Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook (78 page)

Read Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook Online

Authors: Isa Chandra Moskowitz,Terry Hope Romero

Tags: #food.cookbooks

 
PREHEAT A large, nonstick pan over medium-low heat. Sauté the onions in the oil for about 20 minutes, turning often so that they don’t burn. If it looks like they are getting crisp, lower the heat. They should be very soft and honey brown. Add the remaining ingredients and stir for about 30 seconds. Turn off the heat and cover to keep warm until you’re ready to serve.
BREADS, MUFFINS, AND SCONES
 
B
AKING IS DIFFERENT enough from cooking that it’s tempting to divide the world into “bakers” and “cookers.” Tempting indeed, but don’t go labeling yourself just yet . . . we believe that knowing how to do both well is not only possible but essential to being the best vegan home chef you can be. So, here we have a sampling of tasty things to make when the mood hits you.
True, baking takes a slightly different mind-set: it’s somewhat scientific and takes a little more practice, even a little more intuition, than does boiling pasta or simmering a soup. But at least a baking disaster is interesting and messy in a fun way, like a ninth grade chemistry project. And no matter how much you may try to get people (as in those people sitting on your couch and hogging the remote) excited about tempeh burgers, a loaf of warm banana bread will always get their attention.
Our top favorite things to bake are muffins and scones—especially on weekend mornings or for spontaneous late-night treats. They require little mixing, use the most basic ingredients that any decently-stocked pantry should have, and require 35 minutes or less from mixing bowl to cooling rack. They also take readily to healthy additions such as whole grains, fruits, spices, and nuts. Bake a batch of scones or muffins on Sunday morning and enjoy them toasted the next morning, or as a high-energy snack that afternoon.
In addition, we’ve including a few recipes for simple, everyday yeasted breads and quick breads. Hearty whole-grain soda bread makes an ideal treat at breakfast, and a moist cranberry-nut bread is seriously awesome when paired with (organic, fair-trade) coffee. Cinnamon pinwheels thrill guests at any brunch and an easy herbed focaccia makes any old soup a complete meal. Last but not least, unleavened flatbreads are a different and delicious alternative to rice or other starches. Flatbreads can be mixed, rolled, and then baked—without additional oil—on a hot griddle in about the same time it takes a curry or stew to simmer on the stove top.
HOME-STYLE POTATO ROLLS
 
MAKES 24 ROLLS
TIME:
ABOUT 45 MINUTES, NOT INCLUDING RISING TIME
 
 
These golden, puffy rolls dotted with poppy seeds are just like soft, homey hugs from the oven. Great with soup, or for breakfast, or just as an after-school snack, even if you haven’t been to school for decades. For the best color, be sure to use yellow potatoes such as Yukon gold.
1½ cups warm water
1 cup soy milk
2 tablespoons nonhydrogenated vegan margarine
1(¼-ounce) package yeast
5-5½ cups all-purpose flour, or a blend of white
whole wheat and all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2¼ teaspoons salt
1¼ cups cold, moist mashed potatoes, preferably
Yukon gold
 
Glaze:
⅓ cup soy milk
1½ teaspoons potato starch or cornstarch
Poppy seeds for sprinkling
 
COMBINE 1 cup of the warm water with the soy milk in a medium-size saucepan, then drop in the margarine. Heat over medium heat until the margarine is melted and the soy milk mixture has slightly scalded. Remove from the heat and allow to cool until lukewarm.
In a measuring cup, mix together remaining ½ cup of the warm water and the yeast. Set aside for a few minutes until the yeast is foamy.
In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, and salt. Using your hands, mix the mashed potatoes into the flour to form a crumbly mixture, as if you were making a pastry dough. Stir in the yeast mixture and the soy milk mixture to form a soft dough; if the dough is very sticky, add a little flour, a few tablespoons at a time, until a firm, smooth dough forms. It’s okay if there’s bits of potato poking through the dough.
Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured board and knead until elastic. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with a kitchen towel, and let rise for 2 hours or until doubled in size. When pressed with a finger, the dough should spring back slowly.
Right before the dough is ready to be punched down, prepare the glaze:
Whisk together the soy milk and potato starch in a small saucepan. Cook over a medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens slightly. Remove from the heat and cool before using.
Preheat the oven to 400°F. While the oven is preheating, lightly grease two 12-cup muffin tins. Punch down the dough, knead briefly on a floured board, and roll into two thick 14- to 16-inch ropes. Use kitchen shears or a sharp knife to slice the ropes into 1½- to 2-inch pieces. Lightly floured your hands and roll each piece into a ball the size of a walnut.
Place three balls of dough together in each muffin cup. Brush with glaze , sprinkle with poppy seeds, and very loosely cover with plastic wrap. Set aside for 25 to 35 minutes, until rolls have doubled in bulk.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the tops are shiny and browned. When the rolls are cool enough to touch, transfer from the pans to wire racks to complete cooling.
WHOLE WHEAT SODA BREAD WITH MILLET AND CURRANTS
 
