Cranberry Pecan Milk and Honey Bread
This braided bread is both beautiful and scrumptious. The texture is squishy-tender from the milk and all purpose flour; and the flavor is balanced and interesting with some whole wheat flour, plus the toasted pecans, dried cranberries, and hint of honey. It makes an impressive gift bread, but you'll want to make yourself one too.
- Prep time
- 1 hr
- Cook time
- 45 min
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
- 390 g all purpose flour (3 cups)
- 170 g yecora rojo whole grain flour (1 1/3 cups)
- 400 g milk, warmed to about 90°F (1 2/3 cups)
- 160 g sourdough starter (2/3 cup)
- 50 g honey (2 1/2 Tbsp)
- 12 g salt (2 tsp)
- 90 g dried cranberries (3/4 cup)
- 80 g pecans, toasted and chopped (3/4 cup)
- for the egg wash, 1 egg beaten with 1 tsp water or milk and 1 tsp honey
Instructions
- 1
Lightly toast the pecans and chop them if the pieces are large/halves.
- 2
In a medium size bowl, thoroughly mix all the ingredients except the cranberries, pecans, and egg wash. Cover the dough and let it rest for about 20 minutes.
- 3
Stretch and fold the dough, cover and let it rest another 20-30 minutes.
- 4
See this FAQ for photos of the following instructions on adding the cranberries and pecans through lamination. Dampen a clean work surface and place the dough on it. Stretch the dough into a large rectangle. A little tearing is okay. Spread about 1/3 of the cranberries and pecans onto the middle third of the dough, then fold over one side to cover the additions. Spread another 1/3 of the additions over the layered portion of the dough, then fold over the other side of the dough to cover the additions. Add the remaining cranberries and pecans to half of the dough. Fold in half and ball up the dough. Return it to the bowl, cover and let rest 20-30 minutes.
- 5
Perform a final round of coil folding or stretching and folding to further distribute the additions and strengthen the gluten.
- 6
When the dough has expanded by 50-100% (100% is doubled), end the first rise. My dough rose for 5.5 hours in a warm lit oven.
- 7
Decide how complex you'd like your braid to be. I did a six-strand braid. Here is a video on YouTube that demos 3- through 9-strand braids.
- 8
Scrape the dough out of its container onto a clean work surface. Usually there is no need to flour the bench at this point.
- 9
Divide the dough and pre-shape each piece into a ball or a short log. Cover and let rest 10-15 minutes.
- 10
Roll the balls into long tubes. Lightly dust the strands with flour, then braid as per video instructions.
- 11
Tuck under the ends of the braid and place the dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- 12
Cover with a lightly oiled piece of plastic or a slightly damp tea towel and let rise again for 1-3 hours, depending on dough and ambient temperatures. It should expand and get puffier (see photo gallery). My dough rose for 2 hours.
- 13
Toward the end of the final proof, begin preheating the oven to 350°F and prep the dough wash.
- 14
Brush the dough with the egg-milk-honey wash and place it in the oven.
- 15
Bake for 45-50 minutes or until the internal temperature of the bread is over 190°F.
- 16
Place on a rack to cool. Store covered to preserve soft texture.