This bread is great whether you're diabetic or not. It's rich in fiber, has a good amount of protein for a bread, and is studded with dried cranberries and walnuts. The bread has zing from lemon zest as well as the sourdough tang. The recipe isn't complicated, and I like to make the bread in the air fryer. If you form two small loaves, you can make your own air fryer aluminum pans or "slings" with a little foil. Using the air fryer eliminates the need to turn on the "big oven," if you'd rather not. The recipe uses wheat bran, which is available in most large grocery stores and on line. You'll need to soak the bran overnight (or at least all day). The soaking step is essential so the bran softens enough and won't interfere with the kneading/gluten development. This really is a tasty breakfast (or anytime) bread, and it's great for those looking for a bread that's loaded with nutritious ingredients rather than a lot of added sugar. Enjoy!
Sourdough Fruit and Nut Bread -- Makes 2 Small/Medium Loaves
1 cup of starter/discard
1/4 cup of wheat bran, soaked in water overnight and then drained
3/4 cup of water
1/4 cup of canola oil
2 tablespoons of chia seeds
1 - 2 teaspoons of lemon zest (most of the zest of a small lemon)
1 cup of white whole-wheat flour
1/4 cup of dried cranberries
1/2 cup of chopped or broken walnuts
Mix all of the ingredients listed above in a large bowl until everything is well combined. Loosely cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the mixture sit for at least an hour. I usually let my mixture sit for 4-5 hours. When you're ready, add:
1 cup of white whole-wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
Stir the wheat/salt into the mixture, then knead the dough for three to five minutes, adding in an additional 1/4 cup of flour or so to prevent the dough from being too sticky to knead. Knead in the dried cranberries and walnuts until they're incorporated into the dough. Divide the dough into two portions and roll the portions into loaf shapes that will fit inside your air fryer. Take two pieces of aluminum foil, roughly 12-14-inches in length. Fold the sheets of foil in half and slightly fold/crimp the edges to form makeshift pans/slings for the bread. You want to make sure your slings will fit in your air fryer basket. Spritz the foil slings with non-stick cooking spray, put a dough loaf on each sling, and spritz the tops of the dough loaves with non-stick cooking spray. Loosely cover the loaves with plastic wrap and let the dough rise until it has increased in volume by about one-third. It usually takes my loaves 2-3 hours to rise in my not-very-warm kitchen. When you're ready to cook, put one dough-topped foil sling in your air fryer basket, put the basket in the air fryer, and air fry the bread at 320 degrees for about 30 minutes or until the bread is a deep golden brown (or the internal temperature is 190-200). Remove the bread from the air fryer, using the foil sling to help you lift the bread out of the air fryer basket. Let the bread cool and repeat the cooking process with the remaining dough. If you'd prefer to bake the loaves in the oven, bake them at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes.
