Thanksgiving Cranberry Corn Bread

jeff Giveaways, holiday breads, Recipes, Thanksgiving

cover2.jpg

It will soon be American Thanksgiving, so I thought I’d re-post our Thanksgiving Cranberry Corn bread.  It’s based on the Portuguese Broa style (page 151 in the book)—it’s the regular Master Recipe, but with 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour taken out and replaced with an equal amount of cornmeal.

Here’s what you need to do.  Take about 2 pounds of the Broa dough mentioned above and shape it into a ball; then flatten it with your hands and a rolling pin until it’s about 1/2-inch thick.  Sprinkle the dough with 1/3 of a cup of dried cranberries (or 1/2 cup fresh):

1-sprinkle-cranberries.jpg

Now break out your microzester, and use it to scrape the zest from half an orange…

2-microzestg-orange.jpg

… now sprinkle that over the cranberries, and then sprinkle a couple of tablespoons of granulated sugar over that…

3-sprinkle-sugar.jpg

Now roll it up like a jelly roll… If it sticks to the board as you’re rolling, nudge it off with a dough scraper.

4-roll-it-up.jpg

Tuck the ends under to form a ball, flatten it on a work surface, and then, using your hands and a rolling pin, make a disk the right size for a 12-inch cast iron pan.  It should be about an inch or inch and a half thick.   If you don’t have a cast-iron pan, see below.**  This instruction applies to this flattened thanksgiving bread only; you can make loaf breads this way too (freeform or in a pan).

Grease the pan well with butter, lard, bacon grease, or oil (I used olive oil today), and place the dough round in it.

5-put-in-cast-iron.jpg

Allow to rest for at least 1 hour and 20 minutes.  You’ll get a more open hole structure if you wait two hours.

Put a broiler tray in the oven to dump water to make steam.  20 minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F if you keep a baking stone in the oven.  If you don’ t use a stone, a 5-minute pre-heat is adequate (the stone isn’t required since you’ll bake in the cast-iron).

Just before baking, heat the cast-iron pan over medium heat for 1 or 2 minutes to jump-start the baking process and promote caramelization of the bottom crust.  Don’t overdo it–no more than 2 minutes.  It will start to sizzle.

Place the pan on a rack near the center of the oven.  Pour 1 cup of water into the broiler tray and quickly close the oven door.  Depending on the thickness of your loaf and the weight of the pan, baking time will be about 25 minutes.

Carefully turn the hot loaf out of the pan onto a serving plate or cooling rack, or just cut wedges directly out of the pan once it cools.  Be careful with the hot cast-iron pan!

You should get a result just like the cover photo.  Happy Thanksgiving!  Other Thanksgiving recipes:

Stuffing from homemade bread:  https://artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=1228

Thanksgiving buns:  https://artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=443

Thanksgiving Pumpkin Pie Brioche: https://artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=1209

Roasting Your Own Pumpkins: https://artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=50

—–

** This bread can be done as a simple free-form loaf right on a baking stone, cookie sheet, or silicone mat (about the same baking time, or in a loaf pan (longer baking time needed).  Either way, it’s done at 425 degrees.

1,099 thoughts to “Thanksgiving Cranberry Corn Bread”

  8. Let me win & I can pick it up…save on shipping : ). I use Sir Lancelot for all my bread baking, except when I am making whole wheat with fresh ground flour…sure could use this wonderful prize!

    Reply

  14. This looks like an AWESOME giveway that I can’t pass up!!! Thank so much for hosting it!! I hope I win, and if I don’t, congratulations to the lucky winner. 🙂

    Reply

  15. Oooh, this looks tasty. I generally use the ABin5 method when making savory breads (onion and dill is our favorite!) but this sounds too good not to try.

    Reply

  19. This Thanksgiving, I’m thankful for a husband who is constantly baking awesome K.A.F recipes, including bagels, cookies and artisan breads. Would love to win him some more great K.A.F goodies to work with.

    Reply

  21. I bake EVERY Sunday as a way of taking my mind off of Mondays! My Sundays wouldn’t be the same without the King Arthur website. While this recipe isn’t doing it for me, 3 of your pies will be on my Thansgiving table, as well as rolls. Thanks! Oh, and PICK ME, PICK ME!!!!

    Reply

  24. I’ve been using dried cranberries for a lot of things lately, now this is on the list. Now…I have some KAF flour I just ordered, one square rising bucket (couldn’t splurge on two), so hopefully I’ll break my ‘never win a contest’ record and be all set to go with another bucket and that whisk I’ve been lusting after, the book and more flour? Cherry on the cake!

    Reply

  28. What an exciting giveaway. A friend of mine showed me how she makes bread using this book. The bread was wonderful. I have been looking around for the supplies to do this on my own and would love to win them.

    Reply

  40. I bake every Sunday to help forget that the next day is Monday, and I rely on your recipes, thank you. I will have 3 of your pies on my Thanksgiving table, and rolls. PLEASE PICK ME, PICK ME!!!!

    Reply

  43. Love this bread it’s so versatile, I first learned of this bread through Mother Earth News. I’d love win this package what a great combo!

    Reply

  45. What a lovely thing you are doing! Since my husband and I don’t have money for gifts for each other this Christmas, this sure would be a nice present!

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *