Yeast Breads | anunrefinedvegan

Apr 16 2013

Walnut Braid with Sun-dried Tomatoes and Roasted Garlic

During my long stay in Utah I really missed bread. Not eating bread so much – it wasn’t hard to find excellent artisanal loaves – but baking it. As good as store-bought bread can be, there is nothing like making (and eating) your own. For one thing, I didn’t have the time or concentration needed, but the biggest thing holding me back was that my breads at high-altitude flopped. Instead of high and soft loaves with crunchy crusts, I ended up with lumpy bricks with unappealing interiors. It didn’t matter what methods I tried. So I just gave up and bought my bread at Harmon’s (oh, sweet, sweet Harmon’s, how I miss you).

Now that I’m back just a little bit above sea-level, my breads are behaving the way they should and I’m happy to be elbow-deep in dough once again. This is one of my favorite breads. If you don’t like sun-dried tomatoes or roasted garlic, leave them out or add in what you love.

A quick thank you to The Vegan Woman for selecting An Unrefined Vegan as a blog “to keep an eye out for.” It was really quite a terrific surprise to have appeared on their list (a total of 90 blogs) at all. You’ll see quite a few familiar blogs gracing this impressive list of plant-based lady bloggers. Congratulations to all!

I shared this recipe on Healthy Vegan Friday!

Walnut Bread with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Roasted Garlic
Makes two loaves

1 1/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup boiling water
1 package dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1 1/2 cups “buttermilk” (nut milk + 1 tbsp. lemon juice or apple cider vinegar)
1 tbsp. agave nectar
3 tbsp. walnut oil
2 tsp. salt
~4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 cup walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes (not oil-packed), rehydrated in hot water, drained and chopped
1 head garlic, roasted and cloves squeezed out of skin

In a food processor, process oats until coarsely chopped. Place oats in a medium-sized bowl and pour hot water over them and let sit for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup warm water and let sit until frothy. Add the buttermilk to the oat mixture and stir; then add in the agave nectar and walnut oil. Add this mixture to the yeast in the large bowl.

Add the salt and about 3 cups of the all-purpose flour and all of the whole wheat pastry flour to the yeast mixture. Mix and knead until smooth – adding more flour as needed. When the dough is smooth and elastic (about 8-10 minutes), fold and knead in the walnuts, sun-dried tomatoes and garlic.

Place the dough in a large bowl that has been lightly coated with cooking spray. Cover and let rise for about an hour or until doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 400F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Punch down the dough and divide it in half. Divide each half into three equal portions. Cover three of the pieces while you work with the other three. Roll each third into a rope that is about 14″ in length. Place the ropes lengthwise on one half of the baking sheet. Pinch one end together and then braid the ropes, pinching the end to seal. Repeat this procedure with the other half of the dough. Cover and let rise for about 30 minutes.

Spritz the dough with warm water and bake in the center of the oven for about 30 minutes. The top should be a deep brown and the loaf should sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Let loaves cool on wire racks before slicing.

Tagged all-purpose flour, bread, dough, roasted garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, walnuts, whole wheat pastry flour, yeast

Oct 18 2012

39 Comments

Bread, cheez, Herbs, Pizza, Slow Food, Tofu, VeganMoFo, Yeast Breads

VeganMoFo: Khatchapuri Day 2, The Bread

May I present to you the finished product, those little Georgian cheez pies that made life so much easier while living in Russia!

Now, I’d like to draw your attention to the small wine glasses pictured here. Actually, they are not wine glasses at all, but vodka glasses and they hold a high sentimental value for me. As some of you know, my brother passed away from brain cancer in July of this year. In 2005, my dad, brother and I went to Russia together. It was a chance to spend time together and an opportunity for me to share with them what I’d seen while living there. The trip had its highlights and low lights, but those stories are for another place and time – accompanied by a few snorts of vodka, perhaps. The glasses came from the various overnight train rides we took while there. When you travel First Class on a Russian train, a couple of these small glasses, filled to the brim with vodka, are waiting for you in your cabin. Talk about hospitality. This fact delighted my brother. There’s no doubt it made the train travel that much more enjoyable for him.

I am now in the process of going through my brother’s belongings, sorting through the material things that made up his 51 years of life. It is a strange, sad, funny and enlightening task. These glasses were tucked away in a curio cabinet along with other mementos. My brother saved not only the vodka glasses, but everything else from our trip to Russia: ticket stubs, metro maps, menus, coins and store receipts. And now the glasses have come to live with me – along with all of those memories from our crazy trip together to Russia.

