The Fresh Loaf

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Honey Cranberry Raisin Wild Rice Sourdough with Honey and Toasted Pecans

Danni3ll3's picture
Danni3ll3

Honey Cranberry Raisin Wild Rice Sourdough with Honey and Toasted Pecans

I was in the mood for a fruit and nut loaf with wild rice so I came up with this one, and while I was at it, I thought a bit of honey and some pecans in it wouldn't hurt. The wild rice is usually cooked before putting into a loaf, but I found a method that softens it without cooking. The rice comes out nice and tender and could easily be put into a salad as it.

Here is the recipe:

1. Put 75 g of wild rice into a food processor and run it for one full minute. The rice should be covered in a fine powder but be otherwise fairly intact. Rinse the rice well and put it in a large jar with plenty water and 10 g of buckwheat groats (Something to do with phytic acid and phytase... don't ask me why, I just did as suggested on several websites). Let soak for 18 hours or until the rice is nice and tender. Drain, rinse well and drain again, and refrigerate until needed. Let come to room temperature before using.

2. Toast 60 g of chopped pecans.

3. Soak 60 g each of cranberries and raisins with 30 g yogurt, 30 g honey and 200 g of hot water. Let cool to room temperature. 

4. Autolyse (Yes, I know this is not a true autolyse.) all above with 500 g water, 550 g unbleached flour, 200 g freshly milled Kamut flour, 202 g of multigrain flour and 50 freshly ground flax. I let this sit for a couple of hours while my starter was rising.

5. Mix in 40 g water, 22 g salt and 266 g of 80% levain. I use the pinch and fold method to integrate everything.

6. Do four sets of folds a half hour apart and let rise until double. In a warm room of 75-80 F, this took about 5 hours.

7. Divide into 3 loaves of about 820 g or so and pre-shape into a loose round. Let sit for 10 minutes or so and then do a tight final shape. Place into bannetons, cover with a plastic bowl cover and place in the fridge to proof. (I find the sweet spot to proof is 10 to 12 hours in a 37F fridge. I know that my loaves are perfectly proofed when they have a balloon quality to them when to go to bake them. It is hard to describe but they stay intact as they are placed in the pot. If they start collapsing, they are over proofed.)

8. Preheat the oven with the Dutch ovens inside to 475 F. This takes a good 45 minutes. Place parchment rounds in the bottom of the pots and then carefully place the loaves inside. Drop the temperature to 450 F and bake covered for 25 minutes. Remove lids, drop the temperature to 425 F and bake for a further 22 minutes or until nice and dark. Internal temperature should be 205 F or higher.

First few reports from friends is that this is a pretty good tasting loaf. Crumb shot when I cut into the one I have here.

Comments

joc1954's picture
joc1954

I really like cranberries in the bread, the combination is very attractive and should taste very good!

Well done Danni and happy baking,

Joze

Danni3ll3's picture
Danni3ll3

Taste delicious but I am finding a few hard bits in the bread that seem to be wild rice. There are only one or two but it is enough to bother me. I might go back to cooking it.

joc1954's picture
joc1954

I agree that wild rice is really a hard stuff, it takes so much time to cook and I usually cook it in the pressure pot to shorten the cooking time. However, the result is good and looks very yummi. 

Well done Danni and happy baking!

Joze

Isand66's picture
Isand66

Wow!

Love this one and have to try your rice trick!  I have not used rice in a long time in bread so now it's going to be used soon.

Great crumb chock full of tasty things.

Happy Baking!

Ian

Danni3ll3's picture
Danni3ll3

is for wild rice which is not a rice at all, it is some type of aquatic grass that grows in lakes and slow moving rivers. I haven't tried regular rice in bread yet. 

IceDemeter's picture
IceDemeter

again - and with your signature tempting crumb, too!  I'm betting that your friends and family are beyond happy to have you back to baking for them again.

That trick with the wild rice sounds really good.  I tend to cooking mass quantities of the stuff and then freezing it, since it takes so long to get to the super-fluffy texture that I most like.  I haven't tried it in a loaf yet, and now will be torn between trying this version first or your earlier cranberry wild rice version...  I know that either one will be delicious, which kinda makes the choice even more difficult.

Hope you and yours are well and happy, and that you can keep finding time to share your fun and delicious bakes with us!