Breads

I glanced over at my fruit basket yesterday and found four moldy looking apples at the bottom. They had been languishing there for over a week, with no one paying them any attention. Now, I'm a bit of a purist with my apples. I only like them tart and crunchy with faint green veins running through their flesh. Bruised apples with brown spots go straight on my list of foods I most hate to eat. Still, something had to be done with those apples, and without much of a plan, I peeled, cored, and chopped them up. 

Then I spied a jar full of demerara sugar that I'd bought recently, and inspiration took form. I decided I'd bake an apple bread. The principle would be the same as banana bread, only since apple has a higher water content, I could consider lowering the amount of fat in my recipe, and under bake slightly, so my cake would remain moist. A small quantity of vinegar provides just enough acid for leavening, and the baking soda helps it rise. This bread bakes up dense.

Traditional flour is ground endosperm powder which is the result of the flour mill removing most of the hard pieces and hence, nutrition from the wheat berry. I'm a huge fan of whole sprouted grains because they're more flavorful and contain significantly more nutrients than bread made with traditional flour. This Flourless Sprouted Whole Wheat Bread recipe utilizes sprouted wheat berries that are then ground into a purée. This requires a substantially hardy food processor. If you're not sure if your food processor is powerful enough, look on the bottom. It should say at least 6.5 Amps or "6.5 A". 

This bread was difficult to design due to the nature of the wheat berry. This hardy seed contains the germ which is the heart and soul of the seed. The germ is the embryo of the plant in its dormant state. It's accompanied by the starchy endosperm which acts as fuel for the germ when it sprouts or germinates. This package is encased in a firm fibrous shell called the bran. This protects the seed kind of like an egg shell protects an egg. 

A recipe from my book Triumph of the Lentil, this is my staple bread recipe. Even with a newborn and a toddler to look after I manage to bake this twice a week, so that we never have to buy bread. Because of the slow rising time it requires very minimal kneading (only enough to mix in the flour), doesn’t require any oil or sugar to taste good and stays fresh for longer. The slow rise develops the gluten in the same way that kneading would, but results in a superior taste.

Each rise can take between eight and twenty hours and put in the fridge at any stage, to be baked within two weeks. I like to make each rise around twelve hours. It can also be sped up a little, to make the total time as little as 16 hours by doubling the amount of yeast and combining the first and second rise together.

After falling in love with rye breads I became fascinated with developing a bread containing 100 percent rye. I knew that taking all of the wheat flour out of a bread recipe would wreak havoc on the end result and a high-rising crusty bread would not be obtainable. This is because wheat flour is unique in that it contains two proteins in the wheat endosperm called glutenin and gliadin. When these proteins hydrate and undergo friction, they unravel like balls of yarn, bind together into sticky strands and form a structure building network. This elastic web of protein holds in air bubbles during leavening and acts as a structure builder after the bread cools, resulting in a high-rising, fluffy, springy loaf.

A tough of sugar takes the edge off the bitterness of the rye in this Easy Vegan Rye Bread recipe. Molasses has been added to increase the overall richness of the rye flavor and caraway seeds adds an interesting layer subtle spicy cool to the loaf. Feel free to experiment with these additions and change them if you prefer. The loaf will still turn out roughly the same.

Initially I was intrigued by the flavor of rye breads but intimidated by baking them. How was I supposed to bake flavorful, crusty loafs with most of the leavening-enhancing gluten out of the picture? A little research found that although rye flour contains about the same amount of protein than regular flour, most of this protein isn't from glutenin and gliadin, the two protein compounds that unravel and combine to create gluten when water is added and the mixture is kneaded. What rye flour does contain though are natural gums called pentosans which absorb about 16 times their weight in water. This is the puzzle piece of how these breads are crafted.

I haven't yet met anyone who isn't a raging pizza fan. It was one of the hardest foods for me to give up when I lit the vegan torch. Luckily, I've developed this Easy Vegan Pizza Crust recipe that's easy to make and features a rich flavor with a crispy exterior and chewy interior. This has come at a price. The uneven road leading to this crust has made past girlfriends almost dump me over failed pizza prospects. I've lost many highly anticipated meals and wasted lots of time. Yes, the lowly pizza crust depends on some fundamental ingredients and methods that are to be mastered in order to bake itself to crispy perfection.

