My Pinterest stream is always full of food photos – predominately cake, fudge, biscuits and bread. One in particular caught my eye last week… a beetroot loaf. The colour is amazing and I love beetroot anyway.
I had a search through many of my cook books and finally found a beetroot loaf recipe in Bread. The recipe has been designed for electric bread-makers (there’s a whole section of bread-maker recipes in the book if that’s your preferred way of making bread!) but it’s fine to use if you’re making it by hand.
Just mix the yeast and sugar in the water using a small measuring jug or cup, combine the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl making a well in the centre, pour in the yeast mixture and bring together roughly. Chuck in the beetroot, spring onions and butter (I omitted the last two ingredients) then knead well for about 10 minutes. Cover the mixing bowl in cling film (or put it inside a big clear [reusable] plastic bag like I do). Allow it to rise in a warm place until doubled in size. Remove the dough from the mixing bowl, punch down and put it into a loaf tin or well-floured banneton. Allow to double in size again before (transferring from the banneton to a greased oven tray) baking in a preheated oven at 220ºC/425ºF/Gas mark 7 for 30-40 minutes or until it sounds hollow when knocked on the base.
It was beautiful and absolutely delicious! Slightly sweet with a slightly earthy flavour. I had it with goats cheese and horseradish and Justin had the same in addition to a char-grilled sirloin steak.
Click here to pin the recipe for later!
- 150ml/5fl oz/⅔ cup water
- 140g/5oz/1 cup grated raw beetroot
- 2 spring onions, chopped
- 375g/13oz/3¼ cups unbleached white bread flour
- 15g/½oz/1tbsp butter
- 1½tsp salt
- 1tsp granulated sugar
- 1tsp easy-blend (rapid-rise) dried yeast
- 170ml/6fl oz/¾ cup water
- 225g/8oz/1½ cup grated raw beetroot
- 3 spring onions, chopped
- 500g/1lb 2oz/4½ cups unbleached white bread flour
- 25g/1oz/2tbsp butter
- 2tsp salt
- 1tsp granulated sugar
- 1tsp easy-blend (rapid-rise) dried yeast
- 280ml/1ofl oz/1¼ cup water
- 280g/10oz/2 cups grated raw beetroot
- 4 spring onions, chopped
- 675g/1 ½lbs/6 cups unbleached white bread flour
- 40g/1½oz/3tbsp butter
- 2tsp salt
- 1½tsp granulated sugar
- 1½tsp easy-blend (rapid-rise) dried yeast
- Pour the water into the bread pan. Sprinkle over the grated beetroot. If the instructions for your machine specify that the yeast is to be placed in the pan first, reverse the order in which you add the liquid mixture and dry ingredients
- Add the chopped spring onions. However, if your bread machine offers you the option of adding any extra ingredients during the kneading cycle, set the spring onions aside so that you may add them later on
- Sprinkle the flour over the beetroot and water, ensuring it covers them both. Add the butter, salt and sugar in separate corners. Make a small indent in the centre of the flour (but not down as far as the liquid) and add the yeast
- Set the bread machine to the basic/normal setting, medium crust. Press start. If you like, slash the top of the loaf with diagonal slashes just before the baking cycle starts
- Remove at the end of the baking cycle and turn out on to a wire rack
- If you prefer an all-over red loaf rather than speckled, purée the raw beetroot in a mini-food processor instead of grating it
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