This rustic heart-shaped bread gets a bright pink hue from gel food coloring. It turns a classic crispy Dutch oven loaf into a festive Valentine's Day bake with only four ingredients!
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I Bake this Heart Bread Every Valentine's Day!
This heart-shaped loaf started as a fun Valentine's experiment, but now I bake it whenever I want bread that feels special but doesn't take long to decorate. Last time I made it, we slathered toasted slices with my whipped cherry butter (also pink, thank you very much) and it instantly turned our Sunday breakfast into a moment to savor.
Shaping a boule (or round) of bread dough into a heart is easier than it looks with just three cuts. I make one at the top to form the lobes, then two angled cuts at the bottom to form the V. And a bit of simple decorative scoring guides the rise and reveals the bright pink hue underneath.
How I Get That Soft Pink Color Without Affecting the Rise
After testing a few methods, dissolving the dye in water before mixing it into the dough is critical. This distributes the color evenly and prevents marbling or streaks. And it keeps me from overworking the dough, which would make it dense.
As for the dye, I found that gel-based food coloring works best to add a bright, vibrant color without altering the bread's flavor or texture. Gel-based dyes are really concentrated, so you only need a small amount which won't affect yeast activity. Beet powder can also work, but it adds an earthy flavor.
To protect that beautiful color as it bakes, I leave the lid on my Dutch oven for 30 minutes, which prolongs the time before the bread is exposed to direct heat. Then I remove the lid at the end for 10 to 15 minutes to crisp up the crust without darkening the pink to brown.
Let's Gather Our Ingredients: bread flour, instant yeast, salt, gel-based food dye, and water.
Let's Bake Bread Together!
For the full step-by-step directions and ingredient quantities, scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
My Tips for Keeping the Heart Shape While Baking
- Be careful not to overproof your dough, which can cause it to spread, collapse, and lose its shape. Work quickly to shape and score it; it usually only takes me a couple minutes.
- I found that shallow (¼-inch) decorative cuts work best for scoring, since deeper cuts can cause the heart to expand too much and blow out its shape.
- You can keep your scoring simple with just some X's and O's, but I love how scoring a heart on top visually reinforces its shape.
Pink Heart Shaped Bread Loaf
developed & tested by:
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4½ cups bread flour
- 2¼ teaspoons instant yeast (one packet)
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1½ cups plus 2 Tablespoons warm water (between 110°F and 120°F)
- gel-based pink food dye (or beet powder)
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, whisk the flour, instant yeast, and salt. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, combine the warm water and food dye until it's dissolved. Add enough coloring to reach a strong dark pink or magenta color, since the color will get diluted once it's added to the dough.
- Mix the dyed water into the dry ingredients. (If the color becomes too light, you can add more food dye to the dough & mix again to ensure it's your desired color.)
- On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for 5-7 minutes by hand (or 4-5 minutes in a stand mixer with a hook attachment), until the dough is smooth and elastic. Shape the dough into a ball.
- Place the dough in a clean mixing bowl. Cover with a clean kitchen towel or a dinner plate, and set in a warm draft-free place to rise and double in size, after about 1.5 to 2 hours.
- On a lightly floured surface, shape the dough into a round shape (boule). Create tension on the surface of the dough by using your hands to gently push the top of the down the sides and underneath itself. Tuck any seams underneath.
- Place the dough seam-side-up in a round proofing basket or in a shallow bowl lined with a kitchen towel & dusted with flour. Cover the dough again with a towel and allow it to proof in a warm spot for 30 to 60 minutes, or until an indentation made with your finger springs back to its original shape after 2-3 seconds.
- Preheat your oven to 450°F. Place a Dutch oven with the lid in the oven to become hot as the oven preheats.
- Once the dough is proofed, sprinkle a little flour or cornmeal on a large piece of parchment paper or a silicone bread sling, and place the dough seam-side-down on top.
- Dust the top of the dough with flour and gently spread it in an even, thin layer with your hand. Make a cut in the center at the top of the dough, about ¼-way down towards the middle. Use your hands to press the edges of that cut away from each other & round them to make the top of the heart. Cut 1-inch angled pieces off the bottom to make the bottom of the heart in a V-shape. Round out the sides. Score the loaf with ¼-inch cuts using a sharp bread lame. You can score X's and O's or a large heart to keep it aligned with the Valentine's theme.
- Carefully remove the hot Dutch oven from your oven and remove the lid. Pick up the bread by holding the corners of the parchment paper, and carefully place it in the hot Dutch oven.
- Cover with the lid and place it in the oven. Bake covered for 30 minutes, then remove the lid, and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes uncovered, until the crust is crispy and the bread has an internal temperature of at least 205°F. Allow the loaf to cool on a cooling rack for at least 1 hour before slicing. Enjoy!
Notes
- Shaping: Use your hands to gently shape the top of the heart by pushing apart the edges of the top cut and tuck the rounded lobes underneath slightly.
- Scoring: I recommend using a toothpick to lightly trace your design into the flour on the dough. If you mess up the design, just brush the flour and start over before committing to scoring the dough, since there's no going back from that!
- Storing: Allow the bread to cool completely then store it in a paper or cloth bag. To freeze, wrap the loaf tightly in plastic wrap then aluminum foil.
Di M. says
Wow! What a beautiful heart shaped bread. Love the vibrant pink color.
Carissa Erzen says
Thank you so much! It was really fun to make (: