Cherry Sourdough Bread

This cherry sourdough bread is chewy and full of dried cherries and toasted pecans! It is delightful for breakfast, an afternoon snack with nut butter, or served with dinner!

Raise your hand if, whenever you enter an artisanal bakeshop, you have an internal debate about which loaf to choose. Should I get the practical sandwich bread or the fun loaf full of dried fruit and nuts? Warning: this is the fun loaf variety. 

For a practical sandwich bread, consider making my buttery brioche bread recipe or my whole wheat sandwich bread recipe instead!

This sourdough is packed with dried cherries and toasted pecans! Paired with whole wheat flour, it all comes together to create a truly magnificent loaf of bread. The crust is perfectly crisp, and the inside is soft as a pillow! Making this bread a perfect addition to any dinner, like this dutch oven beef stew!

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Water: I use tap water for this bread, but you can use filtered water if you prefer. Gluten develops faster in warm conditions, in addition to giving the yeast a jump start. Starting with a warmer dough means faster gluten development and more rise in less time. 
• Liquid Levain: You will need an active sourdough starter that consistently doubles in volume within 12-14 hours, depending on the temperature of your room. If you don’t have a starter, start here with my sourdough starter recipe, or if yours is simply uncooperative, begin with my how to feed sourdough starter post, which covers all aspects of feeding, storing, and troubleshooting.
• All-purpose Flour: I use all-purpose flour to feed my starter and also to make this recipe. Bread flour can be used, as its higher protein content allows the gluten to develop faster.
• Whole Wheat Flour: A stone-ground flour like Bob’s Red Mill whole wheat flour, will provide the most nutrients and best flavor. It will make the crumb slightly less open. If you would like to try a 100% whole wheat bread, check out this whole wheat sourdough bread. 
• Active Dry Yeast: If you don’t have active dry yeast, you can substitute double the weight of fresh yeast or half the weight in instant yeast. 
• Kosher Salt 
• Pecans
• Dried Tart Cherries

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Variations for Cherry Sourdough Bread

• Chocolate Cherry Bread. You can substitute the pecans with chocolate chips, chocolate chunks, or even white chocolate. You can also replace a small amount of the whole wheat flour with some cocoa powder. 
• Change the fruit or nuts. Swap the cherries for cranberries, dried apple or raisins, as I do with my sourdough raisin bread. You can even add some cinnamon, as seen in this cinnamon raisin sourdough bread. You can even swap for toasted walnuts or hazelnuts. 
• Make into rolls. Follow my instructions from these sourdough rolls to make this bread into individual rolls. 
• Add some spices. Try adding some spices to the bread; cinnamon, ginger, or cardamom would be delightful! You can also use my speculoos spice mix. 

Professional Tips

• Gluten development. If your mixer is struggling to handle gluten development, try a longer autolyse of 20-25 minutes to help develop the gluten. This dough is on the wet side, so I don’t suggest kneading by hand. You can also take breaks with the mixer or perform additional folds every 20 minutes once the dough is proofing. 
• Measuring by weight is more precise than measuring by volume. You’ve heard it before, but it is worth repeating, especially because I developed this recipe to have convenient volume conversions. Using an inexpensive kitchen scale is not only more accurate and consistent, but it is actually faster!
• Omit the active dry yeast if you plan to bake the next morning. If you plan to retard the bread overnight in your refrigerator, don’t use the active dry yeast. By the time you get around to baking it, the bread will be overproofed, and it will rise and collapse in the oven.

How to Make Cherry Sourdough Bread

Use these instructions to make the perfect cherry sourdough loaf every time! Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.

Build your Liquid Levain:

Step 1: The night before, build your liquid levain from your starter. In a clean container or jar, mix the flour, water, and starter. Stir with a small spatula until the water has hydrated the flour. With this small quantity, it is easier to double the amount of the starter build; you have enough to make your dough and feed the starter. Here is a whole tutorial on building a liquid levain.

If you are maintaining a liquid levain starter with 125% hydration already, there is no need to feed a separate starter; simply adjust the ratio above to ensure you have enough to feed the next day. Allow it to proof at room temperature.

