Thanksgiving Cranberry Corn Bread

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It will soon be American Thanksgiving, so I thought I’d re-post our Thanksgiving Cranberry Corn bread.  It’s based on the Portuguese Broa style (page 151 in the book)—it’s the regular Master Recipe, but with 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour taken out and replaced with an equal amount of cornmeal.

Here’s what you need to do.  Take about 2 pounds of the Broa dough mentioned above and shape it into a ball; then flatten it with your hands and a rolling pin until it’s about 1/2-inch thick.  Sprinkle the dough with 1/3 of a cup of dried cranberries (or 1/2 cup fresh):

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Now break out your microzester, and use it to scrape the zest from half an orange…

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… now sprinkle that over the cranberries, and then sprinkle a couple of tablespoons of granulated sugar over that…

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Now roll it up like a jelly roll… If it sticks to the board as you’re rolling, nudge it off with a dough scraper.

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Tuck the ends under to form a ball, flatten it on a work surface, and then, using your hands and a rolling pin, make a disk the right size for a 12-inch cast iron pan.  It should be about an inch or inch and a half thick.   If you don’t have a cast-iron pan, see below.**  This instruction applies to this flattened thanksgiving bread only; you can make loaf breads this way too (freeform or in a pan).

Grease the pan well with butter, lard, bacon grease, or oil (I used olive oil today), and place the dough round in it.

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Allow to rest for at least 1 hour and 20 minutes.  You’ll get a more open hole structure if you wait two hours.

Put a broiler tray in the oven to dump water to make steam.  20 minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F if you keep a baking stone in the oven.  If you don’ t use a stone, a 5-minute pre-heat is adequate (the stone isn’t required since you’ll bake in the cast-iron).

Just before baking, heat the cast-iron pan over medium heat for 1 or 2 minutes to jump-start the baking process and promote caramelization of the bottom crust.  Don’t overdo it–no more than 2 minutes.  It will start to sizzle.

Place the pan on a rack near the center of the oven.  Pour 1 cup of water into the broiler tray and quickly close the oven door.  Depending on the thickness of your loaf and the weight of the pan, baking time will be about 25 minutes.

Carefully turn the hot loaf out of the pan onto a serving plate or cooling rack, or just cut wedges directly out of the pan once it cools.  Be careful with the hot cast-iron pan!

You should get a result just like the cover photo.  Happy Thanksgiving!  Other Thanksgiving recipes:

Stuffing from homemade bread:  https://artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=1228

Thanksgiving buns:  https://artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=443

Thanksgiving Pumpkin Pie Brioche: https://artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=1209

Roasting Your Own Pumpkins: https://artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=50

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** This bread can be done as a simple free-form loaf right on a baking stone, cookie sheet, or silicone mat (about the same baking time, or in a loaf pan (longer baking time needed).  Either way, it’s done at 425 degrees.

1,099 thoughts to “Thanksgiving Cranberry Corn Bread”

  1. What a great giveaway! I just found out that the big “take or toss” rectangle containers are perfect for a batch of dough. I can fit four in my fridge. Not that I have a dough addiction. Ok, maybe a little one.

  2. I can’t wait to try this out, thank you for your wonderful recipes and photos that come along with them. I think the cranberry corn bread will be a perfect addition to our Thanksgiving feast.

  3. I keep hearing about your book and it sounds like something that would fit into our currently busy schedule. I love the smell and sense of freshly rising bread. Hmmm, I’m gonna have to list your book on my Christmas Wish List or just go out and buy a copy as a special gift for myself.

  4. I started learning to bake Artisan Breads in 5 with King Arthur flour, then switched to an organic Costco flour that was cheaper and regretted it immediately! King Arthur Flour is the best and I won’t mess around with another flour ever again.

  5. I am excited to get back to making bread after a hectic summer of moving. 3 moves in 5 months! We have yet to find our copy of either book so I am glad to see the recipes on the site.

  6. This looks really good. I especially appreciate the gluten free recipes you write up – it’s great to see how professionals work with alternative flours.

  7. Since I make your Deli Rye and Boule all the time I’ve been asked to bring a loaf of each for a Christmas party. My friend is making a cranberry beef stew and this recipe sounds like it would be great to take along too. I always bake my breads in a Terra Cotta Pot and wonder if this cranberry bread could be baked in the same way? I too would love to win this fantastic give-a-way! Thanks for all your help with baking these wonderful breads and your terrific website.

  8. I just found your books and have been making bread for the first time! The recipes are so easy to follow. I am allergic to sulfites and being able to make my own bread is allowing me to experiment with recipes that include tasty out of the ordinary breads. Thank you!

  9. Thanks for doing this giveaway! I would love to have a Danish dough whisk, but I never seem to get around to buying one.

  10. Your book was just delivered and I can’t wait to get started. I am going to make some lovely fresh bread for our Thanksgiving Feast. Thanks for the great inspiration.

  11. I need to tell you how excited I am about using your book!! Referred to me by a foodie friend I was skeptical as I have been baking from scratch at home for over 30 years or so, always struggling with consistency technique etc. Your method empowers anyone who has basic skills to make world class bread. Congratulations to the both of you and sorry it took me so long to find out about you. My Xmas shopping will be easy, ABin5 book, a dough container a bag of flour and a jar of yeast for everyone in my family.

  12. I was just about to order this book! the whisk looks good and I have been dreaming about it, too. I will wait and see (ha, not likely) if I win before I buy the book. Sigh, another delay!

  13. Wow! Thank you for the inspiration. I am always looking for new ways to bake with cranberries! Thank you for offering this contest, too!

  14. Recipe looks great! I think I’ll make it with a mixture of dark and golden raisins. (We don’t care for cranberries at our house.) Thanks!

  15. Wow, this recipes is so simple and looks really good. I wish I saw this before the making the master boule. Will have to try this next week.

  16. We love your books and I always use KAF
    products to make our loaves and rolls.
    Thank you so much for bringing fresh home baked bread back into my life!!!

  17. Terrific idea to spotlight this recipe now — I was just paging through AB5 to select a recipe for Thanksgiving this week and made a note of that one!

  18. oooh I look forward to the textures of the Cran-Corn Bread playing off each other – the crunchy cornmeal (maybe even a bit of coarser corn grits thrown in?), the soft dough, and the chewy cranberries, all surrounded by a perfect crust that only cast iron can give!
    Thank you:)

  19. Thank you for the opportunity to enter this giveaway!

    Your books have blessed my family with homemade bread! I’m already converting others and have many people to share the book with!

  20. Wow, what a great give-a-way! I love King Arthur Flour and your book is on my Christmas List! Thanks for the opportunity to participate in this great give-a-way:)
    Laura T

  21. I just discovered your book this week–my first loaf was amazing! I’d given up baking bread since I’m pregnant and kneading was too hard on my stomach muscles–but now I can have my bread and eat it too 🙂 Thank you!
    Can’t wait to try the cranberry corn bread…

  22. I’ve had your book for a while, and finally decided it was time to try to make my own bread. WOW. Should have started the day after I got the book. I could kick myself for wasting all that time between then and now. Can’t wait for your flatbread an pizza book!

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