Enjoy a helping of extra veg in our easy to make root vegetable bread. A great winter loaf which is delicious with soup or ideal for sandwiches
This root vegetable bread loaf is perfect for autumn, sandwiches and served spread with butter to accompany a bowl of soup.   We usually bake sourdough boules but sometimes life gets in the way and we forget to start the sourdough the day before we want to bake. This yeasted vegetable bread is ideal for using up the last of your root vegetables from the bottom of the salad crisper.   The crumb is dense, but moist and soft making it ideal to slice thinly for sandwiches.
The first iteration of this recipe was prompted by the contents of the local veg box co-op we supported. During the winter months, the weekly box was long on root vegetables of all varieties including carrots, parsnips, turnips and swedes. We really appreciated that the box scheme was focussed on economically priced, low food miles vegetables that were in season, and it did prompt plenty of inventiveness about new things to do with root vegetables. This root vegetable bread is one result; sadly, the fruit and veg co-op is no more, but its spirit lives on whenever we bake this bread.
We used carrots and parsnips, but the recipe will work with a mix of any of carrots, parsnips, swede or turnips. Use a good strong bread flour – we prefer a Canadian bread flour and made a wet dough, with 75% of the weight of flour in liquid.  You need a good strong flour with lots of gluten to make a well developed dough to support the grated vegetables. A wetter dough will give a light, open crumb, rather than dense loaf resulting from the extra ingredients, and the milk both helps the loaf rise and makes it softer.  Both tweaks worked well, with the resulting loaf being neither heavy or dense. The final tip is to make sure that the vegetable have been grated finely.
The high hydration does mean that the dough doesn’t come together as quickly or as fully as one without the root vegetables; hand kneading isn’t the tidiest process, but the end results are worth it. If you do have a stand mixer, this bread is a perfect candidate for the kneading hook to avoid some of the stickiness.
You might be concerned that the finished loaf would be overly flavoured by the vegetables, but don’t worry – there’s a hint of both sweetness and a savouryness, but no more than a hint. It’s a great loaf for sliced thin for sandwiches, or accompanying a bowl of homemade soup – slather on the butter and enjoy. Another great way to enjoy it is with a blob of my carrot jam.
A moist, flavoursome bread loaf with added carrots and parsnips to get you on your way to 5 a day! A dense but soft crumb makes it ideal for sandwiches.
- 100 ml milk
- 145 ml water lukewarm
- 1 tsp yeast
- 2 tbs oil rapeseed or similar
- 200 g strong white bread flour
- 150 g strong brown bread flour
- 140 g grated root vegetables Grated finely. I used a mix of carrot and parsnip and swede
- 1 tsp salt
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Add the yeast to water and milk and whisk in until dissolved. Add the remaining ingredients and bring together to a rough and shaggy dough.
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Knead the dough for about 10 minutes until stretchy and pliable. Place the dough back in the bowl, and cover.
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Allow to rise for hour or so, until light and puffy, and doubled in size.
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Knock back and form into a loaf shape. Transfer to an oiled loaf tin, cover, and leave to proof, for another hour or so.
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Bake at 200°C/Gas mark 6 for 40 minutes. It's done when it sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.
Freezes well.
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This would be delicious with a side of our slow cooker red cabbage for a winter boost of extra vegetables!
This was the first time we made this loaf; way back in March 2012, as tasty then as it is now. Our photography has improved somewhat, though!
Recipe originally posted March 2012 – updated October 2017.
Makey-Cakey
This looks delicious – a great way to use up lingering parsnips. I hate them with a passion in their pure parsnippy form, and they always appear in our veg box, so I’m always on the lookout for way to use them up that distract me from what I’m eating. Bread sounds ideal…
Helen
You cannot taste the parsnip at all. Also somewhere on my site there is a recipe for sticky tofee pud using them!
Heather @girlichef
Honestly? The thought of being vegan scares me a bit, too. Not that I’m contemplating it or anything, but… I’m loving this bread. So many ways to switch it up depending on the veggie(s) you use. And it looks so hearty and satisfying. So happy that you shared it with BYOB this month! =)
Helen
I could cope with vegan food very easily, but everything else would be a problem. No wool for starters.
Thanks for hosting BYOB.
Nics Notebook
This sounds fab… I’m always looking for ways to eat more veg! Have bookmarked to try it :) x
Carrie
Nice recipe, especially since I am a cooking teacher with a lesson on root vegetables this month. I like the idea of using a variety of roots. Thanks!
Vanessa Kimbell
Oh now bread is my downfall… I love it. Even on a diet .. I cannot resist bread!
Janice
Your poor little swede, how could you put it in the bin! It is a lovely little root and you the Frugal Food lady too, shame on you. Hee hee! Glad you managed to grate some into your lovely bread. Go find somemore lovely swede (turnip to us Scots) recipes, I challenge you!
Helen
To be fair I usually leave it at Church for the stew pot for the homeless lunches.
Charlotte @gofreecakes
This is right up my street, Helen. I will be making this very soon. Thank you!
JohannaGGG
Sounds lovely – I would like to try making tofu but got stuck on buying coagulent because I remember using nigari years ago for it and can’t find it in any shops but I love the sound of fresh tofu in the house and having leftover whey.
Re swede – it is great in a veg and barley soup – or other soups and stews – or just roasted with lots of other veg – maybe some seasoning in the roast veg would help
I agree food politics is tricky. Often when I make vegan recipes, I think this will be a good one if I ever go vegan.
