The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Trevor Wilson's Holiday Cranberry Sourdough

rgreenberg2000's picture
rgreenberg2000

Trevor Wilson's Holiday Cranberry Sourdough

I haven't posted anything in ages since I tend to make the same loaves on a regular basis that I have shared before.  I am still baking weekly, and I visit here often to see what creations everyone is baking up!  This week, I decided to shake things up a bit and find some loaves that would be fitting for holiday gatherings and gifts.  As it happens, Trevor Wilson got his content back on line about the same time as I was perusing TFL for ideas, and his Holiday Cranberry Sourdough struck a chord with me.  So, off I went..... :)

I stayed true to Trevor's formula (after all, first time I'm making it, so......) The only changes I made were to scale the recipe for my usual loaf size, and to reduce the hydration to 72% (my comfort zone.) I also paid close attention to the dough, and my fermentation times were a bit different than his, but this is to be expected given starter differences, temp differences, etc.  My fridge proof was a bit shorter @ 10 hours, but, hey, who is in charge here, me or the bread?!?! ;) Ok, now that I typed all that, I guess I stayed true to the SPIRIT of Trevor's formula. :)

Anyway, everything went VERY smoothly for this bake.  I mixed the dough in my Ankarsrum, and it came together beautifully.  I mixed/developed the dough for about 12 minutes before slowly adding the cranberries.  The Ank got them mixed in well in about 2-3 minutes.  I baked off the first loaf this morning, and was a bit concerned that I had shortchanged the fermentation when there was just a small amount of oven spring when I removed my inverted roaster after the steaming period.  After another 25 minutes uncovered, my concerns turned out to be unjustified.  I did get a little splitting on one side of the loaf, so, I'd guess that I under proofed things a bit.

Happy with how this turned out for a first attempt, and will only make minor tweaks when I do it again.  Thanks for a great formula, and well written instructions, Trevor!

Comments

justkeepswimming's picture
justkeepswimming

Looks great! I'll have to give this a try. 

rgreenberg2000's picture
rgreenberg2000

Thanks, Mary!  Right after you make a batch of pasta, you should try this bread! :)

Rich

Benito's picture
Benito

Richard, I agree with Mary, looks like a beautiful bake to me.  Great oven spring and bloom.  I just ordered an Ankarsrum, actually it will be my Christmas and birthday present from my partner.  Hopefully I’ll get to use it before Christmas LOL.  I’m guessing you’re quite happy with your Ank?  Any tips on using it?  I’ve watched a few videos so hopefully the learning curve won’t be too steep!

Benny

rgreenberg2000's picture
rgreenberg2000

Might see the crumb this morning on that one! :)

I saw your mixer thread, and think you'll be very happy with your Ank.  I'm definitely happy with mine, it's a beast!  I've read about how KA users have to really adjust to an And as they work quite differently, but, other than that, it's a mixer..... :) I've tried the dough hook, and it never seemed to quite work the dough as I wanted, so I pretty exclusively use the roller.  I really need to give it more of a workout, as I haven't changed up my dough styles much.  I will tell you that for the Holiday Cranberry SD I made, the Ank does excellent work at thoroughly mixing the inclusions! :)

I'm sure you will enjoy it, and with a few videos under your belt, will adjust from your KA quickly!

Rich