How To Make Vegan No-Knead Bread From Scratch

Purpose: If you've never done baking, this is where to start. Quick and easy way to make bread that do not require kneading. There are many blogs about no-knead breads, but I notice that they are missing many steps for people that they don't know anything about baking like myself:-) Here is the trick about no-knead breads, the whole process takes 12 hours with about 15 minutes hands-on time! Why 12 hours? Because no-knead bread rises so slowly at room temperature. No spacial kitchen tools are really needed except a Dutch oven!

 

Ingredients:

1. 3 1/2 cups of all purpose white bread flour (Five Roses)

2. 1 1/2 cups of water

3. 2 teaspoons of salt (Baleine Sea Salt)

4. 1/4 teaspoon of instant yeast (Instaferm 01)

Instructions:

1. Weigh out 3 1/2 cups of all purpose white bread flour and add it to a large size bowl.

 

2. Add  11/2 cups of water, 2 teaspoons of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of yeast to the same bowl.

3. Stir until it looks like a shaggy dough (5 minutes should do it)

4. Cover the dough with a plastic wrap or Tupperware at a room temperature for almost 8 to 10 hours as soon as the dough doubles in size  (Don't overproof it. An overproofed dough won't expand much during baking)

5. Cut a large parchment paper and place it on a tray and sprinkle some flour on the paper (just a thin layer)

6. Scoop the dough out,  shape it to a large ball, and place it onto the parchment paper. Cover the dough with a kitchen towel and let is rise for an hour "or" double in size.

7. Preheat the oven to 450 F, half an hour after you transferred the dough onto the paper (previous step)

8. Place the empty Dutch oven with its lid on in the oven and wait for 30 minutes.

9. Now the Dutch oven is hot and dough has been risen at the same time. Get the Dutch oven out of the oven and place the parchment paper (with the dough on it) inside the dutch oven, put the lid on, and place the dutch oven back on the rack in the oven for 20 minutes.

10. Remove the lid and bake for 15 minutes more.

11. Remove the Dutch oven and transfer the parchment paper and the loaf and on a flat surface (top of the stove or the counter) and let it cool.

How To Make Vegan Whole Wheat Bread Loaves From Scratch

Purpose: Why did I write this blog? Remember the rule of 3. You can't go without air for three minutes, without water for three days, without food for three weeks. What would you want to eat if you are allowed to eat one thing for the whole three weeks? See how Corona virus have changed my thought process. It's all about surviving now:-)

We went for our daily stroll on Sunday morning. It was a beautiful quiet morning. You can hear birds chirping monotonously . As we walked by the Bentway, our new public space below Gardiner Expressway in Toronto, we noticed that Garrsion Crossing bridges are now open that connect Fort York grounds in the south to Trinity Bellwoods park in the north, which means I have a new route for my afternoon runs. I love running. It clears my mind and gives me new ideas, mostly small bite-size projects. I was thinking on what I am going to do or learn today? How about rule of 3?  What would I want to eat if I had one thing to eat for three weeks? How about a loaf of bread? But do I even know how to make one? Then I learned, you can't make the bread in less than "three" hours, but it was worth it. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1. 6 1/2 cups of all purpose whole wheat bread flour (Robin Hood)

2. 1 1/2 cups of all purpose while bread flour

3. 1 Tbsp of salt (Baleine Sea Salt)

4. 2 Tbsp of instant yeast (Fleischmann's)

5. 2 Tbsp sugar or maple syrup

6. 3 cups of water

7. 3/4 cup olive oil

8. optional: 1 tsp black sesame seeds

9. optional: 1 tsp white sesame seeds

10. optional: 1 tsp caraway seeds

Instructions:

1. Weigh out 6 1/2 cups of all purpose whole wheat bread flour and add it to a large size bowl.

2. Add 1/2 cup olive oil, 1 Tbsp salt, and 2 Tbsp sugar (or maple syrup) to the same bowl.

3.  Add 2 Tbsp of instant yeast. If you don't have instant yeast, like I didn't, just add 2 Tbsp of yeast in a cup of water for 10 minutes.

4. Now you need to knead it till it looks like a biggly smooth ball (it took me 10 minutes). You might have to add more olive oil or water if it's too dry.

5. Place the dough in a large size Tupperware and coat it with olive oil.

 6. Put the lid on and let it stay there for 60-120 minutes to rise double in size.

7. Cut two large parchment papers and place them on two large size trays. You can also use a loaf pan instead.

8. Scoop the dough out, split them into two loaves  and place them into parchment papers.

9. Knead and form the dough into two round/long loaves. Use your imagination, but keep in mind that they will get doubled in size!

10. Optional: sprinkle a bit of sea salt, white/black sesame seeds and/or caraway seeds.

11. Let them rise again for another hour until double in size. We are going to bake one loaf at a time. After one hour, put one tray in the fridge (otherwise it will become overproof)!

12. Preheat the oven to 425 F.

13. Get a roasting pan and fill it up with water and place it at the bottom rack of the oven to create steam 20 minutes before putting the tray in the oven (basically 40 minutes after the second rise).

14. Once the oven is ready at 425,  place one tray in the middle rack of the oven above the roasting pan.

15. Let it bake for 35 minutes until bread loaves sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.

16. Take the first tray out and place the other tray in the middle rack of the oven above the roasting pan and let it bake for 35 minutes.

