1 lb Bread Machine Cranberry Walnut Bread

This 1 lb bread machine cranberry walnut bread is delicious & crunchy! I love using this cranberry walnut bread to make “leftover sandwiches”, especially after the holidays when I have tons of leftover turkey, sweet potato, etc.

In my opinion, 1 lb bread machine recipes are perfect for singles, small families or people who do not want lots of leftover bread.

Recipe Sections

1. Ingredients
2. Instructions
3. Helpful Tips

Since this is one of my 1 lb bread machine recipes, you will need to make this cranberry walnut bread in a small compact bread machine. 1 lb loaves generally do not work well with larger 2 lb capacity machines (as the smaller loaves come out like pancakes!).

Loaf of 1 lb Bread Machine Cranberry Walnut Bread

Ingredients

• 3/4 Cup – Milk (warm) – 177 milliliters
• 2 1/2 Tablespoons – Unsalted Butter (softened) – 35 grams
• 2 Cups – Bread Flour – 240 grams
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons – Light Brown Sugar – 19.5 grams
• 3/4 Teaspoon – Salt – 4.5 grams
• 3/4 Teaspoon – Bread Machine Yeast (Instant Yeast) – 2.7 grams – Not active dry yeast
• 1/3 Cup – Chopped Walnuts – 38 grams
• 1/3 Cup – Dried Cranberries – 38 grams

Servings – Roughly 9 slices

Equipment Needed – Measuring cup & spoons, silicone spatula, oven mitts, cooling rack and a bread machine.

Dried Cranberries & Chopped Walnuts Added to Bread Pan

1 lb Bread Machine Cranberry Walnut Bread – Just Finished Baking!

Instructions

• Bread machine settings – 1 pound loaf, light color and “basic/white” bread setting.
• Soften the butter in your microwave. FYI – I like to semi-melt the butter for better “mixability”.
• Unplug your bread machine.
• Remove the bread pan from the unplugged bread machine (so when you add the ingredients, they can not accidentally spill into the machine).
• Pour the milk into the bread pan and then add the other ingredients. Place the bread machine yeast in last and the yeast should not touch the liquid or salt (until the bread machine is turned on and the ingredients start to be mixed together by the bread machine). Put the bread pan with ingredients back into the unplugged bread machine.
• Plug in bread machine. Enter the correct settings (1 lb, light color & basic/white bread) and press the “start” button.
• When the bread machine’s first mixing/kneading cycle has stopped and before the second mixing/kneading cycle starts, you should add the dried cranberries & chopped walnuts. FYI – Read your bread machine manual on when & how to add fruits & nuts when using your bread machine. Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions for your specific bread machine.
• When the bread machine has finished baking the bread, unplug the bread machine and remove the bread pan from the bread machine. Wear oven mitts as the bread pan & bread machine will be hot.
• Remove the bread from the bread pan and place the bread on a cooling rack. Use oven mitts when removing the bread as the bread & bread pan will be hot.
• Optional – Right after you remove the hot bread from the bread pan and place it on the cooling rack, you can use a pastry brush to brush a very light coat of melted butter on the top of the bread. FYI – Do not use too much melted butter or it will run all over the sides of the bread. Also do not brush on when the bread has cooled down.
• Let the bread cool on the cooling rack for 1-2 hours before cutting.
• Please read the tips section below for extra information on how to make this recipe successfully & to avoid common bread machine problems.

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Helpful Tips

• The tips below are designed to help bread machine “novices” and those who haven’t touched their bread machine in years.
• Click on this “print recipe” link if you want to print out this recipe. It includes all of the recipe’s ingredients and instructions. However, the recipe print function does not include our tips section. Please read the tips section in order to avoid common recipe problems.
• This recipe is part of Bread Dad’s series on easy 1 lb Bread Machine Recipes such as white bread bread, banana bread, oatmeal bread and multigrain white bread.

