When you can smell the first tulips and daffodils, feel a refreshing breeze on your skin, and hear the chirping of birds going into the late afternoon, you know the winter is officially gone.
Spring is one of my favorite seasons because you leave the cold days behind, and can concentrate on a kind of revival that comes with fresh and locally grown vegetables and fruits.
Although rhubarb is mostly used in dessert recipes like cakes and crumbles, and in combination with ice cream, custard or meringue, it belongs to the Rheum or buckwheat family, a botanical family of vegetables. It’s actually closely related to sorrel, though the leaves are not edible.
Especially in the spring when it is in season, it is a popular and widely used ingredient in many different recipes.
For example, it has become quite hip to mix sparkling water with rhubarb juice to replace the common apple spritzer. And indeed, that is a delicious and very refreshing drink.
In the yeast bread featured here, the sourness and fruity taste of the rhubarb is combined with sweet dough and crunchy almonds. It is perfectly suited for a Sunday breakfast, as well as serving alongside that first cup of tea or coffee enjoyed in the springtime afternoon sun.
As the loaf neither requires milk nor eggs to make it, you won’t have any problems with several major food intolerances (though it is made with nuts and wheat flour).
When using rhubarb in the kitchen, cooking the vegetable before consuming it can help to reduce the amount of oxalic acid that’s present, making it more digestible. But it can be consumed raw as well.
This type of acid, which the vegetable contains quite a bit of, is responsible for that blunt and furry feeling that many people experience on their tongue and teeth when consuming it. Some experts also claim you should not brush your teeth immediately after eating it, as the acid combined with the ingredients in toothpaste can adversely affect tooth enamel. Wait at least half an hour.
For this recipe, you should allow enough time for the dough to rise properly. If you like, you can prepare the dough the night before and put it in the fridge overnight. The next morning, continue with the recipe as directed.
Moreover, you can actually prepare the whole recipe in advance. Bake, cool and then freeze until you’re ready to eat. You can either thaw it at room temperature or warm it up in the oven. Or, freeze it in slices and toast as needed.
Equipment Required:
- Mixing Bowls
- Spatulas
- Baking Sheet
- Measuring Cup
The Recipe
- 1 1/3 lb rhubarb
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 lb flour
- 1/2 yeast cube
- pinch of salt
- 3 tbs vegetable oil
- 1 cup almonds chopped
- Powdered sugar
- Wash the rhubarb and cut into small pieces. Mix with the sugar and 3 tbs water in a pot and steam for around 10 minutes at low heat.
- Then sieve the rhubarb and collect the juice. Dissolve the yeast in the warm juice.
- Mix the flour and salt. Add the oil and the juice and knead everything together. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise for about 1 hour.
- Prepare a floured countertop. Knead the dough once again and roll out into an approx. 10x11in long rectangle. Cut into three equally thick pieces. Spread 2/3 of the almonds and the rhubarb on every piece. Start with the long side and roll up the dough pieces and press together.
- Braid the three ropes into a bun and put onto a baking tray with parchment paper. Coat the bun with some water and sprinkle with the remaining almonds. Let rise for another 20 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180°C/360°F.
- Bake in the middle of the oven 160°C/320°F for 45-50 minutes. If your bun seems to get too dark, cover with aluminium foil in the last third of the baking time.
- When cooled down, serve with powdered sugar on top.
Read more about baking with yeast now.
About Nina-Kristin Isensee
Nina lives in Iserlohn, Germany and holds an MA in Art History (Medieval and Renaissance Studies). She is currently working as a freelance writer in various fields. She enjoys travel, photography, cooking, and baking. Nina tries to cook from scratch every day when she has the time and enjoys trying out new spices and ingredients, as well as surprising her family with new cake creations.
It looks so much more difficult than it really is! I’m wondering if it would still be as good without the nuts, though.’or maybe with a different type nut. Lets just say almonds aren’t very popular around here. Well, I guess there’s only one way to find out! Lol thank you for the recipe!!
No problem, of course, you can either leave out the nuts completely or recplace them with a different type. I can imagine that chopped walnuts or hazelnuts will taste as great as almonds. Enjoy!