17. Turn off the oven and  let it cool on the rack of the oven.

18. I am done. I am going to survive. Only for next three weeks though:-)

How To Make Vegan Cinnamon Buns From Scratch

Purpose: You can't accomplish anything in your life if you don't have a purpose. Why did I write this blog? I have never baked my whole entire life. Not quite true. I made Focaccia 4 years ago and learned how to make pizza dough yesterday. The instructions are all under "Chef Hooman" blogs. But that's it. I also know how to make good rice, and I certainly love cinnamon buns - smell of it - taste of it - the way it melts in my mouth, and once it's down, I say to myself "total satisfaction". I made this blog for people like myself, software engineers that do not know how to cook. It's totally fool proof and easy to follow. After Coronavirus inflicted so much fear and deaths around the world, and we were all forced to spend more time at home, I promised myself one thing. I am not going to let this plague to become bogeyman of my dreams and I am going to learn something new. Hope you do the same. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1. 3 cups of all purpose bread flour (Robin Hood)

2. 1 cup unsweetened Almond Breeze (Almond Breeze)

3. 1/4 tsp of salt (Baleine Sea Salt)

4. 21/4 tsp of instant yeast (Fleischmann's)

5. 1 Tbsp sugar

6. 3 Tbsp Earth Balance (Earth Balance)

7. 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon

8. 5 Tbsp coconut oil

9. 2 Tbsp icing sugar (Redpath icing sugar)

Instructions:

1. Add one cup of almond milk to a medium size bowl.

2. Add 3 Tbsp of coconut oil to the bowl.

3. Heat up the almond milk and coconut oil mixture in the microwave for couple of minutes. It should not be boiling (it will kill the yeast). So check it out at 30-second intervals until it is bath water warm.

4. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl and add 2 1/4 tsp of instant yeast. If you don't have instant yeast, like I didn't, just add 2 1/4 tsp of yeast in a cup of water for 10 minutes.

5. Add 1 Tbsp sugar and the salt and stir.

6. Add in 3 cups of flour in 1/2 cup increments at a time and stir for 30 seconds.

7. Now you need to get serious and start mixing it using your beloved hand till it looks like a ball (it took me 5 minutes). Do not knead flour for too long, you don't want to overmix it.

8. Dump the ball shaped dough in a medium size Tupperware and coat it with melted Earth Balance.

 9. Put the lid on and let it stay there for 60 minutes to rise double in size.

10. Cut a large tray size parchment paper and cover it with a thin layer of flour to avoid sticking the dough to the paper while we are rolling.

11. Cover the rolling pin with flour as well.

12. Scoop the dough out on the baking sheet (parchment paper) and spread the dough to cover the whole baking sheet into a thin rectangle using rolling pin.

13. Keep rolling for 5 to 10 minutes if you really want to make it thin.

14. Once you start rolling, the dough gets out of shape. To make it to a rectangle you might have to fold the edges and keep rolling.

15. Hopefully, yours is better than mine, but I am giving up at this point.

16. Brush it with melted coconut oil or melted Earth Balance and top it up with sugar and cinnamon.

17. Roll up the dough  tightly from one side.

18. Brush a pan with coconut oil or melted Earth Balance.

19.  Cut the dough into one inch slices with a serrated knife. Slice through the dough like you are sawing!

20. Let it sit and rise again for another 60 minutes.

21. Notice that after 60 minutes the gaps between the buns are all filled. Brush the rolls with melted Earth Balance before you put the pan in the oven.

22. Preheat the oven to 350 F. And once the oven is ready, place the pan in the oven between 25 to 30 minutes until it looks golden brown.

23. Let it cool and frost it with a mixture of half a cup of icing sugar and 2 Tsp Almond Breeze for the topping.

24. It's all ready! Enjoy it.

How To Make Pizza From Scratch

Ingredients:

1. 800 grams of all purpose bread flour (Robin Hood)

2. 500 ml filtered water

3. 16 grams of salt (Baleine Sea Salt)

4. 4 grams of instant yeast (Fleischmann's)

5. 20 ml of Olive oil (Irini Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

Directions:

1. Weigh out 800 grams of all purpose bread/pizza flour in a medium size bowl.

2. Add 16 grams of salt.

3. Add 4 grams of instant yeast. If you don't have instant yeast, like I didn't, just add 4 grams of yeast in a cup of water for couple of minutes and add the mixture in the medium size bowl.

4. Place 500 ml water in a large size bowl.

5. Combine flour/salt/yeast mixture into water in the large size bowl.

6. Whisk the flour mixture in the large size bowl.

7. Add 20 ml of olive oil and start mixing it using your beloved hand.

8. Mix the dough till it looks like a ball (it took me 10 minutes). Then divide the dough into 4 equal pieces(shaped like a ball), and place them in 4  small to medium size Tupperware, and dump the ball into the container (Tupperware). Put the lid on and let it stay there for 72 hours in the fridge.

9. You should clean up the counter now :-) That part was a bit messy. The idea is to make everything stick together to look like a smooth dough.

10. Cut a large piece of parchment paper.

11. Get the dough out of the Tupperware, allow your dough balls within 1 hour to come to room temperature.

12. Scoop it out on a plate on white flour and cover the dough with the flour on both sides.

13. Transfer the dough to the parchment paper and start stretching it out. Make sure you have the bubbles in the middle and crust on the edge.

14. Toppings are different. I am going to make a vegan pizza, so I chose:

a) Field Roast Italian Sausage
b) Basil Pesto Sauce
c) dalya smoked gouda favor dairy-free cheese
d) Zengarry creamy dairy-free swiss cheese
e) Kanko Bread Crumbs
f)  La San Marzano Tomato Sauce
g) Red pepper
h) Olive Oil
i) Lemon
j) Asparagus
k) potato

15. Spread 5 or 6 Tbsp pesto or tomato sauce to the dough.

16. Add some slices of potato and asparagus

17. Add some red pepper and bread crumbs mixed with finely graded lemon rind

18. Add some olive oil

19. Preheat the oven to 500 F.  And once it's ready, put the parchment paper in the oven between 5 to 10 minutes on a hot stone.

20. It's ready. We did it.