• This recipe creates a 1 lb version of my popular recipe for Bread Machine Cranberry Walnut Bread (which is focused on making 1.5 & 2 lb loaves).
• As I stated at the top of the page, this recipe is ONLY for small compact bread machines.
• 1 lb bread machine recipes generally do NOT work well in larger machines with 2 lb loaf capacities, especially if the machines have 2 paddles or a wide horizontal bread pan. However, some visitors have success making 1 lb recipes in a 2 lb “compact” bread machine with a vertical-oriented bread pan (a pan with a square bottom that mainly pushes the bread upwards versus a pan with a wide rectangular bottom)
• If you use larger bread machines with 2 paddles or a wide horizontal bread pan, a 1 lb bread machine recipe usually comes out more like a pancake (with lots of exterior crust and less of the soft interior).
• If your machine says that it makes 1lb, 1.5 lb AND 2 lb loaves, it will probably have a problem with smaller loaves. Generally, a bread machine is good at making small loaves OR larger loaves (usually not both).
• Moreover, some small compact machines have problems with 1.5 lb online recipes (even if the manufacturer says their machine can handle 1.5 lb loaves). This was another reason for Bread Dad to make some 1 lb loaf recipes.
• If you don’t know the loaf size (e.g. my 1 lb, 1.5 lb or 2 lb recipes) that best fits your bread machine, please take a look at my Bread Machine Pan Sizes page. It covers the internal dimensions of the pans used by variety of different bread machines and offers suggestions about the loaves that best fit those machines.

• WARNING – Since 1 lb bread machine recipes use smaller amounts of ingredients, it is easier to mess up 1 lb recipes!! There is less room for measuring errors versus larger loaves. To make 1 lb loaf recipes successfully, you need to measure accurately (no eyeballing ingredients).
• To make my 1 lb bread machine recipes, I own & use a Briskind Compact Bread Maker Machine. In case you are interested, another popular (but more expensive) bread machine focused on making 1 lb loaves is the Zojirushi BB-HAC10 Mini Breadmaker.
• In case you are looking at getting a bread machine to make 1 lb recipes, here are some of the benefits of a small compact bread machine; 1 lb loaves are perfect for single people or people who don’t want a ton of bread, a compact machine takes up less space in the kitchen (so more convenient for an apartment versus buying a giant bread machine), it uses less energy than a large bread machine, it creates smaller sandwich slices (sometimes, in my opinion, the slices from 2 lb loaves are too large – especially for kids), etc.
• The disadvantages of a small compact bread machine; small bread pan capacity (so you can’t make a larger loaf if you have guests coming over), not many online recipes are focused on 1 lb loaves, sometimes 1 lb loaves have more uneven crusts (vs bread made with larger horizontal bread pans), etc.
• Visitors – What compact bread machine did you use to make this 1 lb bread machine recipe (such as Briskind Compact Bread Maker or Zojirushi Mini Breadmaker)? Please post your machine & any compact bread machine tips in the comment section below.

• Use FRESH walnuts. After you have opened a bag of chopped walnuts, the walnuts can go rancid (bad) quickly due to their high oil content. Once the walnut package has been opened, you should store the chopped walnuts in an airtight container in your refrigerator or freezer. Do not use old walnuts that have been sitting in your pantry in an already opened bag.
• Make sure to use CHOPPED walnuts (or pecans) because it is easier for the small bits of chopped walnuts to be mixed into the dough. Do not use larger walnut halves, etc.
• I do not recommend soaking the dried cranberries for this recipe. Any extra moisture can throw off a bread machine recipe.
• I like to break up any large clumps of dried cranberries before adding them to the bread pan. This makes it easier for them to be mixed into the dough.
• I would not replace the dried cranberries in this recipe with frozen or fresh cranberries. The use of frozen or fresh cranberries is more likely to throw off the liquid-to-dry ingredient ratio of this recipe (due to cranberry “breakage’ during the machine mixing & baking, ice on the frozen berries, etc.). If too much moisture is added to a sandwich bread recipe, you are more likely to have a bread collapse or undercooked bread.

• Optional – If you want to make this cranberry walnut bread even softer, you should use buttermilk (instead of the milk called for in the recipe). The slight acidity of buttermilk “tenderizes” gluten and creates a softer bread.
• Optional – If you have run out of milk, you can use water as a substitute. However, while still good, bread made with water will be a little less tasty. You can also use non-dairy milk substitutes such as plain (non-flavored) soy milk, oat milk, almond milk, etc.
• Optional – You can create a buttery crust by brushing melted butter on the top of the bread right after you have removed the bread from the bread pan (while the bread is still hot). Use a pastry brush.
• Optional – If you don’t want to use butter, you can replace the butter with an equal amount of vegetable oil. Use a neutral flavored oil (e.g. canola or corn oil) for the best results. Stronger flavored oils can interfere with the cranberry & nut flavors. This substitution option refers to the butter used inside the bread (and NOT the butter used for creating a buttery crust).

• Optional – If you don’t have enough dried cranberries, you can replace the cranberries with raisins, dried blueberries, dried cherries, etc. Or you can use a 50/50 combination of dried fruits (e.g. dried cranberries & dried blueberries) in order to make your homemade cranberry walnut bread even more unique.
• Optional – If you like “crustier” breads, use the medium or dark color setting. I like to use the light color setting because it creates a softer crust. Try the medium color first (as the dark color setting on some machines can be too strong) and then try the dark color setting if the medium setting is not “crusty” enough for you.
• Visitors – Do you add anything to your cranberry walnut breads in order to make them better or more unique? For example, do you add different ingredients such as chopped pecans, raisins, ground cinnamon, etc. Or do you “baste” the finished bread crust with melted butter? Please post your ingredient additions in the comment section below.
• Visitor variations – Ellen likes to “serve with Camembert cheese”, Craig snuck in some extra fiber and said “Light, airy and just enough cranberries and walnuts. I always add a little more cranberries and walnuts and use 1 1/2 cups white bread flour and 1/2 cup of wheat”

• Always use FRESH ingredients (e.g. bread flour) for the best results. Ingredients that have been sitting in the pantry for months can become stale or pick up weird smells & flavors.
• Try to keep your ingredients (e.g. flour) in airtight food containers in order to extend their shelf life. Airtight containers protect ingredients from moisture (in the air), pests, dust, etc.
• Flour (when not stored in an airtight container) can absorb a lot of moisture from the air. This extra moisture throws off recipes and can lead to bread collapses, etc.

• Do NOT use cold milk. The main problem with using regular milk is that people tend to use cold refrigerated milk and this can slow the yeast growth. Try to use warm milk (or instant powdered milk mixed into warm water). If the milk is just coming out of the refrigerator and thus is too cold, I like to put the milk in my microwave for 15-20 seconds in order to warm it up. However, you should also be aware that the milk/water should not be too hot because very hot milk/water can kill the yeast.
• The ideal temperature for liquid ingredients used when making bread machine bread is around 100-110 F. Cold liquids (such as water & milk straight from the refrigerator) will slow yeast growth and liquid ingredients that are 140 F or above can kill the yeast. Some people like to use a digital bread thermometer in order to measure the temperature of their liquid ingredients.
• Many bakers like to make a small pocket in the top of the flour in order to hold the bread machine yeast in place (looks sort of like a small flour volcano with a yeast crater). This is done to prevent the yeast from falling into the liquid ingredients (and activating prematurely), coming into contact with the salt, etc. until the bread machine is turned on.

• Add the dried cranberries & chopped walnuts after the first mixing/kneading cycle during the “rest” period before the start of your bread machine’s second mixing/kneading cycle.
• The second mixing cycle will slowly mix all of the walnuts & cranberries into the dough. It might take a little while. Be patient!
• Do not add the dried cranberries & chopped walnuts too late or they will not be mixed into the dough properly.
• For safety reasons, when adding the chopped walnuts & dried cranberries, you should not put your hands inside a bread machine. Moreover, you should always wear oven mitts when dealing with a bread machine because the interior can get quite hot.
• Moreover, ALWAYS follow the manufacturer’s instructions for your specific bread machine on how and when to safely add ingredients such as nuts or cranberries once a bread machine is turned on.
• FYI – Some bread machines come with an automatic fruit & nut dispenser and this unit adds the fruit/nuts at the right time for those specific machines. Other bread machines will beep when it is time to add fruit or nuts. Check your bread machine manual for further details.

• Make sure to level off the ingredients in your measuring spoons & cups. No “mountains” of ingredients in your spoons & cups!! If you add too much of an ingredient, you can have a baking problem.
• Or if you have a kitchen scale, you can weigh your ingredients for the most consistent results. You will find gram/milliliter measurements in the recipe’s ingredient list. FYI – Many Europeans prefer to weigh their ingredients versus using measuring cups & spoons.
• FYI – I always like to give my flour container a quick shake in order to aerate and fluff the flour before I measure it with a measuring cup. This easy method helps to reduce the chance of using heavily compacted flour.

• This recipe uses bread machine yeast (instant yeast). It does NOT use active dry yeast.
• Bread machine yeast and instant yeast are not the same as active dry yeast. Bread machine yeast and instant yeast are added directly to the recipe’s ingredients. In contrast, active dry yeast must be activated in water/milk before being added to a recipe’s ingredients. If you try to use active dry yeast for this recipe, it is much less likely to work properly (as the recipe instructions & leavening time is based on the use of bread machine yeast). Examples of yeast that can be used for this recipe include Fleischmann’s Bread Machine Yeast, Fleischmann’s Instant Yeast, Saf Instant Yeast, Red Star Instant Yeast, etc. You should not use active dry yeasts for this recipe such as Fleischmann’s Active Dry Yeast, Red Star Active Dry Yeast, etc.
• I would recommend NOT reducing the salt in this recipe. You generally want to keep the salt-to-yeast ratio at a 1:1 basis in most bread recipes (1:1 based on teaspoons to teaspoons and NOT grams to grams). The salt moderates the growth of the yeast. If you cut the salt (and disrupt this 1:1 ratio), the yeast will grow faster than expected. In turn, this leads to more bread collapses (because the yeast rises too high and then craters in the middle) and/or results in “slack” less manageable dough. In addition, less salt will impact the flavor and browning of the bread.

• If you haven’t used your bread machine or bread maker in a long time, please buy some NEW bread machine yeast before making your bread. Old yeast can die or lose its potency and this will lead to bread that does not rise properly. Bread machine yeast is not likely to be viable if it has been sitting in your pantry for years.
• Bread machine yeast loses its potency over time. Generally, bread machine yeast lasts for only 3-4 months after you have opened the bottle. However, if the yeast is exposed to air & moisture (e.g. the bottle is not sealed tight) or exposed to higher temperatures, the yeast will expire even more quickly.
• Once you have opened the bottle that contains the bread machine yeast, the yeast will last longer if you store the bottle in the refrigerator or freezer. Just make sure the bottle is sealed tight (as yeast will deteriorate quickly if exposed to air, moisture and/or heat).
• Bread machine yeast in a bottle that has never been opened should last until the bottle’s “Best If Used By” date… but only if the bottle has been stored properly (e.g. in a refrigerator, freezer or in a dark, dry & cool spot in the pantry) and the bottle remains unopened.

• If your bread comes out too dense, it is likely due to one of the following reasons; You are using old or stale yeast, using a cold refrigerator temperature liquid (which slows yeast growth), baking in a cold winter temperature kitchen (yeast likes kitchen temps of 75-80 degree F), using all purpose flour (versus bread flour as called for in the recipe), placing salt on top of or next to the yeast (salt kills yeast so it must be placed away from the yeast in the bread pan), etc. For more reasons, you should visit Bread Dad’s Why Is My Bread Machine Bread So Dense? page.
• Cooler home temperatures in the winter can cause rising problems for bread dough. Ideally, your room temperature should be around 75-80 degrees F. Colder winter room temperatures can significantly delay the rise of the dough. You will need to raise the temperature of your kitchen (if you like a cold house in the winter) or find a warm spot for the dough to rise. I often put my dough (covered of course) next to a heating vent in the winter to make sure it is getting enough heat.
• Conversely, dough can rise faster than expected in a very hot kitchen.