Khatchapuri
Makes 8 little “pies”

1 cup almond milk, scalded
2 tbsp. unsweetened coconut yogurt
1 1/2 tsp. agave nectar
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. regular yeast
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

Tofu Farmer Cheez (about 1/2 the recipe)

Fresh cilantro, for garnish, if desired

In a small bowl, whisk together the yeast, agave nectar and 1/4 cup water. Set aside to bubble.

In a large bowl, pour the hot milk over the coriander, salt and coconut yogurt. Add the yeast mixture and the flours and stir just to create a very rough dough. It will be in chunks and pieces. Do not be alarmed. Cover and let sit for 30 minutes.

You probably won’t need flour to knead the dough – but if for some reason it’s too sticky – add sparingly. Conversely, if the dough is dry, sprinkle water on it as you knead. Knead for about 10 minutes or until dough is smooth and elastic. Lightly oil a large bowl and place the dough in it to rise for about 1 hour – cover the bowl with plastic wrap. The dough should nearly double in size.

Punch down the dough and divide into 8 pieces. Roll the pieces into balls, cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for 15 minutes. Prepare 2 baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper.

Using your hands, a rolling pin or a combination of both, flatten the dough balls into ovals. Mine were about 6-8″ in length. Right in the center of the ovals (leaving an inch or so all around), spoon on a generous scoop of the farmer cheez. Fold in the two long sides and then pinch the ends. Set the dough on a baking sheet and proceed with the remaining dough balls.

Cover the baking sheets with clean kitchen towels and let rise for about 45 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375F. They’ll get fat and puffy and sometimes the pinched ends come loose. Just gently press them back together.

Bake at 375F for 15 minutes, then turn down the heat to 350F, rotate the pans and continue baking for another 15-20 minutes or until the cheez is firm and the khatchapuri are nicely browned. Sprinkle with fresh cilantro, if desired.

Allow to cool for 15 minutes or so before digging in.

Tagged bread, cheez, cilantro, coriander, dough, farmer cheez, Georgian cheese bread, pizza, Russia, tofu, Vegan Month of Food 2012, VeganMoFo, whole wheat pastry flour, yeast

Jul 31 2012

41 Comments

Bread, Main Dishes, Pizza, Yeast Breads

Whole Wheat Pizza with Caramelized Onions, Roasted Garlic, Figs & Arugula

Recently at The Wedge, a fantastic pizzeria on Western Avenue in Oklahoma City, I custom-made a pizza (from their long list of yummy choices) with caramelized red onions, dried figs, roasted garlic “sauce” and arugula. Sound familiar? It was so good I had to recreate it at home. I made a quick whole wheat crust, used fresh figs instead of dried and went with home grown sweet onions instead of red. Better the second time around.

On a side note, we took Ike with us and the restaurant graciously allowed him to sit on the side patio with us. Now, Ike is a country dog. He sees lots of cows, rabbits, squirrels, birds and the occasional coyote, but he rarely sees humans other than me and Kel. For some unknown doggy-brain reason, Ike took an immediate and intense dislike to our waiter, a man Kel and I found to be extremely nice and accommodating. Ike barked every time the poor man came within 10 feet of our table. Which can make serving someone a little tricky. It got bad enough that by the time the meal was over, another wait person came out to deliver the bill, saying that our waiter was “afraid of getting bitten.” Not to worry. Ike only bites when the bill is too high.

Whole Wheat Pizza with Caramelized Onions, Figs & Arugula
One 13″ pizza

Crust:
1 tsp. agave nectar
1 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose unbleached flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dried thyme (optional)

Roasted garlic:
2-3 heads garlic, tops sliced off and loose “paper” removed
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

Figs:
1 cup fresh figs, stems removed and sliced in half
1 tsp. maple syrup
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
salt & pepper, to taste

Onions:
2 onions, thinly sliced
vegetable broth
1 tbsp. soy sauce

(You can make up the toppings ahead of time and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.)

Make the roasted garlic:
Wrap the garlic heads in foil and bake at 425F for 45 minutes to one hour, or until the garlic is very soft and buttery. You don’t need oil to do this, by the way. Let cool completely before removing the paper and/or squeezing the roasted heads into a small bowl. Add 1 tbsp. olive oil and mash well with a fork. Set aside.

Make the pizza dough:
Dissolve agave nectar and yeast in 1/2 cup warm water in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Add flours, salt and thyme (if using) to the yeast mixture and stir until a soft dough forms. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a few minutes. Add a little flour as you knead, but just enough to keep the dough from sticking to your hands. Place dough in a medium-sized bowl coated with cooking spray. Cover and chill for one hour or more. It will rise slightly in the refrigerator – but this chilling plus the single rise is what makes for a thin – and a quick crust.

