Sure, turkey gets all of the attention for Thanksgiving… But, I have to say, I have always associated Thanksgiving with baking more than with turkey. Of course, I love to bake, so I guess that makes sense!
For as long as I can remember, my family’s Thanksgiving table always head a great assortment of homemade breads. My mom loves to bake bread (that’s where I get it, but she’s a much better baker than I am!), and there would always be homemade yeast bread or rolls for Thanksgiving. In addition to the traditional bread or rolls, there would typically be a cranberry nut quick bread or pumpkin bread, as well.
In the days leading up to Thanksgiving, I always remember the kitchen being warm from the oven and filled with the smell of bread baking. And to this day, I look forward to the day before Thanksgiving as my baking day.
So, when I was looking for a recipe to feature from the Red Star Yeast website this month, the Cranberry Nut Bread caught my eye. It’s not the super sweet quick bread that you may first think of, but instead it’s a slightly sweet yeast bread filled with almonds and cranberries with just a hint of orange.
Orange, cranberry, and almond is one of those classic combinations of flavors that always makes me think of the holidays, so I thought this bread would be perfect for Thanksgiving. It’s delicious on its own or topped with just a little bit of salted butter.
My hubby and I also really enjoyed having the cranberry nut bread for breakfast. I’d highly recommended toasting a few slices and slathering them with some cranberry cream cheese.
Cranberry Nut Yeast Bread
Makes 1 loaf
(Recipe from Red Star Yeast, used with permission)
- 1/2 cup milk
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 2 cups bread flour, divided
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 2 1/4 teaspoons (or one packet) of active dry yeast
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons orange zest
- 1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/3 cup slivered almonds
Whisk together the milk, vegetable oil, and water in a small microwaveable bowl and heat to 120°-130°F.
(Jen’s Note – I find that my glass liquid measuring cup is perfect for measuring and microwaving!)
Meanwhile, in the bowl of your stand mixer, combine 1 cup of the bread flour, sugar, yeast, and salt.
Add the warmed liquid ingredients to the mixing bowl and beat with the paddle attachment for 4 minutes on medium speed. Add the eggs. Beat 1 minute. Add in the almond extract and orange zest, and beat just enough to incorporate into the batter.
Gradually add whole wheat flour, remaining bread flour, cranberries, and almonds and knead with dough hook for 5 to 7 minutes until smooth and elastic.
Place dough in lightly oiled bowl and turn to grease top. Cover; let rise until dough tests ripe and the imprint of two fingers remains.
(Jen’s Note – Do not rely purely on volume to determine if the dough is done rising. I found that this dough did not quite double in volume, but was indeed ripe.)
Turn dough onto lightly floured surface, and punch down to remove air bubbles. Roll or pat into a 14- x 7-inch rectangle. Starting with shorter side, roll up tightly. Pinch edges and ends to seal. Place in greased 9- x 5-inch loaf pan. Cover and let rise until indentation remains after touching.
While the bread is rising, preheat the oven to 375ºF. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes. Remove the bread from the pan and let cool on a wire rack before slicing.
My Kitchen Addiction Disclosure – This post was sponsored by Red Star Yeast. Though I have been compensated to write this post, all opinions expressed are my own.
Wish I had a slice for breakfast!
Beautiful looking holiday bread!
What a beautiful loaf of bread! I’m not so great at bread making but I think I could handle this one. My skills {and my courage} are building!
This looks so good! I love cranberry quick bread, but love the idea of this one. Would probably make good French Toast, too.
I just made some cranberry nut rolls yesterday – great minds think alike! :)
Delicious! This bread is absolutely perfect for Thanksgiving dinner!
Oh man, I bet this bread would also be the perfect vehicle for turkey and stuffing leftovers. The restaurant next to our house does a sandwich like that, with cranberry bread, turkey, stuffing and brie. Now I could make it at home!
Orange, cranberry and almond… now you got me thinking about it too! what a combination!!!
I made your stunning bread but added a bit more dried cranberries. It was so tasty & apart too! thanks so much for sharing with us!!! ;)
Well this already looked amazing but then you top it with cranberry cream cheese? Oh my!
Question: If I was going to use walnuts instead of almonds would I omit the almond extract altogether or substitute with vanilla instead? What would you suggest?
Hi, Rose – Yes, you could do either… Substitute vanilla extract or leave it out all together. I’d probably substitute since I think the vanilla extract would taste delicious! :)
I would like to try this v nice recipe. However i just got frozen cranberries instead of dried ones. Is it ok? How should i adjust the recipe?