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

It's been over a year since I wrote a new blog post!  I just didn't seem to have the drive or energy to experiment or write, as I had a long, drawn-out case of shingles and I'm still on medication for the resulting nerve pain. The nerve pain from shingles really drained my energy and ambition, and I was basically making simple food

But, the good news is that I am feeling much better and regaining my energy and interest in cooking and writing. (I hope to get back to writing a blog post every week!) As you may have read in past posts from the summer of 2019, back to March of 2018, I was diagnosed with pre-diabetes, which inspired my interest in a low-glycemic diet. My blood sugar levels are now just over the line into diabetic.  But, it's low enough that if I get back into dancing, walking and exercising more frequently, and keep learning about and implementing new information about low-glycemic living, I may be able to beat this.

Just one of the items of interest in my search is low-glycemic baking.  I have always loved baking bread and I don't intend to give it up!  For this last year or so I have been eating pretty much only sprouted grain bread (a Canadian brand from the Vancouver area called Silver Hills Bakery).  The sprouted wheat can be ground and kneaded into a strong bread dough (see this blog post). The miraculous thing is that (to explain it in a very simple way), when there are just little white "beads" showing at the point of the grains, the sprouts have used up most, if not all, of the carbohydrate in the grains, making the dough low-glycemic. I definitely want to get back into making that sprouted wheat bread now and then, but I'm also investigating other low-glycemic grains to use.

In muffins and quick breads I've been using mostly a mixture of chickpea flour and oat flour (often with added oat bran, wheat bran and/or bean puree for added fiber and protein, which displace some of the usual carbohydrates). But my experiments with non-wheat yeast breads didn't turn out so well, to put it mildly!  So, I have been exploring the world of spelt flour, which is a fairly low-glycemic relative of wheat, but one which many people who have problems with wheat, but aren't really allergic to gluten, are able to tolerate.

My first spelt bread, which I made using methods generally used for wheat breads, came out like a rock!  So, I did my research, and learned that the glutens in spelt are different from wheat, and you have to use different methods than with wheat baking.  1.) You need to use less liquid per cup of flour than wheat.  2.) The dough should be soft-- even pretty wet, in some cases.  3.) You should not knead the dough for longer than a minute or so.  And. 4.) Spelt dough doesn't need as much rising as wheat dough.  All of this makes spelt yeast bread baking quite easy!

One of the first spelt breads that I successfully made was spelt burger buns.  I made them when our neighbor came over for a casual dinner, because she suffers from IBS or something  similar, and spelt is often a good option for some folks with stomach issues. The buns were so easy and quick to make, as well as being very tasty (spelt has a very pleasant "nutty" flavor) and having great crumb and crust.

This week I'd like to share the burger bun recipe with you! (Next week I plan to share a delicious crusty spelt bread recipe with you.)



Printable Recipe

BRYANNA'S SUPER QUICK & EASY  VEGAN SPELT BURGER BUNS
Makes 7 buns-- can be doubled

NOTE: You may want to use sprouted spelt flour (though it's more expensive than non-sprouted spelt flour). If you do, you may have to use up to a third more of it than you would of ordinary spelt flour.

Flax Mixture (Let sit while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.)
3 T. water
1 T. flax meal (brown or golden)
Flour Mixture:
3 1/2 cups spelt flour (I used half brown spelt flour and half light spelt flour)
1 T. vital wheat gluten powder (optional)
1/2 T. salt

Liquid Mixture:
1 cup lukewarm water
1 T. instant yeast
1 T. brown sugar
1 T. oil

Mix the Flax Mixture with the Liquid Mixture in a medium bowl. Stir in the Flour Mixture with a stout wooden spoon or a dough whisk (see photo just below) for just a couple of minutes. Flour the dough lightly and pat it out into a long rectangle on a floured mat. Cover and let rise for 15 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 400°F.

With a knife or dough cutter, cut the rectangle into 7 equal parts (weigh them, if you want them to be of even sizes). Form the dough into round buns about 4" across. Don't make them too thick-- they will rise just enough. In fact, I pressed down gently in the middle of each one with the the heel of my hand after shaping them, to prevent them from having a domed top. Place the buns on a baking parchment-lined cookie sheet, leaving some space between them. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.


Bake the buns for 18 minutes.  Let the buns cool on a rack.

