Carrot bread - Morotsbröd

This is a very wholesome bread with plenty of goodness from grated carrots, oat bran and rye flakes. I opted to bake four smaller baguette like loaves, but one could easily make two bigger ones and slice them up into pieces for serving (or freezing for that matter). This recipe gives quite a compact, dense bread that holds its shape and doesn't crumble. The carrot adds moisture to the bread and keeps it from drying out. Tastes fantastic and can be enjoyed at any time -  for breakfast, in the afternoon with a cup of tea or just straight out of the oven with lashings of butter!

Hard to resist!

Carrot bread (4 small or 2 big loaves)

5dl water (warm ~42degrees)
1 sachet dry yeast
2dl oat bran
1dl rye flakes
1tbsp honey
1tbsp dark syrup/treacle
2tbsp extra virgin olive oil (EVOO hahaa! :)) 

5dl finely grated carrot
10dl wholegrain flour
(5dl wholegrain wheat flour, 3dl graham flour, 1dl rye flour, 1dl barley flour)
1tsp salt

+2dl water mixed with 1tbsp dark syrup/treacle to brush the loaves with.

1. Heat up the water in a big bowl and add the oat bran, rye flakes, dry yeast, honey, oil and syrup and give it a good whisk until blended together. Cover with cling film or a tea towel and let it sit 15-20mins until the mixture starts bubbling up.
2. Continue making the dough, first adding the grated carrots into the yeast mixture and then the flour and salt as you go along. Knead the dough until nice and pliable. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and let it prove in a warm place 30-60mins.

Rise and shine!

3. Divide the dough into four pieces and knead each piece of dough properly. Shape them into baguette type loaves and place on baking trays lined with parchment. Let the loaves prove another 20-30mins covered with a tea towel.
4. While the bread is resting, preheat the oven to 200degrees.
5. Brush the loaves with a little of the water and syrup solution before baking for 30mins until the crust turns golden.  
(6. Finally, for a slightly softer crust, brush the breads with some of the water/syrup mix when they are still hot.)

Nothing like fresh homemade bread!