Despite living near to the UK’s “Rhubarb Triangle”, I’ve only ever tried it in a crumble and to be honest, I wasn’t all that keen. I can imagine it tastes a darn sight better with a more substantial dough and nuts though and the pictures actually make it seem appealing!
Great advice about the tooth brushing by the way, not many people realise that we need to give the acid time to neutralize before brishing.
That bun looks crazy cute & super simple to duplicate! My two favourite things. Besides taste, course. I love when rhubarb is back in season. I think it’s a really seldom utilized ingredient. For something so versatile that’s really surprising to me.
You are definitely right there. I am probably the biggest rhubarb fan that I know, and even I do not use it nearly as much as I should. It is super versatile too, and everything from soups to desserts is covered, but my all time favorite is still rhubarb pie. It is so tart and so sweet, and hard to pass up. It is way under utilized, and I think I might just make an extra effort to change that this year, at least for me.
Looks delicious. I love a good rhubarb pie so if this is anything like that then it’ll be great.
Well, it might not have the crust of a common pie but I think you would like it too. The chopped nuts add a nice crunch to the soft yeast dough so the bun has something to cater for all tastes.
This looks delicious and interesting to make. I especially like that there are almonds in it, I think they will set off the rhubarb nicely.
I never would’ve known the inside red thing is rhubarb if you haven’t said anything. I’ve only ever cooked with rhubarb like…once (I made a strawberry rhubarb crumbler) and while I was impressed with the results, I don’t think I like rhubarb that much. It’s not really what I had imagined it to be, and now that I know what it tastes like I can’t really imagine it being in any other type of food other than a dessert because of how tart it is.
But, I suppose it is worth a try. I bet this yeast bun would go great with strawberry jam; that’s ALMOST like a strawberry rhubarb crumble, right? 😛
Of course, spread some jam on it and you’ll have a wonderful fruity breakfast bun. But I can imagine that you might also try to recplace rhubarb with strawberries if you like experimenting. You’d have some kind of strawberry jam directly inside the bun 🙂
I’m not sure how easy it is to come by rhubarb where I live, but these buns look lovely, so I’ll have to look around when I get a chance. They seem quite simple to make too, as long as you think ahead. And I love almonds, so I bet this makes a tasty combo. Good tip about the oxalic acid as well.
This sounds and looks so delicious! And I love rhubarb! I just made a rhubarb jam about three months ago ind it turned up great!
Yummy, rhubarb jam sounds tasty. When in season, I can’t wait to buy it and try lots of recipes, old and new ones. I’m sure this bun is a great choice for you if you love rhubarb. It goes well together with the almonds. In case you’ve got some jam left, you might use it for this recipe and spread it onto the dough, too. Enjoy!
This sounds great. My husband loves rhubarb and I love sweet bread, so this is a perfect match. I don’t, however, know what a yeast cube is. How many teaspoons of loose yeast would it convert to?
Here in Germany, fresh yeast is sold in small packages, one can find them in grocery stores. Dry yeast is sold in sachets, too.
I did some converting and for loose, dry yeast, one cube can be replaced with 1/2 oz or approx. 3 teaspoons of dry yeast.
If you have loose, fresh yeast, you can measure 1 1/2 oz, I think that should be approx. 5-6 teaspoons.
I hope this is helpful for you, if there are any more questions, feel free to ask 🙂 I wish you good luck and success!
I had never thought of trying rhubarb in this way. It looks more difficult to prepare from the image provided than what the recipe implies. I’ll have to try it and see how it turns out.
Oh no, I thought my pictures would make it easier 😉 But I hope you still get along with the instructions and can try it some time. The rhubarb is a really wonderful addition here.
I always make sure to have some rhubarb in my garden. I often use it in baking so I’ll definitely try this recipe! The pictures are already enough to make my mouth water. I love the combination of sour and sweet in pastry. And this recipe doesn’t seem difficult at all! Although I’ll leave the almonds out because I don’t really like nuts, even though they are so healthy. I think I’ll add raisins instead.