Prepare the figs:
In a small bowl, combine the figs, maple syrup, vinegar and salt and pepper. Stir well to make sure the figs are coated. Set aside.

Make the onions:
Pour about 1/4 cup vegetable broth or water into a large skillet and heat on medium. Add the soy sauce and the onions and stir now and again, letting the liquid cook off before adding more. Cook low and slow – caramelizing takes some patience. Stir and keep adding small amounts of liquid until the onions are a nice golden color and become extremely soft.

Now add the figs and let cook for about 5 minutes. You should have a nice, sticky mess of onions and figs. Take them off the heat and set aside until ready to assemble and bake the pizza.

Assemble the pizza:
Place a pizza stone on a rack that has been positioned in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 500F. Line the underside of a baking sheet with parchment paper (if you don’t have a pizza stone, you can bake directly on this; otherwise, use the baking sheet/parchment to help you transfer the pizza to the stone). When the oven nears 500F, remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll out to about 13″. Place the dough on the prepared baking sheet and gently pat the dough out to flatten it. Using a fork, prick the dough all over so that the crust doesn’t get “blisters” as it bakes.

Spread the roasted garlic paste all over the pizza and slide the dough onto the stone and bake for 5 minutes.

Carefully remove the pizza and place on a heat-proof surface (I transfer it back to the baking sheet). Spread the onion/fig mixture over the pizza and return to the oven for another 5 minutes, or until the crust is browned and crispy. Remove the pizza and transfer it to a cutting board (one that won’t melt…) and add a handful or two of fresh arugula. Slice and serve.

Tagged arugula, caramelized onions, figs, garlic, Oklahoma City, onions, pizza, pizza dough, roasted garlic, The Wedge Pizzeria, thyme, Western Avenue, whole wheat pizza crust

May 21 2012

53 Comments

Bread, Brunch, Chocolate, Yeast Breads

Bread To Convalesce By: Chocolate-Cinnamon Babka

When a neighbor of ours went in for some major foot surgery – surgery that would leave him house-bound for quite a while – Kel and I thought it would be nice to drop off something comforting to help with his convalescence. I occasionally send a fresh loaf of whole grain bread this neighbor’s way – the man appreciates a good loaf of bread – but this time I wanted something a little extra special to help with the healing process.

I’m a firm believer in the healing powers of chocolate, the comforting qualities of the smell of cinnamon and the health benefits of fresh- and home-baked bread. Together those qualities must offer unbeatable rehabilitative properties, right?. And since I was going to the effort anyway, I doubled the recipe so that Kel and I could comfort ourselves, too. Thank goodness neither one of us required surgery.

Chocolate-Cinnamon Babka
Makes 2 loaves

Dough:
1 tsp. agave nectar
2 packages dry yeast
1 1/2 cups soy or almond milk, warmed
6 tbsp. maple sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tbsp. egg replacer + 3 tbsp. water (whisk together until frothy, then set aside)
1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 cups bread flour
3 2/3 cups whole wheat flour
8 tbsp. vegan butter (I used Earth Balance)

Filling:
1/2 cup maple sugar
1 tsp. powdered stevia
6 tbsp. cocoa powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
8 oz. semi-sweet vegan chocolate, finely chopped (chocolate chips work, too)

In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and agave in the warm soy milk and let sit for about 5 minutes. Stir in the maple sugar, vanilla extract, salt and egg replacer mixture. Add the bread flour and about 2 cups of the whole wheat flour and stir until well-blended. Add the butter and stir again. You’ll have a very sticky dough.

Now’s the time to knead the dough. Lightly flour the counter and knead, adding whole wheat flour as needed to prevent dough from sticking too badly to your hands. You should have a soft, slightly sticky dough by the time you’re done (8-10 minutes). Place dough in a large bowl that’s been lightly sprayed with oil. Cover and let rise for an hour and a half, or until doubled in size. Punch dough down and let rest for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the filling by combining all of the ingredients in a small bowl. Line the bottom of two 9″x5″ loaf pans with parchment and lightly spritz the sides of the pan with cooking oil.

Divide the dough in two and starting with one piece (keep the other piece covered), roll it out to a 16″ square. Sprinkle filling over the dough, leaving a 1/4″ border. Roll up the dough just as you would for cinnamon rolls. Pinch the ends to seal. Holding the roll by the ends, gently twist the dough as if wringing out a towel. Fit the dough into the pan. I formed mine into a u-shape to get it into the pan. It looks funky, but comes out beautifully as it rises and bakes. Repeat with the second piece of dough.

Cover both pans with plastic wrap or a clean towel and let rise for about 45 minutes. Preheat your oven to 350F.

