This simply belongs on your Thanksgiving table. My “claim to fame”, if you will, is Stuffed Sourdough. I believe bread shouldn’t be boring, you can make a loaf out of just about anything. Hence, this cranberry and walnut stuffed sourdough loaf shaped like a Turkey. It makes me giggle just writing this out. What a time to be alive that we can be so creative with some water and flour.
โค๏ธ Why You’ll Love Cranberry and Walnut Stuffed Sourdough
You’ll love this loaf of bread, because your family will love this loaf of bread. It’s fun, festive, and delicious. A perfect side to bring to your Friendsgiving dinner. Your family will be blown away by this bread contribution on the big day. If you don’t want to make it into the shape of a turkey, it stands alone just as well with the fall inclusions.
๐ฒ Ingredients
Sourdough Starter – every great loaf of bread begins with a bubbly, and active sourdough starter. This is what will make the bread rise, so it’s important that you use it at its peak (6-8 hours after you have fed it)
Flour – This recipe calls for both all-purpose flour and whole-wheat flour, but if you don’t have whole-wheat on hand, you can use entirely all-purpose flour.
Cranberry– This recipe calls for craisins. I use the big bag from Costco and take 1/2 cup of craisins and put them in a bowl of water to soak while I assemble the dough.
Walnuts– any kind of walnuts will do, chop them as big or small as you like. If you’re feeling really festive, toast them before hand to bring out some extra flavor.
๐ฉโ๐ณ Baker’s schedule for Cranberry + Walnut Stuffed Sourdough Turkey
9am- feed your starter. I like a 1:3:3 ratio. (50g of starter, 150g of flour + 150g of water)
5:30pm – assemble your bread dough and soak your craisins.
6:15pm – pull the sides of your dough towards the middle until a semi – smooth ball forms.
7pm – add the craisins + walnuts and do your first set of stretch and folds.
7:45pm – second set of stretch and folds.
8:30pm – last set of stretch and folds. Then cover your dough with a damp bowl cover or tea towel and leave it on the counter to rise overnight.
The next morning, 7am – shape your dough and place it in your banneton and into the fridge until you’re ready to bake.
If we’re having a loaf of bread for lunch, I’ll preheat the oven at 10am, so it’s cooled down enough by noon. If we’re having the loaf for dinner, I’ll preheat and start baking the bread between 3 and 4pm.
๐ช Tips and Tricks
- Cover your bowl of dough with a damp bowl cover or tea towel to keep the top from drying out.
- Soak your craisins in water so they are slightly rehydrated, and it doesn’t interfere with the hydration in the recipe.
- If you’re making the turkey shape, wet your fingers with water and brush them where the wings and legs will go so they stick to the body of the dough.
๐ Variations
You can make this into a regular loaf, or one that is in the shape of a turkey. You can also take out craisins or take out walnuts. This loaf would be Thanksgiving worthy with either or.
- Stuffed Sourdough
- Cranberry Sourdough
- Walnut Sourdough
๐ Substitutions
The beauty about stuffed sourdough is there is no limit to what you can substitute in and out, if you want blueberries instead of cranberries, or goat cheese with walnuts, there is no end to the creativity that stuffed sourdough allows you to have. I am literally writing a book on it ๐
- Blueberry Walnut Stuffed Sourdough
- Cranberry and Goat Cheese Stuffed Sourdough
- Cinnamon Raisin Stuffed Sourdough
๐ Best served with
- Thanksgiving Dinner
- Sourdough Stuffing
- Apple Cider
๐ How to Store Leftovers
Fresh bread will not stay fresh for more than 4-5 days, and we shouldn’t expect it to because it’s not coated in all kinds of preservatives. But, if we want to keep our bread fresh the longest, I like to put the leftovers in a brown paper bag and then place it into a bread box on my counter.
๐ค Common Questions
It’s best to freeze sourdough after it’s been baked and cooled. Slice it up, place it into a Ziplock bag and place it in your freezer for up to 6 months. When you’re ready to eat it, take it out of the freezer leave it in the Ziplock so your loaf doesn’t dry out before you want to enjoy it.

Cranberry and Walnut Stuffed Sourdough Turkey
Equipment
- kitchen scale
Ingredients
- 60 grams bubbly, active starter
- 360 grams warm water
- 450 grams all-purpose flour
- 50 grams whole-wheat flour
- 9 grams salt
- ยฝ cup craisins soaked
- ยฝ cup walnuts
Instructions
- In the morning, feed your starter. I like a 1:3:3 ratio, I find it rises at just the appropriate time and when I would need to use it.
- In the afternoon, assemble your dough. Into a large mixing bowl, add your starter and water and mix until a milky liquid forms. Add your flours and salt and mix well until a shaggy dough forms. Cover with a wet bowl cover and let rest for 45 minutes.
- Place your craisins into a small bowl covered with water and set aside until they are ready to be used.
- After resting, pull the sides of the dough towards the middle until a semi-smooth dough forms. Cover and let rest for another 45 minutes.
- Uncover your dough and add your craisins and walnuts. Stretch and fold the dough over until all the ingredients are incorporated the best you can.
- Perform 2-4 stretch and folds every 45 minutes – 1 hour. Cover the dough and let it rest on the counter over night for the bulk fermentation.
- In the morning, turn your dough over onto a lightly floured surface and shape your dough. If you want to make the turkey shape, it works better with a round loaf. Place your dough seam-side up in a floured banneton and place in the fridge until you are ready to bake.
- When you're ready to bake your bread, preheat your Dutch oven to 450 degrees for at least 20 minutes. Place your dough onto a piece of parchment paper and score it or shape it into a turkey.
- Place the loaf into a heated Dutch oven and bake with the lid on for 25 minutes, remove the lid and bake for another 23 minutes until the loaf is golden brown.
- Let cool completely, slice and enjoy!
Shaping your turkey
- Use your bench scraper to cut wings into the sides of your dough. At an angle, cut about 3 quarters of the way to the top and all the way down. This will be about the length of your bench scraper. Then, chop off the bottom sides (at an angle) of the dough to create the legs. Be sure there is a point at the bottom of the dough. Take the detached pieces and attach them back onto the body of the dough as the legs. Cross the wings together to secure them. Do the same with the legs.
Nutrition
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Delicious! I added white chocolate chips too and it was amazing! The recipe came together well. I was worried when I first added the craisins, nuts, and chips because they didn’t incorporate very well or easily but as I did the stretches they incorporated beautifully!
I think my oven temp is off because I had to cook it covered the whole time and ended up only baking for about 40mins total ๐ฌ๐คท๐ผโโ๏ธ but I will definitely be making again! So yummy! Thanks for the recipe!