Wild Rice Cranberry Bread is a new sandwich bread recipe inspired by the type served in Madeline Island, Wisconsin and the Minnesota area. Sue told me about it. then I went down a rabbit hole reading about the region of America where the Chippewa went for "food that grows on the water". And then I made the bread! It's a soft sandwich bread with white, wheat and rye flour, wild rice and dried cranberries. It's the perfect bread for turkey sandwiches.
Jump to Recipe
Wild Rice for Bread
So what recipe did I use to make this bread? Well, it looks like there are some good ones out there, but I already have a cooked white rice bread we love, so I made a larger size version and incorporated wheat and rye flour. And then of course there was the rice swap. First I tried Lundberg Wild Rice Blend. It worked, but left too many crunchy rice bites due to whatever little rice bits were in the blend. I had much better luck using a wild rice from Minnesota called Thousand Lakes.
Wild Rice Bread Texture and Flavor
This is a large, soft, loaf with a texture similar to the old Roman Meal and ideal for sandwiches or toast. The whole recipe has 3 tablespoons of sugar and some cranberries, but it's not exactly a sweet bread. The texture of the rice makes it a little chewy, but not overwhelming so. The flavor just tastes like a good whole wheat bread even though it has both wheat and rye flour.
Ingredient Notes
- Wild Rice -- Any brand that is not a blend. I used Minnesota Lakes.
- Rye Flour -- Dark rye, but any type rye flour should work.
- Bread Flour -- King Arthur brand since it has a lot of protein. I don't think all-purpose would work as well because the loaf needs extra gluten to hold up all that rice. But you can try AP if you want or add vital wheat gluten.
- Sugar -- Any, but some honey might be good too.
- Instant Yeast -- SAF Gold Label is my favorite yeast.
- Salt -- Morton brand kosher. If you bake with Diamond you'll need more.
- Whole Wheat Flour -- I use Pillsbury or Gold Medal because the grains seem a little less spiky and more dough-hook friendly. King Arthur's wheat flour tastes good, but I suspect the sharp grains cut through the gluten-strands because my KA whole wheat loaves are always denser. To be safe, I knead gently with the dough hook and finish kneading whole wheat dough by hand.
- Unsalted butter -- whatever brand is on sale.
This is a relatively quick loaf because it doesn't require an overnight fermentation or a sponge. It might be fun to try it with a little diastatic malt powder and an overnight fermentation. But it's good just the way it is.
So far this recipe has been tested twice by me and once by Sue, so we know it works. It's amenable to so many changes and variations, so I hope you give it a try.
Recipe
Wild Rice Cranberry Bread
Ingredients
- 1 cup cooked wild rice
- 2 cups bread flour plus another ¼ cup for the mat (280 grams plus 70 grams for mat)
- ¾ cups rye flour (100 grams)
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon instant yeast (SAF gold label)
- 1 ½ cups very warm water (130 degrees F)
- 1 cup whole wheat flour (Pillsbury or Gold Medal) (130 grams)
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 3 tablespoons softened unsalted butter
- ⅓ cup dried cranberries, chopped
Instructions
- Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan. A slightly larger loaf pan should also work., but I wouldn't go any smaller than 9x5 without reducing the amount of dough you put in the pan. For instance, you could make an 8 ½ by 4 ½ and plus one mini loaf.
- Put a cup of warm cooked rice in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add 2 cups bread flour and ¾ cup of rye flour, the yeast, and sugar. Add the warm water and stir by hand until well blended, then add the salt and softened butter. Continue beating by hand just until mixed. Stir in about a half cup of the whole wheat flour.
- Attach dough hook and let the machine knead the dough. Stop after the first minute or so and scrape the sides. Continue gently kneading with the dough hook, gradually adding that last ½ cup of whole wheat flour and stopping to scrape dough. The goal here is to just get the kneading process started. The dough should still be a little bit sticky when you transfer it to the floured mat.
- Transfer the dough to a mat dusted with some of the extra ¼ bread flour and press it flat. Sprinkle the cranberries across the dough and work them in as you do the final knead, gradually adding all of the reserved flour. Knead by hand until smooth and elastic.
- Grease a large bowl with oil. Add the dough and slick lightly with the oil. Cover the bowl and let it rise for 1 hour or until doubled.
- Turn dough back onto the pastry mat. Press into a rectangle, then told downward into a cylinder, turning down corners as you roll and pressing out air. Bounce it gently to shape it into an even loaf, then plop it in a greased loaf pan. Cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise for another hour.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Bake for about 50 minutes. Let cool only 5 minutes in the pan, then turn it out and let cool completely.
Sue K says
I made this again and added even more cranberries. I shared it with a friend. She thinks it’s even better than what we had on Madeline Island!!
Sue K says
This is a fantastic recipe! It’s great as is and it makes excellent toast. When I made it I added more cranberries to make it more like the bread I had on Madeline Island. I will make this bread again and again and can’t wait to make it for a friend who I know will love it! Thanks for putting this recipe together Anna. The bread is so good!