Bryanna Clark Grogan’s Vegan Feast Kitchen/ 23rd Century Table

The two recipes below; sourdough loaf on the left, yeast sponge loaf on the right.



If you're in the Portland area this weekend, come to Veg Fest and introduce yourself! I'll be doing a demo with author Julie Hasson at 10:30 AM on Saturday. Julie Hasson

Now, onto bread!

When I did my post on grinding my own wholewheat flour with the Wondermill and making a light loaf of 100% wholewheat bread with it, a reader asked me if that recipe would work in a bread machine.


The Wondermill

My oven-baked 100% wholewheat bread

Well, I finally tried it and it was a disaster-- well, it actually tasted pretty good and I used it for toast, but it fell in the middle and it was kind of coarse and very dark in color. Obviously, that recipe is best made the old-fashioned way!

I decided to stick with a tried-and-true wholewheat loaf with more potato in it than in my oven recipe. Potato is a great lightener-upper of wholegrain breads! I also used the sponge method-- which is basically leaving the liquid, yeast and half the flour (a batter) to rise for several hours before adding the remaining ingredients and turning on the machine cycle. One recipe uses a yeast sponge and the other a sourdough sponge. Otherwise they are pretty much the same.

Why bother with this extra step?

It's all about umami, the "fifth flavor", the "essence of deliciousness". It turns out that bland old wheat gluten contains umami compounds.

Mushrooms and fungi are a great source of synergizing umami. Yeasts (both active, and non-active nutritional yeast and yeast extract, such as Marmite), which is also a fungi (and this includes sourdough, a natural yeast) , have umami compounds. They also act as synergizers. For instance, in a live yeast or sourdough starter, the enzymic action develops the umami in wheat flour to "ripen" the dough and develop its flavor.

Now this brings me to a favorite hobbyhorse-- I've been writing for years that fast-risen breads seem tasteless, and most bread machine breads have a "homogenized" flavor no matter what you put into them. I knew that this was due to the lack of rising time, which develops enzymes and "ripens" the dough and improves the crust. I've been telling people for a long time to try making their bread machine breads with an overnight sponge, or the addition of sourdough starter. But I had no idea that it was umami at work!

So, I give you here two versions of a bread that I have been making for years and which I re-vamped for the bread machine. They both come out nicely-shaped, light and tender, AND with excellent crumb, crust and flavor!

NOTE ABOUT FLOUR: Canadian flour is higher in gluten (protein) than US flour, so Canadians can use ordinary wholewheat flour.  Americans might want to use wholewheat bread flour.



Printable Recipe

BRYANNA'S VERY LIGHT, MOIST BASIC 100% WHOLEWHEAT ABM BREAD (SPONGE METHOD)

This is an adaptation of a recipe I have made in the oven for years. This recipe makes a tender, light wholewheat bread. You can use this as a base for all sorts of variations. NUTRITIONAL ANALYSIS done using water, 2 T. sugar, no soymilk or soy protein.

I make the sponge just before I go to bed at night, and add the other ingredients first thing in the morning and start the machine.

Sponge:
1 cup warm water
1 cup wholewheat flour (can be white wholewheat flour)
1/2 tsp dry active baking yeast (or 1/3 tsp instant yeast)

Finishing Bread:
3/4 cup mashed russet potato (plain, no milk or salt)
Time-saver: use 3/4 c. instant mashed potato flakes mixed with 1/2 c. boiling water instead of cooked potato.
1-2 Tbs sugar
2 Tbs oil
OPTIONAL: 1 T. soy flour or soymilk powder
1/2 Tbs salt
2 cup whole wheat flour (can be white wholewheat flour)
1/2 tsp dry active baking yeast (or 1/3 tsp instant yeast)

Sponge: (Mix this 4-8 hours before you start the bread machine cycle-- you can do it before you go to bed at night.)

Mix in the bread machine container (this is the one I have) the water 1 cup flour, and 1/2 tsp. yeast on the dough cycle for 5-10 minutes, then unplug. Cover the container with plastic wrap and let it rise.

After the sponge has risen (4-8 hours), add the mashed potato, sugar, oil, salt, flour and the remaining yeast, in that order.

Set on the Basic Cycle. Check the dough during the first knead to make sure that it is neither too dry, not too wet. If it's too dry, add water by the tablespoonful, letting it knead in, until it looks right. (I often have to add 1 T. or so-it kind of depends on how dry the potatoes are.) If it's too wet, do the same with flour. This is a wet dough but still rises well. It's fine as long as it kneads well, even if it looks a little sticky.