Yikes! It's been almost a month since I last blogged!  I'm afraid that I've been a bit preoccupied with changing my diet, cooking and lifestyle somewhat after a diagnosis of pre-diabetes. (You can read a bit about this in this blog post.)

1.) I have stepped up my exercise, for one thing, and, 2.) learned the difference between Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load-- see http://www.mendosa.com/gilists.htm for an explanation and food lists.  (For me, the Glycemic Index/Load type of diet makes more sense than the currently-popular Keto Diet, even the vegan version of it. )

From the above link: "The glycemic index (GI) is a numerical system of measuring how much of a rise in circulating blood sugar a carbohydrate triggers–the higher the number, the greater the blood sugar response. So a low GI food will cause a small rise, while a high GI food will trigger a dramatic spike. A list of carbohydrates with their glycemic values is shown below. A GI of 70 or more is high, a GI of 56 to 69 inclusive is medium, and a GI of 55 or less is low.

The glycemic load (GL) is a relatively new way to assess the impact of carbohydrate consumption that takes the glycemic index into account, but gives a fuller picture than does glycemic index alone. A GI value tells you only how rapidly a particular carbohydrate turns into sugar. It doesn't tell you how much of that carbohydrate is in a serving of a particular food. You need to know both things to understand a food's effect on blood sugar. That is where glycemic load comes in. The carbohydrate in watermelon, for example, has a high GI. But there isn't a lot of it, so watermelon's glycemic load is relatively low. A GL of 20 or more is high, a GL of 11 to 19 inclusive is medium, and a GL of 10 or less is low."

It's a slog finding scientifically accurate, up-to-date and readable material on this subject, but here are a few more helpful links, if you are interested (not necessarily oriented to vegans):

http://bonfirehealth.com/understanding-index-glycemic-load/
https://www.sharecare.com/health/diabetes/soluble-fiber-help-with-diabetes
http://www.montignac.com/en/the-factors-that-modify-glycemic-indexes/
http://www.dummies.com/food-drink/special-diets/glycemic-index-diet/fiber-and-the-glycemic-index/
http://www.dummies.com/food-drink/special-diets/glycemic-index-diet/10-real-life-strategies-to-lighten-your-daily-glycemic-load/
http://www.dummies.com/food-drink/special-diets/glycemic-index-diet/appropriate-portion-sizes-for-low-to-medium-glycemic-dishes/

3.) I've also been educating myself about "resistant starch".  If you haven't heard of this, check it out-- it's a game-changer!
https://yurielkaim.com/resistant-starch/
https://www.consumerreports.org/healthy-eating/resistant-starch-may-speed-weight-loss-and-improve-health/
http://freetheanimal.com/2014/10/reheating-digestive-resistance.html
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/resistant-starch-101

And finally...

4.) I rarely make desserts anymore, except for those special occasions, so I've also been studying how to lower the sugar content (even of "natural" sweeteners) in desserts (and that can affect the structure of baked goods, by the way), and which sweeteners might fit best with my needs, in terms of flavor, health, availability and cost, among other factors. 

I'll write more about this in another blog post, but one of the sweeteners I'm using (with caution, of course!) is dates.  For a simple explanation, see https://www.wellandgood.com/good-food/sugar-substitute-medjool-date-recipes-natural-delights/
"Unlike processed sugar (i.e. white sugar, brown rice syrup, cane syrup, and corn syrup), Medjool dates won’t spike your blood sugar levels. Because of their high fiber content—12 percent of your daily fiber per serving—your body breaks them down slowly, giving you a sustained release of energy without the dreaded sugar crash." 
(PS: I've been using Deglet Noor dates, but have even successfully used compressed dates meant for baking to make date paste.)

But, remember-- you want to keep that fiber, so use whole dates (as in my BBQ sauce recipe below), or a homemade date paste, rather than a date syrup. To make Date Paste: puree 1 cup pitted dates with 1/2 to 1 cup hot water (depending on how thick you want it) in a high-speed blender or food processor until a paste is made. Keep refrigerated.

RECIPE #1:


Printable Recipe

BRYANNA'S EASY, INEXPENSIVE, BEAN-ENHANCED VEGAN BURGER BUNS
Makes 10 buns
High-fiber and protein rich beans, whole wheat flour, high soluble-fiber-rich oat flour, and a bit of high-protein vital wheat gluten serve to lower the glycemic load of this recipe-- but it doesn't mean you should "pig out" on it.  Serving size matters!
You can double the recipe, but no need to double the yeast if you do.

