This cranberry oatmeal yeast bread is chock full of dried cranberries! With a pinch of cinnamon and a touch of orange in the dough and a toasted oat topping.
3/4cup(65g)large-flake old fashioned rolled oats, plus extra for topping
1 1/4cups(175g)dried cranberries
1 2/3cups(375ml)boiling water
3 1/2Tablespoons(50g)unsalted butter
3 3/4cups(450g)all purpose flour, spooned and levelled, plus more as needed
1 1/2teaspoonfine salt, reduce slightly if using salted butter
1/2teaspooncinnamon
1/2teaspoonorange zest, optional, but a nice addition if you have an orange handy
1teaspooninstant yeast, not quick or rapid-rise yeast **see Instructions below for Active Dry yeast
Prevent your screen from going dark
Instructions
Put the rolled oats and dried cranberries in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a kneading hook. Add the boiling water and stir. Let stand for 15-20 minutes, or until the mixture is just lukewarm. *About 105F. Test with a thermometer, to be sure it is cooled enough before adding yeast.
**For Active Dry Yeast: Do not add active dry yeast to to the dry ingredients, as it needs to be activated in warm water. Add directly to the lukewarm oat/cranberry mixture, making sure it has cooled to about 105F before adding the yeast. Let stand a few minutes, then proceed as below.
Break the butter into small pieces and add to the warm cranberry/oat mixture and stir in until melted.
In a medium bowl, stir together the 3 cups of the flour, the salt, cinnamon, orange zest and instant yeast. Add the dry ingredients to the cooled oat/cranberry mixture to the bowl and mix. Begin adding the remaining 3/4 cup or flour just until dough comes together into a moist mass that wraps around the dough hook. It should clear the bowl, but not necessarily clean it, as it will still be quite sticky at this point. *You may not need to add all of the remaining flour to get the dough to this point or possibly, you may need to add a tiny bit more. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and let stand 10 minutes. *If making in the stand mixer, I just leave the kneading hook in and throw the towel over the top of the bowl. If making without a mixer, simply throw the towel over the dough on the counter.
Knead dough for 10 seconds (either by just turning on the mixer for 10 seconds or kneading by hand with oiled hands), then leave for ten minutes to rest. Repeat this knead-and-rest sequence twice more at 10 minute intervals, then cover the dough and leave undisturbed for 30 minutes.
Pat the dough into a rectangle roughly 8-inches long and 4-inches wide, bring the sides together in the middle and pinch together, then place seam-side down into an 8 1/2x4-inch greased loaf pan. Cover the pan with greased plastic wrap and let rise until risen by half, or it crests the pan by about 1 - 1 1/2 inches in the centre of the loaf.
Heat the oven to 425F (220C). Brush the top of the loaf with water, then press on a handful of oats. Cut a gash down the middle with a sharp knife (cutting into the loaf roughly 1/2-3/4-inch.
Bake the loaf for about 50 minutes, covering the top loosely with foil after 25 minutes of baking to prevent over-browning. Loaf should reach about 195F when measured with an instant-read thermometer.
Remove from oven and immediately remove from loaf pan to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before slicing.
Notes
Be sure to read the notes above this Recipe Card, for more tips on making this bread. You will also find Step-by-Step photos there that you might find helpful.