If you want a more attractive top crust to the bread, 5 minutes before the bread is due to bake (I set my kitchen timer to remind me of this), you can make a decorative slash in the top of the bread with a razor blade, and you can also glaze the bread with some soymilk, using a pastry brush, or sprinkle the top with some flour.



Cover the "window" in the top of your machine with foil, so that the top of the bread will brown properly. Remove the bread immediately from the machine when done, placing on a rack to cool thoroughly. This will insure a crisp crust.





Yield: 1 3/4 lb. loaf (10 large slices)

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per 1/2 slice): 103.9 calories; 14% calories from fat; 1.7g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 175.5mg sodium; 129.7mg potassium; 20.2g carbohydrates; 2.8g fiber; 1.0g sugar; 17.4g net carbs; 3.2g protein; 1.7 points.





Printable Recipe
BRYANNA'S VERY LIGHT, MOIST BASIC 100% WHOLEWHEAT ABM BREAD (with sourdough starter and yeast)

This is almost the same as the wholewheat sponge bread above, but with a wholewheat sourdough starter used as well as the yeast. I think it is a bit superior, but they are both good! NUTRITIONAL ANALYSIS done using water, 2 T. sugar, no soymilk or soy protein.

1/2 cup plus 1 T. water, potato water or nondairy milk (make it hot if the sourdough starter is cold out of the fridge)
1 cup bubbly, fresh wholewheat sourdough starter (see Notes below)
3/4 cup mashed russet potato (plain, no milk or salt)
Time-saver:use 3/4 c. instant mashed potato flakes (you can buy organic ones) mixed with 1/2 c. boiling water instead of cooked potato.
1-2 Tbs sugar or other sweetener
2 Tbs oil
OPTIONAL: 1 T. soy flour or soymilk powder
1/2 Tbs salt
2 2/3 cups wholewheat flour (can be white wholewheat flour)
1 tsp dry active baking yeast (or 3/4 tsp instant yeast)

Set your machine (this is the one I have) on the Basic Cycle. Check the dough during the first knead to make sure that it is neither too dry, not too wet. If it's too dry, add water by the tablespoonful, letting it knead in, until it looks right. If it's too wet, do the same with flour. This is a wet dough but still rises well. It's fine as long as it kneads well, even if it looks a little sticky.

If you want a more attractive top crust to the bread, 5 minutes before the bread is due to bake (I set my kitchen timer to remind me of this), you can make a decorative slash in the top of the bread with a razor blade, and you can also glaze the bread with some soymilk, using a pastry brush, or sprinkle the top with some flour.



Cover the "window" in the top of your machine with foil, so that the top of the bread will brown properly. Remove the bread immediately from the machine when done, placing on a rack to cool thoroughly. This will insure a crisp crust.

Yield: 1 and 3/4 lb. loaf; 10 large slices

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per 1/2 slice): 107.1 calories; 14% calories from fat; 1.7g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 175.3mg sodium; 123.9mg potassium; 20.9g carbohydrates; 2.6g fiber; 1.6g sugar; 18.4g net carbs; 3.1g protein; 1.8 points.

SOURDOUGH STARTER: If you already have a white sourdough starter, use 1/4 cup of it to make a wholewheat starter. You can get a very good free starter online here: Oregon Trail Sourdough Starter. I have been using this one for several years. You can also email me for my vegan yogurt-based sourdough starter instructions. Refresh the starter before using it in this bread-- it has to be fresh and bubbly!

Enjoy!

We ran out of bread the other day. Strange, because Brian bakes bread for special customers, and I bake, too. But it was all sold. So, at Brian's request, I made my crusty bread. I don't call this bread "artisinal", but it's very crusty, and tasty. This particular recipe does not need a starter, but you make a "sponge", a sort of quick starter to get things going. Since you can rise this sponge in an hour, you can make the bread without planning ahead. Or you have the option of rising the sponge overnight.

This type of bread is actually a very simple one and easy to make. Just remember not to try and speed it up by using more yeast or skipping a rising-- it needs time to develop flavor and texture. It also needs a hot oven and some moisture at the beginning of the baking, to develop "oven spring" (the last burst of rising) and to form a golden crust.

You will notice that this bread, like most European breads, contains no sweetener or oil. The yeast can feed off the natural sugars in the flour, so needs no sugar. The lack of oil gives the bread a crisp crust and chewy texture, as you expect with this type of bread, but makes it stale fast. So, if you aren't going to eat it within a day, freeze it.

