Festive Bread Loaf

If you are preparing a festive holiday meal or need something to bring to a pot luck meal, this might just fit the bill!  I almost forgot that I even had this recipe!
It is a bread that goes with just about any entree, and it brightens up any meal.

Farmer Boy Beet Bread

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 teaspoons of active dry yeast
• 3/4 Cup of warm water (about 110 degrees F.)
• 1 Tablespoon of Honey
• 3/4 Cup of Beets, uncooked,  fresh & shredded (measure after being squeezed dry)
• 1/2 Cup of warm milk (about 110 degrees F.)
• 1 Tablespoon of butter, softened
• 1 1/4 teaspoons of salt
• 3 Cups of bread flour (or, in a pinch, all-purpose flour)
• 1 egg white

Directions: In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in the water.  Stir in the honey and let it sit at least 5 minutes.  Add the warm milk.

Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Stir in the yeast mixture.  Add the butter and beets. 

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for about 8 minutes, till it is smooth.

Lightly oil a large bowl and place the dough in it, turning it to oil it. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm spot to rise.  After it has doubled in size, (about 50 to 60 minutes) place it in an oiled loaf pan (9x5x3 inches).  Cover loosely with lightly oiled plastic wrap and let it rise again, till almost doubled again, (about 40 minutes).

Brush the egg white on top.  Bake in a pre-heated oven, at 350 degrees F. for 30 to 35 minutes.  It should sound hollow when tapped.  Remove from the pan to cool on a wire rack before slicing.

This loaf doesn't have an overpowering beet flavor, just the hint of the beets.  But it is lovely to look at and is really good with butter or cream cheese spread onto it!

It is a good way to use up those beets you've harvested from your garden!  What, no beet harvest?  Did you plant one?  You know, you ought to plant beets - they are tasty and really good for you & they are easy to grow!  you could even grow a few in a container garden & that fresh air you'd get daily watering them would be good for you too!

"Some old-fashioned things like fresh air and sunshine are hard to beat.  In our mad rush for progress and modern improvements let's be sure we take along with us all the old-fashioned things worthwhile."  Laura Ingalls Wilder

My suggestion for growing beets applies to all you "City Dwellers" as well as the country folks - maybe even more so!  At least, try this recipe and see if you like it.  Then come back here and leave a comment, letting us all know of your experience.  Thanks.  The Old Man in the Bib Overalls