No-knead cranberry walnut bread is crammed with cranberries, chocolate, and walnuts. It’s crusty, delicious, and takes minimal effort to make. The recipe for cranberry walnut bread is a variation of my easy no-knead Dutch oven bread, just with more bells and whistles.
This bread is super crusty on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. And it's on my weekly bake menu. Absolutely fantastic with a smear of cinnamon honey butter, we can't get enough of this no-knead cranberry bread!
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
The no-knead cranberry walnut bread with chocolate is very, very low effort. All it asks for is time.
It looks so beautifully rustic and artisanal without any effort at all!
The addition of chocolate makes the bread festive and perfect for the holiday season.
You can serve it for breakfast, or brunch, or make a dessert out of it!
No-Knead Cranberry Bread Recipe Ingredients
Flour: I use all-purpose flour for this recipe. You can swap half of it with whole wheat flour. It does make the no-knead bread a bit dense but delicious nonetheless.
Yeast: Instant and dry active yeast, either works here. Just make sure your yeast is active! Dissolve half a teaspoon in warm water and set aside for a few minutes. If you see the mixture bubbly and foamy, your yeast is good to use.
Water: Yeast blooms best at 105°F (40.5 °C). So, use warm water—not hot, not cold. Hot water will kill your yeast. Cold water will not activate it.
Salt: Balances all the flavors.
Sugar: Helps activate the yeast.
Dried cranberries: Give a lovely chewy texture and sweet-tart flavor to the no-knead cranberry walnut bread. Raisins, dates, or dried apricots are good substitutes.
Walnuts: While you can make this no-knead bread with any nuts you prefer (like pecans or almonds), I find walnuts give the best crunch and texture and work so well with chocolate and cranberries.
Chocolate: You can use dark chocolate chips, and chunks, or even chop a bar of good-quality baking chocolate.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How To Make No-Knead Cranberry Walnut Bread
Step 1: Mix the yeast, sugar, and warm water in a small bowl. Set aside for 5-10 minutes until bubbly and foamy.
Step 2: In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, and the yeast -water mixture.
Step 3: Mix well to form a shaggy dough. This is a very sticky dough.
Step 4: Cover the bowl and let the dough rise for 3-4 hours until it's doubled and has small holes or bubbles on top. Sprinkle 1-2 tablespoons of flour on the dough. Flour your hands well and fold the dough on top of itself, 4 times.
Step 5: Add the dried cranberries, walnuts, and chocolate chips to the dough and fold the dough over 3-4 times.
Step 6: Sprinkle a tablespoon of flour on a piece of parchment paper and place the dough on it. Let the dough rest for 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, place your Dutch oven (with lid) in the oven and heat the oven to 230 C / 450 F.
Step 7: Place the rested dough with the parchment paper in the hot Dutch oven. Cover and bake for 40 minutes.
Step 8: Carefully remove the lid and continue baking for another 10-15 minutes until the no-knead cranberry walnut bread is cooked through and golden brown.
Remove the bread loaf from the baking dish and let it cool completely for at least 2 hours before slicing.
Pro Tips
- Weigh your ingredients on a kitchen scale to get the best result.
- I prefer to add cranberries, walnuts, and chocolate to the bread dough after the first proof. You can add cranberries and walnuts to the bowl with the flour and salt in step 2. Add the chocolate later after the 1st proof.
- The dough of this homemade cranberry walnut bread is meant to be super sticky, so don’t add too much extra flour.
- Give the bread dough ample time to rise. This is important.
- You don’t need to knead the bread but do fold it a few times with your hands or a spatula.
- Let the crusty cranberry nut loaf of bread cool completely before you slice. Give it at least 2 hours.
- You can easily double or halve the ingredient quantity to make a bigger (or smaller) loaf.
How To Serve The No-Knead Cranberry Walnut Bread
No-knead cranberry bread is so tasty eaten plain.