Bake the loaves for about 40 minutes or until nicely browned. The bottom should sound hollow when tapped. Cool the loaves in the pans for about 10 minutes before removing and allowing to cool completely on wire racks.

Tagged babka, bread flour, chocolate, chocolate babka, cinnamon, postaday, special occasion, whole wheat flour, yeast bread

May 12 2012

88 Comments

Bread, Virtual Vegan Potluck, Yeast Breads

Virtual Vegan Potluck: Sage & Rosemary Dinner Rolls with Roasted Garlic Coconut Butter

Welcome to the Bread course of the Virtual Vegan Potluck! This is just the beginning of some tasty carbs – both savory and sweet – here at the Potluck. Thank you so much for being part of our delicious plant-based event. I know you’ve already enjoyed lots of goodies – and there are a lot more to come! Hope you left some room on your plate for a roll or two!

No doubt about it, I’m a bread junkie. I love kneading, baking and especially eating it. And I love these rolls. Simple, elegant, easy to make and packed with summery, warm, herb flavor. (If I’d included parsley and thyme I could’ve called these Simon & Garfunkel rolls…) Inside they’re soft and fragrant; on the outside they have a satisfying and tender crust. They smell so wonderful fresh out of the oven. Serve these flavorful, healthy rolls alongside some not-so-healthy but mouthwatering Roasted Garlic Coconut Butter, the recipe for which you’ll find below. It’s also easy to make and full of flavor; the perfect complement to the rolls.

Sage & Rosemary Dinner Rolls
Makes 12

2 1/4 tsp. regular yeast (1 packet)
1 tbsp. agave nectar
1 1/4 cups warm water
2 1/4 cups bread flour
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tbsp. minced fresh sage
1 1/2 tbsp. minced fresh rosemary
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1 1/2 tsp. salt

In a large bowl, whisk together the water, yeast and agave nectar. Set aside for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, in a smaller bowl, combine the bread flour, whole wheat flour, sage, rosemary, salt and pepper.

When the yeast mixture is bubbly, add the flour mixture and stir until a wet dough forms. Add small amounts of flour – just until the dough doesn’t stick too much to your hands. Either knead in the bowl or on the counter for about 8 minutes. The dough will be very soft and should be smooth.

Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for about 1 hour. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

When the dough has doubled in size, press it down to deflate and let it rest for 5 minutes. Lightly flour the counter and divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. Roll the pieces into balls and place on the baking sheet. 12 will just fit. Using scissors, snip a deep X into the tops of each roll. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise for 30 minutes. (You could also make 8 rolls. They are perfect for sandwiches.)

Preheat the oven to 350F. Bake the rolls for about 20-25 minutes, or until lightly brown on top and firm on the bottom. Cool rolls on a wire rack or serve warm alongside Roasted Garlic Coconut Butter.

Roasted Garlic Coconut Butter

1 head garlic, roasted and squeezed out and mashed
1/4 cup + 2 tsp. soy milk
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1/4 + 1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp. + 1 tsp. refined coconut oil, melted
1 tbsp. canola oil
2 1/4 tsp. soy lecithin granules
1/4 tsp. xanthan gum

Combine soy milk, apple cider vinegar and salt in a small bowl and set aside for 10 minutes.

Gently melt the coconut oil. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the mashed garlic, soy milk mixture, coconut oil, canola oil, soy lecithin granules and xanthan gum and process for 1 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and make sure no lecithin granules are sticking to the bottom. Process for an additional minutes. Pour mixture into silicon molds or ice trays and freeze for at least 1 hour before removing from trays and using.

(Base recipe courtesy of VeganBaking.net.)

Sage, flowering

Rosemary

Thank you so much for being a part of the Virtual Vegan Potluck! We’ve all had a lot of fun planning and putting this event together and sharing it with you has been the best part. I know you will find many delicious vegan recipes to add to your repertoire. To read about the origins of the Virtual Vegan Potluck, please visit this post.

And now it’s time to visit another participating blog. Either click one of the icons below to be taken to the preceding blog or the following blog in the Potluck, or click here to be taken back to Veggie What Now in the Salad category – or – click here to move forward in the Potluck to visit Cocina de Nihacc with a delicious offering in the bread course. )If you would like to go back to the very start of the Potluck, please click here to visit Vegan Bloggers Unite!)

