vegan challah, finally

dough in a six strand braid

 

Challah may possibly be my favorite thing to bake. The process of mixing, kneading, braiding, and baking is something I find to be quite enjoyable. However trying to make a vegan challah recipe was a bit of an ordeal this summer. The problem is because challah is traditionally made with eggs, the first thing I did (and I’m assuming other vegans do too) is immediately try to replace the egg with a substitute in order to mimic a recipe more closely. I made numerous challah loaves this summer using flax seed, Ener-G egg replacer, so on and so forth. Needless to say, there is something to be said about simply removing said animal ingredient.

Vegan Challah Recipe (1 loaf)

Ingredients

• 2 cups unbleached, bread flour*
• 1 tablespoon vital wheat gluten
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoons yeast
• ½ cup water (4 tablespoons + 4 tablespoons)
• 2 ½ tablespoons oil

Equipment

• Oven at 350°F.
• 1 large bowl.
• 2 medium sized bowls
• Measuring cups/spoons
• Something to stir with, like a fork.

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. If you’re using a baking stone have that preheat in the oven as well (though I suggest purchasing quarry tiles if you can, they work just as well and they’re a lot cheaper).
2. In a bowl mix 4 tablespoons warm water with a tablespoon of sugar. Let the sugar dissolve and then sprinkle your yeast on the water. Mix gently and let sit for approximately 10 minutes.
3. While you’re proofing your yeast, sift together your bread flour and the vital wheat gluten in one of the medium sized bowls. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl, pour the oil.
5. Boil the remaining 4 tablespoons water and dissolve the salt and remaing sugar (1 tablespoon). Add this to the oil in the large bowl and mix thoroughly.
6. When this mixture is warm, but not hot, add the yeast and stir until incorporated.
7. Add the flour in 1/4 cup installments until mixed.
8. Knead the bread on a floured surface until it creates a tight ball. A good way to check if the dough is thoroughly kneaded is it you take a small bit of the dough and stretch it into a small square. If the dough tears easily when you do this it’s not done. The dough, when stretched should be elastic and create a semi-transparent film (called a “gluten window”).
9. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a damp towel. Place in a warm place (like a warm, preheated over that is NOT on). Allow the dough to rise for at least two hours.
10. Once the dough has doubled in size, punch down and allow to rest for another 30 minutes to an hour.
11. Separate the dough into balls (anywhere from 3 to 6), and knead each one briefly for about 15 seconds.
12. Roll the balls into strands and braid.
13. Let the loaf rise for another 10 minutes.
14. Place into the oven and let bake for about 32 minutes. Check to see.
15. Bread is done when you can tap on both the bottom and top, and it sounds hollow. The challah should be medium golden brown.

*You may be tempted to substitute regular bread flour with whole wheat, I generally suggest against it. I have made this recipe using whole wheat flour and it generally burns because you have to cook the dough a lot longer. If you double the recipe and decide that you want to use whole wheat flour, I suggest a 1:3 ratio of whole wheat to bread flour.

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

I love chocolate chip cookies. Loving chocolate chip cookies seems to be the consensus among most of the US population. I’m sure the statistics run in the millions of chocolate chip cookies sold and consumed each year, the amount of chocolate chips sold, etcetera. I always like baking chocolate chip cookies. They wicked easy to make and taste really damn good. It was something I could do with my brothers, who would sit and eat the dough (my brother Anderson, also took to eating a spoonful of brown sugar every time I made cookies… something I also did… ah my youthful days). It was something I could do while talking on the phone, which is what I did last night while I spoke on the phone with Amy (Luxenburger). I haven’t made regular chocolate chip cookies for awhile, as I generally prefer the texture of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and like to fool myself into thinking that they are healthier. I still haven’t rewritten the cookie recipe named after Katie, and I knew that my brothers might not like them for various reasons. So, I had prepared to mess around with the original Toll House recipe until I opened, as fate would have, directly to Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s own chocolate chip cookie recipe in Vegan with a Vengeance. Feeling lazy, I opted to do her recipe as opposed to recreating my own, I tweaked with it a little however to suit my own personal preferences. I like these warm and gooey with a class of cold soy milk or ice water depending on my mood).

Recipe for Isa Chandra’s “There’s nothing healthy about these…”* Chocolate Chip Cookies:

1 cup non-hydrogenated margarine, at room temperature. (Use Earth Balance if you can get it)

1 ¼ cups of sugar

1 tablespoon of molasses

2 teaspoons of vanilla extract (don’t use imitation… gross)

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 ½ cups of semisweet chocolate chips (or chunks, which were the only vegan chocolate I was able to find. Don’t get my started on my rant about chocolate distributors).

 

 

Optional ingredients:

1 teaspoon extra molasses

½ teaspoon cinnamon (I add cinnamon to just about everything I bake that contains chocolate)

 

 

Steps:

1. Preheat your oven to 350° F. (Buy an oven thermometer, they’re cheap and save you a lot of grief)

2. Cream together margarine and sugar until well combined and fluffy.

3. Add the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, and salt) and mix until combined. (Don’t overmix the dough as you want to avoid making too much gluten)

4. Form cookies and place them a decent distance apart, approximately two or three inches.

5. Bake for 8-12 minutes (depending on your oven), or until golden.

6. Let cool for a few moments before transferring them to a cooling rack or onto a plate.

*This isn’t the actual name of the cookie, but I added that to highlight that they aren’t something you’d get at a health food store. I titled these after what she had written about them along with the recipe. They aren’t healthy, but sometimes you need to indulge and/or play with fire a little. I just suggest not eating them for breakfast like I did this morning.

