Sunday, November 2, 2008

Vegetable Il Gianfornaio

I bought a book recently that had a picture of an Australian bread called Vegetable Il Gianfornaio. It looked beautiful and I flipped through the book frantically trying to find a recipe, but it was just a picture. No recipe in the book! That must be the worst thing a cook book could do - have lovely pictures with no accompanying recipes! What's up with that?

So I diligiously searched the Web and couldn't find a recipe though I did find many references to the bread. So I decided to make up my own recipe. And it was a huge success.

Australian vegetable il gianfornaio is a bread made up of different strands woven together into a round shape. Each strand gets its color from vegetable juice. Not food coloring. Vegetable juice - I mean, how healthy! It looked and sounded wonderful.


Vegetable Il Gianfornaio

Make the basic dough 4 times. That is, start out with 4 different bowls and proceed from there.

Basic Dough

1 cup All-Purpose Flour for each bowl (4 cups Flour)
1/4 tsp Active Dry Yeast for each bowl (1 tsp Yeast)
3/4 tsp Salt for each bowl (3 tsp Salt)
1 tbsp Sugar for each bowl (4 tbsp Sugar)
1/2 tbsp Butter for each bowl (2 tbsp Butter)
110 ml Juice for each bowl

Juices:
110 ml each Spinach Juice, Beet Juice and Tomato Juice. Leave one plain.

Add individual juices to each separate bowl. So you'll have one spinach dough, one beet dough, one tomato dough and one plain (white) dough.


Mix the dough until it comes together. Empty the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for about 8-10 minutes until the dough becomes smooth and elastic. Place in an oiled bowl and cover with cling wrap. Repeat for the other bowls. Set in a warm, draft-free area of the house and allow to rise (approximately 1-1 1/2 hours).

Take the dough out of the bowl and gently roll back and forth to form a thick rope (about 10" long). Repeat for the other dough. Now line all the ropes next to each other and pinch one end so that they come together. Now twist the ropes into a swirl and end up on top (next time I would tuck it into the center, so you don't see the ends).


Place in a well-oiled round baking tray and cover with a tea cloth. Allow to rest for about 45 minutes to an hour. Preheat the oven to 240 deg C.

Place the baking tray into the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes or until the bread is done (test by gently knocking on the bread, you'll get a hollow sound when it's done). Remove from oven and cool for about 1/2 hour.


It's a gorgeous bread and when you cut it open, the insides are sure to get some cool reactions from guests!


It was soft and the vegetable juices definitely added a lightness to the bread. I think breads with spices and herbs are more flavorful, but this looks and tastes delicious too. Next time, I might add some pieces of mashed vegetable as well as the juice to get more flavor.

This is off to Boaz @ Grain Power for Bread Baking Day #14 - Colored Breads.
And to Susan @ Wild Yeast for Yeast Spotting.


To find out what my other marathoners are up to today, check out the links:

DK, Siri, Srivalli, Ranji, PJ, Curry Leaf, Medha, Priya, Bhawna, Raaji, Ruchii, Kamala, Roopa, Divya Kudua, Rekha, Divya, Lakshmi, Raaga, Lakshmi, Sripriya and Viji.

68 comments:

Unknown said...

My god it looks awesome and u have done it like a pro. Gorgeous.

Anonymous said...

i dont think i have seen any other bread look this good...this is a work of art!! take a bow anu!!

Divya Kudua said...

OMG..you sure are a master baker Anu..that looks so gorgeous and professional..Kudos to you!!

Rachel said...

now that is just gorgeous...the last pic is a proof of how professional your bread looks!!!

Medhaa said...

OH My God... Looks lovely its a must try. Thanks for the recipe

CurryLeaf said...

My God,I love it A,It is professional,No words to describe the beauty and everything is perfect.I wish I had seen you working on this.It is a must try.

Padmajha said...

Wow!!That looks stunning!!!

natalia said...

This is really beautiful, complimenti !

lakshmi said...

OMG, that looks sooooooooo gorgeous. i was meaning to do a three coloured braid for colored bread - but i don't think i'd be able to do something so beautiful!!!

Bhawana said...

My gudness what you are doing Anu :). Cant believe it is made at home. hats off to u yar. a must try recipe with a lots of courage.

Finla said...

Wow love them and love the different colours.

Srivalli said...

ANu you have seriously mastered baking to a such great lengths..thats looking so awesome!..congrats!..I am sure you all enjoyed it!

Jacqueline Meldrum said...

That is just so cool! I am very, very impressed :)

Ranjani said...

creative,perfectly baked, colorful and absolutely fabulous!!
Love it:)

ranji said...

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWW!!!Anu this tops all..I am in love with this :)..seeing the first pic i thought its some kind of colorful mousse..but ur other pics just blew me :)...very very unique ..bread looks so soft and airy...lovely post..

Jayashree said...

OMG....it looks so beautiful!!!

raaji said...

i loved tha density of the bread slice and different colors in a single slice.....so innovative.....

Deepthi Shankar said...

wow arundathi, I admire your patience .. great looking bread .. hats off to you !!

Unknown said...

Lovely colour,very impressive.

Priya Suresh said...

Wowwwwwwwwwwwwwww...no words to say...wat a lovely bread anu...love those colour..delicious!!

