Semolina Cranberry Bread
A wonderful bread for the holiday season or for any time of the year. The sweet sour flavor of the cranberries and the nutty flavor of the semolina not to mention the chewy crust makes this bread a real winner.
Come to our blog and see how you can make this bread into a lovely holiday gift. The Knead For Bread. com
Ingredients
Night Before:
- 1/4 cup starter
- 1/2 cup bread flour
- 1/4 cup lukewarm water
Day of:
- 1 1/4 cup warm water
- 1 cup semolina ( fine granular not flour )
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
- 2 1/4 cup bread flour
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- ( 2 cups cranberries if you are making bread crisps )
Method
The day before you want to make the bread combine the starter, bread flour and water. Mix till smooth and cover with plastic wrap; allow to sit on the counter for 12 -16 hours. The next morning in a large bowl combine the " night before" mix with the semolina, maple syrup, instant yeast and water..
Mix with a wooden spoon till smooth. Allow mixture to rest for 15 minutes uncovered. Add in the salt and about half the flour. Mix till smooth.
Sprinkle some of the flour on a flat surface and pour out the dough. Add some more flour on top of the dough. Begin to knead the dough slowly continue to add the remaining flour till the dough becomes smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.
After the dough has been kneaded allow to rest for 10 minutes uncovered. Flatten the dough out a little and add the dried cranberries. Knead in the cranberries till well distributed through out the dough.
Add a little oil to a clean bowl, add in the dough and give a few turns to lightly coat all sides of the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest for about 2 hours or till double in bulk.
After dough has risen, pour out onto a very lightly floured surface. Cut dough in half. Flatten out one piece of dough into a thick rectangle. Begin to roll and using your thumb press the dough down with each turn.
Pinch the seam closed with your fingers and roll back and forth to form a torpedo shape. Repeat with the other piece of dough.
Place loans onto a cornmeal sprinkled parchment paper. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 1 hour. About half way through the rising process turn on the oven to 450F and place your baking stone on the bottom rack and a cast iron skillet on the bottom of the stove to heat up. After the bread has risen remove the cling wrap and sprinkle a little semolina on top of the loaves.
Using a very sharp knife cut some slashes on top of the loaves. Place the loaves onto the baking stone and pour a cup of boiling water into the cast iron skillet to create some steam. Close the door and allow to bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.
