Beet

Ottolenghi's Beet, Caraway, & Goat Cheese Bread

by:
October 21, 2018
4
6 Ratings
Ottolenghi's Beet, Caraway, & Goat Cheese Bread
Photo by Jonathan Lovekin
  • Prep time 15 minutes
  • Cook time 1 hour 20 minutes
  • Makes 1 loaf, 10 slices
Author Notes

Making a bread that requires no yeast or kneading has got to be the definition of simple! The texture is more cakey as a result and best eaten with some salted butter (not used to make sandwiches). If you are warming it through, do so in the oven rather than in the toaster, as it's quite crumbly. Once baked, it will keep in an airtight container fo 1 week or in the freezer for up to 1 month—thaw before slicing and toasting.

Reprinted from Simple, © 2018 Yotam Ottolenghi with Tara Wigley and Esme Howarth, with permission from Ten Speed Press. —Food52

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup (50g) rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup (20g) thyme leaves, finely chopped
  • 1/3 cup (50g) pumpkin seeds
  • 2 teaspoons caraway seeds
  • 2 teaspoons nigella seeds
  • 3/4 cup (100g) all-purpose flour
  • 2/3 cup (100g) plus 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1 medium beet, peeled and finely grated (2 cups or 200 g)
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/3 cup (80ml) sunflower oil, plus 1 tablespoon extra for greasing
  • 1/3 cup (80g) sour cream
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 3/4 ounce (20g) Parmesan
  • 4 1/4 ounces (120g) young and creamy goat cheese, roughly broken into 3/4-inch/2cm peices
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Grease an 8 x 4-inch/20 x 10cm loaf pan and line with parchment paper.
  2. Mix the oats, thyme, pumpkin, caraway, and nigella seeds in a small bowl. Put both flours into a separate bowl with the baking powder, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon of salt. Whisk to combine and aerate, then add the grated beet and all but 1 tablespoon of the oat and seed mix. Don't stir the mixture; just set it aside.
  3. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, oil, sour cream, honey, and Parmesan. Pour over the flour and beet mixture, then, using a spatula, mix to combine. Add the goat cheese and carefully fold through, trying not to break the pieces as you go.
  4. Spread the mixture evenly into the prepared loaf pan and sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of the oat and seed mix. Bake for 40 minutes, then cover tightly with foil and bake for another 40 minutes. A skewer inserted into the middle will not come out completely clean, but it should not be too wet. Remove from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and invert the bread so it is resting seed side up. The exterior will be quite crisp and dark. Cool for at least 20 minutes before slicing.
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6 Reviews

Hmoshman
Hmoshman November 13, 2022
I would not make this again. It took a ton of time to prep all the ingredients, and in the end, wasn't anything special. The recipe does not specify if the grams of thyme are dry or wet, but probably doesn't make any difference. I used 11g half fresh thyme, and couldn't really even taste the thyme in the finished product. If you do make it, be careful to not over-bake. For the last half, I turned the temp down to 360 to get it perfectly baked. Even then, it could have gone 5 minutes less or down to 350.
 
Pauline M.
Pauline M. January 5, 2021
I was wondering, in the ingredients list I see the following:
3/4 cup (100g) all-purpose flour
2/3 cup (100g) plus 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
Im a big user of the metric system (I'm European) and I can't imagine 3/4 cup being the same as 2/3 cup. How can they both be 100g? Is this correct?

Thanks!
 
andrea S.
andrea S. January 8, 2021
It depends on the weight/grind of the whole wheat flour, making some WW flours a different gm/cup. My current WW flour is 120gm/cup, same as AP flour, but I still used the 100 grams + 15 grams (2 TBSP) and it worked out beautifully. I hope this helps.
 
QueenSashy
QueenSashy April 7, 2020
I made the bread today, almost exactly as written and it was lovely. (For the second 40 minutes of baking I dropped the temperature to 360F, as I was worried that it would be too dry, and it turned out perfect.) I will be making it over and over again. It's perfect with smoked salmon, or hummus. Even on its own...
 
trysteroo
trysteroo October 15, 2019
Savory and delicious. A bit crumbly, so it wouldn't hold up to a sandwich, but it's wonderful toasted in the oven with some butter.
 
andrea S.
andrea S. November 10, 2018
I made this exactly as written (yea weights! and yes nigella seeds) and it was wonderful. It's more of a savory loaf shaped collection of veggies, nuts and goat cheese, rather than a bread. It held together well for slicing, tasted wonderful with a small smear of butter, and made my house smell wonderful while baking. I'll definitely be making it again!