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Rustic whole wheat spinach bread made with fresh or frozen spinach. An easy bread recipe for a healthy and colorful bread you’ll love to eat!
I saw a recipe for spinach bread on TV ages ago and the idea has popped in and out of my head since then. I planned on making this for St. Patrick’s Day in hopes it would make a green bread. I didn’t end up making it for our green meal that day and that’s probably a good thing; it’s not hardly green.
I was so excited to make and eat this bread. I was expecting a lot of deep, bold flavors. I was surprised when I bit into it and it just tasted like normal good bread. There is no distinct spinach flavor. If you were to blindfold me, feed me the bread, and ask me what was in it, I would not say spinach. Ever. Now, it does taste hearty and earthy, but not necessarily spinachy. It was excellent dipped in a rich olive oil and made a gorgeous addition to a typical meal of pasta.
Table of Contents
Tips for Making Whole Wheat Spinach Bread:
- Make sure your yeast is fresh! Check the date before starting. Old or out-of-date yeast is the biggest culprit for failed yeast bread. This is the yeast that I use and have great success with.
- Don’t be afraid of over-working your dough. Kneading the dough will lead to tender and soft bread, so when in doubt, knead on! The dough should be very soft and elastic before you put it in the bowl to rise the first time.
- You can wilt 10 ounces of fresh spinach if you don’t have frozen; it’ll work just fine too. Just be sure to remove as much moisture as you can before adding it to the bread and give it a rough chop before cooking it so that the pieces are smaller than a whole leaf.
How do you know if yeast is still good?
Fill up a small measuring cup with a little warm water. Add 1/4 teaspoon of your yeast and then add a pinch of sugar and lightly stir it together. Wait for 5 minutes. If the yeast is still active you will see little bubbles along the top of the water and it will start to foam. I think the date on the yeast package is a good guide, and I like to store my yeast in the fridge to help keep it fresh. When in doubt, get new yeast. Nothing is worse than an unrisen loaf of bread!
Whole Wheat Spinach Bread
Ingredients
- 10 ounces frozen spinach, thawed
- 2 cups warm water
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon of instant yeast
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Thaw and squeeze out as much moisture from the spinach as you can.
- Put the spinach, water, yeast, sugar, salt, olive oil, onion powder, garlic powder, and whole wheat flour in the bowl of your stand mixer and mix well for 5 minutes (feel free to use a hand mixer if you have one).
- Scrape down the sides a few times, as needed. Add the all-purpose flour a half cup at a time until the dough starts to pull from the sides.
- Continue to mix the dough for another 5 to 8 minutes. After the dough has been mixed, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it by hand until the dough is no longer sticky to the touch, adding more flour as needed. The dough should be smooth and elastic.
- Form the dough into a smooth ball and place on a lightly floured board and cover it with a clean tea towel.
- Allow the dough to double in size, about 45 minutes.
- After the dough has doubled, divide it into two equal parts. Shape into two round or two long french bread-style loaves.
- Place the loaves on a large baking sheet that has been lined with parchment paper.
- Cover with a towel and allow the loaves to rise until almost doubled, about one hour.
- While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- When the loaves are ready, using a very sharp knife cut 1/2 inch deep slashes along the top every few inches.
- Place the bread in the oven and cook for 40-50 minutes until the bread is deep brown and sounds hollow when tapped.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack before slicing.
Notes
- You can wilt 10 ounces of fresh spinach if you don’t have frozen; it’ll work just fine, too. Just be sure to remove as much moisture as you can before adding it to the bread and give it a rough chop before cooking it so that the pieces are smaller than a whole leaf.
Nutrition
Looking for something to serve with your spinach bread? I recommend these dinner recipes:
- Creamed Pasta with Bacon and Vegetables
- Sausage and Pumpkin Pasta
- One Pot Pasta Primavera
- Homemade Butternut Squash Soup
- The Best Instant Pot Broccoli and Cheese Soup
- Slow Cooker Vegetable Beef Soup
Love this whole wheat spinach bread recipe? You’ll also like these bread recipes:
- Homemade Pretzel Rolls
- Momma’s Jumbo Dinner Rolls
- Easy Bread Sticks Recipe
- Rustic Italian Bread
- The Best Cornbread Recipe
Have fun eating some pretty spinach swirled in your bread. It would be so good with some garlic infused olive oil, too. Enjoy!
I’ve got to have this. STAT.
Mmmm, I’ll have to try this! And way to be featured on huffington!
I made this the other day and I thought it was fantastic. It didn’t taste that much like spinach and makes great soft sandwich bread. Loved it.
oh yum! i haven’t been eating bread very much (despite making whole wheat), so I really really want to make this. if I was using fresh spinach, how would I adapt the recipe? steam it?