Have you ever made sourdough swirl bread? It might seem complicated, but it really is just a sourdough bread divided into smaller dough depending on the number of colours you want.

First of all, I’d like to say this isn’t THE perfect bread recipe, but it’s MY perfect bread recipe. Meaning that’s the recipe which suits my daily schedule the best. Scotland it’s a pretty cold country, you might need to adjust the proofing times according to the temperature in yours.

This bread it’s quite high hydrated, dust your working surface with a lot of flour so tat it won’t stick and will be easier to knead. Not any natural colour works as a bread dye. Beetroot, for instance, won’t maintain its pink colour after baking. More than the different colours, however, the real deal with this kind of bread are the different flavours. Be careful: don’t use veggies you don’t like!

Which natural colours work with bread?

Purple/pinkish: Cabbage water
Blue: Cabbage water with Bicarbonate of Soda, Butterfly Pea Flour – Leave the tea leaves or at least 30 min in hot water before using)
Yellow/Orange: Turmeric, Paprika
Red: Tomato Paste
Green: Spinach, Rocket (light green), Spirulina, Matcha Tea Powder

These all work with White and Wholemeal Strong Bread Flour. Any suggestions for other veggies/natural colours I could use?

“If you really want to make a friend, go round someone’s house with a freshly baked loaf of sourdough bread!”
Chris Geiger

Sourdough Swirl Bread

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Prep Time 1 30

Cook Time 1

Proofing 1

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Italian

Servings 1 loaf

Equipment

Proofing Basket
Cast Iron Casserole or Deep Oven Tray for covering the Loaf while cooking
kitchen robot (optional)

Ingredients

150 gr Sourdough Starter recently fed
450 gr Strong Bread Flour I usually mix it with 40% Strong Bread Wholemeal
125 gr Water
20 gr Salt divided into the loaves

Colouring

125 gr Cabbage Water to use instead of water
2 tsp Turmeric
125 gr Mixture of boiled Rocket and Water

Lamination

as required Pistachios
as required Sesame Seeds

Instructions

Make the Dough and Bulk Rising

Feed the starter the night before and leave it at RT (this works in Scotland as it's always pretty cold). In the morning, divide the starter into 3 pieces. each piece need to be worked separately, adding either Cabbage water or Turmeric with 100 ml of water or the Rocket "soup".
Mix by using a kitchen robot or by hand in a bowl, for each different colour, 150 gr of flour, 50 gr sourdough and 125 gr of watery solution. Add the salt or any other powder 10 min after all the other ingredients. Use more flour in case the dough results too sticky.
Knead the dough three times every 15/20 min ( I never actually check the timing- it's usually in between breakfast and getting ready for work). Make three balls and leave it to proof in a sealed container at RT for 6/7 hrs (I usually leave for work and get back 9 hrs later and that's still fine).

Stretch & Fold the Dough – Lamination

This Step is fundamental for incorporating the different colours and some extra nuts or flavours in your bread. Open one of the dough completely on your bench, layer with either Sesame seeds or Pistacchios (adding seeds it's optional). Open the second dough on top of the first one, add other seeds or dried fruit if you like and open the final third dough. REMEMBER: when doing this step, never add flour on the working surface, the dough needs to stick to it.
Lamination is basically stretching your dough on your counter to open it to a big rectangle and then folding it together. If your dough is strong enough, it will not rip (see pictures). See this video in case you have any doubts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPYTLbSyOOU
Fold the corners of the dough together and create a ball. Put the dough ball in a floured proofing basket or a bowl lined with floured baking paper. Cover with a towel and leave it to proof overnight in the fridge,

Scoring and Baking

Flip the dough on a baking sheet. Dust the sough with some extra flour and score (cut the dough) as you like. Bake at 250 for one hour, either by using a cast iron casserole or a baking tray covered with a deeper baking tray (cake trays are perfect for covering the bread).

Keyword bread, colorful, sourdough, swirl