Beet Bread

Love the recipe! Am new to baking and didn’t feel this was intimidating at all yet it yielded fantastic beet bread! Thank you so much! Great photos and clear documentation for the win!

@anonymous, there are so many factors that could be causing your loaves to be flat…

1- did you knead the dough enough? The dough should be able to form a ‘window’ when you stretch it out between your fingers. It’s a little bit more difficult to judge with the beets inside the dough but you should be able to at least create a 2″x2″ see-through membrane with the dough. (If using a mixer, knead it until it almost completely comes off the sides, and then knead it by hand until smooth. You will never be able to get a good window if you only knead by mixer.)

2 – if your dough is properly kneaded but you still have the flatness issue, then it may be the way you shape the dough. When you reshape the dough for the second proofing, you have to make it very tight. Imagine that there is one sheet of gluten on top and you have to tuck as much as you can under it without tearing it. This will allow the dough to rise evenly and expand more upwards than outwards.

3 – if your shaping technique is good, then it could be your scoring technique. When you score the bread, the razor (or lame) has to be at an angle. You don’t cut straight down, you cut deep into the bread at a 45 degree angle. It’s almost like you’re coasting along the top crust.

4 – if your bread dough is otherwise flawless, then it could be that your oven isn’t at the right temperature. If it’s too hot, your bread could develop a crust before the bread has a chance to properly rise. You might want to get a second thermometer. Also, try creating more steam by placing pans in there during the pre-heat, and then throwing crushed ice cubes into it just after putting the bread inside. The hot steam will allow the bread to expand a little bit more before forming a crust.

From my experience, breads that go flat are usually the result of inadequate kneading and improper shaping. If the gluten isn’t developed properly, the bread won’t have the proper structure to trap the gasses from the yeast.

I made this today and it turned out perfectly delicious and looks just like yours! I used cooked beets though, my mistake, but so glad i tried it! thanks for the recipe=)

Hello, there.

I have disliked beets for years and recently (a few months ago) decided to give them another go (I understand that taste buds change as you get older so I always make a point to retry foods I haven’t liked in the past and thus haven’t tasted in a while). Mostly I’ve been loving them simply roasted, cooled, and drizzled with a little reduced balsamic and goat cheese. Yum. But when I saw this bread I had to try it (mostly because it is such a beautiful color… who could resist that red?). It came out of the oven and is finally cool enough to taste. Amazingly delicious. An interesting, strong beety flavor that I don’t think most people will appreciate, but I like it. HOWEVER, my loaf (like most of my free form/boule loaves) is a bit on the flat side and I can never figure out why that is. Any ideas? Thanks so much for this interesting recipe!

I think so — just be sure to chop them up and get rid of most of the moisture.

Can u use canned beets????