Rustic Fruit & Nut Bread

So, guess what smacked me in the face on Monday morning, the first hard frost!  Can you believe it?  It looked like snow it was so thick.  Haven't even turned the heat on yet and we got frost.  House was very cold when I got up, so to take the chill off I turned on the fireplace in the family room.  I go into hibernating/nesting mode when it gets cold.  I like to be cozy, don't leave the house, I'll emerge when the sun gets hot again, hahaha!

When the weather turns ugly, I like sitting in front of the fireplace with hot tea, cocoa or some of the good stuff (you know what I mean) and a slice of somethin' good.  I broke out into baking mode this morning, because that is usually how I react to the cold weather.  I bake, I don't know why, maybe because I need to have something ready for the drinks and the warm fireplace.

Now, I AM NOT a bread baker, I do have a bread machine that always mixes and bakes my bread, that's no brain bread baking for me, using yeast always scared me.  But, I made a rustic fruit and nut bread today, it's also vegan, so you know who will eat it, and it was the easiest bread I have ever made. One bowl mixing, let it rise and bake it off.  I used dried cranberries, golden raisins, cherries and blueberries as well as walnuts in my bread.  It's very easy to make, don't shy away because of the yeast, trust me.  It just takes a bit of time for it to rise and then bake, but is well worth it in taste.  Toast it or eat it plain, just please pass the buttah!

Recipe below.

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So here are some of my ingredients, and I also used this berry blend from Trader Joe's.

 It only takes a very large bowl to mix and let this dough rise.  This is the flours, salt and yeast.....

 .....add the water and mix with yours clean hands, no fancy mixing tools required.

 Added my cranberries, other fruits and the walnuts.  Incorporated them in.

 Shape into a ball using the same bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 8 hours or overnight.  It looks good already, can't wait to bake it!

Bake for 45 minutes with the lid on, take lid off..... 

.....so it gets a deep golden brown crust. Wow! how good does that look?

Sliced and ready to toast or eat plain, I need a moment, my mouth is dancing right now.

Crunchy crust, soft bread texture, I'm in heaven.  I love bread, I could eat the whole loaf!

 Rustic Fruit and Nut Bread

Ingredients

3 1/4 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

1 cup Whole Wheat Flour

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon instant yeast

1 3/4 cups tepid water

3/4 cup cranberries

1/2 Trader Joe's dried Golden Berry Blend

1 cup chopped walnuts, can also use pecans or almonds

1 tablespoon orange zest

Directions

In a very large bowl, mix the flours, salt, yeast and water.  Stir with a wooden spoon or spatula until the flour gets stringy, then work with your hands until the dough forms a sticky ball. Add the fruits, nuts and zest, and work just until they are all incorporated.  Form into a ball and cover the bowl with plastic wrap.  Let it rest for 8 hours or overnight, it will double in size.

When you are ready to bake: Turn the dough out onto a floured surface.  Now, you can form it into a loaf or use a covered baker to bake the bread, shape it to the size of the baker (see note).  If using the covered baker, lightly grease the inside so the bread does not stick.  Place the bread inside the covered baker, smooth side up.  If you like, you can sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds.

Cover and let the bread rise at room temperature for 2 hours. Uncover and you should notice the rise in the dough.  Place the lid back on the pan and put it into a cold oven.  Set the temperature at 450 degrees.

Bake the bread for 45 - 50 minutes, remove the lid and continue to bake for another 10-15 minutes or until it is a deep golden brown color.  Remember, all ovens vary so baking time will differ, check the bread with a cake tester.  Remove bread from oven, turn it out onto a cooling rack.  Let it cool completely before slicing.

NOTE:  I used a cast iron Dutch Oven with a lid to bake my bread.