Bake

Savory Carrot Bread

by:
April  7, 2010
4
3 Ratings
Savory Carrot Bread
Photo by Rocky Luten
  • Makes 1 loaf
Author Notes

This is my adaptation of a bread recipe from a book which is old enough to be my mother! Loosely translated, "The Book of Tasty and Healthy Food" was published in 1955 and glorified by the academy of medicinal sciences of the USSR! Wonder what Lenin would have thought of my recipe...? The bread comes out unbelievably moist on the inside with a tender crispy crust. It's a vibrant orange/yellow color, which makes for an exciting presentation. - Mariya —Mariya

Test Kitchen Notes

This recipe was so quick and simple to put together with only one bowl, and no kneading required. Do not fret if the initial carrot mixture appears a little dry, it doubles in size to a lovely and glowing orange sponge within the hour, just as Mariya promises. From the oven, a beautifully crispy crust yields to an almost brioche-like center, and the little bits of sugar and savory spices play very delicately and well together. We enjoyed this bread hot from the oven with lots of butter and flaky sea salt, and toasted under the broiler with Vermont cheddar and mango chutney. It is best on the day it's made, but no worries if you cannot finish it all—its transformation to croutons is amazing. - Jennifer Ann —The Editors

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • .4 ounces dry yeast
  • 1/2 cup warm water
  • 9 ounces A.P. flour-separated by weight into 5 oz and 4 oz
  • 4.5 ounces carrots-shredded
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/4 teaspoon oregano
  • 2 ounces olive oil (plus extra for oiling baking dish)
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Directions
  1. Dissolve yeast in warm water for ~10 minutes, until it begins to bubble.
  2. In a bowl, mix 5 oz flour, carrots, eggs, and oregano; stir in the yeast mixture and mix well.
  3. Place a damp cloth over the bowl and allow dough to rise, in a warm part of the kitchen, for ~1 hour (or until doubled in size).
  4. Once risen, add 4 oz flour, oil, sugar, salt, nutmeg, garlic powder, and cayenne; mix well.
  5. Once more, place a damp cloth over the bowl and allow the dough to rise in a warm part of the kitchen for ~1 hour (or until doubled in size).
  6. Brush an 8", round baking dish with olive oil and transfer the dough to it. Bake at 375F for ~30 min, or until bread is cooked through and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Alternatively, bake in a different shaped dish for your desired shape.
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14 Reviews

Joyce D.
Joyce D. June 7, 2020
I didn't know what to expect when first making this bread, and was so happily surprised. I've made it twice in two weeks now, the second time substituting zucchini for carrots and using different spices. I've recommended this recipe to at least three people! I used an 8x3" loaf pan, and had to increase the baking time by 30 minutes at a lower temperature.
 
Lauren L.
Lauren L. April 4, 2020
I would recommend doing the second rise in the pan you plan to bake the bread in. Once I transferred the dough to its baking dish, it became very deflated and didn't rise much more when baking. The flavor was nice though.
 
Elizabeth S.
Elizabeth S. January 22, 2018
The bread in the picture above looks like it was baked in a cast iron skillet. I wonder how this might work. If the bread does it’s second rising in the CI skillet would it get hot enough to make the bottom crispy? Would the baking times/temperature need to be adjusted?
 
erin
erin January 17, 2018
Made this last night to eat with lentil soup. We loved it and I look forward to leftovers today. It's very easy - the active time is only a few minutes - but do note that you need two rises so allow plenty of time. I used wholemeal flour for the second addition (so 5oz all purpose, 4oz wholemeal) and the texture is lovely, wholesome but not heavy. Baked in a tube pan and it took 25 minutes.
 
Victoria
Victoria January 16, 2018
Any advice for using wholemeal flour instead of all purpose? Would love to make this for my Mom who doesn’t eat white flour. Thank you!
 
erin
erin January 17, 2018
I made it using 4oz wholemeal bread flour and it's great. It will likely be a heavier crumb if you use all wholemeal but I wouldn't balk at that.
 
Sharon L.
Sharon L. January 13, 2018
This bread sounds delicious. I have two questions. 1. When transferring the dough to the 8" round pan, do you deflate the dough and shape it, and does it need to rise again in the round pan before baking? and 2. If I decided to make rolls, could I shape them into rolls before the second rise and just let them rise in the pan? Thanks!
 
erin
erin January 17, 2018
I did allow mine to rise again in the pan because I lost all the air transferring it. A smart move would have been to do the second rise in the pan I intended to bake in. You'd struggle to shape this into rolls because it's a very loose, sticky dough, but as another commenter mentioned, dolloping it out biscuit-style should work.
 
Ann H.
Ann H. January 13, 2018
You really can't make rolls with this recipe as this is a quick bread and not a yeast-raised dough. However, you can make drop biscuits with it! I usually drop them in a silicon cupcake liner in a cupcake tin. They rise higher.
 
elizabeth
elizabeth September 5, 2022
The first ingredient is yeast!!!!!!
 
Leandra B.
Leandra B. January 13, 2018
Novice-ish bread baker here, what sort of modifications are needed to make rolls instead of a loaf?
 
weshook
weshook January 12, 2018
Awesome timing, my grandson picked out a five-pound bag of carrots and I didn't realize it until check out.
 
antoniokoppas@hotmail.com
[email protected] January 12, 2018
It would be nice if they included metric measures as well...for those of us that are living far away
 
Ann H.
Ann H. November 17, 2017
Any thoughts about using carrot powder rather than grated carrots?