Carrot Bread in a Clay Baker: HBinFive

The first bread in the HBinFive April 1st Bread Braid is Carrot Bread. The authors described this bread as the bread version of carrot cake.  I liked the sound of that!  I love carrot cake!

In one of the online discussions, some of the other bakers had mentioned they liked to bake bread in their clay or ceramic bakers. That reminded me that I hadn’t used mine in awhile. So, since it’s Spring, and we’re baking with carrots, it seemed fitting to bake this bread in a clay bread baker.

You can find the recipe for this bread on page 157 of Healthy Bread In Five Minutes.

I made half a batch of the dough. This amount would normally make two 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaves; however, my clay baker is large so I baked all of the dough (2-pounds) in the bread baker.

To make the dough, I used freshly milled whole wheat flour from hard red spring wheat, all-purpose flour, wheat germ, shredded coconut (sweetened) along with carrots, currants, walnuts and some cinnamon and brown sugar. 

The nuts really added to the texture as well as the flavor of the bread, but I couldn’t really taste the coconut.  My taste tester said the same thing.  We both like coconut so it was a little bit of a let down.  I’ve heard some of the other bakers mention that they would use more coconut next time.  I agree!

After the dough had risen, and right before baking the loaf, I brushed it with egg wash and sprinkled raw sugar on the top. 

The crust was a little crunchy since I baked it in the clay baker, but that added to the effect, particularly with the addition of the walnuts and the raw sugar on top.  Yummy!  Although next time, I think I will use pecans instead.  I like that combination.

This carrot bread is pretty good.  It’s a bit dense, but full of flavor.  I liked it, and my taste tester loved it!

 

Thanks for joining me in the bread-baking blog.  Check out the blog BigBlackDog to see the April 1st Bread Braid roundup.

Happy Baking!
Cathy

 

About the HBinFive Baking Group

The HBinFive Baking Group, started by Michelle of Big Black Dogs, is baking through all of the breads in the  Healthy Bread in Five Minutes book. For more information on the new HBinFive baking group, check out Michelle’s blog.

 

 

Here are some additional bread-making resources:

• Bread Recipes
• Bread Cookbooks
• Bread Making
• Baking Supplies
• Bread Flour
• Bread Mixes

You might enjoy some of the other breads that have been featured in the bread making blog.