Pistachios Dried Cranberries Sourdough Loaf
This is becoming a tradition for me to bake a pistachios dried cranberries sourdough loaf for Christmas. It also makes a great, warm present for your family or friends. This loaf is a nice decoration for a holiday table.
Ingredients
Sourdough Starter
- 5g sourdough starter
- 35g water
- 30g all purpose flour or bread flour
- 5g rye flour
Dough
- 240g bread flour (90%)
- 60g stone ground whole wheat flour (20%)
- 207g water (69%)
- 27g (9%) cold water added along with salt, total hydration 78%
- 60g unsalted pistachios
- 50g dried cranberries
- 60g sourdough starter (20%)
- 6g salt (2%)
Directions
Starter
- 7 am add starter to the water and whisk together, add flour, mix well, cover loosely, let it sit at a room temp 74-78F for about 8-10 hours until starter reaches its peak (at least triples in volume).
- Learn how to make starter from scratch here
Note: for starter’s refreshments follow your regular proportions
Dough
- 5 pm mix water with flour and cover, let it rest 1 hour for autolyse.
- During the autolyse process flour absorbs water, becoming fully hydrated. This activates gluten development.
- 6 pm add sourdough starter.
- Mix on low speed of your mixing machine for 2-3 min, or KitchenAid on speed 3 for 3-4 minutes until well incorporated.
- Cover, let it rest for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile prepared pistachios and cranberries
- 6:30 pm add salt and extra water.
- The process of adding extra water is called bassinage, it helps to tighten up gluten. Mix on low speed of your mixing machine for 2-3 min, or with KitchenAid on speed 3 for 5-6 minutes until well incorporated. The dough should come up together, but still be sticky on the bottom.
- We will continue gluten development and structure building by performing stretches and folds during the warm fermentation period.
- Leave to rest 30 minutes. At 74-78F /23-26C
- 7 pm spray your work surface with water, wet your hands to perform lamination.
- Lamination is the process of stretching the dough as thin as you can without ripping it.
- Spread pistachios and dried cranberries all over the dough, fold and let it rest for 45 minutes.
- 7:45 pm 1st stretch and fold.
- 8:30 pm 2nd stretch and fold.
- 9.15 pm 3rd stretch and fold.
- Performing stretches and folds will help with gluten development. Keep monitoring the dough, if it rises too fast, you can shorten the time between stretches to 40 minutes or less.
- After the final stretch let the dough proof for 30 minutes at 76-80F/ 23-26C. You should see some bubbles on the surface, the dough has to become lighter. We are looking for 50% rise.
Preshaping sourdough
- 9:45 pm transfer the dough on to a work surface and dust its top with flour. Flip the dough over so the floured side faces down.
- Fold the dough onto itself so the flour on the surface remains entirely on the outside of the loaf. This will become the crust.
- Place the dough round on a work surface and let it rest for 30 minutes uncovered.
Shaping sourdough
- 10.15 pm dust the dough with flour. Use a dough scraper to flip it over on to a work surface so the floured sides face down.
- Starting with the side closest to you, pull the right 2 corners of the dough to the left, then fold them up into half of the dough. Repeat this action with the other side too.
- Finally, roll the dough. Shape it into a smooth, taut roll.
- Transfer the roll, seam side up, to a prepared proofing basket (loaf pan with kitchen towel).
- Cover it with plastic and return the dough to the 80F (27C) environment for 15 minutes.
- Then transfer the dough to rise for 14-24 hours in the refrigerator.
Baking
Next morning
- Preheat your oven to 500 F, place a cast iron pan with the lid inside for 45 minutes -1 hour.
- Remove the dough from the fridge.
- Flip it over on a parchment paper, score it with a sharp knife or a scoring lame.
- Transfer on to the hot cast iron pan, cover with the lid (to create steam for a beautiful and crusty crumb).
- Bake at 500F for 15 minutes with lid on.
- Remove the lid, lower temperature to 450F.
- Bake for 20 more minutes until golden brown.
Enjoy your pistachios dried cranberries sourdough loaf!
Pistachios Dried Cranberries Sourdough Loaf
146kcal
Ingredients
Sourdough Starter Levain (Night Before)
- 5 g Sourdough starter culture
- 35 g Water
- 30 g All-purpose flour or bread flour
- 5 g Rye flour
The Main Dough Base
- 270 g Bread flour (90%)
- 30 g Stone-ground whole wheat flour (10%)
- 207 g Water (69% – Used for the main autolyse mix)
- 60 g Active sourdough starter levain (24% – From the stage above)
- 6 g Salt (2%)
- 30 g Cold water (10% – Held back as bassinage adjustment water)
The Holiday Inclusions
- 60 g Shelled pistachios (Lightly toasted and roughly chopped)
- 60 g Dried cranberries
Equipment
- Stand Mixer (A KitchenAid or standard mixing machine handles the high-hydration base flour effortlessly)
- Proofing Basket (Banneton or a clean bowl lined with a dry kitchen towel)
- Cast Iron Pan with Lid (Or a heavy Dutch oven to capture pressurized steam for maximum oven spring)
- Sharp Scoring Lame (Or a fresh razor blade for clean expansion cuts)
Method
Night Before – Levain Optimization
- 10:00 PM – Starter Build: In a small glass jar, add your 5g of starter culture to 35g of water and whisk together cleanly. Stir in 30g of all-purpose or bread flour and 5g of rye flour. Mix thoroughly, cover loosely, and let it sit at room temperature 74–78°F (23–26°C) overnight for 8 to 10 hours until the starter reaches its peak and at least triples in volume.
