 |
| Vegan Seeduction Bread |
I set a goal to veganize this bread after perusing the ingredients on display. It has become an obsession to obtain the right recipe. I can say that I was seeduced. :-) I made it 4-5 times and each time DH said "this is good", then he said "it is better now", then he said "it is much better now", then he said "Wow, this is the best". He had been eating too much seeduction bread for the last 2 months. This post is about this bread and my journey in learning baking artisan breads.
On top of this obsession, in the past few months, I also learned other new bread baking skill by starting to bake simple French baquette with just white flour. Then, proceed in making vegan doughnuts, whole wheat bread, Vietnamese baquette, and all kinds of no-knead whole grain breads. I found that no-knead bread is really interesting and easy. It is just the way to do it to save time. I invested a few tools during my bread making journey: a healthy whole grain cookbook, a bread lame, a bread whisk, and a dough scrapper(this one was a Christmas gift). The cookbook I bought was Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day byt Jeff Hertzberg, M.d. & Zoe Francois.
Below are the whisk with a long metal handle I used to stir the no-knead dough and the bread lame I used to slash the top of the dough.
 |
| Bread Lame and Whisk, both bought at Sur La Table for about $6.00 each.
|
 |
| 6-quarts plastic container |
 |
| No-Knead Chocolate-Cherry-Pecan Bread |
I would like to share several tips about tools in baking no-knead bread:
- - A whisk and bread lame such as pictured above are very helpful.
- A large plastic container to raise bread dough overnight or in the fridge may be a necessity, especially, if making a large amount of no-knead bread. Mine is a 6- quarts plastic container with a lid.
- A cheap shower cap to cover the bowl of bread dough while it is rising can be a great help. I brought home those shower caps provided in hotels/motels which are still in packages (unopened) and use them to cover my bread bowl (learned this from several blogs).
 |
| Cover bowl of bread dough with a shower cap(unused). |
- A food scale can provide an accurate measurement of dry ingredients such as flour and water. I like to weigh my flour and water for accuracy and consistency.
- An instant read thermometer ensures the baked bread is really done. I had several bad experience thinking that my bread was done but it was doughy inside. This problem could not be fixed so I've been using a thermometer to check the doneness of the baked bread since then.
- Invest on a baking stone, cloche, enameled cast iron pot, or a Rommertof Clay Baker. I found that using these really made the crust of my bread crackling hard while the inside of the bread is still soft. This is what artisan bread is all about.
I would also like to share several tips about ingredients:
- Yeast. I've been using instant yeast SAF brand. I found that this is the best yeast for no-knead bread making and the method I use below. I had several experiences that my bread dough won't rise using the dry active yeast in the envelopes even though they are not expired yet. I think those yeast may go bad after sitting on stores' shelves. It was very frustrating so I bite the bullet and bought 1 lb. instant yeast and store it in the freezer. I haven't had any problem since then.
- Flour. I use Bob's Red Mill brand flour whether it is the Organic Unbleached White Flour, Organic Hard White Wheat Flour, or the Organic Whole Wheat Flour. Somehow it is harder for me to find King Arthur brand which is also pretty expensive in my area but if you can, go right ahead.
- Salt. I use kosher salt when baking bread.
- Water. I don't usually use warm the water when baking no-knead bread. The water I use is usually a room temperature, not cold or not warm water. If the weather is cold, I mixed cold water with warm water to make it lukewarm but not hot. Also, since I was using the instant yeast I don't have the need to mix warm water with the yeast to activate it. Instant yeast is great to mix directly with dry ingredients before liquid is added to the dough. I even sprinkle the instant yeast on the bread dough before the 2nd rise.
The instructions for this recipe seems long and complicated but it is not. It needs planning but the mixing and preparing of this bread only take minutes. Then, I let it rise for 12 hours, then I did something about it for a few minutes, then I had to wait again, then I prepared for the baking for a few minutes. I could do all kind of errands, watch movie, and other things while making this bread. After you do it once, you'll be able to do this on a weekend and enjoy it during the work days.
