This hearty oat bread with tangy cranberries and crunchy walnuts tastes like something from one of your favorite bakeries. Seriously! You’ll even impress yourself, not to mention everyone else. How long it takes: just over 3 hours, including rising time Equipment you’ll need: stand mixer Servings: makes one loaf I also created a little something extra for it: cranberry cinnamon honey butter, not that this bread needs anything extra because it’s delightful just the way it is. Slather that creamy butter onto a warm slice of bread. Wow! Just wow! It’s a true bakery experience.
Will I Need A Stand Mixer?
If you have a stand mixer, you’ll definitely want to use it. Stand mixers come with a dough hook and are powerful enough to do handle all the kneading. Is it possible to make the bread without a stand mixer? Yes. Some hand mixers are heavy duty and can power their way through the bread dough. If your hand mixer came with a dough hook, it’s probably powerful enough to handle dough. Makes sense, right? If your arms are feeling powerful, you can knead the bread the old-fashioned way, by hand. I would still use a regular hand mixer for step #3 to mix the ingredients thoroughly before you add the remaining flour. Once you add that last portion of flour, the dough will get too thick for a normal hand mixer and you’ll have to knead it by hand from there.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Bread Flour: This recipe calls for bread flour, not all-purpose flour. What is bread flour? According to King Arthur Baking Company, bread flour is made with a different type of wheat: hard spring wheat. This type of wheat has more protein which strengthens the dough and helps the loaf rise higher. Active Dry Yeast: Make sure you buy the correct type of yeast. This is regular yeast, not fast-rising or instant yeast. You’ll need one package, or if you buy it in a jar, 2¼ teaspoons. Oats: The addition of oats gives this bread great texture and extra nutrition, too. Either fashioned rolled oats or quick oats are fine; I usually use quick oats (not instant oatmeal). Walnuts: Be sure the walnuts are fresh. Walnuts can go bad fairly quickly. If they smell strong, they may not be fresh. They should smell pleasantly nutty. Store extra walnuts in your refrigerator or freezer to keep them fresh. Dried Cranberries: Cranberries add great flavor to the bread and they look great, too. If you prefer raisin bread, you could substitute raisins for the cranberries. Brown Sugar: The bread is lightly sweetened with brown sugar. Cinnamon: Ground cinnamon is so fragrant; who doesn’t love cinnamon bread? This bread has a generous amount of cinnamon, two whole teaspoons! Salt: You may wonder why you need to add salt to bread. Salt is necessary because it strengthens the yeast and helps the bread rise properly. It also seasons the bread. Without salt, the bread would taste flat. Oil: Choose a light oil that doesn’t have flavor, such as vegetable or canola oil. Water: Warm water activates the yeast. It’s important to have the correct temperature; an instant read thermometer is helpful. More about that later…
How To Make It
Are you ready to get started? Bread making takes a little time. You can’t really hurry it along too much because the dough needs time to rise, about 2 hours total. The good news is that the bread dough doesn’t need any attention during that time so you can easily do other tasks while it rises. Make the bread dough. Measure out 1 cup of flour and put it into the bowl of your stand mixer, along with the oats, yeast, salt, and cinnamon. Give the mixture a little stir to blend it. In a 2 cup measuring cup or small bowl, measure out the water, oil, and brown sugar. Stir well. Microwave this mixture until it reaches 120-130° F, about 1 minute on high. This is where your instant read thermometer comes in really handy. If the mixture is too hot, it will kill the yeast. If it’s too cool, the yeast won’t be activated. Add the warm water mixture to the contents of the mixing bowl. Put the paddle attachment on the mixer and mix on low speed (#2 on a Kitchen Aid mixer) for four minutes. Remove the paddle attachment and switch to the dough hook. Add the remaining flour and knead on low speed for six minutes. If it seems like the dough is too thick and your mixer is straining, add additional water, a little bit at a time, until it has the right consistency. After six minutes the dough should be in a smooth ball and not sticking to the sides of the bowl. Add the walnuts and cranberries and turn the mixer on again to incorporate them into the dough. They might want to stay in the bowl and not go into the dough. If that happens, remove the dough from the bowl and the remaining cranberries and nuts. Knead them into the dough by hand. Let the dough rise. Grease a large bowl with a little butter or oil. Put the dough into the bowl and flip it so it has oil on all sides. Cover the bowl with a clean towel and put it in a warm spot to rise. Some newer ovens have a “Proofing” setting. Let the bread rise for an hour or until it’s doubled in size. Shape the dough. Grease a bread pan. Remove the dough from the bowl and flatten it into a good-sized rectangle. The short side of the rectangle should be about the length of your bread pan. Firmly roll the dough and place it into the greased pan. Second rise: Cover the bread with the clean towel and let it rise again for another hour, or until it’s doubled in size. Bake the bread. When the bread is ready, preheat your oven with the oven rack in the center position. Put the bread in the oven to bake, uncovered, until it’s golden brown and firm, forty to forty-five minutes. As it’s baking, be sure to hang around in the kitchen so you don’t miss the wonderful yeasty aroma of freshly baked bread. If desired, brush crust with butter for a shiny appearance. Let the bread cool on a wire rack before you slice it. If the bread is too warm, it can be difficult to slice. I know, it’s super hard to wait because you’re gonna want to try it right away. Enjoy your bread with a cup of coffee or tea. It’s perfect for brunches, too. This bread is vegan (if you don’t brush the top with butter) and goes perfectly with vegan butternut squash soup for an amazing lunch or dinner.
Make It Your Own
Make it nut-free. If you don’t care for walnuts or have a nut allergy, substitute pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds) or sunflower seeds. I always use seeds because of my children’s allergies. Try different dried fruit. To change things up, try raisins or dried cherries instead of cranberries. The cinnamon spice goes really well with raisins! Add a teaspoon of orange zest for a bit of citrus flavor. Make it whole wheat. If you are a fan of whole wheat, sub in a cup of whole wheat flour for one cup of the bread flour (step #4). I wouldn’t advise using 100% whole wheat flour because the loaf will be too dense and heavy. Looking for recipes for fresh cranberries? If you have fresh cranberries that you want to use, try a cranberry clafoutis, a super easy dessert, or a cranberry coffee cake. Both recipes can be made with fresh or frozen cranberries. Fresh cranberries can be roasted, too. Try cranberry sauce with roasted Grapes, apples, and shallots.
Storage Tips
Cool the bread completely on a wire rack. Store bread, either sliced or a whole loaf, in an airtight container or plastic bag. Since homemade bread does not have any added preservatives, it won’t keep as long as store-bought bread. It will last 3 to 4 days at room temperature. If you want to keep it longer, refrigerate it. Homemade bread can be frozen for up to six months if it’s wrapped securely. Slice it before you freeze it so you can take a slice out whenever you want and toast it. So good!
More Yeast Breads
Here’s a few that I’ve made and if I can do it, so can you!
Dutch Oven Bread (no knead!) Cinnamon Swirl Bread Italian Herb and Cheese Pull Apart Bread No Knead Whole Wheat Bread (makes 2 loaves) Naan Bread Easy Pizza Dough Recipe (make bread sticks or cheesy bread, too)
Quick-Start Guide!
