The Beet goes on… Beetroot Bread

The monthly bake for the Artisan Bread Bakers for October was hosted by Ralph Nieboer.  He challenged us to make Beetroot Bread with Rye and Spelt. I’ll be honest, when I learned what was in this bread, I almost passed this one by.

However, as I started seeing all of the lovely-colored breads showing up in the FB feed, information regarding the benefits of beets made its way to my inbox.

Beets have been around for a long time

They grew on the coast in ancient times and were originally consumed for their leafy greens.  These days, sugar beets are used as a natural source of sugar, but when consumed raw or in whole form, they provide the most nutritional benefits. Beets are low in calories, fat, and cholesterol. They also provide an excellent source of fiber, vitamin C, magnesium, folate, potassium, and manganese.

With all of these nutritional benefits, what’s not to like about bread made with beets?  Well, the taste.  I wasn’t convinced I would like the bread.

I’ve made bread with beets before and it tasted like dirt, according to my son.

However, after making this bread, I’ve upgraded my assessment and now I would describe the bread as having a sweet, earthy flavor.  It’s a dense bread due to the whole grain rye and spelt, but it is very satisfying and goes well with soup or by itself as a healthy snack. A little goes a long way.

Beetroot Bread with Rye and Spelt

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• Author: Shared by Ralph Nieboer on the Artisan Bread Bakers FB Group

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Description

The dough for this beetroot bread is a beautiful color and the added nutritional benefits from the spelt, rye, and beets is a bonus.

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Ingredients

Units MUS Scale 1x2x3x

• 250 grams bread flour
• 125 grams spelt flour whole wheat
• 125 grams dark rye flour whole wheat
• 11 grams salt
• 100 cooked or baked potatoes crushed
• 100 grams mature starter 100% hydration
• 250 grams beetroot uncooked, pureed (if puree is too dry add 25% more water) hydration should be about 72%
• 100 grams beetroot cubes
• 125 grams water
• 150 grams of roasted seeds

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Instructions

FIRST DAY

1. Mix the beetroot puree with the water
2. Place the flour, salt, and starter in the bowl of a stand mixer
3. Using the dough hook, mix very slowly on the lowest setting
4. Slowly pour in the beetroot puree with water in the mixing bowl
5. Knead it slowly for 10 min very slow. If the mixture is too dry, add a bit more water
6. Knead for another 10 min on lowest setting
7. During the last two minutes of the kneading, add in the roasted seeds and beetroot cubes
8. Remove the dough from the mixer and place in a lightly greased bowl. Roll the dough around to coat with oil
9. Cover the bowl and let the dough bulk ferment for 2.5 hours with a stretch and fold every 40 min
10. Form it into a round loaf after the 2.5 hours rest and place it in a banneton.
11. Cover the banneton with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for 12 hours

SECOND DAY

1. Let your oven warm up to 450 degrees with a cloche on the bottom shelf
2. Remove the banneton basket from the fridge and carefully invert the loaf onto the bottom of the preheated cloche
3. Score your loaf in the pattern of your choice and put it in the oven cold
4. Bake the loaf in the cloche with the lid on for 20 minutes; remove the lid and continue baking without the lid for an additional 15-20 minutes for a total baking time of 35-40 minutes.
5. Remove the loaf to a wire rack and let it cool completely before slicing.

Notes

Since this bread includes rye, I waited 24 hours before I sliced it to allow the bread time to mature. It has good keeping quality due to the sourdough and rye.

I baked my loaf in an Emerson Creek Pottery bread cloche; however, you can use a preheated baking stone with a steam pan if you prefer.

• Category: Rye Bread

Happy Baking!
Cathy