MAKES 1 LARGE LOAF
TIME:
1 HOUR 30 MINUTES
 
 
Our whole-grain soda bread is a little like a giant scone—not too sweet, with a dense, chewy texture and slight crunch from a little cooked millet worked into the dough. The Zante currants plump up by being cooked along with the millet, in one amazing feat of culinary dexterity. This is not a traditional soda bread (even with the caraway seeds) in the slightest, but whatever! It’s Terry’s most favorite thing in whole world, sliced thinly and lightly toasted for breakfast or tea.
 
ZANTE currants are actually cute little seedless grapes, completely different from black currants. Zantes are still referred to as currants for some mysterious reason, are commonly used as such, and are a typically a lot cheaper. Look for them in your supermarket right next to the raisins. They have a zippy, intense flavor that can satisfy any yearning for “real” currants.
 
 
Millet:
1 teaspoon canola oil
½ cup millet, uncooked
1 cup boiling water
1½ cups Zante currants
 
Dough:
2 cups whole wheat flour (white whole wheat flour is
best)
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
⅓ cup sugar
1 heaping tablespoon caraway seeds
½ cup nonhydrogenated vegan margarine, cold
1¼ cups plain soy milk, plus additional soy milk for
brushing top of loaf
1½ teaspoons apple cider vinegar
 
PREHEAT THE oven to 375°F for at least 20 minutes. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan.
 
 
Prepare the millet:
 
In a saucepan, heat the canola oil over medium heat and add the millet. Stir constantly to toast the millet for 2 to 3 minutes, until golden and fragrant. Pour in the boiling water, stir in the currants, and cover. Cook for 18 to 20 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed and the millet is plump. Remove from the heat and fluff with a fork. Partially cover the millet and allow to cool to about room temperature.
 
 
Prepare the dough:
 
In a large bowl, sift together the whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir in the sugar and caraway seeds, then cut in the cold margarine with either a pastry cutter or two knives held together, until a crumbly mixture forms.
Combine 1¼ cups of the soy milk and the vinegar in a measuring cup, and allow it to sit for a minute or so to curdle. Stir the curdled soy milk and the cooled millet mixture into the flour mixture. When a dough starts to form, knead it a few times in the bowl to form a dense ball of dough (if it’s too moist, knead in more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time). Don’t overwork the dough.
 
➣
This bread keeps fresh for days longer than the average quick bread. Even so, loosely wrap it in foil or store in a resealable plastic bag.
 
➣
Bake this bread the old-fashioned way: Place a well-seasoned, 4-quart round cast-iron pot in the oven while it preheats and leave the pot there to get hot for about 30 minutes. Use oven mitts to lift the hot pot out of the oven and onto a burner on the stove. Dust the bottom of your loaf of dough with plenty of whole-grain flour, a little wheat bran, or even a touch of cornmeal. Very carefully, lower the shaped, scored, uncooked loaf into the pot (don’t burn your fingers. If necessary, just let the loaf drop into the pot). Quickly return the pot, uncovered, to the oven and bake as directed. The dough will not stick to a hot, well-seasoned pot.
Pat the ball of dough into the prepared cake pan, allowing a ½-inch space all around from the edge of the pan, to form a round loaf. With a thin, sharp knife, cut a cross into the top of the loaf. Brush the top of loaf with soy milk, and brush it a few more times during the baking process. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes until it is well browned and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
FRESH ROSEMARY FOCACCIA
 
MAKES 1 LARGE, FLAT LOAF

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