BBA Slow & Steady #11: Cranberry Walnut Celebration Bread roundup

Back in, oh, October, the Slow & Steady subgroup of the BBA Challenge - in our slow and steady march trhough Peter Reinhart's book The Bread Baker's Apprentice - baked Cranberry Walnut Celebration Bread, I have to be honest here. Most of us were less than enthusiastic about the prospect of baking this bread. We'd been in a run of sweet breads and/or fruit-filled breads and we were longing for a lean crusty hearth bread. But this BBA adventure is meant to be a challenge, right? We rose to the challenge and all of us loved the versions of this bread that we baked.

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Natalia of Gatti, Fili e Farina baked the most beautiful double-braid loaf for her celebration bread. She substituted raisins for the cranberries and pecans for the walnuts, and found herself cutting thinner and thinner slices to stretch this delicious bread! Read her post: BBA Slow and Steady Raisin Pecan Bread

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Karen, of the blog Shortbread found this bread the perfect way to enjoy Fall baking in November, even if it did remind her just a bit of her favorite December fruitcake. (Hey, Karen, I'm a fan of fruitcake too!) Here's her story: Celebrate Fall Cranberry-Walnut Celebration Bread

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Although she was tired of sweet enriched breads, Jessica of The Singleton in the Kitchen soldiered on and baked the (huge) loaf of bread (plus a little roll for her to taste - wasn't that clever of her?) and luckily found that it is really delicious. And added bonus, the loaf came in handy as a hostess gift. Here's her post: BBA S&S: Cranberry Walnut Celebration Bread

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Because nuts in bread are no cause for celebration at her house, Kayte of Grandma's Kitchen Table baked her celebration loaf sans walnuts and the bread was a hit. Her family found it especially delicious as the base of grilled cheese and turkey sandwiches. A little taste of Thanksgiving! Nobody can say it quite like Kayte, so read her post BBA Challenge: Cranberry (not Walnut) Celebration Bread

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Despite my initial reluctance to bake this bread - I thought I was tired of enriched, sweet, fruit-filled bread - I sucked it up and baked two small loaves, intending to give at least one of them away. My hybrid braids-in-a-loaf-pans bread was so delicious that we kept it all for ourselves! Here's my post: Cherry Walnut Whole Grain Celebration Bread

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Di of Di's Kitchen Notebook loved the raisin bread we made in the BBA Challenge a few breads back, but wasn't in the mood for another fruit-filled loaf. Being a very creative baker, Di turned the Cranberry Walnut Celebration Bread into Cranberry Pecan cinnamon-type rolls - it was a regular party going on at her house! Check out the details here: There's a party goin' on right here

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Margaret of Tea and Scones has realized that she loves "really good Home Made Bread" including this loaf. She tackled the double braid shaping method, and despite a bit of slippage, look how beautifully her bread turned out! Here's her post: Slow and Steady BBA - Cranberry Walnut Bread

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No braided loaf for Sarah of Blue Ridge Baker! Following Di's lead she took this bread in a completely different direction, baking date pecan rolls with orange caramel sauce. Her rolls look and sound amazing; I just wish I could have had a little taste. Read more: BBA Challenge: Date Pecan Rolls with Orange Caramel Sauce

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A bit apprehensive about the upcoming complex breads in the BBA book, Leslie of Lethally Deliciouswas grateful for a simple, forgiving bread to bake. She eschewed the braiding and baked her dough into a mama and a baby loaf. The bread was a huge hit at her house, as you can imagine from looking at the beautiful picture above. Here's Leslie's post: BBA - Cranberry walnut celebration bread

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So there you have it: a plethora of celebratory breads baked by the Slow and Steady bakers of the BBA Challenge. With this bread we have true cause for celebration, as we finally exit the "C" section of the book!