This gem of a recipe comes from one of my favorite bread books, which I reviewed in a not too distant past: How to Make Bread. Such a simple and straightforward title, but it says all that matters.  You will learn how to make great bread following the careful instructions of Emmanuel Hadjiandreou.    This bread is perfect for the holiday season, its crumb decorated with intensely red dots of beets, that are coarsely grated and incorporated raw in the dough.

You may wonder if the bread turns out too sweet or with a strong flavor of beets?  Not really. It is a sourdough still, but with a background of sweetness that is just enough to surprise your palate and act as the perfect supporting actor for a slice of Roquefort cheese.  Sharp cheeses,  eggplant relishes, anything with a nice bite and some saltiness will go extremely well with this bread.  I happen to like it all by itself, slightly toasted.

For this large boule I used two beets, one medium, one small.  One of the things I loved about this dough was the change in color as the dough proofed, starting with a gorgeous, intense purple, and getting more and more subtle as the fermentation went on.

The recipe for beetroot sourdough is very similar to the one I published with Emmanuel’s permission last May, except for the inclusion of grated, raw beets in the dough.  But a more detailed step by step photos of the full process of making this bread can be found with a quick jump to Garlic Buddha blog, a nice virtual spot!

I like a plain and simple sourdough, but every once in a while it is nice to explore different flavors and stretch the horizons a little.  Beets… who would imagine? 😉

I am submitting this post to Susan’s Yeastspotting…

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