Tagged Cocina de Nihacc, coconut butter, dinner rolls, easy, postaday, roasted garlic coconut butter, rolls, rosemary, sage, sage & rosemary dinner rolls, vegan, Vegan Bloggers Unite!, Veggie What Now, virtual vegan potluck

Apr 07 2012

24 Comments

Bread, No-Knead Bread, Yeast Breads

Cardamom-Coffee Braid (Or Rolls), No Kneading Needed

I know, I know – it seems like I’ve been on a bread kick lately. Actually, I’m always on a bread kick. There is no doubt that I am a serious carb junkie. And this loaf…this is a good one.

It’s a much simplified version of a loaf I’ve made for years, from a cookbook I can hardly believe I own: Savoring the Seasons of the Northern Heartland, by Beth Dooley and Lucia Watson. I bought it many years ago for its homey, comforting, slow food recipes, but there’s hardly a one I can make now without major modifications. (It’s divided into sections with names like “Henhouse and Dairy,” “Barnyard and Smokehouse,” and “Deep Lakes and Swift Streams.”) One of my favorite recipes was for Finnish Cardamom Coffee Bread. It’s really delicious, but also loaded with eggs and honey and kneading it was a serious upper body workout. And I only got one loaf out of the deal.

This recipe, on the other hand, doesn’t require that you train for two weeks prior to making it. It has all of the flavors of the original – and of which I’m completely enamored: cardamom, coffee and maple. And, you get two loaves out of it – or lots of rolls, if you prefer. If you can braid or twirl or loop (and of course you can!), you can create some very impressive baked goods. Store the dough in your refrigerator for up to five days – fresh bread for the week. Super toasted for your breakfast or wonderful at sandwiching PB&J.

Cardamom-Coffee Braid
Makes 2 loaves (or a mess of rolls)

2 cups almond milk, plus more for brushing top of loaf
2 tbsp. flaxseed meal
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
4 oz. unsweetened applesauce
1 tbsp. instant yeast
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. cardamom seeds, crushed with mortar and pestle (remove husks after crushing)
2 tbsp. freshly ground coffee
1/2 cup roasted, chopped pecans
2 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
2 1/2 cups bread flour
2 tbsp. Demerara sugar, for sprinkling

In a large container with lid (or big glass bowl), mix together the almond milk, flaxseed meal, maple syrup, applesauce, yeast and salt. Add flours and pecans and mix, making sure ingredients are combined thoroughly with no dry flour remaining.

Cover container with lid (or bowl with plastic wrap) and let sit at room temperature for about 2 hours. Transfer to refrigerator overnight.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Divide dough in half, returning one half to the refrigerator for later use.

Divide the dough into 3 equal pieces and on a floured surface, gently roll pieces into 18″ long ropes. Place the ropes side by side, about 2″ apart, on the prepared baking sheet. Pinch on end together and tuck under. Loosely braid dough and again, pinch the end and tuck under. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise for about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375F. Brush top of loaf with almond milk and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 30-45 minutes. Transfer loaf to a cooling rack.

As rolls.

Ground coffee and crushed cardamom pods.

Tagged Beth Dooley & Lucia Watson, cardamom, easy, Finnish coffee cardamom bread, ground coffee, no-knead, no-knead bread, postaday, sandwiches, Savoring the Seasons of the Heartland, toast, whole wheat, whole wheat flour

Mar 31 2012

38 Comments

Bread, Yeast Breads

Whole Wheat Pita Bread

When Kel and I moved to the boonies, one of the items I didn’t even think about missing was whole wheat pita bread. But miss it I did. In D.C., there were two Whole Foods within walking distance of my office and several good bakeries nearby, so getting whole wheat pitas was never a problem. By contrast, the stores where I now shop offer bland, hard, refined pitas that have that unidentifiable commercial bread taste. I wasn’t having any of that, so I went in search of recipes.

Pita bread – though one of the easiest breads to make (I now know) – was a mystery to me. How on earth was I going to get that pocket in there? Turns out the magic happens in the oven. Without you even asking. It’s very cool to watch the flat rounds of dough puff up. The jumping off recipe for this came from Epicurious. I upped the whole wheat flour, omitted the olive oil and added flaxseeds (cuz they look great) and dried thyme for that nice warm, summery flavor they impart.

Whole Wheat Pita Bread
Makes 8

1 (1/4-ounce) package active dry yeast (2 1/2 teaspoons)
1 tsp. agave nectar
1 1/2 cups warm water (105–115°F)
2 cups bread flour or high-gluten flour, plus additional for kneading
1 cup whole-wheat flour
2 tbsp. flaxseeds, optional
1 tsp. dried thyme, optional
1 tsp. salt

Stir together yeast, agave nectar, and 1/2 cup warm water in a large bowl, then let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If mixture doesn’t foam, discard and start over with new yeast.)

