Melt the butter over medium heat in a medium-sized sauce pot. Add the shallots, season with a sprinkling of salt and pepper, then cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the chopped thyme and bay leaf and cook 1 minute more. Add the rice, and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 to 2 minutes.
Add the chicken stock and water. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. When the liquid comes to a simmer, cover the pot with a lid, and decrease the heat to low, in order to maintain a bare simmer. Peek under the lid from time to time, to make sure you’ve got just a bare simmer. Simmer with the lid on until the rice is tender and ‘popped’ (you’ll see what I mean – the white insides pop out of the black skins a bit) and all the liquid is evaporated and absorbed. To make sure all the liquid is gone, tilt the pan to the side. If water rises up the sides of the pan, continue cook the rice a little while longer.
Once all the liquid is evaporated/absorbed, turn off the heat and allow the rice to rest five minutes, still covered. Add the cranberries, stir to combine, then rest again for about 10 minutes, still covered. Then remove the lid and fluff with a fork. Serve hot.
