Braided Sourdough Spinach Loaves with Matcha Tea Powder

These Braided Sourdough Spinach Loaves have a beautiful green hue due to the inclusion of pureed spinach and matcha green tea powder.  The dough is sprinkled with flakes of spinach and when the loaves are baked, the crust darkens, but the crumb retains its lovely green hue.

I got the idea to use spinach in this loaf from Shirley, one of the Bread Baking Buddies. When the Bread Baking Babes made beet bread a few weeks ago, Shirley baked with us and made a multi-colored monkey bread using pureed carrots, beets, and spinach.  That was the springboard I needed for this experiment.

I had been trying to get beautiful green bread for weeks. I had made artisan bread several different times over the past month or so using green tea powder and green lentil flour; however, it wasn’t quite what I was looking for. When I saw Shirley’s Monkey Bread, I realized that spinach was the missing ingredient.

I thought it would work well either as a braid or a sandwich loaf, but in the end, I combined the two and made a braided sandwich loaf.  I was very pleased with the results, but I also think this bread would make very cool rolls.

The loaves have great keeping quality due to the sourdough. They lasted over a week on the counter at room temperature.  They might’ve lasted longer if they hadn’t been eaten.

I wasn’t sure how the spinach would affect the flavor of the loaf, but it was quite mild. My taste tasters weren’t turned off by the spinach flavor either. However, I will say that the spinach flavor seemed to become more pronounced as the loaf aged; however, it still wasn’t very strong especially when paired with sandwich meats.  My favorite way to enjoy slices of this bread was grilled with cheese for a sandwich, but it also tastes great just with butter.

I served this to my son for dinner with a pot roast. He was hesitant about the idea of spinach bread at first, but once he tried it, he asked to take some home with him.

Braided Sourdough Spinach Loaves with Matcha Tea Powder

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• Author: Bread Experience
• Yield: 2 Loaves 1x

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Description

These Sourdough Spinach Loaves have a beautiful green hue due to the inclusion of pureed spinach and matcha green tea powder

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Ingredients

Units MUS Scale 1x2x3x

• 250 grams sourdough starter
• 425 grams whole milk, divided [225, 100, 100]
• 100 grams butter, softened
• 80 grams honey
• 925 grams bread flour
• 180 grams fresh spinach, washed thoroughly
• 1 tablespoon matcha green tea powder
• 20 grams sea salt

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Instructions

1. Puree spinach with 225 grams of milk, honey, and matcha tea powder. Rinse out the blended mixture with up to 100 grams of additional milk. Place puree/milk mixture in a large bowl. Add the sourdough starter and softened butter and stir to combine.
2. Add the flour on top of the puree/starter mixture. Mix thoroughly until there are no dry bits of flour.
3. Knead the dough in the bowl for a few minutes. Add in up to 50 grams of milk if necessary to achieve a workable dough that isn’t too dry.
4. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 15 minutes.
5. Add the salt and the remaining 50-100 grams of milk and work the salt into the dough until it is thoroughly incorporated. Knead the dough until it is soft and supple.
6. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let the dough bulk ferment (proof) for 3-5 hours, depending on the temperature in your kitchen. Perform a stretch and fold after the 1st and 2nd hour, then let the dough rest for the remainder of the bulk ferment. However, if the dough is not sufficiently developed, fold it again after the 3rd hour and let it rest for an additional hour or two.
7. Braid or shape the dough sandwich loaves and place them in 9 x 5-inch loaf pans. Cover with a kitchen towel and let them proof for 2-3 hours or until doubled in size. If you make braided sandwich loaves, they probably won’t reach the top of the pans during the final proof. Test for readiness by pressing lightly on the dough with your index finger. If it leaves a light indention, the loaves are ready to bake. If the dough springs back completely, let it proof a while longer and perform the test again.
8. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
9. Brush the top of the loaves with an egg or milk wash using a pastry brush.
10. Place the loaves in the preheated oven and let them bake for about 35 to 40 minutes, or until the tops are brown. Tent with foil if the top starts to brown too quickly.

Notes

Cool completely before slicing. Waiting 24 hours is even better to allow the flavor to develop and the crumb to set.

• Category: Sourdough Sandwich Bread
• Method: Sourdough

Happy Baking!

Cathy