Look at this beauty. This, easy to make, vibrant, dark pink to purple beetroot sourdough bread is bursting with nutrition. Large pores, crispy crust and gorgeous colour make this homemade sourdough bread so irresistible. It pairs perfectly either with sweet or savoury and it’s perfect for breakfast, brunch or as a healthy snack.
People usually think that making bread at home is difficult or they take the classic or also called “instant” way to make it. I can assure you, making this bread is really simple. In fact, it will take you top 20 minutes of active work and all the remaining time is just waiting. Oh, this sounds just a perfect “activity” for a lazy weekend. More, in between the proofing times, you can do laundry, read a book, take a power nap or do a quick pilates lesson. Wink.
Also, let me explain what levain is (for those who aren’t certain). Levain is just another name for a starter that has been fed. Wink. In other words, once you take the discard and feed it, you get a levain. So easy, right?
Moreover, to get the levain active, it will take some time. Also, the room temperature has to be around 20 º C. Ok, and what happens in winter? Haha. I usually “wrap” the jar into a thicker kitchen towel (yeah, I keep it warm with a blanket) during the cold season. And it works great. You can expect the levain to start showing some “movements” in 4 to 8 hours. Therefore, there’s no need to check on it every 5 minutes. Wink. Also, this is the reason, why you should start in the morning one day ahead.
But how to get this exciting colour? Instead of mixing flour with water, I used beetroot juice. After you combine the two together, you get a bright pink dough. So gorgeous!
Beetroot can be so versatile. You can enjoy it either in savoury or sweet dishes. More, for some inspiration, check out my beetroot recipes: turmeric beetroot pancakes, detox beetroot raspberry soup, healthy beetroot Beluga lentil burgers, a fun beetroot kiwi Rubik’s cube, lovely beetroot carpaccio and delicious baked beetroot falafel.
I’ve read somewhere that the colour intensity tends to fade during baking. For instance, with spinach, carrot and beetroot juice. Well, I didn’t notice such an extreme colour change. I notice the colour turning a bit darker, but not fading. Anyway, the bread turned out gorgeous, dark purple.
Just in case if this happens to you, in order to prevent the colour from fading, you can add some acid to the dough, such as lemon juice, vinegar or buttermilk.
Ingredients for one beetroot sourdough bread:
- 150 g levain (50 g starter, 50g flour, 50 g water)
- 420 g flour
- 340 ml beetroot juice
- 12 g salt
- 30 ml olive oil
- 3 Tbsp of sesame seeds (optional)
To begin, prepare the levain. In a jar, combine equal amounts of starter (discard), flour and water. Then, mix with a spatula until well combined, place a lid on top (do not close it) and leave it in a draft-free place until double in size.
Once you see some activity, take a larger bowl and combine the flour with beetroot juice. Then, using a hand mixer (you can try also with hands, but it will take longer) with the dough hooks attached, mix for 3 minutes until combined and the flour is no more visible. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let it rest until the levain is ready.
Furthermore, add the salt, olive oil and the active levain to the dough. Again, using a hand mixer (dough hooks), mix for 10 minutes until well combined. Don’t worry if the dough is sticky and not holding up. In fact, it should be like that. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and leave to rest for 30 minutes.
At this point, slightly wet your hands to make the first coil and fold (I used a bit different technique, the stretch and fold, in my pumpkin seed sourdough bread recipe). Basically, you lift the dough with both hands from the middle (until the ends don’t touch the bowl anymore) and let it fold on itself. You repeat it four times, each time turning the bowl to a 90º angle. Cover the bowl with the towel and let it rest for another 30 minutes.
Then, make the second coil and fold (now is the right time to add the seeds and nuts) and leave it to rest again. Keep repeating it until you reach 5 or 6 coil and folds. After the last coil and fold, rest the dough for one hour and then, cover the bowl with transparent foil and put it in the fridge overnight.
The next day, take the bowl out of the fridge one hour before baking and make one last coil and fold. But this time, transfer it into a bowl with higher walls or sides (the dough has to expand upwards and not sideways) lined with baking paper. Allow resting for an hour.
Then, preheat the oven to 230º C, keeping the dutch oven pot in it, too. You can use a clay-baking form or a springform, as well. Once the oven has reached that temperature, carefully take the pot out, remove the lid and transfer the sourdough in it, by lifting the parchment paper. Quickly sprinkle some water on the surface of the bread, make a score, put the lid back on and put it in the oven for 40 minutes.
Afterwards, remove the lid and bake for another 25-30 minutes. When the bread is baked, remove the pot from the oven and let it cool down. Then remove the bread from the pot and let it cool completely before slicing it.
Finally, slice the beetroot sourdough bread and serve it with some salami, cheese or simply with butter. Yummy. It tastes delicious with some honey or marmalade, too.
Enjoy!
