(Vegan) Brioche: Baking Through the Bread Baker's Apprentice

This is the first recipe that gave me pause. First, I have never had brioche in my life so I was not sure what the end result was supposed to be like. Second, the recipe calls for 5 eggs, which meant that veganizing was going to be a bit of a challenge. From what I can gather, brioche is all about working in as much butter as possible into the dough whilst adding eggs to up the protein content so the brioche actually holds its shaped when baked. Thankfully, Reinhart provides three versions with varying amounts of butter. I went with the middle class brioche recipe figuring that 1 cup of margarine would be easier to work with (rather than the 2 cups in the upper class recipe) and therefore my egg substitutes would have a better chance of actually doing what they were supposed to do. The end result was absolute perfection: a light, delicate, and tender brioche that rose like a dream. I was more than pleased, especially because I guessed on how to best replace the eggs.

GENERAL NOTES
1. I only refrigerated the dough for the minimum time (4 hours) and had great results. I imagine, though, that leaving it overnight would make the dough even more tender.
2. I don't have brioche pans so I put the brioches a tete in muffin tins. I made 16.
3. Because I used Earth Balance, I added only a pinch of salt to the dough.
4. I used Method 2 to shape the brioche.

VEGAN NOTES
1. I replaced the milk with plain soy milk.
2. My thought on the eggs was to replace the weight of the eggs (8.5 oz) with a mixture of egg replacers. I whisked 2 tbsp of ground flax into 1/3 cup of water (final weight 3 oz). I then blended in 2 oz of soy yogurt, and 3.5 oz of silken tofu with an immersion blender. I have no idea if these proportions can be altered, I just know they worked for me.
3. I added 1 tbsp vital wheat gluten to the dough.
4. I replaced the butter with Earth Balance margarine.
5. I brushed the brioche with soy milk instead of an egg white wash.

Bagels: Baking Through the Bread Baker's Apprentice

Next on the baking challenge: bagels. I have made this recipe many times and have always had great results. I have blogged about these bagels before (you may recognize the pic above), and have even provided my own variations. These bagels are chewy and soft and absolutely amazing. I have not made them for a while so it was nice to revisit an old favourite.

GENERAL NOTES:
1. The recipe says it makes 12 large or 24 mini bagels, but they are pretty big bagels. I usually make 16 bagels so they aren't too huge. Even the "mini" bagels are a pretty good size. If I bake these for the kids' lunches I make a 50g boule and shape it into a true mini bagel.
2. The recipe calls for high-gluten or bread four. I have tried adding in some vital wheat gluten to the bread flour to up the gluten content but I don't like the texture this gives the final dough. I prefer just adding a bit more bread flour to get a stiff dough.
3. I always find that the bagels brown unevenly in the oven, but it does not seem to matter too much. Rotate the pans to brown them as evenly as possible, but I find that the bagels are done after 10 mins even if they are lightly browned.

VEGAN NOTES
- none

Leek, Onion and Potato Soup

I really need to think up more clever names for my dishes. This soup starts with inspiration from French Onion Soup but ends with delicious chunks of sweet potato and white kidney beans. You will notice that this recipe calls for a lot of leeks--that is because I had a bunch of them in the fridge that needed to be used up before they went bad. Feel free to cut down on the leeks by adding more onions. To my utter amazement, the kids bolted the soup right down and gave it two thumbs up.

INGREDIENTS
Serves 6
- 2 tbsp oil
- 2 tbsp margarine
- 2 large sweet onions, halved and sliced
- 6 leeks, white and light greens part, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups red wine
- 5 cups water or veggie stock
- 2 tsp sage
- 1/2 tsp coriander
- 1 tsp marjoram
- 1 tsp oregano
- 2 tsp mushroom soy sauce (or regular)
- salt and pepper to taste (heavy on the pepper)
- 3 large red potatoes, peeled, small dice
- 1 medium sweet potato, peeled, small dice
- 1 19 0z can white kidney beans, rinsed and drained

METHOD
1. Heat oil and margarine in a large pot over medium heat. Add in onions and and saute for a few mins until they begin to soften. Then add in leeks and garlic and mix well. Once things are sizzling along, reduce heat to med-lo and cook, uncovered, for 45-60 mins, until onions and leeks become a nice golden brown. Stir occasionally to keep from sticking.
2. Add wine to the pot and stir to deglaze. Add in water, spices, soy sauce, potatoes and beans. Bring to bubbling, then reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 30-45 mins, until potatoes are soft but not mushy. Adjust seasoning to taste and serve.

Artos (Greek Celebration Bread): Baking Through the Bread Baker's Apprentice

On to recipe two in The Bread Baker's Apprentice! As you can see by the self-explanatory title, artos is Greek celebration bread, and Reinhart provides the baker with three variations: a plain loaf, one for Christmas, and one for Easter. Since I didn't have any particular religious holiday to celebrate I make a more plain loaf but added in the fruit and nuts of the Christmas loaf thinking the end result would be something like a cinnamon raisin bread we could eat for breakfast. I also made the glaze but did not have any sesame seeds on hand as he suggests.

GENERAL NOTES:
1. This is one big loaf--somewhere between an American football and a rugby ball. Reinhart's instructions call for a boule, but I made more of a batard. Next time I would make an even longer batard (or even two loaves) since the final loaf was a tad unruly.
2. Unless I am making this for a holiday, I would skip the glaze next time since it was a real pain to bag up a sticky loaf of bread. I found I needed half as much as the recipe calls for, but I suppose if you made the variation with all the fancy decorations that would result in more surface area and the need for more glaze.
3. Possibly because of the vegan substitutes (below), I had to add in about 3/4 cup more flour than is called for. However, I usually find Reinhart's recipes heavy on the liquid (or light on flour) and I always end up using the minimum amount called for.
4. I used sourdough starter instead of the poolish, which meant I could make the bread in one evening.
5. I baked the loaf for the full 45 mins.

VEGAN NOTES:
1. I substituted maple syrup for the honey in the loaf and the glaze. It did not make anything taste maple-y.
2. I used 1/2 cup of soy yogurt for the 2 eggs.
3. I used full fat plain soy milk for the milk.

Indian Kale and Split Peas

This is my final installment of new Indian dishes. For whatever reason, my kids ate this up with no complaints despite the obvious presence of leafy greens. I have found that I have to remove the tough stems from kale because my youngest often chokes and gags as he tries to chew and swallow them. It makes for a rather unpleasant meal. While I usually like my greens lightly cooked and still bright green, cooking the greens together with the split peas and spices for an hour makes for a wonderful flavour and soft texture. I made the dish fairly dry, but you could add more water and some tomato paste at the end to make a sauce so the dish coul dbe served over rice.

INGREDIENTS
- 2 tbsp oil
- 2 onions, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 cup yellow split peas, rinsed
- 1 cup water (more if needed)
- 1 tomato, diced
- 1 tsp tumeric
- salt to taste
- 1 bunch kale, rinsed and chopped (stems removed, optional)

METHOD
1. Heat margarine in a large pot over medium heat. Saute onions and garlic for 5-7 mins, until soft and translucent. Add garam masala and chili powder and fry for 1 min.
2. Add split peas, water, tomato, tumeric, and salt and bring to bubbling. Let bubble for 5 mins, then add kale. Stir until wilted, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 60-75 minutes, until split peas are cooked. Check periodically to stir, adding more water if too dry.