Vegan Whole Wheat bread.

I always thought that most bread was dairy-free. It’s only recently when I started transitioning to being vegan, I realized most are not. I then remembered that I had baked bread a couple of times earlier and I was almost sure that the basic whole wheat bread recipe I had used was dairy- free. I found the recipe card, only to find both milk and butter on the list. The thing with going dairy-free is that only when you begin avoiding it, you realize it's everywhere. Then began the search for an easy vegan bread recipe! A recipe without a long ingredient list, which uses stuff that can be easily found in most kitchens. When I couldn't find one that didn't send me off to the grocery store shopping, I decided to tighten my chef belt and risk modifying my previously tried recipe to suit my newly found vegan taste.

I just cut out the first piece of bread off my vegan loaf and I must say nothing can beat the flavor and taste of freshly baked bread. The entire process took about three hours of which I worked just 30 min. The yeast and the oven did the rest. I am very happy with my experiment and this is one recipe that goes into my recipe box for sure.

Whole wheat flour (for baking) 2 – 2 ½ cups
All purpose flour    1 cup
Turbinado sugar   5 tsp
Salt  1 tsp
Active yeast  1 package
Apple cider vinegar  1 tsp
Soy milk   ¼ cup
Oil (I used grape seed)  2 ½ tbsp
Flax seeds (optional)    2 tbsp
Water   1 cup

1. Prepare the yeast mixture by mixing sugar with water (110 F). I microwaved the bowl with the mixture for about 15sec to warm it. Then add the yeast and leave it rest for 10 min. After 10 min the mixture will be somewhat frothy on the top.

2. Meanwhile mix soymilk, salt, oil and vinegar and leave to rest for about 5 min.

3. Combine the yeast and the milk mixture in a large bowl and add flour and flax seeds and mix thoroughly. Adjust flour till the dough is not sticky yet soft .Then knead the dough for about 10 min.

4. Cover with damp cloth and leave it in a warm area for 1 hr. Let it rise.

5. Knead the dough to release the air. Shape into a loaf and put it into a standard loaf pan. Cover with damp cloth and leave again for 1 hr.

6. Bake at 400F for 30 min.

7. Take out of oven and cover with aluminum foil for 5 min. Take out from pan and let the loaf rest on a rack for about 30 min.