Day 2 – The Autolyse, Bassinage, and Core Mixing
- 8:00 AM – The Core Autolyse: In your stand mixer bowl, combine the 270g of bread flour, 30g of whole wheat flour, and 207g of main water. Mix thoroughly with a spoon just until all dry flour patches entirely disappear. Cover tightly and let it rest on your counter for 1 full hour to completely hydrate the flour proteins and activate early gluten development.
- 9:00 AM – Sourdough Starter Integration: Add 60g of your active overnight starter peak directly into the autolysed dough. Turn your mixing machine on low speed for 2 to 3 minutes (or use a KitchenAid mixer on speed 3 for 3 to 4 minutes) until the starter is completely incorporated. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
- 9:30 AM – Bassinage & Salt Incorporation: Add your 6g of salt along with the remaining 30g of cold bassinage water into the bowl. Mix on low speed for 2 to 3 minutes (or on a KitchenAid on speed 3 for 5 to 6 minutes) until the extra liquid is fully absorbed. The dough will pull together cleanly but should remain sticky on the bottom of the bowl. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes at a stable warm temperature of 74–78°F (23–26°C).
Lamination Inclusions & Bulk Fermentation Folds
- 10:00 AM – The Festive Lamination: Spray your clean work surface lightly with water and wet your hands. Gently tip the sticky dough out and stretch it out as thin as possible across the table without tearing the delicate matrix. Scatter the 60g of chopped pistachios and 60g of dried cranberries evenly over the entire surface of the sheet. Fold the dough cleanly over onto itself into a neat package to trap the inclusions, return it to your bulk proofing container, and let rest for 45 minutes.
- 10:45 AM – 1st Stretch & Fold: Wet your hands slightly. Lift one side of the dough up cleanly from the container edge and fold it directly over the center. Repeat this action for all four quadrants of the dough mass to build structured vertical strength and distribute the nuts and berries. Cover and let rest for 45 minutes.
- 11:30 AM – 2nd Stretch & Fold: Execute your second structured round of quadrant folds to continue organizing the expanding gluten network. Cover and let rest for 45 minutes.
- 12:15 PM – 3rd Stretch & Fold: Execute the third and final stretch-and-fold round. Cover and let the dough proof completely untouched for 30 minutes at a warm 76–80°F (24–27°C). The dough should look visibly lighter, show distinct surface bubbles, and hit a clean 50% volume rise.
Preshaping, Tension Rolling, and Cold Retard
- 12:45 PM – Preshaping: Gently tip the expanded dough out onto your work surface and dust the top lightly with flour. Flip the mass over so the floured side faces directly down. Fold the outer edges cleanly onto itself so that the raw flour coating remains entirely on the outside of the loaf. Round the dough into a loose ball and let it rest on your counter completely uncovered for 30 minutes to relax the gluten network.
- 1:15 PM – Final Shaping: Dust the top of the resting dough round with flour. Use a dough scraper to flip it over onto your counter so the floured side faces down. Starting at the edge closest to you, pull the two right corners of the dough outward and fold them up into the center. Repeat this exact matching movement across the left side. Roll the dough tightly away from you, shaping it into a perfectly smooth, taut, uniform log.
- Basket Stabilization & Fridge Retard: Transfer the shaped roll seam-side up into your well-floured proofing basket. Cover with plastic wrap and return the basket to a warm 80°F (27°C) spot for exactly 15 minutes to stabilize. Slide the basket directly into your refrigerator to rise slowly for 14 to 24 hours of cold fermentation retard.
Day 3 – Blazing Cast Iron Bake
- Next Morning – Preheating: Preheat your oven to 500°F (260°C). Place your cast iron pan and lid onto the middle rack to heat up thoroughly for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
- Scoring & Loading: Remove the cold dough basket from the fridge. Flip it over gently onto a sheet of parchment paper and score the smooth surface with one clean, long, deep cut or an intricate holiday design using a sharp lame or razor blade.
- The Steam Bake: Transfer the dough carefully onto the smoking hot cast iron pan base, drop the heavy lid down tightly to lock in the steam, and bake at 500°F (260°C) with the lid on for exactly 15 minutes.
- The Open Bake: Carefully lift the hot lid off to expose the loaf, lower the oven temperature to 450°F (232°C), and continue baking bare for an additional 20 minutes until the crust turns an incredibly deep golden brown. Let cool on a wire rack for 2 full hours before slicing!
