Dahlia Tuber Bread
Dahlia tubers contribute moisture and carbohydrates to this dense quick bread. If you have a favorite zucchini bread recipe, simply substitute grated dahlia tubers for grated zucchini. Or, try this one.
What You’ll Need
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon (or 2 teaspoons dried, ground spicebush berries)
1 teaspoon nutmeg (or 2 teaspoons dried, ground ginger stolons)
1 cup peeled, grated dahlia tubers, 1/2 cup black walnuts (optional)
What You’ll Do
In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla, and oil, then set aside. In a second bowl, mix together the sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and your spices of choice (see alternatives listed above). Combine the wet and dry ingredients, then stir in the dahlia tubers and black walnuts (if desired).
Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan and bake at 350F for about an hour. Test for doneness with a toothpick. When it comes clean from the center of the bread remove the loaf from the oven and let it cool.
Ellen Zachos shares her recipe for a quick bread made with dahlia tubers.
I never knew dahlia tubers were edible! Do they have a distinctive flavor?
Some have more flavor than others…in the past dahlias were bred for flavorful tubers, not large colorful flowers.
Can you pick the tubers out of your garden at any time? I live in Toronto, Canada and we just had our first snowfall but my plant is still kickin’…
Patricia,
You’ll have to harvest them soon before the ground freezes.
Even if you could dig the tubers out of frozen ground, they’d be mushy and no longer edible.
Ellen Zachos! I’m such a big fan! My 6th grade teacher gave me you book on backyard foraging, and It’s my favorite book by far! I’ve harvested sumac, dahlias, beautyberries, and a few others so far
Dahlia tuber contains inulin. Inulin is the
best prebiotic