It’s always great to have something like rhubarb growing in your own garden, you are lucky 🙂 I’m happy that you like the recipe, and replacing the almonds with raisins will taste delicious, too. It doesn’t have to be a kind of nuts, so this will be fine. I hope you enjoy this yeast bun, especially with your self picked rhubarb!
Mmmm, this looks delicious and thank you for such a well detailed recipe. I have a flower pot over my rhubarb crown at the moment in an attempt to get it started growing. I particularly like the fact that this reipe freezes well. That’s a huge advantage in a household where anything left in the cake tin or bread bin is wolfed down in less than 24 hours. It’s nice to have your cooking appreciated, but it’s also nice when they take a minute to actually taste it before it’s gone!!!
I understand what you mean, like you say, on the one hand, there’s actually no better compliment than only some crumbles left, but some more “attention” would be appreciated 😉 I hope this bun will give your baking skills the chance to shine on over a longer period than one day 😉
I love rhubarb. My mom grows it in her garden and I can remember as a kid, going out there and plucking fresh stalks and eating them right there on the spot. Rhubarb cake, jam, sauce, all of the above, are popular in my household. I’ve never had rhubarb bread before however. It looks delicious. 🙂
That sounds wonderful, it’s great to have the chance to get it fresh right from the garden. I wish I had the opportunity 🙂 I hope this yeast bun will become a great addition to your rhubarb-recipe collection!
That’s a stunning looking bread. I’d love to eat it but I’m not sure I could make it, I seem to be so heavy-handed when it comes to baking.
Thank you, Julie. In earlier times, I was kind of afraid of making yeast buns or braided breads, because I’ve had some bad experience. But I think I was too impatient back then, too much of a perfectionist. When you take your time and concentrate, I think it would be a success for you, too. But you could also try to find someone else who bakes it, so you can just lean back and enjoy the treat! (At least, this is what my partner likes to do 😉 )
I love rhubarb, and it is a shame to me that it is not featured in more recipes. I am pretty lucky because it is probably more in my diet than others, just because I grew up with it so I am used to it, but it is still not enough. I have to say though, I have never had rhubarb bread. I love the soup and jam,,and rhubarb pie might as well be heaven’s dessert, but I am intrigued by this bread and must try it. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you. Oh yes, pie and jam are two fantastic ways to use it! Great that already know and love it 😉 I hope this new variety will become one of your favorites, too!
I always grow Rhubarb in my garden, but never can quite find enough uses for it outside of straight rhubarb or strawberry-rhubarb pie. This recipe will surely be a hit because I have quite a nutty family (that is, we eat a lot of nuts). I’m sure this recipe can be adapted to accommodate virtually any nut or lack thereof that you desire. I’m just glad that I won’t have as much rhubarb to freeze for this winter. It may finally all get used up.
That’s great! My partner’s grandfather grows his own rhubarb, too. Recently, we got some that was left, but still – it was so much that I needed some time to think of what to do with it all. 🙂
I hope your family will enjoy the yeast bread. Feel free to choose some other kinds of nuts, if you like. I think they all fit great into the recipe.
I’m not a really big fan of spring, but just by reading this recipe I did get this vibe of missing spring picnics, and what a better way to do it than with this bread, it looks really good and I’m sure that it would be a really good option when it comes to be a little bit overrated when it comes to bread.
I also can’t really imagine how the rhubarb is going to taste on a bread, but sometimes the best things are those who are out of our comfort zone.
Thanks for sharing!
Thank you. I really like this, because rhubarb is definitely a typical spring product here. Right now, it’s not available anymore, so I’ll have to wait for the next season to make this loaf again. When mixed with sweet dough like this, and some crunchy nuts inside, the slightly tart nuance of it provides a beautiful flavor. Spread some butter or honey on top, and I can’t resist! 😉
Rhubarb is definitely an underrated fruit to cook with. I love it in pies too. The one problem I see with a lot of rhubarb recipes is they use too much sugar to counteract the sour taste of the rhubarb. I think this detracts from the essense of the rhubarb. Of course I haven’t made this recipe yet, so I’m not specifically criticizing this recipe.