Wholemeal Beetroot Bread

In former times when kitchens were run on the principle that nothing should be wasted vegetables were often added to bread dough. Eliza Acton(1857) lists rice, potatoes, beans, parsnips, turnips and beetroot as possible adjuncts although she says "it is only in cases of real need that such an expedient is recommended".

In real need of some unusual bread I have determined the following proportions for 4lb of wholemeal beetroot bread dough of good consistency.

• 500g Cooked beetroot, thoroughly pulped in a food processor
• 800g Wholemeal flour
• 300g water
• 5-10g dried yeast
• 10-20g salt

Mix, knead, ferment, divide, shape, prove and bake. Four small loaves or two large ones. A long fermentation is very beneficial for flavour. This is a rich, dark, moist, sweet-savoury bread and can handle a bit of sourness from a sponge or preferment.

The colour of the dough is extraordinary but the baked bread is brown, not red.