Callaloo Bread - #BreadBakers

The Bread Bakers are starting 2022 with lots of colours. Radha challenged us to make naturally coloured loaves. It's a very fun theme but I wanted to play it safe. I've used beets before and my loaf just ended up brown. I was afraid I would try something new and end up with brown bread again. I figured I would stick to my tried and true pumpkin without needing to go down a food science rabbit hole. 

I consulted my baking and everything else sounding boards but they were not feeling my boring pumpkin self. They encouraged me to use callaloo (a Jamaican leafy green similar to spinach but with a stronger flavour). I had originally planned a two-tone loaf but kneading colours into the dough makes you question your bread-baking choices. 

I completely forgot to take pictures of my dough after kneading and shaping but trust me, it was a lovely bright green. A completely different green came out of the oven, however.  I am just glad it wasn't completely brown. If you overcook callaloo, it does become a dark unsightly brown-ish colour so I was very worried about that. 

I am using an interesting method here that is similar to tangzhong. It's called the yudane method and involves pouring hot water over 20% of the recipe's flour and leaving it overnight. It results in an extremely soft dough. 

Be sure to scroll down to see all the beautiful creations the Bread Bakers have for you today. 

Callaloo Bread 

Yield: 1 loaf

Adapted from Bake with Paws

Ingredients 

Yudane

90g flour 

80g boiling water

Dough

150g milk 

100g callaloo

360g flour 

30 grams sugar 

18 grams oil

1 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast

1 1/4 teaspoon salt 

Egg or milk for egg or milk wash

Directions

Add flour to your mixing bowl and pour in the boiling water. Mix it together then cover and refrigerate for four hours or overnight. 

Blend the milk and callaloo until smooth. Callaloo can have thick stems. I did use stems in mine, I just ensured that everything was blended well. 

Tear up the yudane into small pieces and then add all the ingredients to the bowl. 

Knead together until the dough is smooth. You can do the windowpane test but yudane doughs seem to be less likely to achieve thin windowpanes. The original author recommends between 10 and 13 minutes of kneading time. 

Allow the dough to rise until doubled. 

When doubled, punch down the dough, shape and place in a 9" x 5" loaf pan. I did a four-strand braid on my loaf but you can do a regular loaf shape, if you wish. 

Leave the dough to rise once more until doubled. 

Preheat oven to 350 F. 

When the dough is ready, brush with egg wash or milk then bake for 25 to 30 minutes. 

Cool. Slice. Enjoy. 

Notes 

• The callaloo flavour is mild but present. 

 

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Happy New Year! We are starting this year’s events with a colorful beginning. Our theme for this month is “Naturally Colored Breads” and Radha of Magical Ingredients is our host. #BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.