Cranberry Wild Rice Bread

4.84 from 6 votes

This delightful cranberry wild rice bread is perfect to serve with your turkey dinner, or to make amazing sandwiches with the leftovers!

Prep Time40

Cook Time40

Rising & Proofing Time3

Total Time4 20

Course: Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 210kcal

Author: Holly Lee

Cost: $6

Equipment

1 Stand Mixer
1 Loaf Pan

Ingredients

80 grams Lukewarm Water 1/3 cup
84 grams Honey 4 tablespoons
2 1/4 teaspoon Active Dry Yeast 1 packet
210 grams White Whole Wheat Flour 1 3/4 cups--see notes if not using a scale
180-210 grams All Purpose Flour 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups--see notes
57 grams Butter half a stick (1/4 cup)
80 grams Milk 1/3 cup
1 Egg
5 grams Salt 1 tsp
120 grams Cooked Wild Rice 2/3 cup
80 grams Dried Cranberries 1/2 cup

Instructions

Add warm (not hot) water to the bowl of your stand mixer. Add 1 tsp of honey (set aside the rest of the honey for step 2) and stir to dissolve. Sprinkle your yeast on top of the water and let it sit for 10 minutes until foamy.
Weigh out the whole wheat flour and the all purpose flour. You can put them in the same bowl, taring the scale in between. If not using a food scale, spoon and level the flour into measuring cups, keeping it lightly packed. See notes for more suggestions on this. Set the flours aside.
Melt your butter in a small dish, and then add your milk to the butter. Temp the milk/butter mixture to make sure it is not warmer than 110°F (let cool further if it is). When the yeast is proofed, pour the butter and milk mixture into the stand mixer bowl, followed by the egg and the rest of the honey. Stir to mix.
Add the bowl of whole wheat flour and all purpose flour, plus the salt to the mixing bowl of wet ingredients. Stir to combine. Next, add the wild rice & dried cranberries to the mixing bowl & stir to combine. Turn off your stand mixer and let your dough sit for 15-20 minutes before you start kneading.
Put your dough hook on your mixer and knead for about 10-15 minutes or until the dough comes together into a smooth ball, pulling away from the sides.
Cover your bowl with a tea towel and let your dough rise in a warm place for 2 hours or until doubled.
(If making dinner rolls, see #3 in notes section). Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray or line with parchment paper. Punch down your dough and scoop it out of the bowl onto a clean surface. Flatten the dough into a rectangle with your hands and roll the dough up like a log and tuck the ends in. Place the dough in the loaf pan. Cover with a tea towel and let it rise for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. When your dough is nice and puffy, put your loaf pan in the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes (30-35 min for rolls). You will know the bread is done if you stick a thermometer into the loaf and it reads 190°F.
Let it cool in the pan 10 minutes, then run a knife along the sides if needed to loosen it. Turn it out onto a cooling rack and let it cool completely before slicing.

Video

Notes

Note that there can be a drastic difference in the weight of flour on a scale and volume measurements. This recipe was developed using a scale. If you use the approximated volume measurements listed in the ingredients, start 1/4 cup lower than the ingredients specify, slowly adding the last bit of flour only if the dough needs it. Make sure you do not pack your cups of flour too tightly--the flour should be very loose and fluffy in the cups.
The amount of moisture in your wild rice can impact the hydration of your bread. Start with 180 grams (1 1/2 cup) of the all purpose flour. Only increase to 210 grams if the dough continues to remain too sticky even after kneading.
If making dinner rolls, turn your dough out and divide into 12 equal sections. Roll each section into a round ball, and arrange them in rows in a parchment lined 9x13 pan. Let rise 1 hour or until puffy, then bake for 30-35 minutes.

Nutrition