sourdough walnut bread

It was my first attempt to make sourdough walnut bread, and it didn't even occur to me that I would get a different result, something I absolutely wasn't expecting. I wasn't aware that the addition of walnuts combined with the overnight resting of the sourdough in the fridge would result in a most unusual bread color. I've been making and enjoying sourdough bread since last year when I purchased a container of sourdough starter from our favorite online baking supply store, The Baker's Catalogue. They've always been consistent with the quality of their baking ingredients and so far, we've been satisfied with all our orders. This was the first time I tried to make sourdough bread with chopped walnuts. I wasn't prepared for the dough that I saw when I opened the fridge to check on it the next day. My first thought was if it had spoiled, so I smelled it but there wasn't anything foul about it. So I continued the process, allowed the dough to go through the final rise and finally baked the loaves. They came out great but I couldn't help noticing a slightly different crust color. When I finally sliced it, I was surprised to see an unusual purple gray crumb color! Aside from its unique color and great taste, it was healthier, partly made with whole wheat and with good antioxidants from the walnuts. Still curious though, we just had to check online for answers. Amazing discovery I must say, we found out that the oil from the walnuts caused this reaction. This discussion gave us the answers we were looking for. Some may dislike the purple bread color, but my husband and I had no problem with it and we both agree that this was just one of the most unique and interesting sourdough breads we've ever seen and tried. We love the purple color!

I couldn't help noticing that one of the loaves (shown at the back)

had a funny one-eyed monster look from the slashes I made : )