Serve it with apple butter made at home, persimmon jam, or homemade cream cheese, and it’s incredible!
The no-knead crusty cranberry nut bread is wonderful with baked brie or gooey Camembert. It even goes perfectly with an easy cheese board—perfect for the Holiday season!
You can also make French toast or cinnamon bread pudding with this delicious bread!
Recipe FAQs
No, fresh or frozen cranberries will add too much moisture to this bread. It's best to use dried cranberries.
Yes, you can. All a Dutch oven does is trap steam, which helps make the loaf crusty and crispy. If you don’t have one, make chocolate cranberry walnut bread in any heavy pot that has a lid and is oven-safe.
You can even bake the no-knead cranberry walnut bread in a pan or tray. Preheat your oven and place the tray on the center rack. On the lower one, add another metal pan or tray and add 2–3 cups of boiling water to it. Shut the oven quickly, so the steam from the boiling water gets locked inside.
Ideally, the first proof should be 2 to 4 hours at the least. I suggest looking at the bread dough to judge if it’s proofed enough. The dough should be flat on top, doubled in volume, and have a few holes. If your kitchen is cold, then you can proof it overnight on the countertop too.
This bread will last 2-3 days, in an air-tight container, on the countertop, or 4-5 days if refrigerated.
You can even freeze no-knead bread for up to a month. Wrap it in plastic wrap and then in aluminum foil.
📖 Recipe
No-Knead Cranberry Walnut Bread
Ingredients
- 3 1/4 cup All-purpose flour
- 1.5 tsp Salt
- 1.5 tsp Dry active yeast
- 1.5 cup Warm water ( about 40.5 C or 105 F)
- 1 tsp Sugar
- 1/3 cup Dried cranberries, sliced
- 1/3 cup Walnuts, chopped
- 1/3 cup Dark chocolate You can use chocolate chips, or chunks
Instructions
- In a small bow,l, mix the warm water, yeast, and sugar. Keep aside for 5-10 minutes until frothy.
- In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Pour in the yeast water mixture.
- Mix well to form a shaggy dough. This is a very sticky dough.
- Cover the bowl and let the dough rise for 3-4 hours until it's doubled and has small holes or bubbles on top.
- Heat oven to 230 C / 450 F and place your Dutch oven with the lid in the oven. I used a 3.5 QT / 3.3 ltr Dutch oven, but you can use a smaller or bigger size too.
- Sprinkle 1-2 tablespoons of flour on the dough. Flour your hands well and fold the dough on top of itself. Turn the bowl a quarter of the way and fold the dough over itself again. Do 3 more quarter turns of the bowl with folding over the dough each time.
- Add the cranberries, walnuts, and chocolate to the dough. Sprinkle another tablespoon of flour on top and fold the dough over the add-ins a few times until they are evenly distributed through out the dough.This will take just 3-4 minutes. Flour your hands so the dough doesn't stick to your hands. You can also use a spatula for this step.
- Sprinkle a tablespoon of flour on a piece of parchment paper and place the dough on it. Let the dough rest for 15-20 minutes.
- Take the hot Dutch oven out of the oven and remove the lid. Carefully transfer the dough, still on the parchment, into the Dutch oven. Cover and bake at 230 C / 450 F for 40 minutes.
- Carefully remove the lid and bake for another 10-15 minutes until golden brown.
- Cool the bread completely at least 2 hours before slicing. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- I prefer to add cranberries, walnuts, and chocolate to the bread dough after the first proof. You can add cranberries and walnuts to the bowl with the flour and salt in step 2, and add the chocolate later after the first proof.
- As with all bread recipes, I highly recommend weighing the ingredients.
- Dough of this homemade cranberry walnut bread is meant to be super sticky, so don’t add too much extra flour.
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- You don’t need to knead the bread but fold it a few times with your hands or a spatula.
- Let the crusty cranberry nut loaf of bread cool completely before you slice. Give it at least 2 hours.
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