Vegan Seeduction Bread
Serve 6-8, this recipe can be doubled for 2 loaves
Dry Ingredients:
1 cup White Whole Wheat or Whole Wheat flour (4.5 oz)
1 1/2 cups Unbleached White Flour (7.5 oz)
3/4 cup rolled oats (not instant oatmeal)
1 Tbsp. Ground Flaxseeds (golden or dark)
1/2 Tbsp. kosher salt
2 Tbsp. Vital Wheat Gluten flour
3 Tbsp. Rye Flour
1/4 tsp. Instant Yeast for 1st rising (additional 1/2 tsp. Instant Yeast to be added later)
Liquid Ingredients:
1 1/4 room temperature water
1 Tbsp. Organic Molasses
2 Tbsp. Agave Nectar
2 Tbsp. Canola Oil/Safflower Oil
Seeds( can be decreased or increased or use other types of seeds):
3 Tbsp. raw Pumpkin Seeds
2 Tbsp. raw Sunflower Seeds
1 Tbsp. Poppy Seeds
2 Tbsp. Hulled Millets
1 Tbsp. Sesame Seeds
Additional 1/2 tsp. raw and not toasted Hulled Millets for on top of bread (for before baking)
 |
| From lefthand corner, clockwise: sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, hulled millet, sesame seeds, and poppy seeds. |
Mix dry ingredients (not including the seeds) together in a bowl, stir with the whisk.
Step 2:
Mix all the liquid ingredients together in a measuring cup and pour into the dry ingredients slowly.
Stir with the whisk vigorously until they are mixed. The dough will be wet and brownish. No kneading is necessary!
 |
| Mixing dry and liquid ingredients together with whisk, no kneading. |
Cover the dough with plastic wrap or an unused shower cap (as pictured above). Do not use a tight lid. Put the covered bowl on the kitchen counter for at least 12 hours (not refridgerator). After 12 hours, it can be stored in the refridgerator for 7 days before the next steps.
 |
| Dough will be brown and wet. |
Meanwhile while waiting for the dough to rise, heat cast iron pan on a medium heat, roast all seeds except the 1 tsp. hulled millet for on top of the bread. Keep stirring for 3 minutes until the seeds start to crackle (you'll hear tiny crackling). Take it off from heat and take roasted seeds off the pan into a bowl. Set aside.
Step 5:
After 12 hours, the dough should rise to almost double the original size. If it doesn't, there is something wrong with the yeast (it is probably is not alive).
 |
Step 6:
At this time, the dough will be easy to handle. Spread some flour on a large cutting board. Wet your hand and stretch the dough into flat rectangle. Important: Sprinkle the additional 1/2 tsp. Instant Yeast on the stretched dough and then sprinkle the roasted seeds (step 4) onto the dough. Roll the dough from the short end side to form an oval loaf. The idea is that the seeds are kneaded in the dough instead on the outside of the bread. This is to prevent the seeds to taste burnt due to baking. It maybe hard to prevent all the seeds inside the bread dough but try as much as possible to hide them inside.
Step 7:
Using a clay pot baker or an enameled cast iron pot, put parchment paper on top of the pot and place loaf shaped dough onto the parchment paper. The shape can be oval or round. It doesn't really matter. Cover it with the shower cap or the lid of the clay baker/pot. Let it rise for 2-5 hours.
Step 8:
When the loaf almost double its size, remove the loaf by holding the parchment paper to carry the loaf onto another loaf pan or a cookie sheet, just a temporarily place while pot is heating.
Step 9:
Soak the clay baker (lid and bottom) in water (immerse completely) for 15 minutes. This is not necessary when using an enameled cast iron or a baking stone. Remove clay baker from water and wipe off the excess water.
Step 10:
Put the wet clay baker or enameled cast iron pot into a cold oven and preheat oven to 500 F with the clay baker/pot in it (lid and bottom). Set timer to 30 minutes. When the timer goes off, the clay baker or cast iron pot should be hot. Spray the top of the loaf with water and then sprinkle the additional 1 tsp. raw hulled millet. Slice the top with a bread lame (several slices). Carefully, remove the lid of the clay baker or enameled cast iron, drop the loaf (by using the parchment paper as holders) into the hot pot. Cover with the lid. Lower the heat into 450F. Set timer to 30 minutes.
Step 11:
After 30 minutes, take off the lid and bake uncovered for another 10-15 minutes. Using the instant thermometer, check the thickest part of the bread for the temperature. If the temperature reached 204-210F then, the bread is done. Otherwise, continue baking until the inner temperature inside reached the desired number.
Now, however it is tempting to cut and eat the bread when it is hot off the oven, DON'T! Let the bread cools down before you cut it. If you do, it will be gummy. The bread needs to rest for a while and finishing its baking. Enjoy and hopefully you are seeduced like me!
 |
| The seeds inside the bread are not burned while the raw millet outside were toasted during the baking process. |