This Vegan Nine Grain Whole Wheat Bread recipe is unique in that it sports nine grains and contains 100% whole wheat flour for the rest of the ingredients which adds a superb flavor and texture not found in many other breads. Baking a bread with both of these features involves a little more effort but I think you'll agree that it's time well spent. This bread differs from a regular bread recipe in two ways: First, the grains are soaked so they soften and integrate into the loaf. Second, since we're using 100% whole wheat flour for the rest of the flour we need to soak it overnight so the bran softens. This softened bran will enable a more efficient rise because the bran won't cut gluten strands. It will also allow for a more supple crumb. These soaked flour and grains are technically referred to as, what else? A soaker. I suspect the bread baker who coined this term was having a creativity block the day he named this method.

The secret to making great focaccia involves using an herbed olive oil to lend an array of herb flavors, allowing the dough to ferment in a refrigerated state for at least 12 hours which allows complex bread flavors to develop and baking a wet dough at a very high temperature which ensures a soft, spongy texture and a crispy crust. Fresh herbs are paramount to infusing the right intensity of flavors in this focaccia recipe. Feel free to use any combination of fresh basil, thyme, rosemary, oregano, sage, savory or marjoram. A long, refrigerated fermentation allows naturally occurring enzymes within the flour to break out more sugars from the starches for the yeast to ferment. These extra sugars allow the yeast to built more flavor, sweeten the focaccia and caramelize under heat which contributes a multitude of enhanced flavors.

This Vegan No Knead Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread is now my go-to vegan bread recipe because it's simple to make and is a great example of how wet doughs can create wonderfully light and spongy breads. The higher water content allows the gliadin and glutenin in the flour to align into tight gluten bonds over time so you can forget about all that kneading drama. The result is a fluffy, chewy loaf that's perfect for sandwiches. Feel free to use this bread as a starting point and substitute a ½ cup of the flour for things like wheat germ, wheat bran or oat bran. It's important to note that due to the wetness of this dough it's only suitable for baking in a loaf pan.

This Vegan Sourdough Pizza Crust recipe has a little more oomph in the form of the flavors produced by wild yeast fermentation, also known as sourdough. The wild yeast isn't enough to leaven the dough completely on it's own so it's spiked with some bread yeast to help it along. This vegan crust is great for cheeseless pizzas or other pizzas where you're not using intensely flavored toppings and you'd like the crust to contribute more flavor to the pie. It's also a great way to use the sourdough starter you've been keeping in your fridge. You do have a resident starter in your fridge right?

The sweetness of apricots and the earthiness of 100% rye flour complement each other, especially when accompanied by molasses, cardamom and espresso powder in this Vegan Apricot Rye Muffin recipe. Rye flour contains a low amount of gluten compared to wheat based flour so in order to enhance binding, the batter is mixed for 1 minute to allow the starches in the flour to become activated. The pectin in the apricot preserves also acts wonderfully as a binder in these vegan muffins.

This Sprouted Wild Yeasted Whole Wheat Bread recipe is a nod to how the first breads probably got their start. Wheat berries were probably softened with water, ground and left out in the elements where they were then populated by airborne yeasts and bacteria, causing the dough to rise slightly. Placing this dough on hot rocks in or near a fire probably resulted in a fine vegan treat like nothing else available at the time.

This Wild Yeasted Wheat Bread recipe, also known as sourdough bread uses a wild yeast sponge to leaven the dough, creating a multitude of complex flavor compounds in the process. Be sure to read and cultivate your wild yeast starter and sponge before starting this vegan bread. Sandwich breads baked in loaf pans are usually baked at lower temperatures around 350F (177C) to 375F (191C) and 'enriched' with things like sweeteners, oil and extra salt. Artisan breads formed and baked without loaf pans are baked at higher temperatures around 400F (204C) to 475F (246C) where the heat allows extra flavors to be developed. Taking this into account, your bread recipe and baking process will be slightly different depending on which method you choose. This recipe gives you options for both styles.

I veganized this Oatmeal Whole Wheat Quick Bread from a recipe found here. All I can say is WOW! Moist, full of texture, earthy and oh so delicious.