 

A bread disaster

My attention has turned from cupcakes to bread making. I enjoy making bread a great deal, but I am having a bit of difficulty with it for whatever reason. This bread, while looking lovely when it came out had an odd flavor. I used a starter and I think I may have let it ferment too long… oh well. Also, I used what I thought was extra virgin olive oil (which will never be referred to as “E.V.O.O.” as I hate Rachael Ray with a fiery passion) which ended up being just really cheap, not so good good olive oil.

Anyway, I have been working on a new vegan challah recipe that I will post when I get the kinks out. I have made two loaves so far one being a success, the other attempt being a sticky mess (so much so that I even braid it).

I also think my oven has a problem. Well, I know there’s something wrong with it.

Just a tease

The Katie Jones Spicy Oatmeal Cookie

 

 

These cookies are a particular favorite of mine, but seem to be more a favorite of Katie Jones, hence the name. I devised these while we were in London, they were a fluke really that became a hit not only at our house but apparently at London 21, an environmental action group that Kathryn worked at. I can’t include the recipe quite yet because I can’t bear to part with it (which is silly). Also because the house we lived at was lacking in measuring cups and spoons, large bowls, and an oven that measured temperature in Celsius. So, I’m not quite sure the IKEA® mugs to cups ratio. I’ll also have to make them using real bowls as opposed to the salad spinner I found in a cupboard above the stove. Having dedicated most of my time to cupcakes as of late, I’ll have to make these soon.

Pancakes for Dinner

Late Night Cinnamon & Almond Vegan Pancakes.

 

 

 

My brother Anderson, about two weeks ago, was home sick with some sort of childhood ailment–it was the flu or something like that. He had been in bed all day and hadn’t had much of an appetite until about 10:00 PM that evening. He knocked on my door and asked if I would make him dinner. I agreed and asked what he would like, his answer was pancakes. He seemed intrigued by the idea of vegan pancakes, though not so intrigued by the pancakes containing bananas. So, I found an easy recipe online and tweaked it a bit. .

My recipe is continued on the next page.

General Tao’s Tofu

General Tao’s Tofu

 

 

I found this recipe on VegWeb. It is currently the most rated recipe on the website and I thought I’d attempt to make it. I’ve made it twice already, and each time it’s been quite tasty. I didn’t stick to the recipe the entire time, so if you’d like to check out the original website where the recipe can be found, click the link above. I’m going to post my variations, because I think it yielded a better result (personally, though Drew liked it too). I’m a big fan of ginger and garlic. Also, this dish takes bit of time to make, despite the time given on VegWeb. I have found that this dish is well worth it if you take a lot of time to prep and have all of the correct ingredients. I’ll be the first to admit that my method is a little more labor intensive… perhaps “labor intensive” isn’t the phrase to use. We’ll go with slightly inefficient. But this recipe isn’t about efficiency, it’s about flavor and substance. The recipe is on the next page…

Cupcakes, I missed you

I became a vegan last autumn for various reasons, but by becoming a vegan I had to cut out a lot of food. No more tiramisú or traditional egg challah. Nor could I partake in one of my favorite desserts, the cupcake. I can’t think of anything more indulgent than a personal cake that you don’t have to share with anyone. It was fate then that the ladies over at the Post Punk Kitchen should pen a book entitled Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. During winter break I searched in vain for this book, sadly it was no where to be found. I’m not entirely sure how many vegans live in Elkhart, Indiana–or in South Bend for that matter–and I wonder if perhaps I am the only one. Needless to say, there obviously wasn’t the demand for the book or else Walden Books, Borders, or Barnes & Noble would have had at least one in stock. Even during my four months in London, I was unable to find a copy: It wasn’t at W.H. Smith or Waterstone’s . I finally received it as a gift this May and haven’t stopped baking since. I suggest purchasing this book if you’re interested, it’s well worth the investment to be sure.

Here are some photos are my various attempts and processes (with my assistant and 10-year-old brother, Anderson):

 

To see the finished products, click on ‘continue reading’…

 

Introduction

I am a big baking and cooking enthusiast, especially vegan baking and cooking. One might think that with the absence of eggs, dairy, and meat cooking would be difficult and tricky. I was lucky enough to have little to no idea how to cook before I became a vegan, and subsequently the only type of cooking I know how to do is vegan. Sure, I had made brownies from a box and cookies from the Nestlé Tollhouse recipe but that was really the extent of it. By becoming a vegan I had to teach myself how to cook and fast. My family isn’t vegan or even remotely vegetarian, which is all well and good until you come home for Thanksgiving break and turkey and pie is a no-no. All in all, I don’t regret becoming a vegan in the slightest and this is a blog dedicated to various cooking experiments.