In spite of the sweltering heat here in Southern California, I managed to squeeze in a baking session with the air conditioner running. The results were delicious! Cranberry-Walnut Pumpkin Loaves! When I saw that we were making these loaves, I assumed they were a quick bread, but not so. This is a yeast bread. After the first rise the dough is deflated and put in the refrigerator to chill overnight. When removed the next day, it’s left on the counter to return to 64 degrees before shaping, another rise, and baking. I am not usually a fan of pumpkin spice flavored food, but this was delicious! I am already planning a second batch. The small loaves make a perfect gift size. One loaf was eaten immediately, one given as a gift and part of the last one is still in the freezer. There were no fresh cranberries available so I used frozen whole cranberries. I mixed the dough in my Bosch mixer, but kneaded in the cranberries by hand so as not to break too many of them.

The recipe for this excellent bread can be found on page 108 of Baking with Julia or on Rebecca’s blog, This Bountiful Backyard. She is the Tuesdays with Dorie host for this week. You can find links to all the participants blogs about this recipe on Tuesdays with Dorie.

*This is a late post for Tuesdays with Dorie. I baked on time, I just didn’t get the post finished, due to getting a cold followed by the flu.  I had planned on baking the bagel assignment with a friend, but had to cancel due to the flu. I’ll have to try the bagels on a rewind Tuesday.  I’m counting on an illness free winter now that I have had both a cold and the flu!