Cranberry-Pecan Rye Bread

Bread Challenge Week 18

It’s time to test Martha Stewart again. You may remember that her blueberry muffin recipe left a little to be desired. The Bread in question this week? Cranberry-Pecan Rye Bread from Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook. J. King Baking has the recipe posted if you would like to see it.

Last time we made Rye bread I fell in love with it. Rye bread is quickly becoming one of my favorites. Oh, how it slices up so beautifully. I’m all for a loaf that slices up nice a neat. Love.

Martha’s Cranberry-Pecan Rye Bread passed the test. It smelled amazing in the oven. I was so overwhelmed by the smell that I kept tell Luke how much I wanted to eat the bread the whole time it was baking. I think he got tired of me talking about it but, ohhhh how lovely it smelled. The nuts and dried fruit add great texture and speckle each slice with color and flavor.

We made sliced this bread up and had lots of toast, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and Luke even made me my favorite breakfast with it, French Toast. Yum. Real maple syrup + this bread = best mothers day breakfast ever.

Luke and Maddy loved the bread too. Maddy is a big dried fruit fan so it was like an exciting treat in each bite. Luke’s favorite part of this bread was the nuts. Now this is where I make a few confessions. Confession #1: I used walnuts in place of pecans because it’s what I had on hand. Confession #2 I bypassed the caraway seeds. I don’t like caraway seeds all that much and I would rather make a loaf of bread that we are more likely to enjoy.

This bread took about 20-25 minutes of hands on time, and with about 2 hours of rise time and 35-40 minutes of bakes time the total time from start to finish was about 3 hours. I made this loaf in the evening and had it rise while I was making dinner and baked it after dinner.

We will definitely be making this bread again. After a few days it started to get a little dried out so I may make it into 2 shorter loaves next time and freeze one to keep it fresher longer. I would say this bread would be great with sliced turkey or chicken salad for sandwiches. The nuts and cranberries pair perfectly with peanut butter and jelly and it is awesome tasted and butters. Oh, and lets not forget that french toast. Yum. Make this bread you’ll love it.

Flavor: 5
Hands on time: 4
Total time: 3
Recipe: 4
versatility: 4
make it again: 5
Catherine: 1
Luke: 1
Maddy: 1

Total Score: 28
(what is this Bread Challenge and how are recipes scored?)

Previous Bread Challenge reviews and scores:
Rotis – Whole Wheat Unleavened Bread- Week 17
Farmhouse White Loaf – Week 16
Honey Whole Wheat Slow Cooker Bread – Week 15
The Easiest Loaf of Bread You’ll Ever Bake – Week 14
Hot Cross Buns – Week 13
100% Whole Wheat Bread – Week 12
Thin Wheat Crackers – Week 11
Irish Soda Bread – Week 10
Double Blueberry Muffins – Week 9
Oatmeal Batter Bread – Week 8
Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls – Week 7
Cheesy Pretzels – Week 6
Light Rye Bread – Week 5
Country-Style Whole-Wheat Pita – Week 4
Carrot Raisin Quick Bread – Week 3
Potato Bread – Week 2
Focaccia – Week 1