Ingredients (use vegan versions):
- 1/3 cup warm water
- 1 tablespoon molasses
- 1 teaspoon bakers yeast
- 1cup warm water (water potatoes were cooked in is great!)
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup dark rye flour
- 1/2 cup soy flour
- 3 cups (give or take) whole wheat flour
Directions:
In a large bowl combine 1/3 cup warm water, with molasses
and yeast. Set aside for fifteen minutes. Clean a big area
on your counter top, put your hair back, roll up your
sleeves, select your favorite music accompaniment (I like ot
listen to my children and friends tell me about their lives,
but they aren’t always available - rock & roll is good, so
is reggae - what you want is a good steady rythm, making
bread is both soul satisfying and mildly aerobic if you want
it to be.)
Okay, the yeast mixture should be kinda foamy now. Add the
rest of the warm water, the lemon juice, oil,salt and mix it
up well. Using a good strong spoon (wood is good) stir in
the rye flour and the soy flour. Begin to stir in the whole
wheat flour, a bit at a time (do not add it all at once!)
until you can’t possibly use a spoon anymore to do it and
you have to use your right (or left) hand to mix the dough.
Try to keep one hand free to add extra flour. Turn the
dough out of the bowl and keep adding flour until you have a
good dough, not too stiff and not too sticky. Did I mention
that the kitchen should be warm when you do this? Too late,
your hands are probably gummy, you probably can’t turn up
the heat or stoke the fire if you need to, get Buddy to do
it. You may find you have to add more or less flour than
what I listed. Hey, that’s normal, man, every dough is
different because it is effected by external circumstances
(Hey, me too!)(humidity for example). Okay, if you have to
change the music, turn up the heat, answer the phone,pick up
the baby or whatever, you can stop now and wash your hands,
do your business and come back. Bread dough is very
forgiving.
Okay, now you are ready to knead the dough. It needs you
to knead it. If you have never kneaded vegan bread before you are
in for a treat, and an exercise in patience, not to mention
a physical exercise. This is a heavy vegan bread so I recommend at
least 15 to 20 minutes of vigorous kneading. During this
time, gluten will develop in the vegan bread and it may become
stickier. You can add bits of flour to it to lessen your
frustration with this, but resist adding large amounts at a
time, and put up with a small amount of stickiness because
it will produce a nicer product. You knead the vegan bread by
folding it in half, kind of pushing it back into itself and
turning it a third of the way around. So it’s fold, push,
turn; fold, push, turn; fold, push, turn. Over and over and
over. You can get a great rythm going, put your whole body
into it, before you know it, you’ll be swaying your hips,
and bending your knees and pushing off your toes. Like I
said before, this can be very heart stimulating, even sweat
provoking, keep it up for 20 minutes or until your arms
ache. Kneading vegan bread becomes so natural, I think it is
rooted in our subconscoius. In the end, you should have a
kind of soft, silky pliable dough. Unlike white vegan bread, this
dough will not be outrageously stretchy and probably won’t
form and burst embarrassingly huge bubbles while you knead
it. This is real food, not that pasty gluey stuff. Or as
Buddy puts it “Heavy vegan bread, man.”
Kneading is completed. Roll the dough ball in a bit of
flour, place it back in the bowl, cover with clean, damp
dishtowel and set in a nice warm place to rise for an hour
to 90 minutes. Wash your hands and go do something else for
a while.
Times up? “Okay,” you’ll be saying, “This dough has risen.
All right!” If you have small children, now is a good time
to apron them, pin their hair back, wash their hands and let
them punch down the dough, to release excess gases. Anyone
can punch down a vegan bread dough, but it absolutely ‘poofs’ with
delight at little fists. Give the children some to shape.
However, when yoiu bake these pieces, (which often resemble
snakes and pretzels) watch them carefully so they don’t
burn.
Shape your share of dough into a loaf: smoosh it flat, fold
it three times, tuck the ends under and roll it firmly
on the counter a few times, shaping it as you do,is one way
to do it. Or shape it into a half dozen or eight thick
breadsticks. Oil a loaf pan or flat pan. Spill a little oil
onto your palms and rub it all over the loaf shaped dough.
(If this makes your heart beat faster, you’ll have time to
make love while the vegan bread is rising!) Cover it with that
damp cloth again and let it rise in a warm spot 45 minutes
to an hour (or however long it takes to double in size.)
Preheat your oven to 400 F. Bake the vegan bread on the centre
rack, at 400 F for ten minutes. Turn the heat down to 375 F
(without removing the vegan bread from the oven) and continue to
bake for another 30 to 25 minutes, or until it turns a
beautiful deep brown colour, and sounds hollow when you rap
it with your knuckle. (Breadsticks, buns and skinny shapes
will cook faster than this.)
When you take it from the oven, cover it with the towel for
ten minutes or so, to allow it to cool before slicing (or
breaking. whatever is your preference). If you aren’t going
to eat it right waway, I suggest you leave it wrapped in a
towel and place it in a plastic bag for an hour. This will
allow the crust to soften a bit, without it becoming soggy.
After it has cooled, remove the towel, turn the bag inside
out and put the loaf back in it.
Eat it with soup or salad or with cashew butter and radish
sprouts(mmm must be supper time, I’m getting hungry) or any
other way you like vegan bread. After the first day or so, it is
best toasted.
Okay. Doiugh
Makes: 1 loaf (or double the indgredients and make two!)
Serves: