Carrots in Bread
A little over a year ago, in March of 2021, we posted one of our favorite bread recipes we’ve ever developed. Soft, fluffy, slightly sweet gulerodsboller, or carrot bread rolls. Studded with sunflower seeds and little pieces of grated carrots, they are so delicious, especially topped with butter or cheese. Now, the concept of carrots in bread may sound strange or funny to you, but we promise that the carrots are what make this bread recipe absolutely exceptional.
From Rolls to Loaves
As much as we do appreciate a good bread roll, sometimes you just don’t want to go through the hassle of shaping rolls. What’s the solution? Gulerodsbrød! This stuff is some of the softest bread we have ever baked. It has a slightly sweet flavor that comes from the enriched dough as well as the carrot, and the sunflower seeds give a nice crunchy and nutty flavor. Slice it up and we can promise it will be gone in the blink of an eye. Plus, there are carrots in it, so that’s healthy, right?
Making Gulerodsbrød
Bloom your yeast, combine your ingredients, and knead together well (for about 10 minutes). The dough should, at the very least, be smooth and not sticky. If you are patient enough, you should continue kneading until it passes the windowpane test. Let this rise until doubled in size. Then, shape your loaf. Let these rise another 30 minutes or so. Then bake, let cool for a bit, and enjoy! Any toppings will be delicious – we would highly recommend the classics: butter, jam, cheese. Leave us a comment and/or a rating below if you try them.
Watch Our Video!
Gulerodsbrød (Carrot Bread)
Ingredients
- 200 ml milk
- 2 tsp instant yeast (2.25 tsp active dry yeast, 17.5g fresh yeast)
- 1.5 tbsp sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 80 grams carrot, grated (about 1 large carrot)
- 35 grams sunflower seeds
- 1 tsp salt
- 350 grams bread or all-purpose flour (can split 200g bread/AP flour, 150g whole wheat for slightly healthier bread)
- 42 grams unsalted butter, softened
- 1 egg for egg wash
Instructions
- Heat the milk, in the microwave or a saucepan, until it is “fingervarm” (finger warm), meaning it should feel warm to the touch but not hot. Add your yeast and sugar, stir, and leave it for 5-10 minutes until the mixture starts to bubble up, meaning your yeast is alive and not expired.
- While the yeast is sitting, peel and grate the carrot.
- Add the egg yolk, grated carrot, sunflower seeds, and salt to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer and mix well. Once the yeast mixture has bubbled up a bit, add it to the egg mixture. Mix well.
- Slowly add the flour and softened butter, mixing with a wooden spoon or the dough hook of the stand mixer until the dough starts to come together. Reserve a small amount of flour. If the dough is sticking to the sides of the bowl or your hands, add the remaining flour and if needed, a few more tablespoons at a time. If the dough is remaining dry and crumbly, add a little bit more water.
- Knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes, either by hand or using the dough hook on the stand mixer. Continue to add a bit more flour if the dough is too sticky; it should be soft and smooth, not too sticky nor too dry.
- Cover the dough with cling film or a clean dishtowel and place in the fridge overnight for 8 hours, or let rise at room temperature (if room temp is very cold wherever you are, put it in a warm place, i.e. under a light) for about 1 hour or until doubled in size.
- Once your dough has doubled in size, prepare a loaf pan (we used a medium sized loaf pan) by buttering or oiling the sides of the pan and cutting a piece of parchment paper to lay across the pan for easy removal.
- To shape the loaf, dump the dough out on a clean surface. Using your hands, stretch it out into a rough rectangle shape, with a width equivalent to the size of your loaf pan.
- Start rolling from one end, keeping the roll very tight.
- Once you have rolled it up, pinch together any creases and roll the loaf against the countertop lightly to create surface tension and help close the crease on the bottom of the loaf and also along the edges.
- Place the loaf in the loaf pan.
- Let it rise for another 30 mins to an hour, until doubled in size. This timing will very much depend on the temperature of your house. While it is rising, preheat the oven to 350 F (175 C).
- Once the loaf is ready, brush with egg wash.
- Bake for about 30 minutes until golden brown and the bread sounds hollow when you tap it.
- Remove from the loaf pan and let it cool for at least 20 minutes before slicing and enjoy!
I made this last week! So good : ) skipped the sunflower seeds since I thought I didn’t have any, but I realized I did once it was already in the oven. oh well! It was great even without them and probably closer to what I remember the carrot bread was like when I had it in Denmark years ago. very good toasted too!
Hi Amanda! Thanks for the lovely review – so glad you enjoyed it!
Hello. Is the single loaf of carrot bread about a pound, do you know? Thank you. Looks delicious! Excited to try!
Hi! Not totally sure of the weight of the final loaf after baking, but the weight of the ingredients that go into it are closer to a pound and a half! Perhaps with evaporation it may be near a pound. Next time I make it I will try to weight it!