Whole Wheat Carrot Bread

This whole wheat carrot bread is a great way to incorporate leftover carrots into a beautiful sandwich-style loaf of bread. 

This whole wheat carrot bread is easy to make and the master recipe is a great template to use any leftover veggies, carrots or otherwise to bake a loaf of bread. You could substitute butternut squash, sweet potatoes, beets, or even pureed kale or spinach. 

You could also grate the carrots, let them peek out from the crumb of the bread, and instead of water, substitute carrot juice! Get creative! 

This recipe has been adapted from a recipe entered into the Wisconsin State Fair by Terry Magestro, carrying on her mother's tradition of adding leftover vegetables to homemade bread. It's featured in the Fall 2016 issue of King Arthur Baking's Sift Magazine, no longer in print. The story was called Blue Ribbon Baking, featuring recipes from bakers who enter recipes in State Fairs, and win!

I had a package of organic carrots that I needed to use, so I chopped and boiled some of the carrots, and then drained and pureed them and added them to the bread. 

Note: You can easily boil and drain the carrots in advance and keep them in the refrigerator. In a pinch you could also substitute baby food or drained low sodium canned carrots for the fresh carrots. 

Ingredients in this Carrot Bread:

Pureed cooked carrots. 

Butter: melted. 

Water: You may have to adjust the water based on the amount of water retained by the carrots used in the puree. 

From the Pantry: Brown sugar, whole wheat flour, either white or standard whole wheat, bread flour, instant yeast, and salt. 

Note: King Arthur Baking has renamed it's white whole wheat "golden wheat flour." This is what I used. 

Procedure to Make this Carrot Bread:

First, chop and boil the carrots until fork tender. The amount of time it will take to boil your carrots depends on the size of your dice. Mine were about a 1/2 to 3/4 inch dice and it took about 20 minutes of low simmering to finish the carrots. 

Next, add the drained carrots, melted butter, brown sugar, salt, and some of the water to a small blender or food processor and puree the mixture until smooth. 

After that, add the flours (holding back about 1/2 cup of bread flour), yeast, and carrot puree mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer and mix with the dough hook until smooth and stretchy, tacky but not sticky. I ended up using all of the flours and water called for in the recipe. 

Next, let the dough rise for about an hour, until doubled. Shape the loaf and place it into a 1-pound loaf pan, cover, and let rise another hour, until doubled. 

Finally, bake the loaf in a 375 degree oven for 35 to 40 minutes. 

Before placing it in the oven, be sure to lightly etch an outline of a carrot on the top of the loaf!

Equipment You May Need:

For pureeing the carrots: Mini food processor, small blender, or immersion blender. 

To Bake the loaf: 8 1/2 inch by 4 1/2 inch (1 pound) loaf pan. 

Stand Mixer: I have the 7-quart KitchenAid in red! You can also hand knead this bread, but the mixer makes it so much easier. I use my mixer at least once or twice a week, making the "price per usage" seems pretty economical. 

Storage: 

You can keep the bread in a bag at room temperature for up to three days. I like to freeze half of the loaf to keep it fresher. Wrap it in foil and then plastic wrap and then place in the freezer. 

You can also slice the bread before freezing and remove it from the freezer one slice at a time. It makes excellent toast for breakfast or sandwiches. You do not taste the carrots. 

This month, the Bread Bakers are baking breads featuring carrots, or with an Easter theme. Check out everyone's breads!

• Carrot and Thyme Sourdough Boule by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Cozonac - Romanian Easter Bread by A Messy Kitchen
• Crushed Pineapple Carrot Quick Bread by Food Lust People Love
• Sourdough Carrot Bread by Sneha’s Recipe
• Sourdough Carrot Raisin Loaf by Zesty South Indian Kitchen
• Whole Wheat Carrot Bread by Karen’s Kitchen stories

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our lovely bread by following our Pinterest board. Links are also updated after each event on the #BreadBakers home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

We've been baking bread together for nearly 10 years! 

Whole Wheat Carrot Bread

Yield: 16 slices

Author: Karen Kerr

Prep time: 30 MinCook time: 40 MinInactive time: 2 HourTotal time: 3 H & 10 M

This whole wheat carrot bread is a great way to incorporate leftover carrots into a beautiful sandwich-style loaf of bread. 

Ingredients

• 85 grams (3 ounces) sliced cooked carrots
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup water (8 ounces), 1/4 cup reserved
• 269 grams (9.5 ounces/269 grams) unbleached bread flour, 1/2 cup reserved
• 1 tablespoon melted butter for finishing - optional

Instructions

1. Add the boiled and drained carrots, brown sugar, melted butter, salt, and 3/4 cup of the water to a small blender and puree the mixture.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the flours and yeast, reserving about 1/2 cup of the bread flour.
3. Add the carrot mixture to the bowl and mix on low for about 2 minutes.
4. Using the reserved water and flour, add more of each, alternating each ingredient 1 tablespoon at a time while the mixer is running. The dough should be tacky but not too sticky. I used all of the reserved flour and water.
5. Adjust the speed to medium low and knead with the dough hook for 6 to 8 minutes. The dough should by smooth and easily pliable.
6. Form the dough into a ball and place it into a greased bowl, turning to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about an hour.
7. When the dough is ready, press it into a seven inch by ten inch rectangle. Shape it into a loaf by rolling it into an 8 inch log. Place it, seam side down into 8/1/2 inch by 4 1/2 inch loaf pan. Cover with oiled plastic wrap and let rise until it domes above the rim of the pan, about an hour.
8. Heat the oven to 375 degrees F. When the bread is ready to bake, lightly draw a picture of a carrot on top of the loaf. Place the loaf in the oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes. The interior of the loaf should be 190 degrees F.
9. Turn the loaf out onto a cooling rack and immediately brush the top with the melted butter (optional).
10. Cool completely before slicing.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

87

Fat (grams)

2 g

Sat. Fat (grams)

1 g

Carbs (grams)

14 g

Fiber (grams)

1 g

Net carbs

14 g

Sugar (grams)

2 g

Protein (grams)

2 g

Cholesterol (grams)

6 mg

https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2025/04/whole-wheat-carrot-bread.html

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