While yeast mixture does its thing, stir together flours in another bowl. Whisk 1/2 cup flour mixture into yeast mixture until smooth, then cover with plastic wrap and let stand in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled in bulk and bubbly, about 45 minutes. Stir in salt, flaxseeds, thyme, remaining warm water, and remaining 2 1/2 cups flour mixture until dough forms.

Turn out dough onto a floured surface and knead, working in just enough additional flour to keep dough from sticking, until dough is smooth and elastic, 8 to 10 minutes. Form dough into a ball and put in an lightly oiled bowl, turning to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rise in draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Punch down dough and cut into 8 pieces. Form each piece into a ball. Flatten 1 ball, then roll out into a 6 1/2- to 7-inch round on floured surface with a rolling pin. Transfer round to one of the baking sheets. Make 7 more rounds in the same manner, arranging them on baking sheets. Loosely cover pitas with clean kitchen towels (not terry cloth) and let stand at room temperature 30 minutes.

Set oven rack in lower third of oven and remove other racks. Preheat oven to 500°F.

Transfer 4 pitas, one at a time, directly onto oven rack. Bake until just puffed and pale golden, about 2 minutes. Turn over with tongs and bake 1 minute more. Cool pitas on a wire rack 2 minutes, then stack and wrap loosely in a kitchen towel to keep pitas warm. Bake remaining 4 pitas in same manner. Serve warm. These freeze very well when wrapped in plastic wrap and sealed in freezer bags.

Tagged dried thyme, easy, Epicurious, flaxseeds, healthy, pita bread, whole wheat, whole wheat pita bread

Mar 26 2012

29 Comments

Bread, Yeast Breads

Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread (or The Loaf Formerly Known As The Brick)

Remember this loaf? The Brick? The utter failure? I was determined to try again – this time remembering the salt and the maple syrup – because I just knew it would be a good loaf of bread if I could concentrate, not try to do five things at once and pay attention to one thing at a time. You might call it Being Present. You might call it Living in the Moment. You might even call it Anti-Multitasking. Whatever it’s called, I need to figure out how to slow down and do it! By the way, I turned the original Brick into French toast and, you know, it was really, really delicious.

Okay, before I kick off the recipe, please consider submitting one of your blog posts to VeganBloggersUnite! Lidia is looking for content for this great resource – a place where vegan bloggers can meet and greet and let other like-minded eaters and readers know about their blogs. It’s easy! Find a blog post for which you are particularly proud (recipe, opinion, ramblings – whatever!) and follow the simple instructions here. It takes like five seconds! I want to thank Lidia for putting together this cool blog and for giving me the space to share some of my posts.

Let’s do this bread thing:

Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread
Makes 1 loaf, about 16 slices

Dough:
1 1/4 cup unsweetened, plain soy milk, warm
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 1/4 tsp. dry active
2 tbsp. prune puree
2 tsp. salt
2 cups whole wheat flour
~2 cups AP flour
1/2 cup raisins

Swirl:
2-3 tbsp. prune puree
3 tbsp. cinnamon
1/3 cup Demerara sugar

In a large bowl, combine the soy milk, maple syrup, orange juice and yeast, and stir to combine. Let sit for 5-10 minutes, or until the mixture looks foamy. Now add the prune puree, salt and the 2 cups of whole wheat flour. When that’s all nice and combined, stir in the raisins and one cup of the AP flour – adding more as necessary to get a soft dough together. Lightly flour the counter and knead, adding flour if you need to, to keep dough from clogging up your fingers. Knead for about 10 minutes and you should have a lovely, soft, elastic dough.

Lightly oil another large bowl and place the dough inside. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for an hour or so, or until the dough has doubled in size. Meanwhile, prepare the filling by combining all of the ingredients. Set aside. Oil a 9″ x 4″ loaf pan.

When the dough has risen, punch down and then dump it out on a lightly floured surface. Roll to a 10″ x 12″ rectangle and gently spread with the filling mixture. I leave a little space along the short ends for rolling. Speaking of which, once you’ve spread the filling over the dough, roll the dough (from the short side) and carefully place the loaf into the prepared pan. Spritz dough with cooking spray, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for another hour or so. Dough should be about 1 1/2″ inches above the pan rim.

When the dough is nearing the end of its rise, preheat the oven to 375F. Place the loaf in the oven and bake for 45 minutes. Carefully remove the loaf from the pan and tap the bottom of the loaf. If it sounds hollow, the loaf is done. If it still sounds a little squishy, put the loaf back in the oven – directly on the rack so the bottom browns up nicely. Check on the loaf every 5 minutes or so until you are satisfied that it’s thoroughly and deliciously baked.

