Ciabatta: Baking Through the Bread Baker's Apprentice

I love this recipe. I have blogged about it before and I make it on a regular basis. I have made the poolish version and the biga version, and have made it with water and with soymilk. This time I made ciabatta rolls so I can enjoy some tasty sandwiches this week.

GENERAL NOTES
1. I prefer making this with water, since it makes for a nice chewy loaf with the characteristic holes. Soy milk is nice if you want a softer loaf.
2. I prefer the poolish version.
3. To make the rolls, I divided the dough into 10 portions, then folded each one like the larger loaf. I baked them for 14 mins.
4. I make the dough with the full 6 oz of water, and sometimes a few splashes more. A wet dough is what leads to the holey structure.
5. I have never made this by hand, but instead rely on my stand mixer to work the dough.

VEGAN NOTES
None, other than the soy milk not above.

Challah: Baking Through the Bread Baker's Apprentice

Several months ago a reader asked if I had a vegan challah recipe to share, and I fired off some vague reply about getting around to veganizing Reinhart's recipe. I really hope that person is still reading the blog because this turned out rather well, I think. Of course, I have never actually had challah before, so I have nothing to compare it to. You might be able to tell from the pic that I totally messed up the braiding. Turns out, its just like a regular braid but I thought Reinhart was teaching me some new braiding system. Lesson learned for next time.

GENERAL NOTES
1. I made one large braided loaf--it was a pretty big loaf.
2. I made the dough with 7 oz of water, but I would up it next time to make it a little more pliable.

VEGAN NOTES
1. I replaced the eggs with an equal weight of soy yogurt.
2. I replaced the egg yolks with 1 tbsp of ground flax whisked into enough water to make the 1.25 oz called for.
3. I used soy milk instead of an egg white wash.

Tarka Dhal

My teaching schedule is really cramping my cooking this semester. A late afternoon course twice a week means needing to have large pots of food cooked up the day before so leftovers can be served up quick for the kids. This is a toned down version of tarka dahl. There are supposed to be dried red chiles in the onion mixture to give the dish some zing, but there is no way the kids will go for any "spiky" dishes. Feel free to punch this up as you see fit.

INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup red lentils, rinsed
- 2 1/4 cup water
- 1" piece of ginger, minced
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1/4 tsp tumeric
- salt to taste
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 large sweet onion, halved and sliced
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tomato, chopped

METHOD
1. Place lentils, water, ginger, garlic, tumeric and salt in a pot. Bring to boil, reduce heat, loosely cover, and simmer until lentil are thoroughly cooked (about 1/2 hour). Add more water, if needed, or uncover if too runny.
2. Heat oil in a frying pan over med-hi heat. Saute onion with mustard seeds until it turns a nice golden brown. Add in tomato and cook for 2 mins.
3. Pour onion mixture over the lentils, garnish with cilantro, and serve.

Casatiello: Baking Through the Bread Baker's Apprentice

This is a version of brioche done Italian style, and the non-vegan version is supposed to be loaded with cheese and salami. For one insane moment I thought about replacing that with vegan cheese and meat, but quickly decided that the final product would probably be pretty gross. Instead, I went with sundried tomatoes for bursts of flavour, and some nutritional yeast for a more cheesy flavour. I also used Ener-G egg replacer this time, but felt that yogurt or silken tofu would have made for a moister loaf.

GENERAL NOTES
1. While I was intrigued with the idea of baking the loaf in a bag, I opted instead for 9" round pans. Reinhart calls for 8" round pans, but I don't have any. The final loaf was slightly thinner, but filled the pan just fine.
2. Because the thinner loaf, I baked the loaves for a total of 35 mins, instead of 40.

VEGAN NOTES
1. I replaced the milk with soy milk.
2. I replaced the eggs with 2 Ener-G eggs, but would opt for soy yogurt next time.
3. I replaced the butter with Earth Balance, and so I did not add any salt into the dough.
4. I replace the salami with 4oz sundried tomatoes in oil, drained, and chopped.
5. I added 1/3 cup of nutritional yeast to the dough.

Roasted Vegetable Ragout

We spent the afternoon hiking through the snowy woods, so this thick and hearty stew made for the perfect dinner. I really apologize for the truly terrible picture--the colour is reminiscent of those pictures of luncheon meats from the 70s they used to hang over the deli counter in the grocery store. I love the combination of vermouth, tomato, and basil in this dish, and I like a stew so thick you can eat it off a plate. Roasting is worth the extra time to bring out the sweetness of the onions, but feel free to use whatever veggies you want.

INGREDIENTS
- 1 large sweet onion, cut into wedges
- 3 red potatoes, diced
- 2 large carrots, sliced
- 6 garlic cloves, chopped
- 15 Brussels sprouts, halved
- 1 19oz can white kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 2 tbsp oil
- salt and pepper
- 2 tsp basil
- 1 28oz can diced tomatoes, drained
- 2/3 cup dry vermouth
- 1 cup spaghetti sauce

METHOD
Preheat oven to 450 degrees
1. Toss veggies and beans in oil, season with salt and pepper, and then mix in basil. Spread out on a heavy baking sheet with sides (I used a stoneware sheet). Drain tomatoes very well and spread out over veggies. Bake for about 1 hour, turning veggies every 20 mins, until cooked and nicely browned.
2. Transfer veggies into a large pot. Add in vermouth and bring to bubbling. Cook for 10-15 mins, until reduced, then stir in spaghetti sauce. Bring to bubbling again, adjust seasoning, and serve. If the Brussels sprouts need more cooking, reduce heat, cover, and simmer until tender.