Savory Carrot Swirl Bread

This soft, savory carrot swirl yeast bread is filled with carrot mustard paste, cheese, and a sprinkle of parsley. 

When you saw the name carrot swirl bread, you would have thought of quick bread. Well, this is a yeast bread that is easy to make. This bread is very soft and deliciously comforting, served with some butter or just as it is. The savory carrot swirl bread is also an excellent accompaniment for a bowl of soup.

When I baked it the first time, our house smelled so good. I love the aroma of freshly baked bread when it comes out of the oven. Needless, to say half the loaf disappeared within a few minutes, and this became one of our favorite savory swirl bread.

Most of us get pretty intimidated by yeast dough, and I was one of them. My first loaf of bread was as hard as a rock and I didn’t try to bake any for some time. I thought I can bake anything but bread. Well, I was wrong. After a few years, I got the interest to bake bread again. So first of all, I researched about bread making. With trial and error, I reached my target in producing a soft loaf of bread. My next target is to make sourdough bread, and I am still working on perfecting the art of making sourdough bread.

So, I would encourage everyone to try and bake one without giving up. Seriously it’s worth a try! As for this recipe, I have put together some easy to follow instructions so you too can bake an excellent loaf of savory carrot swirl bread without fear.

First of all, I am going to talk about the ingredients.

Bread dough ingredients

This is an enriched bread recipe. Now, you might ask what is an enriched bread? Enriched bread dough will contain ingredients other than flour, salt, yeast, and water. This bread dough is enriched with milk, eggs, and butter. This dough is slightly sticky. To handle the dough, I suggest you wet your hands or lightly oil your hands. Don’t be tempted to add more flour as this may produce a dry loaf.
Let’s go into details…

Flour – Most of the bread dough recipes use All-purpose flour, which is easy to find in your kitchen cupboard. I have used the same for this dough recipe. But bread flour works too.  

Yeast- The recipe calls for instant yeast, which is easily available. You also can use active dried yeast, which might take a longer time to rise. Always check the expiry date of the yeast. I regularly prove the yeast with sugar and a little warm water, before adding it to the flour to see whether the yeast is activating. If the yeast is old the mixture won’t be frothy. This means you will have to start all over again with new yeast.

Water – It is important to use warm water (the temperature is 110°F ). Depending on the flour and the weather conditions you might need more or less water. Add the water gradually to get a slightly sticky dough but not wet dough. If the dough is dry, add water 1 Tablespoon at a time. Similarly, if the dough is too wet, add flour 1 Tablespoon at a time until you get the correct consistency. Avoid adding too much flour.

How to make Carrot swirl bread 

This dough recipe is made by hand. However, you can use a stand mixer to put this dough together. 

• Combine flour, yeast, sugar, salt, melted butter, and eggs in a large bowl.
•  First, add 1/4 cup of warm water ( leave the other 1/4 cup for later)and milk to the flour mixture and knead it to form a slightly sticky dough. If the dough is dry add the remaining warm water tablespoon at a time until you get a slightly sticky dough. Depending on the flour that you use and the weather conditions, you might need more or less water. 
•    Wet your hands or lightly oil your hands and turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough for 10 minutes or until the dough springs back.
• Put the dough into an oiled bowl and cover the bowl with cling wrap. Leave it somewhere warm for 1 hour or till the dough is doubled in size. 
• Punch the dough down, leave it to rest for 10 minutes. Now roll the dough into a rectangle ( about 16” x 11”) . Spread the carrot paste and sprinkle the cheese and parsley on top. 
• Roll the dough tightly and pinch the edges to seal. Place the rolled dough(log) on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Cut the roll in half lengthwise ( vertically) leaving an inch from the top. 
• Making sure the cut side is facing up gently braid the pieces, and pinch the edges. 
• Now bring the two corners together to form a rough circle and pinch the edges to seal. 
• Cover with lightly greased cling wrap and let it rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size. During the last 15 minutes of the rising time, pre-heat the oven to 350F/ 170C. 
• Remove the cling wrap and apply the egg wash on top of the loaf. Bake for 30- 35 minutes. 
• After 30 minutes, take the loaf out and place it on a cooling rack. 
• Serve warm with soup or spread some butter and enjoy. 

How to make the Carrot Paste 

Ingredients

2 large boiled carrots
1 1/2 tsp black mustard
salt to taste
2 Tablespoon soft room-temperature butter

Making the Carrot mustard paste

 Cut the boiled carrots into quarters and put it into a food processor with 1 1/2 teaspoon black mustard, salt, and the butter. Blend them into a smooth paste. 

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