Allow to cool on a wire rack before slicing. No really. If you cut it too soon, it will tear, sag and pull. But it’ll still taste fantastic, so who am I to tell you what to do?

Tagged cinnamon, kitchen disasters, maple syrup, prune puree, raisins, The Brick, VeganBloggersUnite!, whole wheat flour, yeast, yeast bread

Mar 22 2012

36 Comments

Bread, Breakfast, Brunch, Holiday, Yeast Breads

A Doughnut with No Holes

“A flute with no holes is not a flute. A doughnut with no holes is a danish.”
- Ty Webb, Caddyshack

I’d have to delve deep into my awkward pre-teens to explain my connection with the movie Caddyshack. At one time in my life I could quote it from beginning to end – a testament less to stellar intellectual or memorization skills and more to the vast number of hours I spent saturating myself with the movie. Hours I will never be able to retrieve. However, it must be said: there are some damn funny moments in that movie. What does all this have to do with pastries? Save for the nonsensical (my favorite type of humor) quote above, absolutely nothing.

Now. This delicious gem of a recipe came – totally free! – in the March 2012 King Arthur Flour catalog. Yes, there is some labor involved. But that shouldn’t stop anyone from giving it a try, and some of the steps can be done ahead of time. It is so, so very tasty and absolutely beautiful. It would be a real stunner at a brunch for guests or on a special Sunday (Mother’s Day, I’m looking at you!). Or to paraphrase Bill Murray’s character in Caddyshack – Carl Spackler – you don’t even need a reason to make this. The original recipe calls for a cream cheese and lemon curd filling. Obviously I messed with the “cream” part of cream and though lemon curd is awesome, I really thought blueberries would be perfect in this. So – change up the filling to what you like. Raspberries would taste really yummy in this. Maybe next time. As ever, I veganized and used unrefined sugars instead of the white stuff.

Blueberry Cream Braid
Makes 2 generous loaves

For the bread:
Sponge:
3/4 cup warm water
2 tsp. agave nectar
1 tbsp. instant yeast
1/2 cup AP flour

Dough:
all of the sponge (above)
3/4 cup plain, unsweetened soy yogurt
1/2 cup vegan “butter”
2 tbsp. egg replacer + 6 tbsp. water (whisk together until frothy, then set aside)
1/2 cup maple sugar
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups whole wheat flour
3+ cups AP flour

Tofu “cream” (see below)
Blueberry sauce (see below)

1 tbsp. vegan “butter,” melted (for brushing braids)
Demerara sugar, for dusting braids

Make the sponge and dough:
In a large bowl, combine the sponge ingredients, cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 15 minutes.

When the sponge is ready, add the dough ingredients and knead until smooth and elastic. You may need to add more AP flour to prevent dough from sticking to your hands. Place the dough in a large bowl that’s been sprayed with cooking oil, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for 60-90 minutes or until doubled in size.

Make the tofu “cream”:
6 oz. silken tofu
1/4 cup soy milk
1/4-1/2 tsp. liquid stevia or maple syrup, to taste
1/2 tsp. vanilla
lemon zest

In the bowl of a food processor, combine all of the tofu “cream” ingredients and process until very smooth. Set aside until ready to assemble the braid. Make a few days ahead and store in the refrigerator to speed up the braid process.

Make the blueberry sauce:
1/2 lb. fresh blueberries
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tbsp. maple syrup
1/2 tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 tbsp. orange juice or water

You might recognize this sauce from the Orange Poppyseed Waffle recipe a while back. I knew it would be perfect in this recipe! In a small saucepan combine the blueberries through the maple syrup. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes. Dissolve the cornstarch in the 1/2 tbsp. orange juice or water and add to the blueberry mixture. Stir until mixture thickens. Set aside until ready to assemble the braid. You can make this several days ahead – just store in the refrigerator.

Below are photos that break down the way to create this “braid.” It looks complicated, but really isn’t. You and your family will be so impressed with the results, that the time and effort will have been totally worth it!

Assemble and bake:
One: Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and preheat oven to 375F. Divide the risen dough in two pieces. Working with one piece at a time (cover the remaining piece), flatten and roll it into a 10″ x 15″ rectangle. Lightly “draw” lines on the dough dividing it into thirds. You aren’t cutting the dough at this point, just marking it so you know where to put the filling and where to later cut the braid strips.

Tip: Roll the dough directly on parchment paper rather than on the counter. This will make moving the dough much easier than trying to pry up the braided product – as I had to do – with Kel’s help and 3 spatulas. Hence the funny curve in one of the braids. So: roll the dough into a rectangle, then gently transfer it to a baking sheet. Complete the assembly right on the baking sheet.

