Nourish
We first discovered cranberry wild rice bread at our family camp in northern Minnesota, yes it’s the best camp ever, and not just because they served this delightful bread for lunch on sandwich day 🙂
Every summer my mom raves about the wild rice cranberry bread and so I thought it would be fun to make our own version of the recipe so we can have it any time of year! It truly is a versatile recipe for all seasons. It tastes amazing for your cold chicken salad sandwiches in summer, alongside your favorite soups, and it will make grilled cheese nights even better.
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How to Make Cranberry Wild Rice Bread
Ingredients
- Wild Rice – It needs to be cooked wild rice. You can buy cooked wild rice in cans at the grocery store or you can make your own. Make extra and you can use it for this yummy chicken wild rice salad!
- Flour – I use a mixture of whole wheat flour and all purpose
- Active Dry Yeast
- Honey
- Dried Cranberries
- Olive Oil
- Salt
- Butter
Process
Start by mixing your warm water, honey and olive oil in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle a packet of active dry yeast on top and stir. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes until frothy.
In a separate large bowl combine both flours and salt.
Add softened butter to the yeast mixture and combine.
Add dry ingredients into the large mixing bowl with the wet ingredients and mix until the dough starts to form.
Add the wild rice and cranberries to the dough.
Knead for 8-10 minutes until dough becomes elastic and smooth. If it seems too sticky, you can add more flour.
Place dough ball in a greased bowl and set in a warm place to rise for 1-2 hours until doubled in size.
Once doubled in size, punch down the dough to release the air and shape into a loaf on a floured surface. – Here is a very helpful video to learn how to make a loaf.
Place your loaf in a greased loaf pan and cover it with a damp tea towel. Let dough rise again for 30-45 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350. Once dough has finished rising bake for 30-35 minutes until top is golden brown.
Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool and enjoy! This bread tastes great as a base for this wild rice chicken salad!
Mix-Ins
We use cranberries in this recipe, but you could substitute for other dried fruits such as raisins or cherries.
You could also add walnuts or other nuts you enjoy in bread if you like the extra crunch.
Storage
The bread will stay good for 3-5 days in an airtight container or plastic wrap on the kitchen counter. You could also freeze the entire loaf in an air tight freezer bag. Use within 3 months for the best taste!
If you enjoyed this recipe please leave a comment and rating, we would greatly appreciate it!
Cranberry Wild Rice Bread Recipe
Yield: 1 loaf
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Additional Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Total Time: 3 hours 20 minutes
A delicious and hearty bread recipe for your favorite soups and sandwiches!
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 packet active dry yeast
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons softened butter
- 1 cup cooked wild rice
- 1 cup dried cranberries
Instructions
- Start by mixing your warm water, honey and olive oil in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle a packet of active dry yeast on top and stir. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes until frothy.
- In a separate large bowl combine both flours and salt.
- Add softened butter to the yeast mixture and combine.
- Add dry ingredients into the large mixing bowl with the wet ingredients and mix until the dough starts to form.
- Add the wild rice and cranberries to the dough.
- Knead for 8-10 minutes until dough becomes elastic and smooth. If it seems too sticky, you can add more flour.
- Place dough ball in a greased bowl and set in a warm place to rise for 1-2 hours until doubled in size.
- Once doubled in size, punch down the dough to release the air and shape into a loaf on a floured surface.
- Place your loaf in a greased loaf pan and cover it with a damp tea towel. Let dough rise again for 30-45 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350. Once dough has finished rising, bake for 30-35 minutes until top is golden brown.
- Bread is done once it sounds hollow when you tap on it or when it reaches an internal temperature of 195° F.
- Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.Allow to cool for a few minutes before slicing.
Notes
I used a stand mixer to knead the dough, but you could also knead by hand until dough is elastic and smooth.
If your bread is browning too quickly while baking, place aluminum foil over the top of it for the remaining time in the oven.
Freeze individual slices for easy meal prep on busy mornings!
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