Painted Bread Is the Prettiest Baking Trend—Here’s How to Try It Yourself

Transform your sourdough into a (delicious) piece of art.

While you might not have quite as much sourdough starter sitting around the kitchen as you did in 2020 (when making a loaf from scratch was the ultimate quarantine hobby), maybe it’s time to reignite your long-lost bread baking passion. And no, this isn’t just nostalgia talking.

The internet has stepped it up a notch since the pandemic. Enter: painted bread, which is exactly what it sounds like. Social media creator Allison Loveall's (@lovealldesignco) watercolor-inspired carb canvases have gone viral on Instagram and TikTok—some of her videos have received millions of views.

Here’s everything you need to know to make your own painted bread loaf.

Related: We Tested 22 of the Best Stand Mixers, but These 9 Are Worth a Spot on Your Countertop

What is painted bread?

The trend, which has acquired over 32.6 million views on the hashtag #paintedsourdough on TikTok, consists of turning your homemade bread into a work of art—but you can actually eat it. That means you use edible tools to create your masterpiece; Loveall herself uses edible gel food coloring for her floral designs.

“I love sourdough, and baking and it is definitely a fun hobby of mine,” she wrote on Instagram. “I never knew that combining my artistic skills with bread making would lead to such a hit.” Loveall, who runs her own design business, has accumulated 142,000 followers on Instagram and over 214,000 on TikTok.

What do you need?

First and foremost, you need bread dough. Whether you want to whip up a batch of sourdough from scratch or purchase pre-made dough for an easier process is up to you. Next, Loveall recommends using white food gel from Chef Master and Wilton’s food coloring gel for the painting process. While Wilton’s is her brand of choice for creating the different “paint” colors, the white food gel is what brightens those hues and helps them show up on the bread. Mixing this with the regular food coloring also creates an acrylic paint-like look, which she typically uses in her non-food creations.

How do you make painted bread?

The actual painting process is where you get to let your creativity shine. While Loveall is a fan of floral designs, the possibilities are endless—dream up the design beforehand or just let it come to you as you're working. Once your dough is ready, you’ll want to mix together the white food gel with the different food colorings. Then, get painting. Pop the finished product in the oven for about 30 minutes or until the bread sounds hollow when you tap the top, and enjoy—it'll probably look too pretty to eat, but just snap a picture for Instagram first.

For more Better Homes & Gardens news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on Better Homes & Gardens.