I wanted to make a loaf with nice dark and red color contrast and I think it came out very interesting. Here is a picture of the full loaf:
Meteoroite bread...
this post was submitted on 20 Jun 2026
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Sourdough baking
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I'm stealing it
Have you tried squid ink to turn loaves black?
Or you could do what Burger King in the U.S. did for Halloween one year: put a ridiculous amount of food coloring in it to make it look black.
My toilet water was a dark green the next day o.o
~~Yeah, I'd recommend that over putting carcinogenic dust in your food.~~
After doing further research, today I learned that it's specifically cooking meat over a charcoal fire that creates carcinogenic compounds, and not charcoal itself. Ignore me!
There's also not evidence that cooking meat over a fire affects cancer risk. It does create compounds that have been shown to increase risk in mice fed 1000x what you or I would eat.
You could do the same thing for practically any compound. Fruit juice will naturally contain a small percentage of ethyl alcohol, a known carcinogen, and we know from many studies that over consumption of ethyl alcohol greatly increases the risk of many cancers.
Activated charcoal is not carcinogenic tho
But it does potentially mess with medications. I generally avoid cooking with it, especially when cooking for others.
I used a perfectly edible food grade charcoal. Something like this https://www.herbstore.gr/en/p/energos-anthrakas-food-grade-skoni. I got mine from a local spice seller
No, but it could be interesting. I guess it would probably impart a slightly ocean taste, which could be desirable in some occasions. Another thing I tried is dark cocoa powder, which has similar results color-wise, but obviously tastes like chocolate
I believe it is more umami/savory taste than fish. So more 'salty' side of dishes.
People often use it for pasta or hamburger buns.
Watch out if you’re taking certain medications including birth control as activated charcoal can make it ineffective.
More than a few women have found that out the hard way, a month or so after Halloween!
Yes, it is a pretty potent detoxifier. So definitely not a bread I would eat large quantities of everyday.
So why the charcoal? Just the color? Or is there some other benefit? I have trouble believing it improves the taste. Would a dark brown loaf work?
Yes it was just for the color combination. I could not detect a difference in taste. Activated charcoal has some benefits and is recommended in some cases, but it can also mess with the effectiveness of medicines.
Are you asking me if you can add it to a dark brown loaf to make it darker?
I love the experiment! I tend to sheepishly follow the recipe instead of trying out new things. The loaf looks crazy!!
hows the taste? I wonder if this would have the benefits of activated charcoal.
To me it tasted the same. I don't see why it shouldn't keep the charcoal properties