Cranberry Pepita Sourdough

Behold, cranberries! Nope, it's not Thanksgiving, but this loaf will make a mean turkey sandwich. I love pepitas in sourdough. Raw ones are really good for you. I find that soaking them for a bit in warm water helps distribute the nutty flavor through the bread.


Cranberry Pepita Sourdough

72% hydration
Ingredients:
700g organic all-purpose flour (Central Milling)
200g white whole wheat (Trader Joe's)
200g sourdough starter @ 100% hydration
477g water
15g salt
200g raw pepitas, coarsely chopped, soaked and drained
200g dried cranberries

Details:
Mix/autolyse: 35 minutes
Bulk fermentation: 4 hours @ 72F. Stretch and folds every 30 minutes
Divide, bench rest, and shape: 20 minutes
Proof: 2.5 hours (or 1.5 hours, then retard for 2 – 16 hours)
Bake: 40 minutes @ 500F

I tried adding the cranberries and pepitas at shaping time. The result was fine, but the distribution of the fruit and seeds was poor. Next time I will add them during one of the last stretch and folds to achieve a more even distrobution.


The soaked pepitas will make the dough a bit wetter than you would expect. Dusting the bannetons with a mixture of wheat and brown rice flour can really help prevent sticking.


Here is a shot of my high tech proofing chambers in action.