While we are quite familiar with baking with carrots and zucchini, using beets for baked goods may be less common but no less tasty as this Beet Quick Bread proves.
I do a lot of gardening and grow various varieties of beets which I use for Pickled Beets, Beet Salad, Harvard Beets, and simply to enjoy as a side vegetable to various types of meals. I find beets are great producers and I always seem to have an abundance of them so try to find ways to use them. This Beet Quick Bread is my latest beet recipe creation.
The recipe calls for 8oz/227 grams of raw beet. That is, a beet, or beets that, when the leaves, stem(s), and tail(s) are removed and the beet(s) peeled, the weight is 8oz/227 grams. So, this is where your kitchen scales will be useful.
The beet(s) could be either shredded or grated for this recipe; however, I find the bread bakes to a better texture when the beets are grated. Raw beet is hard and I find the larger shredded pieces don’t generate as nice a texture as do the smaller grated pieces. A couple of ways the beet(s) can be grated – the grater side of a box grater, along with a bit of muscle power, can be used or a food processor fitted with the grating blade will also get the job done.
Once grated, the beet will exhibit a lot of moisture on the cutting surface, too much for inclusion in the loaf as that could make the bread very wet, heavy, dense, and stodgy. To prevent this, roll the grated beet(s) in a clean, old tea towel and wring out the excess moisture over a bowl or the sink. I keep old worn, yet absorbent, tea towels for purposes like this. The tea towel will usually come clean with laundering but I certainly wouldn’t use a brand new one for the job! It is not necessary to remove all the moisture from the beets and have them completely dried (nor should they be) but the excess moisture does need to go.
This is not a particularly spicy loaf and not overly sweet, either. It has a lovely moist texture owing to a combination of the grated beet, sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt), oil, and applesauce. The bread can be enhanced by the addition of chopped nuts or sultana raisins which are optional. This loaf is another tasty way to use up beets from the garden!
Enjoy this Beet Quick Bread, plain or buttered, for breakfast, coffeebreak, or teatime or an any time treat. Especially lovely with a fine cup of tea or coffee.
BEET QUICK BREAD
Ingredients:
8 oz/227 grams raw beet(s) (weighed after leaves, stem(s) and tail end(s) removed and beet(s) peeled)
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
¾ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1½ tsp cinnamon
¾ tsp allspice
½ tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cloves
2 large eggs, room temperature
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1/3 cup granulated sugar
¼ cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
1/8 cup applesauce
2¼ tsp orange or lemon zest
1½ tsp pure vanilla extract
½ – 2/3 cup chopped nuts of choice (or sultana raisins) – optional
Method:
Bring eggs and sour cream to room temperature approximately 25-30 minutes before preparing batter.
In medium-sized bowl, sieve the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices together. Make well in center of dry ingredients.
In small bowl, mix brown and granulated sugars together and stir in the orange or lemon zest.
Position oven rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 350°F.
Line 8.5”x4.5”x2.75” (21.59cm x 11.43cm x 6.985cm) loaf pan with parchment paper, leaving enough paper overhang with which to grasp and lift the baked loaf to remove it from the pan. Spritz parchment-lined pan very lightly with cooking oil.
With the grating side of a box grater, or in a food processor fitted with the grating blade, grate the raw beet(s). Roll grated beet in a clean tea towel and wring over bowl or in sink to remove excess moisture from the beet(s). It is not necessary to entirely remove all the moisture from the beet(s) and have them completely dried (nor should they be) but the excess moisture does need to be removed to prevent a dense, wet, stodgy loaf.
In bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat the eggs at medium speed. Beat in the vegetable oil followed by the sugars into which the lemon or orange zest has been mixed. Add the sour cream or Greek yogurt, applesauce, and vanilla. Beat only to combine ingredients well. With mixer set to slowest speed, add the grated beet(s) and mix just until combined with other ingredients.
Remove bowl from mixer stand and stir in the chopped nuts or raisins, if using. Pour wet ingredients into well in bowl containing dry ingredients. Mix just until combined taking care not to overmix.
Transfer batter to the prepared pan, smoothing batter evenly with a knife.
