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Oct 2, 2012

Cranberry Walnut Pumpkin Loaf | Tuesdays with Dorie - Baking with Julia


This week, the Tuesdays with Dorie bakers are baking this Cranberry Walnut Pumpkin (or Butternut Squash) Loaf. This recipe is on page 108 of the book, Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan.

This is a yeast bread, not a quick bread, and the dough requires an overnight rest in the refrigerator to develop flavor.

The recipe also calls for baking the loaves in three 5 inch loaf pans. I just happen to have them. Yay. My bakeware collecting binge paid off. I feel so justified.


I wasn't all that excited about making this bread. I mean, I'm sure the orange color in a yeast bread can be weird for some people. Plus, it's blazing hot here in southern California right now. We're not exactly in the fall mood.



Guess what? I really liked this bread. The pumpkin/squash flavor is faint, and the bread tastes a lot like cinnamon raisin bread but with a nice added dimension. Plus, you get vitamins A and C. It's almost health food. And they're sooooo cute.

I made two changes to the recipe. Instead of fresh cranberries, I used dried cranberries, and instead of active dry yeast, I used SAF Gold. That yeast is an instant yeast that is supposed to hold up well to enriched doughs (doughs that contain eggs, butter, and sugar, all of which are in this bread). I was really pleased with how the dough performed.

This bread makes great toast for breakfast. See all those slices? Gone.

I am amazed at how happy I am with this bread..... and I got to use my mini loaf pans. Validation. Oh yeah.

To get the recipe, hop on over to Rebecca's beautiful blog, This Bountiful Backyard. Or better yet, buy the book! To find out more about Tuesdays with Dorie, click  >here<.


Would you like to comment?

  1. wow.. you are the first person I've seen who has the correct loaf pan size.. so i get an idea on how the actual recipe turns out... your loaves look great... love the colour!!!

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    1. Thank you! I was so happy I could use those pans. =)

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  2. I think dried cranberries is the way to go here. The fresh cranberries were just overpoweringly tart.

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    1. I thought that might be the case, judging from how much sugar most cranberry recipes call for... I just didn't want to risk it, especially after seeing the suggestion in Ps & Qs.

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  3. Cute! I usually make these in November, so it felt a little early for me, but it's good anytime.

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    1. I need to feel a hint of fall in the air. Still, I'm enjoying them.

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  4. Yes, health food indeed! And I am envious of your small baking pans. I used the throwaway aluminum foil type. Your's are much more professional looking. Great job!

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    1. Thanks Marlise. I love your idea of putting chocolate chips in this!

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  5. Karen, your pictures are fabulous and I agree, your loaves are totally cute.
    I'm enjoying this bread at breakfast, toasted with butter.

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  6. I know! This bread is disappearing so quickly. Yours looks great!

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  7. I'm so glad you liked this so did we. One can never have too many pans--as I'm ready to place a 'pan' order at Williams and Sanoma!
    Have a great week.

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    1. Oooh. Jealous! I love their "gold" baking pans.

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  8. Glad I am not the only one with five inch pans hiding out in my cupboard :-)
    Lovely job!

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  9. Beautiful job! Just curious, we always used to use the SAF yeast for all of our baking, but haven't been able to find it lately at our local stores. Where do you get yours?

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    1. I usually buy the one pound block from King Arthur Flour when they offer free shipping and keep it in the freezer. It lasts forever, and I make a lot of bread.

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  10. Your baking pans are wonderful and truly gave you beautiful loaves. I may have to re-think purchasing some smaller pans. Thanks for sharing! Blessings, Catherine www.praycookblog.com

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    1. Thank you Catherine. They are great for making edible gifts.

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  11. Mini loaf pans are on my shopping list. Sometimes I wish my kitchen is like an accordion :) The loaves look simply delicious!

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  12. Love your loaf pans! I found this reminiscent of the raisin bread I used to eat as a child. Your photos are fabulous!

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  13. I made this last weekend and the family loved it! The spices really came through in this and we really like that. I think I found my new pumpkin bread recipe.

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  14. This is a go too recipe! Love this bread. Toasted with a little butter, it almost tastes like drenched in syrup French toast!
    Here is my interpretation. Leave me a comment, would love some feed back!

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