Unknown said...

Wow!! that is on e delicious and colourful bread you made!!

Siri said...

This is hands down, one of the gorgeous bread I have seen Anu..:) Love the swirls and the color combo!!

Hugs,
Siri

kamala said...

Wow The bread looks so beautiful...So professional.Lov the colors Anu

Unknown said...

Wow Anu.No words seeing your beautifully baked bread.

Peter M said...

This is very creative and I'm so delighted that natural colours were used here. This is a first for me.

Sig said...

Great looking bread,I love those colors... You have done an awesone job with the pictorial..If I ever start baking, this would be one to try!

Sunshinemom said...

Not only does it look impressive because of the colours but the bread itself looks so light and airy!! Awesome!

jayasree said...

Hats off to your patience. Bread looks gorgeous.

Deeba PAB said...

Stunning loaf Arundati...you are a master bread baker! It must have been therapeutic...very impressive indeed!

Arundathi said...

THANKS EVERYONE! :-) I'M SO TOUCHED BY ALL THE KIND WORDS!

zlamushka said...

cookbooks with no recipes? terrible, what is wrong with people? You did amazing job, Arundathi. I absolutely love the outcome.

Cham said...

I never seen such a bread, just eye catching . Well done :)

anudivya said...

Oh boy! That looks insanely beautiful. Great!

Raaga said...

Can't get over the colours Anu... it looks so pretty. I've got to try this soon... have everything except the spinach. You should start a home bakery now.

Unknown said...

ooooooooooh Idont have any words to say so so so beautiful great job yaar

Ilva said...

WOW!

Bhagyashri said...

That is such a lovely looking bread, Arundathi! I have to prepare myself to even start thinking about trying this :)

Shaheen said...

Gorgeous looking bread! What a stunning creating.

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

(awe struck!)
You certainly have the bread bug and an incredible amount of creativity! This is beautiful.

Anonymous said...

Lovely. Most colorful bread ever!

Aparna Balasubramanian said...

I've never heard of this before and its so beautiful, Arundathi.
Just perfect for BBD.
I'll have to think of something.

Arundathi said...

THANKS EVERYONE.

Raaga, my big problem is I'd rather sleep in on a weekend than take orders for bread! :-)

Aparna, Can't wait to see what you come up with!

Swati Raman Garg said...

toooo good anu... awesome... u r one pro haan....

TBC said...

OMG! That is simply beautiful!

Anonymous said...

Wow!!! That is simply beautiful, a must try bread. Thanks for sharing.

Bharti said...

Oh my! Would you look at that! Thats just plain gorgeous Arundathi.

Anonymous said...

it's like tie-dyed bread! beautiful!

Arundathi said...

THANKS SO MUCH EVERYONE!! :-)

Tulip said...

Amazing...I must try this sometime!

Anonymous said...

Hello there! You have a wonderful blog and amzing recipies. Could you tell me what brand of yeast you use? I have not had very happy experiences with the local brands of yeast available.

Thanks
Shalini

Arundathi said...

Tulip - I hope you like it as much as we did! Thanks for dropping by!

Shalini - I use Fleishmann's Active Dry Yeast. I havent had much success with the Indian brands. Good Luck.

Varsha Vipins said...

Awesome..!!!hatsoff to you..:)

Anonymous said...

Oy, I just realised they gave that Andrew Lloys Webber musical the wrong name; it should be Joseph and his Technicolour Bread!! :-P

Arundathi said...

Varsha - thanks for stopping by and thanks!

Michelle - LOL! :-)

javapot said...

Cool colours and cool bread!! All I can say is WOW!

Arundathi said...

Javapot - Thanks for stopping by! And thanks! :-)

Anonymous said...

I know this is an old post, but I used to work at the bakery that made these loaves and vegetable bread was my favourite out of all the bread they made. It was in Sydney, but I think they are closed now :o( It was seriously some of the best bread I have ever had. Yours looks exactly like it!

Arundathi said...

lozzie - that's a huge compliment - thank you! am so glad it looks like the original Aussie version!

Lori said...

I just wanted to let you know that I saw your bread on Yeastspotting some time ago and have not forgotten it. It is so beautiful. I used your bread as inspiration for a bread that I just made. I added a link to you in my post. This summer when I have all the ingredients on hand I will make your version!

Arundathi said...


Lori - I just checked out your bread and it looks great! And I'm so glad you loved the flavor!

maybelle's mom said...

hey, i love this recipe. my daughter and I made it recently and I linked to you.

Veggie Belly said...

I found your blog while searching for australian vegetable bread recipes! Love those gorgeous colorful spirals, so pretty! Do you mind if I make this recipe and post it on my blog; I will ofcourse link to you :)
Thanks!
~Sala

Arundathi said...


maybelle's mom - Oh i'm so glad - i hope it turned out well!

veggie belly - i hope you enjoy it!

Tebasile said...

I have the same book with no recipe and somebody linked me to your blog. Thank you, your bread looks amazing :-)

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Anonymous said...

i just finished making this bread today :) i doubled the recipe and made 2 loaves and i did a 4 strand braid instead of the round pan. they look, smell, and taste wonderful!! this recipe is definetly worth the time and effort. :) thank you so much for this fantastic recipe.