Vegan Rainbow Bread: Two Ways

♫ Listening to: Days by The Drums ♫

Like everyone else in quarantine, I’ve been baking up a storm. I think I’ve used 10 pounds of flour so far, and I just opened a 20-pound bag, so this isn’t stopping anytime soon, haha. When I posted this bread to instagram, someone commented that the colors made them happy, and it made me wonder if secretly, that’s why I’ve been baking so many rainbow colored things. I made my colored burger buns, and also my colored tortillas before this rainbow bread.

This recipe was inspired by pinch of yum’s no knead bread recipe. It’s such an easy bread recipe, and it’s perfect for the shelter in place order, because it uses such a small amount of yeast (which I can’t be the only one running low on).

This recipe describes 2 different ways to make a single loaf of rainbow bread.

Natural Superfood Colored Rainbow Bread

• 3 cups (390g) all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons (8g) salt
• ½ teaspoon (1-2g) active yeast
• 1 teaspoon blue spirulina powder
• 2 teaspoons beetroot powder
• 2 teaspoons maqui berry powder
• 1 ⅓ - 1 ½ (330g) cups water

Whisk 3 cups (390g) flour, 2 teaspoons (8g) salt, and ½ teaspoon (1-2g) active yeast.

Weigh those dry ingredients using a kitchen scale and divide that number by 3. Then measure that amount into 3 bowls, so you have an even amount of dry ingredients in each of the 3 bowls. If you don’t have a kitchen scale you can just start by measuring 1 cup into each bowl and then eyeball it. It doesn’t have to be exact.

Add 1 teaspoon blue spirulina to one of the bowls and whisk it in.

Add 2 teaspoons beetroot powder to one of the other bowls and whisk it in. When I made mine, I tried to use pink pitaya powder, and it completely faded to white, so I advise you use beetroot powder instead.

Add 2 teaspoons maqui berry powder to the last bowl and whisk it in.

Pour ½ cup water into each bowl and mix until no flour remains. One of the things that makes this recipe so easy is that you don’t have to heat the water or add sugar to activate the yeast. Just use room temperature water.

Cover each bowl with cling wrap and set on the counter overnight.

Preheat your oven to 450º once the dough has been sitting for 12-18 hours.

Place your oven safe baking dish with lid into the oven while it preheats. I use a pink heart-shaped 2 quart dutch oven that I won (stole) at a white elephant gift exchange. Leave it in there until your oven is preheated (and a little longer if you have the time).

Cut a piece of parchment paper and sprinkle flour on it.

Remove the cling wrap from whichever color you want on the bottom of the loaf and dump that color dough onto the flour-covered parchment paper (I use a silicone spatula to help it come out).

Remove the pink heart-shaped 2 quart dutch oven from the oven using oven mitts. Remove the lid and place the parchment paper with dough on it into the pan.

Remove the cling wrap from the next color, and dump that dough on top of the other one in the pink heart-shaped 2 quart dutch oven using your silicone spatula to spread it out as much as possible.

Repeat with the last color.

Put the lid back on using oven mitts, and stick it back into the oven.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Remove the lid and bake for 15 more minutes.

Remove from the oven, turn off the oven, and lift the loaf out of the pan to cool on the counter top. I lift it out by grabbing the ends of the parchment paper like a little bread hammock.

Cool completely before slicing.

Vibrant Colored Rainbow Bread (using food coloring)

• 3 cups (390g) all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons (8g) salt
• ½ teaspoon (1-2g) active yeast
• 1 ⅓ - 1 ½ (330g) cups water
• 4 colors of vegan food coloring

Whisk 3 cups (390g) flour, 2 teaspoons (8g) salt, and ½ teaspoon (1-2g) active yeast.

Weigh those dry ingredients using a kitchen scale and divide that number by 4. Then measure that amount into 4 bowls, so you have an even amount of dry ingredients in each of the 4 bowls. If you don’t have a kitchen scale you can just start by measuring ¾ cup into each bowl and then eyeball it. It doesn’t have to be exact.

Measure 3 ounces or ⅓ cup of water and mix a couple of drops of wilton violet gel color into it. One of the things that makes this recipe so easy is that you don’t have to heat the water or add sugar to activate the yeast. Just use room temperature water.

Pour the purple water into one of the bowls of flour and mix until you can no longer see flour.

Measure 3 ounces or ⅓ cup of water and mix a couple of drops of wilton sky blue gel color into it.

Pour the blue water into one of the bowls of flour and mix until you can no longer see flour.

Measure 3 ounces or ⅓ cup of water and mix a couple of drops of wilton leaf green gel color into it.

Pour the green water into one of the bowls of flour and mix until you can no longer see flour.

Measure 3 ounces or ⅓ cup of water and mix a couple of drops of wilton rose gel color into it.

Pour the pink water into one of the bowls of flour and mix until you can no longer see flour.

Cover each bowl with cling wrap and set on the counter overnight.

Preheat your oven to 450º once the dough has been sitting for 12-18 hours.

Place your oven safe baking dish with lid into the oven while it preheats. I use a pink heart-shaped 2 quart dutch oven that I won (stole) at a white elephant gift exchange. Leave it in there until your oven is preheated (and a little longer if you have the time).

Cut a piece of parchment paper and sprinkle flour on it.

Remove the cling wrap from whichever color you want on the bottom of the loaf and dump that color dough onto the flour-covered parchment paper (I use a silicone spatula to help it come out).

Remove the pink heart-shaped 2 quart dutch oven from the oven using oven mitts. Remove the lid and place the parchment paper with dough on it into the pan.

Remove the cling wrap from the next color, and dump that dough on top of the other one in the pink heart-shaped 2 quart dutch oven using your silicone spatula to spread it out as much as possible.

Repeat with the other colors.

Put the lid back on using oven mitts, and stick it back into the oven.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Remove the lid and bake for 15 more minutes.

Remove from the oven, turn off the oven, and lift the loaf out of the pan to cool on the counter top. I lift it out by grabbing the ends of the parchment paper like a little bread hammock.

Cool completely before slicing.

If you like this rainbow bread, you might also like my rainbow cookies and my rainbow cake.

I’ve used this bread to make stuffing and sobrasada sandwiches.

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