Make the Final Dough:

Step 2: Hydrate the yeast. Whisk together the active dry yeast and warm water in the bowl of a stand mixer to hydrate and ensure there are no clumps. Allow it to bloom for 10 minutes, or until it becomes bubbly. 

Step 3: Mix and autolyze. Add the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, and starter to the bowl. With the paddle attachment on low, mix until all the flour has been completely incorporated. Let the dough sit for 15 minutes (autolyze) to develop the gluten.

Step 4: Prepare add-ins. While your dough autolyzes, toast the pecans in a preheated oven at 350°F for about 10 minutes, then set them aside to cool. Then, cover the dried cherries with hot water and let them soak for 30 minutes. Drain very well and set aside.

Step 5: Add the salt to the bowl, switch to the hook attachment, and then mix on low to incorporate.

Waiting to add the salt allows the flour time to hydrate properly. Salt is hydrophilic, meaning it attracts moisture, and whole wheat flour takes more time to hydrate. 

Step 6: Develop gluten. Turn the mixer up to medium speed to develop the gluten. Mix until you can pull a windowpane. It will be harder to pull a windowpane with the whole wheat flour. 

Window Pane Test: Take a piece of the dough in your hands. Working around the edges of the dough, try to pull the piece thin enough to see through. The whole wheat grains will tear more easily. Do not despair! This is normal, and it takes practice. This dough will not form a ball around the hook because it is too wet.

Step 7: Add the toasted, cooled pecans and the strained cherries, and mix on low until they are evenly distributed throughout the dough and not all on the outside.

Bulk Ferment: 

Step 8: Scoop the dough into a large, well-oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Place in a warm spot for an hour.

Step 9: Sets of stretches: Fold each of the four sides into the center, pulling the dough up and allowing it to smack down on top of the remaining dough in the bowl. This is developing more gluten! Let the dough rest for the remainder of the bulk fermentation.

Step 10: Cover and proof for an additional hour or until doubled and light and airy feeling. You want to oil or flour your hands before you feel the dough. It should feel light and airy and not stiff or dense.

Shaping and proofing: 

Step 11: Pre-shape: Dust the top of the dough in the bowl with flour. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into two equal portions, each weighing 625g. Fold each of the four sides towards you into the center, turning the dough after each fold. This will create a little packet. Flip the dough so the seam is on the counter. Shape it into a round by using both hands to pull the dough towards you. Once you have a round ball with a smooth top, allow it to sit and bench rest for 15 minutes.

Step 12: Final Shape: Repeat the same process as with the pre-shape until you have a tight round ball. Place the dough on a piece of parchment paper or flip it seam-side up into a proof basket that has been dusted with rice flour. Cover with plastic wrap.

Step 13: To bake the same day: Place the basket back into the warm spot and allow to rise another 1-2 hours or until it feels light and airy and has doubled in volume in the basket. The volume will be tough to tell if you are proofing it on parchment because it doesn’t contain or control the shape of the sourdough. Proceed to the baking step below.

To bake the next day: Omit the active dry yeast. Place the covered basket into the fridge to retard the dough overnight. This will slow the proofing of the yeast, allowing you to bake 12-18 hours later.

Baking: 

Step 14: Preheat the oven to 450°F convection or 470°F non-convection with the Dutch oven, challenger bread pan, or baking pan inside. 

Step 15: Score the dough. Meanwhile, cut a piece of parchment a little larger than the loaf. When your oven is ready, toss a little flour onto the dough, then turn the dough out of the basket onto the parchment. [If you proofed your dough on parchment, skip this step] Score the dough using a lame, razor blade, or paring knife. You want to score midway between the bottom and the top. 

With this bread in a round shape, I like to make a square so that it rises straight up and maintains its round shape.

Step 16: Bake. Take the preheated Dutch oven from the oven, gently lower the dough into the pot, and cover it with the lid. Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the lid and continue baking for 25 minutes or until the loaf is a dark amber brown.

Step 17: Cool. Remove the loaf from the Dutch oven, carefully remove the parchment, and then cool completely on a wire rack. This allows the crumb to set.

Recipe FAQs

Before You Go

I hope you enjoyed this flavorful bread recipe. Check out our other delicious sourdough bread recipes, like these sourdough cinnamon rolls, or this sourdough pizza dough recipe!