Walnut Cranberry Sourdough Bread (With Teff, Millet, and Sorghum Flour, GF)

This gluten-free and lectin-free sourdough loaf, made with teff, millet, sorghum flour, walnuts, and dry berries, is so rich and tasty. A nutty, tangy, and sweet toasted slice with butter is my favorite snack.

Are you new to sourdough making?

If you’re just starting your journey into gluten-free and lectin-free sourdough baking, we strongly suggest exploring our Beginner’s Guide to Baking Gluten-Free Sourdough Bread. It provides a thorough introduction to our baking method, ensuring you have all the knowledge needed to embark on this delicious adventure.

This walnut and cranberry sourdough bread is made with our lectin-free and gluten-free starter. If you don’t have the starter already, you can make it in just 6 days. This is just the time it takes to make yeast water, but don’t worry, the hands-on time for this process is only 2 minutes daily.

• Gluten-Free Sourdough Starter With Millet, Teff, and Sorghum Flour (Lectin-Free)

And for more details about lectin-free and gluten-free grains and flours, check this articles:

• The 4 Gut-Healthy, Lectin-Free and Gluten-Free Grains
• Quick Guide to Lectin-Free, Gluten-Free Flours

While sourdough making is a skill you need to learn, once you are familiar with the basics, making new types of bread is easy and fun.

If you already have our starter and have made our bread before

If you are already familiar with my sourdough method, this walnut and cranberry loaf is similar to our Gluten-Free Sourdough Bread Recipe With Sorghum and Millet (Lectin-Free). It’s the same method, but you will add more water, especially if your teff flour is very absorbent (mine is), and add the walnuts and dry cranberries.

Unsweetened dry cranberries, tart cherries, and aronia

There are a few options for dry fruits you can use for this loaf, but they all have to be unsweetened. Look for single-ingredient dry berries, like:

• dry cranberries (unsweetened)
• dry tart cherries (unsweetened)
• dry aronia berries (unsweetened)

I mainly use tart cherries and aronia berries because where I am now in Europe it’s easier to find the unsweetened version. But I know in the US, unsweetened cranberries are more available.

In my experience, hydrating the dry berries in warm water for a few minutes before adding them to the dough is enough. If you want to get fancier, you can soak them for a few hours in bourbon.

Why do we love this walnut and cranberry sourdough bread

By now, we have many recipes of sourdough bread I can bake, but this one is pretty special. It’s almost like a dessert bread, even though our berries are unsweetened. The combination between walnuts and dry cranberries, tart cherries, or aronia berries is perfect.

When toasted, this slice becomes nuttier and sweeter and, with a little bit of butter, makes the perfect bite.

And since I am a crust person, I absolutely love the crusty crust of this bread.

The classic schedule for this bread

This is how I make most of my bread, but you can always adapt the schedule to suit your lifestyle:

• Make the preferment the night before, as late as possible (I make it at around 10.30pm)
• Start mixing the ingredients as early as possible the next morning, no later than 10-12 hours since you’ve made the preferment (I start at around 8am)
• Allow 1h 20 minutes for the bulk fermentation (it will depend on the temperature in your house, though)
• Shape and allow for another 1h 20 minutes for proofing
• Preheat the oven and the Dutch oven for about 1 hour before you bake
• Bake for 40 minutes with the lid on
• Bake for 35 – 40 minutes with the lid off (be careful if you know your oven runs hotter)

Ingredients to make walnut cranberry sourdough bread

FOR THE PREFERMENT (make the night before, right before you feed the starter):
10 grams starter
30 grams of water (spring, filtered, non-chlorinated)
35 grams of flour mix (for this bread, equal quantities of sorghum, teff, and millet)

THE WET MIX:
17 grams psyllium husk flakes (not powder)
440 grams of water (spring, filtered, bottled, no chlorine, no tap, and don’t use reverse osmosis water)
10 grams organic, raw honey, preferably local (skip if you are making a vegan bread)
6 grams extra virgin olive oil
75 grams sorghum + millet + teff preferment (made the night before)

THE DRY MIX:
230 grams flour (76g sorghum + 76g millet + 77g teff)
70 grams starch (tapioca flour)
6 grams non-iodized good quality fine salt

ADD-INS
1/2 cup roughly chopped walnuts (raw)
1/4 – 1/2 cup unsweetened dry cranberries, tart cherries, or aronia berries, soaked for 5 minutes in hot water and chopped to the size of raisins if they are bigger; drain before use

How to make this walnut cranberry sourdough bread

For more visual help on how to make this bread (video and images of the process), check out our Teff Cardamom Sourdough Bread Recipe. The mixing and shaping method is the same.

