Parsley Root Saffron Bread

Mashed parsley root has significantly increased the moisture, softness, and tenderness to this sandwich loaf. I have added saffron to the dough for its bright golden-yellow colour, but it’s completely optional. You could just as easily throw some nutmeg or cinnamon into this bread too.
At first glance, parsley root and parsnip look quite similar in appearance, but the two plants are botanically quite different. Parsnip is kinda like a pale carrot, with a sweet, slightly nutty taste and a starchy texture while parsley root is earthy, savoury and herbaceous.


350 g Parsley roots (or celery roots or parsnips) 1½ tsp Sea salt 80 ml Reserved parsley root water at room temperature 6 g Active dry yeast 1 tbsp Extra-virgin olive oil 350-400 g White spelt flour 0.1 g Saffron powder, optional 1 Small egg, lightly beaten for glaze

Peel the parsley roots and chop them into small chunks. In a small saucepan, cover the prepared root vegetables with water and add 1 teaspoon of the salt. Cook for 15-20 minutes to reach a fork-tender consistency suitable for mashing.
Remove 80 ml of the cooking water to a bowl. Cool to room temperature, then stir the dry yeast into the lukewarm cooking water and set aside for 5 minutes to activate the yeast.
Meanwhile, drain the root vegetables well in a colander. Return them to the saucepan and mash them with a potato masher while they are still warm, getting them as smooth as possible. You will have roughly 280-300 grams of puree.
Transfer the puree to the bowl of your mixer fitted with a dough hook. Stir the puree briefly with a spoon to loosen them up. Add in the olive oil and the yeast mixture, then 350 grams of spelt flour, saffron if using, and the remaining sea salt. Mix at slow speed for 5-7 minutes until the dough has become springy. If the dough is still sticky, add in the remaining flour, spoon by spoon, until the dough is smooth, elastic, and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Cover the bowl with a clean towel or cling film and allow the dough to rest for an hour at room temperature until it has doubled in size.
Turn out the dough on a lightly floured work surface. Flatten the dough into a rectangle roughly the width of 25cm loaf pan. Roll the dough into a tight cylinder, place the seam side down into a greased or baking paper lined loaf pan. Cover the loaf loosely with cling film and put in a warm place to rise for about 30-45 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Brush the top of the bread with egg and bake in the middle of hot oven for 35-40 minutes until golden brown.

5 comments:

David M. Gascoigne, 21/2/26 13:11: Sounds wonderful, Angie, and your pictures make it look exceptionally delicious.
Tom 21/2/26 13:19: ...Angie, a rather unexpected combination.
Lola Martínez 21/2/26 13:20: Se ve un pan delicioso, veo que has mezclado el sabor salado del pan con el dulce de una crema de cacahuetes si no me equivoco. A mi me gustan las combinaciones salado-dulces, me parece interesante de probar.
DEZMOND 21/2/26 15:20: Wowzer, what an outstandingly brilliant idea to put parsley mash into it, you know how much I love parsley! Did it taste a bit like parsley? Before, while I still ate gluten, I would often put potato mash into pastries and breads. I always have a bag of diced parsley root, a bag of diced celeriac root and a bag of diced carrots in my freezer and I use them daily in soups and whatnot.
Brian's Home Blog 21/2/26 16:02: It sure does look like a delicious bread!