The first baking, I used all unbleached flour with the bran, I rose the sponge in a warm kitchen for 1 1/2 hours, and I used my Bosch Universal Mixer with a dough hook to mix the dough. I didn't bother with a baking stone this time (I did use both the pan of water in the bottom of the oven, and sprayed the loaves with water 3 times at the beginning), but the crust was super crunchy! I confess that I ate one crusty end and another slice for lunch, warm from the oven!

The second baking, this afternoon, I used 2 cups of wholewheat flour and 4 cups of unbleached flour, and mixed, kneaded and rose the bread in my Oster bread machine. It came out very well, too. See the photos at the bottom of this post.



BRYANNA’S BASIC CRUSTY BREAD
2 loaves or 12-16 rolls

1/2 Tbsp. dry active baking yeast (or 1 tsp. instant or fast-acting yeast)
2 cups very warm water
2 1/2 cups unbleached flour (or use 3 cups wholewheat flour and omit the bran)
1/2 cup wheat bran
2 tsp. salt
3 cups unbleached flour

In a large bowl or bowl of a heavy-duter mixer dissolve the yeast in the water for about 5 minutes. Stir in the first 3 c. of flour and the salt. Beat well, cover with plastic wrap and let this "sponge" (batter) rise for 1 or 2 hours in a warm spot OR overnight in the refrigerator.

Stir in the last 3 c. flour a little at a time, adding only as much as necessary to make a kneadable dough. Knead the dough with the dough hook of a heavy-duty mixer or by hand on a lightly-floured surface for about 10-15 minutes. Add a little more flour as needed, but be careful not to make the dough too dry-- it should be moist but not sticky, and very pliable.

Slam the dough down hard on the surface a few times after kneading (to get rid of air bubbles). Place the dough in a large lightly-oiled bowl, cover well and let rise at room temperature until doubled. Punch down.

Punch the dough down and divide it in half. Shape the dough into 2 long loaves, or rounds or braided loaves, or into 12-16 loaf-shaped rolls. Place on a non-stick or lightly-oiled cookie sheet sprinkled with cornmeal or semolina cereal (cream of wheat). (If you are baking on stones or tiles, place the loaves on greased and well-floured flat cookie sheets with no lip or rim, or on pieces of stiff cardboard covered with greased and well-floured baking parchment.) Sprinkle the tops with flour, cover with slightly damp clean tea towels or place inside of large plastic bags, and let rise at room temperature until doubled.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (convection 425 degrees F).

(If using unglazed tiles or baking stones, preheat them in the oven as well.)

In order to generate steam in the oven, you can place a shallow pan of hot water in the bottom of the oven, AND/OR squirt the loaves and the walls of the oven two or three times in the first 10-15 minutes of baking with cold water in a plant mister.

Before baking, slash the loaves in several places with the tip of a new razor blade. (I make four slashes in a square on round loaves.) Place the cookie sheet on the middle oven rack. (If baking on tiles or stones, slide the loaves or rolls onto the hot stones or tiles.) Spray with water from a plant mister. Bake 5 minutes. Spray again. Bake 5 more minutes. Spray again. Bake 5 more minutes. (If you are using a pan of water in the oven, remove it at this point.)



Bake 15-20 minutes more, or until the bread is a rich golden brown. (Rolls will take less time and a convection oven will also probably take less time.) Remove bread from pans and cool on racks.

When the bread has cooled, you can freeze it wrapped in foil, then reheat it wrapped in the foil at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes.

TO MAKE THE DOUGH IN A BREAD MACHINE:

Making sticky bread doughs in a modern bread machine is a wonderful time-saver, and certainly very clean (no messy hands or counter). But you must bake the bread in a regular or convection oven, or you will be disappointed, even if you have a "crusty bread" or "French bread" selection on your machine.

If your bread machine makes large (2 lb.) loaves, it can probably handle kneading the whole recipe. If it's an old one with a smaller capacity, you may have to knead half a recipe at a time.

Make the sponge first. You can let it rise right in the bread machine pan. When it has risen, add the remaining flour. Select the dough cycle and let it go to work. You can remove it from the machine after it has kneaded and rise it in a bowl, or, if the your container is big enough for the dough to double, let it rise through the entire dough cycle, then remove for the final rising and proceed with the recipe as instructed above.

FOOD PROCESSOR DOUGH: You can make this dough in a large food processor, or in two batches in a medium food processor, following the directions given with your machine. Mix and rise the sponge in a bowl first. Process the final dough ("knead") for 60 seconds.

PICS OF THE SECOND BAKING:

Before rising:


Ready for the oven:


After 5 minutes in the oven: