Semolina Fennel Cranberry Bread (with pine nuts)

Happy Bloggiversarry to Leahsleavenedbread! One year ago I started my blog on a whim. I took pictures of whoever was around and chose a domain and a blog name. Today the friend that was in that first picture is my fiance (in two and a half weeks he'll be my husband!), and I have made enough money on adsense to buy myself at least three cups of coffee. Success!

My grandmother and uncle are arriving on Monday, my father, future in-laws and sister and family arrive a week later for our wedding. This can only mean one thing- time to bake some bread! Lots of people eat lots of bread= I should make lots of bread.

This bread has been on my recipe "to do" for months now. When I was in New York last September a friend told me that I had to get to this bakery in Manhattan for the best loaf of bread she has ever had. Unfortunately the bakery is not Kosher, so I looked for a similiar recipe so I could make it at home. Susan at Wildyeast has an amazing, detailed recipe that I used. The bread was really easy to make, and delicious! I highly recommend trying it out- and if you live in my area give me a holler and you can come get some sourdough starter so you can make it too!

The recipe can be found here. I substituted cranberries for the currents, quartered the recipe, and shaped the bread into a batard instead of a baguette.

The dough rising in the bowl

One loaf, ready to pop in the oven!