Nutrition
Calories146kcalCarbohydrates26gProtein5gFat3gSaturated Fat0.4gPolyunsaturated Fat1gMonounsaturated Fat1gCholesterol1mgSodium37mgPotassium97mgFiber2gSugar4gVitamin A22IUVitamin C0.3mgCalcium12mgIron1mg
Notes
- Why Lamination is Superior to Mixing Inclusions Early: Adding heavy components like nuts and dried fruits during the initial mixing phase can weigh down the dough and cleanly slice through fragile gluten strands. Waiting until the 10:00 AM lamination step allows you to spread the pistachios and cranberries evenly across a fully developed, relaxed sheet of dough, safely trapping them in beautiful layers without sacrificing your open crumb or explosive oven spring.
- Managing Cranberry Hydration Muck: Dried cranberries are highly hygroscopic, meaning they will relentlessly suck moisture directly out of the surrounding dough if left unchecked. If your dried cranberries feel exceptionally stiff or dry out of the package, soak them in warm water for 10 minutes, then drain and pat them completely dry with a paper towel before laminating. This keeps them plump and prevents them from drying out the surrounding crumb.
- Achieving the Perfect Roast on the Pistachios: For the best possible flavor profile, lightly toast your shelled pistachios in a dry skillet over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes until they are fragrant. Let them cool completely before chopping and laminating them into the dough. Adding warm nuts directly to the dough will alter the core fermentation temperature and cause the dough to run hot, which can lead to overproofing.
Tried this recipe?
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Hi Natasha! I am a huge fan of all your recipes. I am trying to make a bulk amount of loaves 10-12 and so I’m wondering if I can do the final rise outside of the fridge overnight. I just tried it with the purple sweet potato loaves and it worked perfectly, however I also made some plain sourdough and it seemed to over rise. The temp in my house right now is around 68F, I was wondering if you had any suggestions.
Thank you!
Jonah, hi!
Sorry for the late response.
I’ve never practiced that method before.
Usually I’m keeping it in the fridge, just to avoid overproofing.
Hi Natasha.
I love all your recipes as they are the perfect size and I manage to do quite well with the bakes (by my standards as I am a Newbie to sourdough baking). I’m very happy with my results for the SD Perfect Formula, Buckwheat, Flaxseed and Semolina; however I seem to be challenged when I make additions. e.g. the Pistachio and Cranberry and the Asiago and Olives SD. There wasn’t much of an oven spring and the crumb was very tight. I have no clue why.
I changed from a Grocery Store bread flour to a Stone Ground bread flour from a small Mill. I did notice that the bulk rise was slower when using the Stone Ground flour. They tasted great but I’m looking to improve the texture and crumb.
I would appreciate any suggestions you can provide. Thank you for your recipes and I enjoy and learn from your posts.
MJ
Hi!
Usually when you add something to the loaf it tends to take water on itself. Plus you are using stone ground flour, which requires more water. Try to increase hydration. It might help.🙏
Thank you for taking the time to respond❣️
I will follow your suggestion.
Much appreciated.
MJ
🙏🙏🙏
A timing question about this beautiful loaf: if I put it in the frig at 10:30 pm, and leave it there as instructed for 14-24 hours, how can it be ready for the oven to “Bake Next Morning”?
24 hours would make it ready to bake the next evening at 10:30. 14 would be 12:30 pm, early afternoon. Maybe 9-10 hours are enough?
Your recipe looks delicious and I appreciate how carefully you explain it step by step. Looking forward ton trying it!
I was thinking exactly the same. I havent tried this recipe yet, so I wish Natasha replied this. But I guess there’s only one (or two) way to find this out lol.. the 14-24hr seems waaaay overkill. If anything im worry if the dough overproof really
Is 5 grams of starter the correct amount? Seems like way to little to get a good rise out of a bread with some whole wheat flour plus the fruit and nut additions. Also, I have an oval banetton like yours but do not have an oval covered baker. Do I need to adjust the baking time if I use a baking stone with steam added using a cast iron frying pan below it? I can cover with a foil roasting pan for a while. Thanks!
Marlene, hi!
My starter is super active, that’s why I’m using only 5 g of active starter.
But you can follow your regular proportions, to prepare Levain for baking.
And for baking, even with the stone you gave yo follow the same directions.
Make sure you’ll heat up the stone for at least 1 hour.
This didn’t work too well for me, sadly. I didn’t get much of an oven spring nor did my dough rise during the fridge proof. I normally get my dough to room temp before going into the oven but I didn’t see those instructions here so I put it in shortly after taking it out of the fridge. Was that how you meant it to be done? Curious what went wrong here. I will say that I used my regular starter which didn’t have rye like you have written. Maybe yours is more active than mine. At least it’ll be a festive and tasty dense little loaf, ha!
Sorry it didn’t work out for you.
There are many reasons:
-strength of your starter,
-strength of your dough,
-proper fermentation
Also I always bake bread right away from the fridge.
And I don’t expect for the dough in the fridge to rise.
Because if it rising during cold fermentation, it looses its strength.
Hi Natasha, Could I sub walnuts for the pistachios?
Sure, you can use any nuts 🙏
Hi, should I soak the cranberries before adding or just add them dried?
Thank you for your amazing recipe, Natasha! It turned out soooo unbelievably good, l still can’t believe l made it! 🫣
Thank you for your kind feedback. I’m so glad it worked out well.