Two: Spread some of the tofu “cream” down the center of the dough. I eyeballed the amount. You’ll probably have “cream” left over – don’t worry, you’ll find some delicious use for it.

Three: Spread some of the blueberry filling over the “cream.” Again, I eyeballed it. Save the leftovers for your pancakes and waffles.

Four: Make cuts along the edges of the dough to within 1/2″ of the filling, every 3/4″ to 1″ all the way down the length of the dough. Cut out the little piece of dough from each corner so that you can fold the top and bottom ends of the dough over the filling.

Five: Starting at one end, pull the cut strips up and over the filling, alternating sides.

Six: Cover the braid and repeat the whole process with the other portion of dough. Allow the braids to rise for 45-90 minutes – or until nice and puffy. Don’t forget to preheat the oven to 375F towards the end of the rise.

Brush the braids with a little bit of melted “butter,” and sprinkle with Demerara sugar. Bake for 25-30 minutes, rotating pans halfway through. The tops should be a beautiful brown.

Tagged all-purpose flour, blueberries, braid, bread, brunch, Caddyshack, danish, King Arthur Flour, Mother's Day, pastry, silken tofu, special occasion, tofu cream, whole wheat

Mar 20 2012

29 Comments

Bread, General, Kitchen Disasters, Yeast Breads

Small Kitchen Tragedies

Don't let this happen to you.

I should have stayed out of the kitchen on Sunday. The peanut butter-banana-wheat germ pancakes came out just right, sure, but it was downhill from there. I had been looking forward to a morning of baking; I’d already set everything out on the counter that I needed to make a loaf of whole wheat cinnamon raisin swirl bread. Whole wheat biscuits for lunch were to follow.

I warmed the soy milk, added the yeast and let the mixture sit for a few minutes to bubble. Then I added in the flour and kneaded – gosh it was a nice dough – and then in went the raisins and a few more minutes of kneading. When I had a nice, smooth ball of dough it hit me: I’d completely forgotten to add in the salt and the 1/4 cup of maple syrup. Both ingredients were sitting there on the counter. Right in front of me. Never mind. Shake it off. How bad could it be? What did I think baking was anyway – - chemistry?! I plopped the dough in an oiled bowl and set it aside to rise. After it had doubled (rather quickly, I thought), I rolled it out and spread the cinnamon-sugar mixture over the top, then rolled it up and put it in a loaf pan, setting it aside for its second rise.

While the bread dough was doing its thing, I started to mix the biscuit dough together. I had the brilliant idea to added chopped pecans to the mix and I had those toasting on the stove. I finished mixing the dough and I carefully patted it out onto a parchment-lined baking sheet when…wait. Who the h*ll is burning corn husks?! Oh no. Not again. I realized I’d forgotten about the pecans. Not only had the pecans not made it into the biscuits, they’d been burnt to a crisp.

Meanwhile, I’d turned the oven on to preheat to 475F, the temperature needed for the biscuits, but when I looked over at the cinnamon raisin loaf, it had risen a couple of inches over the rim of the loaf pan. I knew I had to get it into the oven immediately, but the temperature needed to be at 375F. I turned down the oven, slid in the loaf pan and thought, what the heck, throw in the biscuits as well.

After about ten minutes, I checked on the bread and biscuits. The loaf that had risen so loftily had suddenly dropped like a souffle seconds after the oven door slams. And it looked as if someone had rested an elbow on one side of the loaf. The biscuits looked pale and wimpy. I rotated the biscuits up to the top rack, cranked the heat up to 475F and crossed my fingers. When the biscuits had browned up, I removed them, turned down the oven temperature and moved the loaf pan back up to the top rack, trying not to look at it. Too depressing. In another 10 minutes, the bread was…done. Or maybe I was just done with the bread.

Kel tells me that The Brick tastes pretty darn good. I’m not sure I trust him, however. I’ll probably give it a taste once I get over my disgust with the way it looks. The biscuits came out just fine – flaky, tender and with a nice crust. It would have been even better if they’d had pecans in them…Some days just go this way and all one can do is get back into the kitchen to try again.

(On a happy note, both the utterly divine tinykitchenstories and the ridiculously readable Meizac’s Blog bestowed Versatile Blogger Awards on An Unrefined Vegan – thusly helping to alleviate some of my baking pain and suffering. Thank you, fine ladies!)

Amazingly, the chain saw was not required to cut The Brick.

Not a reflection in the fun-house mirror, just another Brick in the wall.

Tagged baking failures, biscuits, bread, cinnamon, cooking disasters, failures, Meizac's Blog, raisins, tinykitchenstories, whole wheat, yeast bread

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Category Archives: Yeast Breads