MAKE THE PREFERMENT:

• Mix all the ingredients the night before (you will prepare the dough in the morning)

THE MIXING METHOD:

• In a glass or plastic bowl, combine 420g of the water, psyllium husk flakes, honey, and extra virgin olive oil. Mix well and set it on the side. Once the psyllium husks absorb the water, this mixture will have a gel-like texture (it needs about 5 minutes).
• In the meantime, combine all the dry ingredients in a glass bowl.
• Now add the preferment to the psyllium husk gel. Add the remaining 20g of water to the preferment jar, shake and add pour the content to the psyllium husk mixture (this is to make sure we use all the preferment). Mix well with a spatula or wooden spoon.
• Add the preferment gel mixture to the dry ingredients bowl, add the walnuts and cherries, and incorporate as much as possible with a spatula or wooden spoon. Start mixing with your hand until the dough is homogeneous and has no lumps. The dough is soft and sticky.
• Now you can start mixing with the silicone or plastic dough scraper, scraping the dough from the sides of the bowl, and folding it into the center. Rotate the bowl and repeat with the same movement, for about 30 seconds. Please watch the video in the post above for a visual guide.
• Cover the bowl with a plastic cover, then wrap in two extra big plastic bags and tighten the bags. From now on the fermentation starts. I keep my bowl on the kitchen counter. Ideally, it needs a place where the temperature stays constant throughout the process.

BULK FERMENTATION:

• Let it ferment for 1 to 2 hours, depending on the temperature and humidity in your house. At about 20 degrees Celcius (68 degrees Fahrenheit), it can take 2 hours. If it’s hotter than that, the time will decrease. At about 72-74 degrees Fahrenheit, my bulk fermentation takes about 1 hour. My sweet spot when I made this recipe (January), was 1h 20 minutes.

SHAPING THE DOUGH:

• The videos will be the most helpful here, please watch them. Gently invert the dough on a working surface, dusted with just a tiny bit of flour. Gently lift one-third of the dough and fold it on top of itself. Then fold it one more time, so now what was on the bottom on the working surface is on the top. Now you will shape the dough and seal the bottom part, as seen in the second video in the post above.

PROOFING THE DOUGH:

• Dust the lining of the Banneton or the towel with flour. Now that the dough is sealed and shaped, gently transfer it to the proofing basket with the sealed side facing upward (the smooth face down), as shown in the second video. Dust the top with flour, and cover with plastic wrap or wrap it in a towel. Because my house is pretty dry, I spray a little bit of water on the towel. I cover it in the plastic wrap, and then in two plastic bags that I tight very well. Again, you might not need these extra steps in your house. The proofing time will about the same as the bulk fermentation. At 72F, it might be 1h or a little more. Right now, when I created this recipe in January (at my parents’ place where it tends to be around 70F), I need 1h 20 mins. Whenever I use teff flour in my bread, fermentation time, in general, tends to lower (read more about my fermentation times and experience in the post above).

PREHEAT THE OVEN:

• to 250C/480F for about one hour before baking, with the Dutch oven and the lid inside the oven.

