If you love a rich artisan bread loaded with texture and flavor, this cranberry pistachio bread will hit the spot!

This past weekend I went on a road trip with my childhood friend, Claire, to Arkansas, where we visited with another childhood friend, Robin.
Claire brought a loaf of delicious cranberry pistachio bread from a local supermarket (HEB). We had it for breakfast, toasted. . .with butter and some amazing jam we bought at a local stare in the Ozarks (a little cafe off of the Pig Trail called Oark).
I fell in love with that bread and came home to S. Texas, ready to purchase a loaf from HEB. But, before I could do that I decided to try to make a loaf from scratch. I had cranberries on hand. I didn’t have pistachios, but I did have pecans, a personal favorite. So, I decided to substitute those.
The Perfect Recipe
I went online to look for a recipe and found one that looked simple enough at Joyfully Dwell. I liked the idea of using a dutch oven, for sure. (Artisan breads are so fun!)
You guys know me, though. I never follow recipes verbatim. I didn’t have orange zest, so I swapped out orange extract. And I decided to go with a packet (.25 oz) of instant (rapid-rise) yeast instead of the teaspoon or regular yeast recommended in the recipe. And like I said, I used pecans in place of pistachios.
Other than that, I followed the recipe pretty close.
Enough chatter about all of that! Let’s take a look at the ingredients.
Cranberry Pistachio Bread Ingredients

You will find a full printable recipe card at the bottom of this post but here’s a peek at what you’ll need.
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups lukewarm water
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 packet instant yeast (.25 oz)
- 1 cup chopped Craisins (dried cranberries)
- ½ cup chopped nuts (pistachios, pecans, or walnuts)
- 2 tsp. orange zest (or ½ teaspoon orange extract)
- 1 teaspoon salt
How to Make Easy Cranberry Pistachio Bread
This comes together so easily!
Start by chopping the nuts and craisins.


Combine the flour, water, salt, sugar, cinnamon, and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer with dough hook.

Mix until well combined (about 3-4 minutes).

Add Craisins and nuts, and zest (or extract). Mix only until combined.

Nudge the dough away from the sides of the bowl and lightly grease the exposed parts of the bowl to keep the dough from sticking as it grows. (I used a nonstick spray.) Cover with a kitchen towel.

Place in a warm spot to rise. If you don’t have a spot that will do, consider turning on the light in your oven and placing the bowl inside.
Allow to rise for 2-3 hours or until the dough has doubled in size.

Once the dough has risen, preheat your dutch over by placing in an oven set to 425 degrees. Heat until the oven comes to temperature.
In the meantime, transfer the risen dough from the bowl to a floured surface.

Shape into a ball. (Don’t worry if it deflates a bit.) Place on a piece of parchment paper and score the top.

Place inside of the dutch oven.

Place the lid on and put in hot oven.
Bake for 35 - 40 minutes, then remove the lid, turn off the oven, and keep in the oven for another 10 minutes or until golden brown.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 - 15 minutes before slicing.

If you like, you can add butter on top.

Remove from pan.

Use a bread knife to slice.

Serve and enjoy!

I toasted mine in the toaster oven and spread salted butter and cherry-strawberry jam on it. Talk about delicious!
This bread can be stored at room temperature for 2-3 days or a few days longer in the fridge. You can freeze for later use if you like.

Serving ideas:

Use this bread for French toast. Soak in egg/milk mixture then place in a sizzling skilled to brown on both sides. Sprinkle with powdered sugar to serve.
PB&J: Serve with peanut butter and your favorite preserves.
Make a Monte Cristo out of this bread using ham and cheese.
That’s it for this post, friends!
I hope you enjoyed this delicious recipe.
If you make this recipe and love it, don’t forget to leave a review and a comment below. And while you're at it, go ahead and pin some photos to your Pinterest boards!


About the Author
Janice Thompson is an author, baker, and all-around mischief maker! She has overcome a host of baking catastrophes, including a toppled wedding cake, to learn more about the baking process. Janice has published over 165 books for the Christian market but particularly enjoys writing recipes and baking devotions. To learn more about Janice or to drop her a note, visit her About the Author page.

Easy Cranberry Pistachio Bread
If you love a rich artisan bread loaded with texture and flavor, this cranberry pistachio bread will hit the spot!
Ingredients
- 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour?
- 1 ½ cups lukewarm water
- ?½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon?
- 1 packet instant yeast (.25 ounce)
- 1 cup chopped Craisins (dried cranberries)
- ½ cup chopped nuts (pistachios, pecans, or walnuts)
- 2 tsp. orange zest (or ½ teaspoon orange extract)?
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Combine the flour, water, salt, sugar, cinnamon, and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer with dough hook. Mix until well combined (about 3-4 minutes).
- Add Craisins and nuts, and zest (or extract). Mix only until combined.
- Nudge the dough away from the sides of the bowl and lightly grease the exposed parts of the bowl to keep the dough from sticking as it grows. (I used a nonstick spray.) Cover with a kitchen towel.
- Place in a warm spot to rise. If you don’t have a spot that will do, consider turning on the light in your oven and placing the bowl inside.
- Allow to rise for 2-3 hours or until the dough has doubled in size.
- Once the dough has risen, preheat your dutch over by placing in an oven set to 425 degrees. Heat until the oven comes to temperature.
- In the meantime, transfer the risen dough from the bowl to a floured surface. Shape into a ball. (Don’t worry if it deflates a bit.) Place on a piece of parchment paper and put inside of the dutch oven. Place the lid on.
- Bake for 35 - 40 minutes, then remove the lid, turn off the oven, and keep in the oven for another 10 minutes or until golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 - 15 minutes before slicing.
- Serve and enjoy! I toasted mine in the toaster oven and spread salted butter and cherry-strawberry jam on it. Talk about delicious!
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 15 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 179Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 156mgCarbohydrates: 36gFiber: 2gSugar: 15gProtein: 4g
The nutrition information is a product of online calculators. I try to provide true and accurate information, but these numbers are estimates.
Miz Helen
Monday 25th of November 2024
Thanks so much for sharing your awesome post with us at Full Plate Thursday, 721, we appreciate you! Wishing you and yours abundant blessings this Thanksgiving! Miz Helen