First Stretch and Fold
- Grab one side of the dough, stretch upward, fold over itself. Rotate bowl and repeat on all four sides until dough resists. Cover and rest 30 minutes.
Second Stretch and Fold: Incorporate Cranberries
- Drain cranberries and pat dry. During the second stretch and fold, add a quarter of the cranberries at a time, layering them in as you fold. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.
Final Coil Fold
- After 30 minutes, perform a coil fold: lift the dough center, let edges drape down, tuck underneath as you set it back. If the dough seems slack, do another coil fold after 30 more minutes.
Bulk Ferment
- Cover and ferment at room temperature until puffy, jiggly, with visible bubbles on surface and sides. Timing varies by temperature. At my home, this typically takes about 7 hours from initial mixing.
Pre-shape
- Mist work surface with water. Turn dough out gently. Using push and pull motions, shape into a round with taut surface. Rest uncovered 20 minutes.
Final Shape
- Flip the dough and shape into a boule or batard using your preferred technique.
- Place shaped dough in floured banneton, cover with towel or plastic wrap, refrigerate overnight (8-24 hours).
Bake
- Preheat oven to 425°F with Dutch oven inside for 30 minutes. Transfer cold dough to parchment paper, score with lame, place in the preheated Dutch oven. Bake covered 35 minutes, then uncovered 10-15 minutes until golden and internal temperature reaches 205-210°F.
