Wheat Bread!

[Mila]

I'd been looking for a good wheat bread recipe since I got a bread machine and the molasses in most vegan wheat breads wasn't very tasty. I finally found a winner!

From http://www.fatfree.com/recipes/breads-machine/ (This site marks which recipes are vegan, too!)

Whole Wheat Bread (1 1/2 lb. loaf)

Recipe By : Marcia Deutch
Serving Size : 12 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Breads With Yeast

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup vital wheat gluten flour
1 tablespoon sugar, turbinado
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups water
1/2 cup applesauce, unsweetened
2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Mix the flours together (the reason is that vital wheat gluten hardens
into lumps if not mixed with the other flour). Place the ingredients
in your automatic bread maker and bake according to the manufacturer's
directions.I was just so thrilled that I had to share this! I don't taste the applesauce at all, but someone with a more sensitive palette may.

[august]

I like the idea of applesauce as an oil replacer. I usually mix flax with water as a sub for oil or use vegan sour cream or pumpkin. I look forward to trying the recipe. The website you listed has some nice recipes and I have already found several that I look forward to trying- thanks for sharing. Bread is one of my fav foods that I make fresh several times a week. :)

This is my favorite basic wheat bread recipe. This turns out somewhat dense which is how I like bread. Sometimes I add a bit of chopped parsley.

1 1/2 cups warm water
2 tb organic pureed pumpkin (I buy small organic pumpkins, bake and puree then freeze leftovers for later)- or in a pinch I use canned
4 cups organic whole wheat flour
2 tb agave
1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

Add ingredients in order listed to bread machine. Use basic cycle.

[Mila]

OOH! Pumpkin! I crave pumpkin several times a month, but I always feel bad using canned goods. (I hate throwing out the can! I can always reuse jars.) I once tried to source pumpkin from.... well, an actual pumpkin, but it turned out TERRIBLY! Can you point me to/offer me some suggestions? Do you think that I could jar my own pumpkin, should I actually succeed in its processing?

[august]

Mila- I crave pumpkin too, I just love it. Pumpkin is low in calories, loaded with beta carotine which is an anti- oxident (accounts for the color of pumpkin) and it also has a good bit of potassium, not to mention it helps keep you 'regular' (I give my dog biscuits made with pumpkin to help keep him regular and he likes the taste of pumpkin). Pureed pumpkin can be used as an egg replacer in recipes (recipes that would taste good with pumpkin- like bread and cakes).

I get organic pumpkins at a local farmers market which are usually a decent price because I avoid the middle man and I try to support my local community. I usually like to buy the mini pumpkins because they are easier to handle but I cook with larger pumpkins quite a bit too. I use pumpkin in a lot of recipes so I usually buy quite a few when I'm at it because I like to cook and freeze them en masse so they are all ready to go for recipes and it's easier to cook a bunch at once rather than for each recipe. I know some people like to avoid frozen food and prefer fresh but I don't mind frozen. It's the canned foods that I try my best to avoid. As you mentioned, the environmental impact of throwing out cans and canned food is usually lower in nutrition than fresh or frozen.

To prepare pumpkin that will be used as a puree I cut the pumpkin into slices, remove the stringy bits and seeds, peel and dice. I save the seeds to toast to eat as a snack or for other recipes and I give the pumpkin rind for the squirrels in my yard. Put the diced pieces flat on a baking sheet and bake until soft- you can boil it also but I usually bake it. Let it cool and put into a food processor- you can use a blender or a food mill. Then I divide the puree into portions and freeze- I use glass jars. I also freeze diced pumpkin to keep on hand, mostly for stirfry or casserole recipes. You get about 4 cups of puree from a 5 pound pumpkin.

I've also used pureed yams in the bread recipe above and it tastes great- if you like yams. Prepare the yam puree the same as the pumpkin. Both pumpkin and yam puree freeze well. :)

[harpy]

It's interesting some of you think the environmental impact of frozen food is less than canned because I've sometimes read the opposite (I think mainly because of the energy used in keeping stuff frozen). I don't really have a view myself.

There is some discussion here http://www.resol.com.br/textos/Ecoefficient%20and%20nutritional%20aspects%20of%20 different%20product%20pachaging%20systems.pdf : however it's specific to the Netherlands and may be of dubious objectivity because of who commissioned it. Would be grateful if people could point out other relevant studies.

[Mila]

That's an interesting report, Harpy! My freezer is turned off and used for dark storage (partly because of the energy consumption but mostly because I have nothing to freeze), but now I wonder about the fridge. I think to myself, "I can't live without it!" but whenever I have that reaction these days, I doubt it since I once had the same reaction when considering giving up animal products.

August, if I use sterile jars (like Kerr ones) and do the whole process, do you think I can jar them and keep them on a shelf like I do jam and tomatoes?

[DiaShel]

Turning off the freezer seems like a great idea. I'm slowly phasing out processed food and I'm finding I'm needing it less and less. I'd have to stop eating soy icecream though, that's a tough one. Well, I have a roommate so it's not like I could anyway but I'll definitely have to keep that in mind for the future.