Helen
I use Epsom salts to coagulate which works a treat. At a pinch vinegar also works.
I souped my swede, with Thai curry paste – delicious!
Rachel McGrath
Ooooh I like the look of that!!!
Gill Bland
Hi, the FFF round up is up – http://talesofpiglingbland.wordpress.com/2012/04/01/frugal-food-fridays-march-roundup/
Silvia
So good! I’ve never thought of adding root vegetables into bread. That must taste really tasty :)
Helen
Tasty and colourful!
Katie | HealthySeasonalRecipes
Great tip about a wetter dough giving a lighter crumb. I think I tend to work too much flour into my bread- which always gives a disappointing denseness. I will have to try this! And about the random roots from the local share- I feel ya! I have the same problem every spring!
Helen
We rarely go below 66% hydration, it is a common mistake for beginner bread makers as a dryer dough is easier to work with.
Kristina
oh wow – what a gorgeous, nutrient filled loaf of bread! I love the vegetables!
Helen
Thanks, we love this loaf!
Emma Raphael
This sounds delicious. I am all in favour of getting extra veg in to my family’s diet whenever I can. I used to make a celeriac and cheese bread which I had completely forgotten about, thanks for the reminder! :)
Helen
that sounds so good Emma! I am all for Extra Veg!
MELANIE EDJOURIAN
That’s a fantastic way to get more veg into my family’s diet and without them knowing too! We all love bread so this would work really well.
Helen
I am all for extra veg as often as possible.
Bintu | Recipes From A Pantry
This is a great way to get more vegetables in – and it looks delicious too! Perfect with a bowl of hot steaming soup
Helen
I am all about more vegetables whenever you can!
Gloria @ Homemade & Yummy
You know I just tried some vegetable bread from the market the other day. I thought it was pretty good. Making your own would be so much better. Great sandwich bread….and grilled cheese too.
Helen
Oh my gosh – grilled cheese on this!
Rebecca
Wow! I’ve never heard of a bread using vegetables before. And I have all the ingredients in the house too. I’m pinning this, I must try it, it looks delicious and it making me hungry!
Helen
It is such and easy way to add some extra veggies to your diet and also use up the ones you are not so keen on.
Cookbook
Those pictures are absolutely gorgeous!
Helen
Thank you!
Patrick
I wonder if this bread could handle tuna fish as that is one of my favorite sammies.
Its looks very filling as well….
Helen
I think it would be delicious!
Nancy Laws
What a wonderful recipe! I love baking but I am terrified of baking bread. Turns out I am not the only but I dont know, just scary because it seems like such an undertaking…bread machine baking not too bad though
Helen
Once you get into the bread habit it is really very easy, but it does take time as you need to feel the dough rather than just follow a recipe.
lisa prince
this sounds a wonderful idea i was thinking of giving pumpkin loaf a go with it being Halloween have you tried it yet
Helen
that would be amazing!
melissa major
I have never heard of this before but it sounds delicious, i would love to have it with soup
Helen
it is one of our favourite breads
Jacqueline Meldrum
That looks amazing Helen. It would go so nicely with the pot of soup I am about to make. Ed is doing a sterling job with his loaves.
Helen
it is lovely with soup – Ed is SO good at bread!
Rhian Westbury
I’ve never made my own bread before and to be honest I’d never have thought yours was homemade, it looks so professional x
Helen
Thanks Rhian, it is all down to Ed, who is the bread whizz!
Melanie
This bread looks lovely and I like that you used contents from your local veg box co-op :) x
Helen
Love my veggie packed loaves
Yaya
That bread looks absolutely delicious! It is definitely perfect for autumn and can go with a hearty stew, a soup, or even with some butter and a nice cuppa.
Helen
it is certainly delicious with soup and a stew
Baby Isabella and Dawn
Thats a great way to sneak extra vegetable goodness into a meal, especially for kids! We’d love to be able to make our own bread!
Helen
Who needs to sneak! Vegetables should be the star of the show!
Dannii
I love making veggie bread. A really easy way to get more vegetables in to your diet.
Helen
Absolutely. And delicious too.
Jenny
This looks delicious! A fab way of using up left over veg.
Helen
the ideal way to use up all those slightly sad carrots
Lucy Melissa Smith
Ooh I’ve just bookmarked this and I’ll definitely give it a go across the next week or two. It’s such a lovely autumn recipe, my boyfriend and daughter would be ALL OVER this straight out of the oven with tons of butter, haha! x
Helen
the tonnes of butter are the best bit!
[email protected]
What an interesting bread. I have never had anything like this before. Bookmarking, I want to try it. Thanks!
Helen
Thanks Alida, all those small amounts of extra veg all add up!
Sandie
This looks absolutely delicious. Do you know if anyone has done this in a bread machine? I don’t have the stamina to hand knead so use the machine to dough stage and finish in the oven. Or is it not a good idea as you say the dough is wetter than usual?
Helen
Hi Sandie,
The recipe uses dried yeast so I suspect it will be easy to knead and bake in a bread machine, although you might have to slightly adjust the ratios to get a good result.
Sandie
Thanks I’ll give it a go over the holidays. I’ve always got soup in the freezer so it will go well when friends call round?
Helen
Always have soup and bread in my freezer.