The Saturday Rewind, Beetroot Bread; Part Two.

This week, instead of the cubes of beetroot in rolls, I wanted to make a loaf with the beetroot more widely distributed. So that when it was sliced, large lumps didn’t fall out. To achieve this, I cut the beetroot very thinly, using a mandoline. I did try grating but it fell apart. I also added some strong cheese, cut into cubes.

Because of the added water in the beetroot, I modified the liquid in the mixture, reducing it by 75g. I also substituted 50g of olive oil for water and added 20 g of coarse semolina for added crunch.

Ingredients

500g Flour,

20 g Coarse Semolina,

50g Olive Oil,

225g Water,

250g grated Beetroot with 25 g liquid,

100g Cheese, in cubes,

10g Yeast

10g Salt

Method

Mix everything together and knead for 5 minutes in a mixer on low speed. Then prove as usual.

I use my main oven as a proving oven by putting a pan of boiling water in the base of the oven and adding the dough in a bowl. I then turn the oven to MAX for 1 minute ONLY, to create a warm, wet atmosphere. I then ignore the oven for 90 minutes. It seems to work as well as the £140 prover they sell in Lakeland.

After the dough had proved, I knocked it back; and shaped it. I halved the dough and put it into two small loaf tins, one loaf to eat now, one for the freezer.

Leave the loaves to prove for another hour while the oven heats to 220°C.

Bake for 30 minutes at 220°C with steam (a small pan of boiling water in the base of the oven). This crisps the crust.

After letting them cool, I cut a slice, hoping to get a piece of cheese. You can see that the beetroot has marbled through the dough and given the loaf a lovely colour.