Cranberry Walnut Grand Marnier Sourdough 

I recently made a Brie appetizer that was topped with a combo of cranberries, pecans, orange juice, maple syrup and spices. I decided to use similar flavours in this bread. 

Recipe

Makes 3 loaves 

Add-ins

• 150 g Dried Cranberries 
• 30 g Grand Marnier
• 150 g walnuts, chopped 
• Zest of 1 orange
• 30 g maple syrup
• 1 tbsp cinnamon 
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg 

Dough

• 770 g Strong Bakers Unbleached flour
• 160 g freshly milled Selkirk wheat flour
• 70 g freshly milled Rye flour
• 700 g Water + 50 g
• 21 g Pink Himalayan Salt
• 250 g levain (Procedure in recipe)

The night before:

1. Mill the grains if you are using Selkirk wheat and Rye berries. Otherwise use the freshest wholegrain flours that you can find. Place the required amount of flour in a tub. Add the unbleached flour to the tub as well. Cover and set aside.

2.Take 10 g of refrigerated starter and feed it 20 g of water and 20 g of wholegrain flour. Let that rise at cool room temperature for the night. 

Dough Making day:

1. Early in the morning, feed the levain 100 g of filtered water and 50 g of strong baker’s flour and 50 g wholegrain flour. Let rise in a warm spot until doubled (about 5 hours). 

2. About two hours before the levain is ready, put 700 g filtered water in a stand mixer’s bowl and add the flours from the tub.  Mix on the lowest speed until all the flour has been hydrated. This takes a couple of minutes. Autolyse a couple of hours at room temperature. 

3. In a small bowl, layer all the add-ins making sure that the cranberries are soaking in the Grand Marnier at the bottom of the bowl. (This could definitely be done the night before)

4. Once the autolyse is done and the levain has doubled, add the salt, the add-ins, and the levain to the bowl. Mix on the lowest speed for a minute to integrate everything, then mix on the next speed for 9 minutes. Drizzle the extra water in at the beginning of the mixing time. 

5. Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and place in a lightly oiled covered tub. Let rest 45 minutes in a warm spot (oven with light on). 

6. Do 2 sets of coil folds at 45 minute intervals and then another two sets at 30 minute intervals. Then let rise about 30%.

7. Tip the dough out on a bare counter, sprinkle the top with flour and divide into portions of ~805 g. Round out the portions into rounds with a dough scraper and let rest 30 minutes on the counter. 

8. Do a final shape by flipping the rounds over on a lightly floured counter. Gently stretch the dough out into a circle. Pull and fold the third of the dough closest to you over the middle. Pull the right side and fold over the middle and do the same to the left. Fold the top end to the center patting out any cavities. Finally stretch the two top corners and cross over each other in the middle. Roll the bottom of the dough away from you until the seam is underneath the dough. Cup your hands around the dough and pull towards you, doing this on all sides of the dough to round it off. Finally spin the dough to make a nice tight boule.

9. Sprinkle a  mix of rice flour and all purpose flour in the bannetons. Place the dough seam side down in the bannetons. Let rest for a few minutes on the counter and then put to bed in a cold (38F) fridge overnight. I try to keep proof under 12 hours. 

Baking Day

1. The next morning, about 10-11 hours later, heat the oven to 475F with the Dutch ovens inside for 45 minutes to an hour. Turn out the dough seam side up onto a cornmeal sprinkled counter. Place rounds of parchment paper in the bottom of the pots, and carefully but quickly place the dough seam side up inside. 

2. Cover the pots and bake the loaves at 450 F for 25 minutes, remove the lids, and bake for another 20 minutes at 425 F. Internal temperature should be 205 F or more.