Beetroot Spelt Sourdough Bread

This is my third attempt at making beetroot spelt sourdough bread.  My earlier attempts used roasted beetroot and raw beetroot, but both attempts failed to retain the beetroot bright red colour.  In my second attempt, I tried to raise the acidity of the dough, I added lemon juice, used raw beetroot and increased its quantity but to no avail.  In this third attempt, powdered vitamin C was added.  Ascorbic acid in the vitamin C supplement slows down the degradation of beetroot pigments during heating.  I was so thrilled to see the colour of the crumb when I sliced into it.  Finally, it was a success! 

The dough is kinda sticky to handle, I shall reduce the amount of beetroot to 80g next time.

First Attempt - failed

Crumb of 1st attempt - beetroot turned brown after baking

Further reading:   Health benefits of sourdough & How to make sourdough starter

Ingredients

  72g      Active Sourdough starter
140g      Bread flour
  30g      Spelt flour
  10g      Rye flour

100g      Roasted beetroot  (whole beetroot baked at 180°C for 40-50min)
  40g      Water  
1 capsule of powdered vitamin C (crushed using pestle and mortar)

    2g      Salt  
  12g      Butter

Instructions

1.    In a food processor or blender, blend roasted beetroot, water and powdered vitamin C into puree.
2.    In the stand-mixer bowl, add beetroot puree, starter, bread flour, spelt flour and rye flour.
3.    Using a wooden chopstick, stir to mix well.

4.    Use our hands to briefly knead the dough until a shaggy mass is formed. 

5.    Autolyse for 45min - 1hour.

6.    Add salt and butter.
7.    On speed 1, using the dough hook, knead the dough for 4min.
8.    Transfer the dough to a glass bowl.

9.    Cover the bowl.  Every 15min, perform stretch & fold.  Repeat this step 4 times.

10.  Proof another 1.5hrs to 2hrs or until double in size  (Total 2.5hrs-3hrs)

11.  Cover the bowl and chill in fridge for 1.5 hour - 2hrs.

12.  Pre-shape the dough into a boule.

13.  Cover and rest the dough for 15min.

14.  Final shape the dough into boule, using tension pull.

15.  Dust a proofing basket with rice flour.  This is my homemade proofing basket, a plastic bowl and a linen cloth fastened to it.

16.  Place the boule into the proofing basket with its seams facing upwards.

17.  Proof the dough 40min.  I placed the proofing basket into my oven with the light switched on.

After 40min proofing

21.  Wrap the proofing basket and finish proofing another 2hrs in the fridge.

After 2hrs of proofing in fridge

22.  Preheat the oven with the dutch oven to 240°C for 40min.

23.  Tip the proofed dough onto parchment paper.

24.  Score the dough.

25.  Take the dutch oven out from the oven.

26.  Remove the lid of the dutch oven and carefully lower the baking paper together with the dough, into the dutch oven.

27.  Put the lid back and put the dutch oven in the oven. 

28.  Bake for 30min at 220°C (the highest my oven can reach with a dutch oven in it).  As I don't like my bread to brown too much, I normally won't bake my bread too long.

29.  Transfer the bread onto a cooling rack.  Cool for at least 2hrs before slicing.

30.  Voila!  Beetroot Spelt Sourdough Bread is served!

Bread Spread - Black Sesame Powder + Yogurt