SCORING AND TRANSFERRING TO THE OVEN:

• When the dough is proofed, and your oven and cast iron are preheated, gently invert the dough from the basket to the middle of a parchment paper sheet.
• Dust the dough with flour (any of the flours you are using, I prefer sorghum or millet) and gently spread it on the surface of the dough with your palm. Have the razor ready for scoring. For this bread, I particularly love the scoring type called ‘window’.
• Now it’s time to carefully remove the cast iron and the lid from the oven, closing the door quickly. This is when you need to work pretty fast but be careful not to burn yourself.
• Make the scoring of your choice using the razor or the scoring blade (please check my suggestions in the post; keep it simple and easy in the beginning). After scoring, the dough needs to quickly go into the cast iron, covered, and into the oven.
• Lift the dough with the edges of the parchment paper and gently lower it into the cast iron. Spray the dough with water to create steam, cover it with the lid, and put it back in the oven. Alternatively, you can throw two ice cubes into the pot, but not on top of the bread, somewhere next to it, on the outside of the paper.
• Bake covered for 40 minutes.
• After 40 minutes, carefully remove the lid (leaving the lid inside the oven, to maintain the temperature) and bake for 40 more minutes (watch the bread after 30 minutes, some ovens run hotter).
• Take the pot out, and carefully remove the bread. You can check the bottom for the hollow sound.
• Let the bread rest on a cooling rack for at least 5 hours. I know it can be tempting, but don’t slice it earlier than 5 hours, as you will ruin the texture. For the best crumb, I recommend letting it rest overnight.
• Store the bread for 2 to 3 days at room temperature, in a paper bag, or wrapped in a cotton towel. The first and second day is great fresh, but from day 3 I prefer toasted. You can also slice it, separate the slices with parchment paper and freeze it. I thaw it in the toaster.

How to serve this walnut cranberry sourdough bread

A slice of this bread is toasted perfection. Toast and spread with butter and eat it as it is, or with eggs and avocado.

Tools to make sourdough bread

This article, The Ultimate Gluten-Free Sourdough Tool Guide, provides a comprehensive guide to all the tools and equipment you need to make gluten-free sourdough bread.

This post contains affiliated links, which means I get a small commission if you choose to purchase something via one of my links, at no extra cost to you.

Print Recipe

Walnut Cranberry Sourdough Bread (With Teff, Millet, and Sorghum Flour, GF)

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By Claudia Curici, Health Coach – Serves: 10

Prep Time: 35 minutes – Cooking Time: 80 minutes

This gluten-free and lectin-free sourdough loaf, made with teff, millet, sorghum flour, walnuts, and dry berries, is so rich and tasty. A nutty, tangy, and sweet toasted slice with butter is my favorite snack.

Ingredients

• FOR THE PREFERMENT (make the night before, right before you feed the starter):
• 10 grams starter
• 30 grams of water (spring, filtered, non-chlorinated)
• 35 grams of flour mix (for this bread, equal quantities of sorghum, teff, and millet)
• THE WET MIX:
• 17 grams psyllium husk flakes (not powder)
• 440 grams of water (spring, filtered, bottled, no chlorine, no tap, and don't use reverse osmosis water)
• 10 grams organic, raw honey, preferably local
• 6 grams extra virgin olive oil
• 75 grams sorghum + millet + teff preferment (made the night before)
• THE DRY MIX:
• 230 grams flour (76g sorghum + 76g millet + 77g teff)
• 70 grams starch (tapioca flour)
• 6 grams non-iodized good quality fine salt
• ADD-INS
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (raw)
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup unsweetened dry cranberries, tart cherries, or aronia berries, soaked for 5 minutes in warm water and chopped to the size of raisins if they are bigger; drain before use

Instructions

1

MAKE THE PREFERMENT:

2

Mix all the ingredients the night before (you will prepare the dough in the morning)

3

THE MIXING METHOD:

4

In a glass or plastic bowl, combine 420g of the water, psyllium husk flakes, honey, and extra virgin olive oil. Mix well and set it on the side. Once the psyllium husks absorb the water, this mixture will have a gel-like texture (it needs about 5 minutes).

5

In the meantime, combine all the dry ingredients in a glass bowl.

6

Now add the preferment to the psyllium husk gel. Add the remaining 20g of water to the preferment jar, shake and add pour the content to the psyllium husk mixture (this is to make sure we use all the preferment). Mix well with a spatula or wooden spoon.

7

Add the preferment gel mixture to the dry ingredients bowl, add the walnuts and cherries, and incorporate as much as possible with a spatula or wooden spoon. Start mixing with your hand until the dough is homogeneous and has no lumps. The dough is soft and sticky.

