Beetroot bread is an easy loaf ready in a couple of hours, unusual in the colour of the crumb and deliciously moist and chewy.
Novelty breads
Some people believe that vegetables belong with the main course, not in a loaf of bread. I do see their point and agree that sometimes those loaves made with courgettes, parsnips or even broccoli are not really bread. They use copious amount of egg in the batter and the end product is more a quiche than a sandwich material.
But you can bake proper loaves, with crust and crumb, perfectly sliceable, butterable and toastable with an amount of raw or cooked veggies or fruit in the ingredients list.
Why add vegetables to bread dough?
So is it just for the flavour? Or are there any other benefits in adding vegetables to what basically should be flour, water and yeast?
Apparently the nutritional value of such bread increases, mainly because of the extra varieties of plants introduced in a slice. Which makes sense – but I could achieve the same by adding lettuce and tomato to my sandwich.
From my point of view the technical benefits (or drawbacks) are more important. Raw veggies in bread dough add flavoursome moisture - so naturally you’ll need to use less water or other liquid. Cooked vegetables make bread dough softer and squidgier in a nice way. Plus, it’s a great idea to use up leftovers or surplus garden crop.
The downside is that those breads don’t keep very well, probably because they contain more perishable ingredients. But the good news is that this particular one at least is very tasty so it’s easy to eat it all before it goes stale.
Why beetroot for bread?
The sweetness is the main reason but really, it’s all about the colour. Admittedly, the crimson turns dull in baking so it’s not quite as red as you might expect. Many recipes recommend adding cooked beetroot purée for a deeper crimson hue, but in my books flavour and texture win over Instagrammability.
To create this recipe I took Dan Lepard’s one for a flash loaf and slowed it down somewhat, to improve the end product. And the outcome is very pleasing indeed.
How to make beetroot bread dough
Beetroot goes in raw, grated. As mentioned, that means the crimson will turn brown whilst cooking, but what it loses in colour, the bread gains in texture and flavour.
The beetroot makes the ferment, with warm water and yeast stirred into it. All the dry ingredients, both flours, salt and caraway plus the raisins and sunflower seeds are mixed together in a large bowl. Obviously, use the standing mixer if it’s available to you, or a handheld mixer with a dough hook.
Whether you knead the dough by hand or by mixer, add the ferment in and mix it incrementally: knead for a minute, then let it rest for ten. Once it’s smooth and elastic – apart from the rogue chunks of beetroot peeking through – cover the bowl and leave it somewhere warm for an hour, to double in volume. It will be astonishingly Barbie-like pink.
Shaping and baking
When risen, turn it out onto wet worktop. Lifting one edge at a time, stretch it gently and fold onto itself, from all sides. Then turn it over and cup the dough with your palms, trying to shape as taut a ball as possible. Have a proving basket or a bowl lined with well-floured tea towel ready to drop the loaf in, seam up.
This now will need to rise and prove for about half an hour, while you get the oven hot with a baking cloche, stone or a heavy tray on the middle rack.
It will bake the best in a Dutch oven of sorts, which means covered with either the cloche top or a large, ovenproof upturned bowl. You can use a large pot at a push.
But if there’s nothing suitable to serve as a baking dome, spray the oven with water when the bread goes in. All those Dutch ovens and cloches are really about trapping the steam that the dough exudes around it.
Before it goes in the oven, very carefully tipped onto the hot stone/tray from the proving basket, you should score the top with a baker’s lame or a sharp knife. In this instance I carved Cuisine Fiend’s initials of course.
If you covered the loaf, remove the cover halfway through the baking time. Steam helps it rise but then it needs to disperse to allow the crust to dry and crispen.
What does beetroot bread taste like?
It has the texture of a wholemeal bread, it’s moist and chewy. Beetroot gives it sweetness, enhanced by the raisins. Sunflower seeds are there for the crunch, and it is all amplified when you toast a slice. Delicious.
More beetroot recipes
Beetroot gratin, thinly sliced beets baked in garlic and dill infused cream, a gorgeous side to a fish course. No need to pre-cook the beetroot.
Roasted beetroots in a casserole dish with honey, thyme and balsamic. Cooking fresh beetroot can't be easier: as long as possible and with gutsy flavours. My balsamic thyme beetroot is a great vegetarian dish, to serve with rice or lentils.
Twice roasted beets with figs, pomegranate and goats cheese. Recipe for twice cooked beetroots baked with figs and pomegranate seeds, served with soft goats cheese, the ultimate red food recipe.
More vegetable bread recipes
Wholegrain seeded loaf with apple and onion. This multi-seed bread uses granary or malted flour and has great flavour thanks to the grated apple and chopped onion added in.
Savoury courgette wheat and rye bread with Parmesan, it is perfectly good for slicing, buttering, and turning into ham sandwiches.
Easy pumpkin bread, about 5 minutes from start to finish excluding baking. A great pumpkin cake baked in a loaf tin, with dried cranberries and walnuts makes it a perfect autumnal recipe.