Ingredients:
1 cup rinsed and drained canned or cooked white beans OR yellow split pea puree
(NOTE: If the split pea puree is very thick, add about 2 T. water to it.)
1/4 cup water
YEAST MIXTURE:
3/4 cup warm water
2 tsp dry active yeast
1 tsp sugar
ADDITIONAL: (NOTE: If you are on a no-fat, no-oil regime, try using either unsweetened smooth applesauce or aquafaba [liquid from cooked or canned chickpeas] instead/)
2 Tbs oil
FLOUR MIXTURE-- mix together:
1 cup whole wheat flour, preferably stone-ground or whole-milled
(NOTE: You can use sprouted whole wheat flour if you have it.)
1 cup unbleached white flour
1/2 cup oat flour (I just grind oatmeal in a dry blender.)
2 Tbs vital wheat gluten
1 tsp salt
GLAZE AND TOPPING:
soy milk or Starch Glaze (see below)
raw sesame seeds, or poppy seeds

Directions:
Puree the beans or split pea puree with the 1/4 cup water.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, or your food processor bowl, or your electric mixer bowl, mix together the 3/4 cup warm water, yeast and sugar. Let sit for a few minutes.  Add the pureed beans or yellow split peas and the oil.

If you are mixing by hand, stir in the Flour Mixture a bit at a time, until it is a knead-able dough.  Turn out on a piece of baking parchment or silicone mat and knead until you can form a smooth ball.

If you are using a food processor, dump in the Flour Mixture and process until it forms a ball on top of the blade.

If you are using a mixer with a dough hook, add the Flour Mixture, turn on the machine and knead until smooth and elastic.

Place the dough in a medium to large oiled bowl, cover and rise in a warm spot for about an hour, or rise, well covered, in the refrigerator overnight.

Divide the dough into 10 equal pieces, shape into balls and press down into flat shapes with the palm of your hand, making the center of the bun a bit concave.  Place on parchment-lined baking sheets, cover and let rise until nicely rounded on top, for about 1 hour. Do not over-rise. (If the dough is cold, you may have to rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.)

When the buns are about half-risen, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Glaze the tops of the buns with soy milk or Starch Glaze, sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds, and bake for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

Remove from the oven and switch the buns from the baking sheets to cooling racks.  Cool thoroughly before using or storing.  (They can be frozen.)

STARCH GLAZE:
(If you can't use corn or wheat starch, see this article or this one.)
In a small saucepan, mix 1/2 c. cold water with 1 tsp. corn or wheat starch.  Stir over high heat until thickened and clear.  This glaze can be used instead of an egg white glaze.





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RECIPE #2:


Printable Copy

BRYANNA'S LOW-GLYCEMIC DATE-SWEETENED BBQ SAUCE
Makes about 3 cups or 24/ 2 T. servings
High-fiber dates subtly sweeten this sauce, and the acidic tomato products, mustard and vinegar also lighten the glycemic load. (See info about dates as a sweetener in the text above.)
I've been using this delicious  sauce instead of ketchup!

Blend until smooth:
1 3/4 cups tomato sauce
1/2 cup dry red wine (can be non-alcoholic)
6 oz. tomato paste
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar (I prefer Costco's Kirkland  Signature brand, which is affordable, yet aged for 3 years and contains no wine vinegar or caramel color, unlike the 60-day-aged supermarket IGP brands. See http://www.costcoconnection.ca/connectioncaeng/20180506/?pg=89#pg89)
1/4 cup soy sauce or tamari
8 large-ish soft dates, such as Medjool or Deglet Noor, roughly chopped
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 T. (or more to taste) Chinese Chili Garlic Sauce (See Note and photos below)
1 T. vegan Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. EACH:
onion powder
garlic granules
smoked hot paprika
salt
liquid smoke
Optional:
black pepper to taste

Scrape into a microwave-proof 2 qt. batter bowl and microwave for 10 minutes, stirring halfway through. OR, scrape into a medium saucepan, bring to a boil, then turn the heat down and simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring from time to time.

Cool and pour or scoop into a Mason jar.  Twist on the cap and refrigerate. This will keep for several weeks in the refrigerator.


NOTE ABOUT CHINESE OR VIETNAMESE CHILI GARLIC SAUCE:
This product is easily available in supermarkets and Asian grocery stores or online.  Here are two common brands-- Huy Fong foods, Inc. and Lee Kum Kee:





Enjoy!