• Kitchen humidity can also impact a recipe. A winter kitchen tends to be drier due to your heating system drying out the air. In contrast, a kitchen in the summer can be much more humid. This change in humidity impacts baking as flour can soak up humidity from the air. Therefore, you might have to add 1-2 teaspoons of liquid in the winter if the dough is looking too dry. Or you might have to add 1-2 teaspoons of flour in the summer if the dough is looking too wet. If your kitchen is very dry or humid, you might have to add even a little more (but start with 1 teaspoon at a time until you achieve the right consistency). Of course, excessive kitchen humidity or dryness can impact a recipe at any time during the year (not just in the summer & winter)!
• This is one of the reasons that people should store flour in an airtight container if they have already opened the flour package. The flour will pick up extra moisture from the air while sitting in the pantry and this can throw off recipes, spoil flavor, degrade shelf life, etc.
• Having trouble with bread collapses & misshapen bread tops? Make sure to read Bread Dad’s article on Bread Machine Bread Collapses. It has reasons and solutions to potential bread collapses.
• For information on other possible errors, please visit my Common Bread Machine Mistakes page.

• If you have a problem with a “basic” bread machine recipe, please make sure that you are following the recipe exactly (e.g. using the correct bread machine settings), using the correct amount of an ingredient (e.g. don’t eyeball the measurements versus using a measuring cup or accidentally add a tablespoon when a teaspoon is called for), using the correct ingredients (e.g. bread machine yeast versus regular yeast or bread flour versus all purpose flour), etc. Please don’t “wing” things with recipes.
• If you start substituting ingredients (e.g. using different types of flour not called for in the recipe), you are experimenting and should not expect similar results to the recipe shown above. Experimenting can be fun. However, you should expect some successes but more potential disappointments when you start to experiment with recipes. For example, if you substitute whole wheat flour for bread flour, you will probably experience a problem (as whole wheat flour doesn’t rise nearly as well as bread flour). Moreover, whole wheat flour has a totally different flavor.

• You can also use this homemade bread to make one of Bread Dad’s delicious & toasty Panini Recipes.
• Since this recipe contains chopped walnuts, please do not serve it to anyone with a nut allergy or to anyone who might have a potential choking issue (e.g. young children).
• My recipes are based on US ingredient measurements (e.g. US cups & tablespoons). However, as a courtesy to our European visitors, I have also included some very ROUGH European equivalents (e.g. grams & milliliters). Since I rarely use European measurements when baking, please let me know in the comment section below if any of the European ingredient measurements need to be changed (e.g. for XYZ ingredient, milliliters are more commonly used versus the grams information listed in the recipe).
• Before using any bread machine, you should read the bread machine manufacturer’s instructions in order to use the bread machine effectively and safely.
• Always wear oven mitts/gloves when dealing with a bread machine. The bread pan and the rest of the bread machine can get very hot during the baking process. This means that the bread pan and bread machine is likely to be very hot when you attempt to remove a baked good from the bread machine and/or bread pan.
• For more easy bread ideas, please visit Bread Dad’s sections on Bread Machine Recipes and Homemade Bread Recipes.

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Main Recipe Sections

1. Bread Machine Recipes – 90+ recipes for banana bread, soft white bread, sourdough bread, pizza dough, cinnamon raisin bread, etc.
2. 1 lb Bread Machine Recipes – Recipes for small compact bread machines.
3. Bread Recipes – Buttermilk bread, French bread, bagels, Italian bread, soft whole wheat bread, etc.
4. Banana Bread Recipes – 60+ recipes for chocolate chip banana bread, banana nut bread, eggless banana bread, cranberry banana bread, etc.

Related Recipe Sections

1. Grilled Cheese & Panini Sandwich Recipes – Turn your homemade bread into air fryer grilled cheese sandwiches, ham & cheese paninis, etc.
2. Muffin Recipes – Chocolate chip banana muffins, eggless banana muffins, cranberry banana muffins, etc.
3. Quick Bread Recipes – Easy desserts such as pumpkin bread, cranberry bread, sweet potato bread, etc.
4. Cookie Recipes – Soft oatmeal cookies, M&M cookies, etc.

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Reference Sources

1. Wikipedia, Bread Machine
2. Wikipedia, Cranberry
3. Wikipedia, Walnut

Related Recipes

1. 1 lb Bread Machine Banana Bread
2. 1 lb Bread Machine Multigrain Bread
3. 1 lb Bread Machine Oatmeal Bread
4. 1 lb Bread Machine White Bread
5. 1 lb Bread Machine Whole Wheat
6. Bread Machine Cranberry Walnut Bread – 1.5 lb & 2 lb versions

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