Cranberry Walnut Swirl Bread

Cranberry Walnut Swirl Bread
The perfect bread for your left-over turkey sandwiches! Great plain or toasted. Also nice toasted with marmalade. I’ve included my cranberry sauce recipe at the end of the instructions, in case you need one.

Ingredients
For the bread:

• 14 oz / 3 1/4 cups unbleached bread or all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. fine salt or 1 1/2 tsp. coarse kosher salt
• 2 1/2 Tbsp. white or brown sugar
• 2 1/2 tsp. instant yeast1/2 cup lukewarm water, about 95°
• 1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp. lukewarm buttermilk or milk
• 2 Tbsp. melted, unsalted butter or vegetable oil

For the filling:

• 1 1/2 cups cranberry sauce (not too runny – drain a bit of liquid off, if necessary)
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts

Instructions

• In a large bowl of the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a kneading hook, combine 2 cups of the flour, the salt, sugar and instant yeast. Mix to combine. Add the lukewarm water, milk and melted butter or oil. Mix to combine. Begin adding the remaining flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until you have a soft and smooth dough that is moist, but not tacky. Remove dough to a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise until doubled, 45-60 minutes.

• Remove dough to a floured surface. Roll in to a rectangle, approximately 12 inches wide by 18 inches long. Spread your cranberry sauce over the surface, leaving a 1-inch margin on the longest sides. Sprinkle with chopped walnuts. Starting with the long sides, roll the dough jelly-roll style (the best technique here is to lift gently and flop forward), until you reach the end. Pinch seams and ends together.

• (If you’d like a visual of the shaping technique, it is shown in my Cheese Bread Recipe) Using a sharp knife, cut down the centre of the roll from one end to the other. Carefully place the two pieces side by side, with the cut side facing up. Pinch together the two pieces of dough at one end. Proceed to braid the two pieces together, by lifting on piece over the other and then repeating a couple of times. Pinch together the other end.

• Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan. Using a spatula or a bench scraper, carefully lift the braided dough in to the pan. Spray a piece of plastic wrap with cooking spray and place over top of pan. Allow to rise until dough has risen about an inch above the pan in the centre.

• Pre-heat oven to 350° F. Once bread has risen, remove plastic wrap. Bake for 30 minutes. Check at 30 minutes and rotate the pan front to back. If bread is already well browned, cover loosely with a piece of aluminum foil and bake an additional 10-15 minutes, until bread is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped. (Or about 200° F. when tested with a thermometer). Allow bread to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then run a knife around the edges and remove bread from loaf pan and cool on a cooling rack.

• Allow bread to cool completely before slicing.

Cranberry Sauce recipe:
Combine 1/2 cup white sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup orange juice and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add a 12 oz. package of fresh cranberries. Cook, stirring regularly, until the cranberries start to pop (about 10 minutes) and liquid thickens slightly. Remove from heat, and transfer to a bowl. Cranberry sauce will thicken more as it cools.

** This bread is lovely plain or toasted. It’s great for turkey sandwiches, or just with butter or marmalade. Would be nice used for French Toast or bread pudding, as well.

Prep time: 20 min | Cook time: 40 min | Total time: 2 hours 40 min

Number of servings (yield): 1 9×5-inch loaf

 

Blessings to: seasonsandsuppers

Homemade Hot Apple Cider

Homemade Hot Apple Cider

10 large apples, such as Honeycrisp, Fuji, Gala, etc.

1 L water

1 vanilla bean

3 cinnamon sticks

6 whole cloves

1 tablespoon brown sugar (optional)

1 tablespoon maple syrup (optional)

Quarter the apples and removes the core and stems. Place into a large pot and add the water, vanilla bean, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and sweeteners if desired. Bring to a boil over medium heat and boil for 30 minutes. 

Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes or so.

Turn off the heat and let cool. Remove the spices and vanilla bean. Using a blender or immersion blender, puree the apple mix until smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve or cheesecloth. Store in the fridge for up to 1 week.

Enjoy!

 ..

Blessings to: hintofvanilla

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients

- 1 medium squash

- 6+ cloves garlic

- yellow onion

- extra virgin olive oil

- fresh thyme sprigs

- 4 cups chicken stock

- salt & pepper

- 1/4 cup 1/2 and 1/2 or heavy cream (optional)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut squash in half length-wise and scoop out the seeds. Place on baking sheet, and fill empty cavities with at least 3 cloves garlic and 2-3 thyme sprigs each. Then drizzle halves with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Carefully flip the squash over on its belly so the cut side is down, being careful to keep the garlic and thyme underneath. Roast for about one hour, until it's nice and tender and caramelized (you can check this with a fork - if it sinks into squash with ease, it's done!).

Meanwhile, in a medium pot on medium heat, sauté the onion in a tablespoon or two of oil until it begins to brown. Once the squash is finished roasting, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool for a bit. Put garlic aside and toss the thyme. Scoop out the squash flesh from the skin (be gentle, because the skin tears super easily). Dump squash and reserved garlic into the pot with onion, and turn up the heat a bit, allowing the squash to caramelize a bit. Break up the squash with a spoon and stir it so it doesn't stick to the pot.

After the squash is nicely caramelized, add the chicken stock to the pot. Stir, and allow it to simmer for 10-15 minutes. Using an immersion blender, puree until smooth. Remove from heat and add 1/2 and 1/2, if you're using it! Taste, and add salt & pepper as needed. You can also add 1/2 and 1/2 or greek yogurt or heavy cream to make it a bit creamier! Enjoy!

Blessings to A Daily Something.

Photos by Anna Clair Photo