8

Now you can start mixing with the silicone or plastic dough scraper, scraping the dough from the sides of the bowl, and folding it into the center. Rotate the bowl and repeat with the same movement, for about 30 seconds. Please watch the video in the post above for a visual guide.

9

Cover the bowl with a plastic cover, then wrap in two extra big plastic bags and tighten the bags. From now on the fermentation starts. I keep my bowl on the kitchen counter. Ideally, it needs a place where the temperature stays constant throughout the process.

10

BULK FERMENTATION:

11

Let it ferment for 1 to 2 hours, depending on the temperature and humidity in your house. At about 20 degrees Celcius (68 degrees Fahrenheit), it can take 2 hours. If it's hotter than that, the time will decrease. At about 72-74 degrees Fahrenheit, my bulk fermentation takes about 1 hour. My sweet spot when I made this recipe (January), was 1h 20 minutes.

12

SHAPING THE DOUGH:

13

The videos will be the most helpful here, please watch them. Gently invert the dough on a working surface, dusted with just a tiny bit of flour. Gently lift one-third of the dough and fold it on top of itself. Then fold it one more time, so now what was on the bottom on the working surface is on the top. Now you will shape the dough and seal the bottom part, as seen in the second video in the post above.

14

PROOFING THE DOUGH:

15

Dust the lining of the Banneton or the towel with flour. Now that the dough is sealed and shaped, gently transfer it to the proofing basket with the sealed side facing upward (the smooth face down), as shown in the second video. Dust the top with flour, and cover with plastic wrap or wrap it in a towel. Because my house is pretty dry, I spray a little bit of water on the towel. I cover it in the plastic wrap, and then in two plastic bags that I tight very well. Again, you might not need these extra steps in your house. The proofing time will about the same as the bulk fermentation. At 72F, it might be 1h or a little more. Right now, when I created this recipe in January (at my parents' place where it tends to be around 70F), I need 1h 20 mins. Whenever I use teff flour in my bread, fermentation time, in general, tends to lower (read more about my fermentation times and experience in the post above).

16

PREHEAT THE OVEN: to 250C/480F for about one hour before baking, with the Dutch oven and the lid inside the oven.

17

SCORING AND TRANSFERRING TO THE OVEN:

18

When the dough is proofed, and your oven and cast iron are preheated, gently invert the dough from the basket to the middle of a parchment paper sheet.

19

Dust the dough with flour (any of the flours you are using, I prefer sorghum or millet) and gently spread it on the surface of the dough with your palm. Have the razor ready for scoring. For this bread, I particularly love the scoring type called ‘window’.

20

Now it's time to carefully remove the cast iron and the lid from the oven, closing the door quickly. This is when you need to work pretty fast but be careful not to burn yourself.

21

Make the scoring of your choice using the razor or the scoring blade (please check my suggestions in the post; keep it simple and easy in the beginning). After scoring, the dough needs to quickly go into the cast iron, covered, and into the oven.

22

Lift the dough with the edges of the parchment paper and gently lower it into the cast iron. Spray the dough with water to create steam , cover it with the lid, and put it back in the oven. Alternatively, you can throw two ice cubes into the pot, but not on top of the bread, somewhere next to it, on the outside of the paper.

23

Bake covered for 40 minutes.

24

After 40 minutes, carefully remove the lid (leaving the lid inside the oven, to maintain the temperature) and bake for 40 more minutes (because ovens are different, I recommend checking the bread after 30 minutes, and if the crust is done, remove the bread from the oven). Alternatively, you can slightly lower the temperature in the second part of the baking.

25

Take the pot out, and carefully remove the bread. You can check the bottom for the hollow sound.

26

Let the bread rest on a cooling rack for at least 5 hours. I know it can be tempting, but don't slice it earlier than 5 hours, as you will ruin the texture. For the best crumb, I recommend letting it rest overnight.

27

Store the bread for 2 to 3 days at room temperature, in a paper bag, or wrapped in a cotton towel. The first and second day is great fresh, but from day 3 I prefer it toasted. I actually love it toasted, even when is fresh. You can also slice it, separate the slices with parchment paper and freeze it. I thaw it in the toaster.