Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Cranberry Pecan Bread 1.0

I meant to take a picture, but by the time I remembered it was all gone. These are just some notes for me so that I know how to improve it next time. Overall, it was a very yummy bread. Good texture and flavor, just needs a few little tweaks. It's a formula very similar to my standard boule that I've been baking a lot lately.

420g AP flour
8.5g salt
3g yeast
340g water
150g pecans
120g cranberries
  • It seemed like too many cranberries and pecans.  Next time should try 100g pecans and 100g cranberries.
  • I roasted pecans in the oven before using.  This didn't seem to be necessary. Next time try without roasting.
  • The top crust burnt a little and the bottom crust burnt a lot. I baked using my usual dutch oven method and temperature. Here is what to try next time. Preheat the pot to 500F, reduce the oven to 400F when bread goes in. Bake 30 minutes. Uncover, reduce to 375F and bake another 25-30 min.
  • Try replacing about 20g of ap flour with whole wheat.
  • I didn't get too much rise in the oven. It might have been over-proofed, or maybe I used too much fruits and nuts. But if fixing those two doesn't fix the problem, might be good to try bread flour.

2 comments:

PattyMac said...

hi Helen,

Thanks for this recipe and all the notes. I've been thinking along the same lines myself but just haven't gotten around to it. Did you use fresh or dried cranberries? I have some fresh that I'd like to use, but all of the recipes that I'm finding call for dried.

And while I'm here ... I followed your directions for creme fraiche last week and it's fabulous! I have to keep reminding myself that it is CREAM (or I'd be eating it by the spoonful).

Helen said...

definitely use dried cranberries.