Beetroot and Spinach semolina bread

Mix yeast and sugar to lukewarm milk water solution and rest for 10 min for yeast to bloom. It will bubble up if yeast is active.Use good quality dry yeast to get optimal results

Pour this mixture into a large mixing bowl and add semolina flour, butter, flax seed, milk powder and salt and stir with a rubber spatula until a rough dough forms. Let it rest 15 min for semolina to absorb the moisture.

Divide it into 3 portions of different size. Biggest for red colouring, next for green and smallest for white. Mix with purees to the dough in seperate bowls.

Lightly dust the counter with flour. Scrape each dough out of the bowl and knead until it is smooth, shiny, and elastic texture by adding just enough flour and the appropriate puree. This will take about 7 to 8 minutes. Clean the counter after each kneading.Kneading creates gluten formation which makes dough non sticky and elastic. Avoid adding too much extra flour initially.

Transfer the dough to a greased containers and smear oil all over. Cover with moist cloth and leave to rise. Wait till it doubles in size. This is called proofing. This takes about 1 to 1 1/2 hour. Don't over proof

Lightly grease a loaf pan (9 1/2 x 4 1/2) with oil. (The size of the pan is important if you want to see the bread balloon up. If you use a larger pan, the dough will double, but will be less awe-inspiring)

Lightly dust the counter with flour. Uncover the dough and turn it out onto the counter. Roll each dough out into rectangles with same length as the tin. The red should have longer breadth. Place the green rectangle on the red, white on the green. Roll dough from longer end of rectangle into a tight log and seal sides. The green and white should be completely concealed

Place the loaf into the pan, seam side down, pressing it gently to fit. Lightly dust the top of the loaf with semolina and cover the pan with plastic wrap and leave for second proofing for 15 to 20 minutes.

Let the loaf rise until it crowns just above the rim of the pan.This is second proofing. Brush with milk and sprinkle pumpkin seeds.

Preheat oven to 190C. Place the loaf on the middle rack of the oven. Bake until the loaf pulls away from the sides of the pan and the crust is a deep golden brown (35 to 45 mts). If crust is browning too much, cover with a tin foil.