RUSTIC NO-KNEAD CRANBERRY ORANGE BREAD: simple overnight recipe

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RUSTIC NO-KNEAD CRANBERRY ORANGE BREAD:

Y’all are going to LOVE me for sharing this recipe for our RUSTIC NO-KNEAD CRANBERRY ORANGE BREAD with you! My Mom has made rustic bread for years and I absolutely love it, but I had never tried to make it myself until recently.

In November, just before my birthday, Kohl’s had an AMAZING deal on their Food Network 3.5 quart enameled cast-iron Dutch ovens. That’s a mouthful! I bought 2 of them for myself as a birthday gift. I seriously think I spent a total of 15 bucks after the sale price, rebate, and Kohl’s cash. They were originally priced at 70 bucks each! Makes me feel all tingly inside getting such a great deal. They are the perfect size for a loaf of this bread. And I am so glad I bought two of them so I can make two kinds of bread at a time.

The dough takes about 5 minutes to throw together. Seriously so dang easy. It takes a little bit of planning ahead though because you need to let it sit at room temperature for 18-24 hours before baking…but it is MAGIC I tell ya! You can make a million different versions of this recipe. This time I will just show you how we made our RUSTIC NO-KNEAD CRANBERRY ORANGE BREAD.

Start by adding 3 cups of flour to a bowl. Mix in 1/2 tsp. yeast and 2 tsp. salt. I have used both table salt and sea salt. Both worked fine. Next add the zest of 2 oranges and 3/4 cup of “plumped” dried cranberries. Then add 1 1/2 cups of water and stir until just mixed. This is no-knead bread so don’t over work it.

When the dry and wet ingredients are all incorporated, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm/room temperature spot for 18-24 hours. I put mine in the oven so it wouldn’t be bothered. Just make sure to take it out before you preheat the oven! When I decided to make this I literally jumped out of bed at midnight and threw 2 loaves together so it would be ready to bake for 6:00 dinner the next night. 🙂

TO PLUMP YOUR CRAISINS/dried cranberries:

My Mom is an INCREDIBLE baker and makes THE BEST cinnamon rolls ever. I’ll have to get that recipe on the blog stat. Anyhoo…she always makes some with raisins, which I love so much. I know, I know, lots of people think it’s a sin to add raisins to cinnamon rolls. Whatevs. Raisins, as well as craisins have a habit of getting dried out and nobody wants that in their baked goods. There’s an easy fix that I learned from my Mom though! Just throw them in a glass of water and stick in the microwave for about a minute to “plump” them up. Then drain the water off and spread them out on some paper towels and pat them dry. It works wonders and is a good idea for this recipe so the craisins don’t burn. You’re welcome.

When you are ready to bake your bread, stick your Dutch oven pot with lid in the oven to get hot as it preheats. (Make sure to get your bowl of dough out if you stuck it in there!) Preheat oven to 450 degrees. You can use whatever pot you like as long as it can go in the oven with the lid at this high temp. I let mine get to 450 and leave the pot in there another 15 minutes or so.

While the oven is preheating, uncover your dough and put a handful of flour on top. I just gently pat the flour on the top and down the sides so I can get the dough out of the bowl without sticking.

Form the dough into a nice round while making sure to use plenty of flour. No kneading or mixing. Simply pick it up and fold the bottom in a little to make a round.

Next, grab a sharp knife and gently slice an X in the top of the loaf.

When your oven and pot are both hot, pull the pot out and carefully plop the dough in, and cover it with the lid.

Helpful Hint: I like to use parchment paper when making this bread. Just place the dough onto a square of parchment and lift it by two corners into the HOT pot. This also makes it easier to remove the bread from the pot when it is finished baking. The lid can go right on the parchment and it will be fine. 

Bake for 30 minutes. After the 30 minutes is up you want to remove the lid and bake uncovered for an additional 10 minutes or so to get a nice golden crust. When time is up take the bread out and transfer to a cooling rack. Ahhh…..your house should smell amazing about now.

We all love this RUSTIC NO-KNEAD CRANBERRY ORANGE BREAD and it is to die for when made into our CRANBERRY ORANGE FRENCH TOAST with CINNAMON SYRUP. Check those recipes out and let us know if you give them a try. We would also LOVE to have you follow us on Facebook and keep up to date with Huckleberry Life!

Thanks for stopping by!