Cranberry Wild Rice Loaf

Finals are finished!  As per usual, my blog got neglected and my neck is sore, but I am done!  One More Year.  I need to remember this for the coming term which is going to be my busiest and most challenging to date.  (No need to remind me of that pesky ol' Bar exam that occurs post-graduation.)  In one more year, I will be done and new exciting adventures are already in the works!  I've been celebrating with baking, of course.

Normally, when I choose recipes, I choose them because they sound good and appetizing.  I'm not saying that this bread didn't sound good and appetizing, but I actually chose to make it because it intrigued me.  The blog that I got it from mentioned that the idea came from a Minnesota diner that serves Cranberry Wild Rice French Toast.  She provided the recipe for the french toast, but I chose not to make it for one reason or another.  However, I plan on it in the future.  I also plan on finding this diner!  I was very intrigued by the idea of baking wild rice into a bread.  I kept wondering how the rice was going to cook in the loaf pan.  Was it going to get crunchy?  Oddly enough, it didn't!  (Well, a few bits of rice turned crunchy.)  I actually couldn't really tell that there was rice baked into the loaf, but it did provide a level of chewiness that I don't normally get from just a regular quick bread.  I did enjoy the bread though and even though I didn't make the french toast, I'm posting the recipe because the bread was decent enough to eat on its own.  Plus, I definitely plan on trying out this french toast recipe soon.  Enjoy!

Cranberry Wild Rice Loaf
from The Peas are Hollow
Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups bread flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 pkg (2 1/4 tsp) active dry or instant yeast
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 cups water, room temperature
• 2 Tbsp molasses, room temperature
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 3/4 cup wild rice, cooked and cooled
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries, chopped
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Instructions

1. Whisk together flours, yeast and salt.  Add water, molasses, and olive oil.  Mix until a shaggy dough forms, then knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 7-8 minutes.
2. Add cranberries and wild rice; knead until evenly distributed throughout.  Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl and toss to coat entire ball with oil.  Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm area to rise for about 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in size.
3. Spray a loaf pan lightly with oil.  Lightly deflate the dough and place entire dough ball in loaf pan.
4. Cover with a oiled pieces of plastic wrap and let rise against for about an hour.  
5. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Brush the top of your loaf with melted butter and bake until golden brown for about 45-50 minutes.
6. Let loaf cool in pan for about 30 minutes then remove and cool completely on wire rack.