Bake loaf on center of oven rack for approximately 50 minutes or until cake tester inserted into center of loaf comes out clean. If loaf starts to brown too much before it is baked, it may be loosely tented with tin foil after about 40-45 minutes of baking. Ensure loaf top is completely set before allowing the tin foil to touch it as the foil may otherwise peel off the top of the loaf. After removing bread from oven, let loaf rest in pan for 15 minutes then remove and set loaf on wire rack to cool completely before cutting.
Yield: One loaf, 12 slices (sliced approximately ½” thick)
Notes: Loaf is best made the day before it is needed. Let cool completely on wire rack then place in airtight plastic bag and store in refrigerator overnight to allow the flavours time to blend and loaf time to set. Loaf freezes well, either whole or sliced into individual slices.
Baking times are a guideline only as ovens bake differently. Start testing loaf with cake tester at the earliest baking time mentioned in the recipe. If cake tester, inserted into center of loaf, does not come out clean, bake loaf until tester removes with no moisture on it.
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FOR OTHER GREAT QUICK BREAD RECIPES FROM MY ISLAND BISTRO KITCHEN, CLICK THE LINKS BELOW:
Strawberry-Rhubarb Quick Bread
Green Tomato Quick Bread
Classic Banana Bread
Glazed Lemon Pecan Bread
Cinnamon Quick Bread
Cherry Loaf
Orange, Date, and Spice Loaf
Cranberry Orange Eggnog Loaf
Blueberry Quick Bread
Beet Quick Bread
Ingredients
- 8oz/227 grams raw beet (weighed after leaves, stem(s), and tail ends removed and beet(s) peeled)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1½ tsp cinnamon
- ¾ tsp allspice
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp cloves
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup brown sugar, lightly packed
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
- 1/8 cup applesauce
- 2¼ tsp orange or lemon zest
- 1½ tsp pure vanilla extract
- ½ – 2/3 cup chopped nuts of choice (or sultana raisins) – optional
Instructions
-
Bring eggs and sour cream to room temperature approximately 25-30 minutes before preparing batter.
-
In medium-sized bowl, sieve the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices together. Make well in center of dry ingredients.
-
In small bowl, mix brown and granulated sugars together and stir in the orange or lemon zest.
-
Position oven rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 350°F.
-
Line 8.5”x4.5”x2.75” (21.59cm x 11.43cm x 6.985cm) loaf pan with parchment paper, leaving enough paper overhang with which to grasp and lift the baked loaf to remove it from the pan. Spritz parchment-lined pan very lightly with cooking oil.
-
With the grating side of a box grater, or in a food processor fitted with the grating blade, grate the raw beet(s). Roll grated beet in a clean tea towel, and wring over bowl or in sink to remove excess moisture from the beet(s). It is not necessary to entirely remove all the moisture from the beet(s) and have them completely dried but the excess moisture does need to be removed to prevent a dense, wet, stodgy loaf.
-
In bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat the eggs at medium speed. Beat in the vegetable oil followed by the sugars into which the lemon or orange zest has been mixed. Add the sour cream or Greek yogurt, applesauce, and vanilla. Beat only to combine ingredients well. With mixer set to slowest speed, add the grated beet and mix just until combined with other ingredients.
-
Remove bowl from mixer stand and stir in the chopped nuts or raisins, if using. Pour wet ingredients into well in bowl containing dry ingredients. Mix just until combined taking care not to overmix.
-
Transfer batter to the prepared pan, smoothing batter evenly with a knife.
-
Bake loaf on center of oven rack for approximately 50 minutes or until cake tester inserted into center of loaf comes out clean. If loaf starts to brown too much before it is baked, it may be loosely tented with tin foil after about 40-45 minutes of baking. Ensure loaf top is completely set before allowing the tin foil to touch it as the foil may otherwise peel off the top of the loaf. After removing bread from oven, let loaf rest in pan for 15 minutes then remove and set loaf on wire rack to cool completely before cutting.
Recipe Notes
Yield: One loaf, 12 slices (sliced approximately ½” thick)
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Note1: Loaf is best made the day before it is needed. Let cool completely on wire rack then place in airtight plastic bag and store in refrigerator overnight to allow the flavours time to blend and loaf time to set. Loaf freezes well, either whole or sliced into individual slices.
Note 2: Baking times are a guideline only as ovens bake differently. Start testing loaf with cake tester at the earliest baking time mentioned in the recipe. If cake tester, inserted into center of loaf, does not come out clean, bake loaf until tester removes with no moisture on it.
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