Carrot Bread ‒ Porkkanaleipä

All the people I know to bake their own bread are relatively young, in their twenties or thirties. Older people seem to assossiate it with poorness and not being able to simply buy ready-made bread from the stores. The situation is probably similar to that of the 70's when all those beautiful, energy-saving fireplaces were torn down from the houses. "Look everyone: we can afford a central heating system!" Even my own home used to have them in the 20's, sadly no more.

But back to the beef: Thought I could follow the example of my friends at least occasionally, enough to see how hard a job baking your own bread really is. After all, it's cheaper, has no additives or other unwanted substances and most of all it tastes a million times better. The last part is actually the problem too. Fresh bread is so good it just vanishes though I'm not even hungry.

This was my opening receipe. Basically it contains what I happened to find home. That's the beauty.

- 5 dl water
- 30 g baker's yeast
- 1 tbsp vinegar
- 1 tbsp dark syrup
- 3 dl graham flour
- 3 dl oat flakes
- 6 dl dark wheat flour
- 3 dl grated carrot
- 2 dl sunflower seeds
- 3 tbsp rape oil
- 1,5 tsp salt

Dissolve the yeast in lukewarm water. Add the other ingridients in the above order. The salt should be left last since it prevents the yeast from working. (Actually, I got better results by forgetting it altogether.) Knead the dough until it doesn't stick to the bowl anymore. Let it rise under a towel in a warm place for approximitely half an hour. Knead it again on the table (with more wheat flour if it still seems too loose) and shape the breads as you wish. (I made three baguettes) Cover with a towel and let them rise another half an hour. Moist the surfce with water and decorate with seeds if you wish. Bake in 225°C for half an hour. Try not to eat them all at once.

Nutritional values / 1 baguette / 370 g
energy 1205 kcal
fat 43 g
protein 41 g
carbohydrates 165 g
fiber 26 g