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EASTER AND PASSOVER-ORIENTED BLOG POSTS:
A KID-PLEASING CINNAMON ROLL "LAMB": See recipe and more color photos on my blog here!
(IMPORTANT NOTE: THE RECIPE FOR THE SEITAN ROAST THAT YOU NEED TO MAKE THE "SEITAN ROAST IN A FRENCH BREAD CRUST AU JUS" IS MISSING FROM THE ABOVE FILE. I HAVE POSTED IT AT THE END OF THIS PAGE.)
MY ONLINE SUBSCRIPTION NEWSLETTER, THE VEGAN FEAST,
CONTAINS ALL-NEW UN-POSTED, UNPUBLISHED EASTER RECIPES, INCLUDING:
Maryland-Style Stuffed Baked Soy and Seitan "Ham" with
Vegan "Ham" Gravy
Vegan "Butterfinger" Cake (peanut butter and chocolate)
TO READ MORE ABOUT THE NEWSLETTER, INCLUDING
SUBSCRIPTION, CLICK HERE.
A SPECIAL GIFT FOR YOU: THIS RECIPE IS FROM MY
SUBSCRIPTION NEWSLETTER, THE VEGAN FEAST: (See a variation of this and an Italian Easter bread on my blog here.)
Almond Tsoureki
BRYANNA'S VEGAN GREEK EASTER BREAD
(TSOUREKI OR LAMBROPSOMO)
Makes 2 round braided loaves
This lovely braided Easter bread is usually made with dyed red
eggs baked into the indentations in the braid, but, for a vegan
bread, you can surround the bread (after baking and cooling) with
red egg-shaped candles or candies (the eggs are an ancient
religious symbol of fertility and rebirth, and red symbolizes Christ’s
blood.). Unfortunately, I didn’t have either at my disposal when I
made my breads and took photos of them.
Since this dough rises in the refrigerator slowly, make this
dough the night before baking, or make in the morning and
bake the bread late in the afternoon. The finished breads
can be made ahead and frozen.
*NOTE: The Greek spice mahlepi is originally from Persia--
the hard small seed of a flowering tree like a cherry. It has a lovely
spicy smell. You can find it in Greek and Middle Eastern grocery
stores, but if you are unable to locate it, you can make a liquid
substitute by simmering together over low heat for 20 minutes: 3
whole cloves, 1/2 a stick of cinnamon, 1 bay leaf and 3/4 c.
water. Strain and use 2 T. for every 1 T. of mahlepi called for.
(From Cooking and Baking the Greek Way by Anne
Theoharous, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York, 1977.)
2 c. warm water
1 pkg. or 2 and 1/2 tsp. dry active baking yeast
2/3 c. leftover mashed potatoes (1/2 lb. russet potatoes, cooked
and mashed)
OR 2/3 c. instant organic mashed potato flakes mixed with 1/2
c. boiling water
The night before baking, or in the morning when planning to
bake late in the afternoon: in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of
a heavy-duty mixer, combine the water and yeast. When the yeast
has dissolved, add the mashed potatoes, Earth Balance, wheat
germ, soymilk powder, sugar, orange juice and zest, mahlepi or
substitute, salt, almond extract, and turmeric. Mix in the
unbleached flour. Knead well for 5 to 10 minutes (using as little
flour as possible if kneading by hand-- the dough should be soft
and velvety).
Place the dough in a greased bowl which will allow for doubling of
the dough, turn it over to grease the top, and cover with plastic
wrap, or place inside of a large plastic bag (to prevent the dough
from drying out). Rise overnight or for 8-12 hours in the
refrigerator (this dough handles best when cold).
Divide the risen dough into 2 equal parts. I have a quick and
easy way of braiding bread dough. Roll each part into an 18"-
long "rope”. Now, with a sharp knife, make to long cuts, leaving
the dough attached at the top, with 3 strips of dough. (See
picture 1.)
1 2
Now, starting at the top, braid the three sections together.Now,
starting at the top, braid the three sections together.(See picture
2.)
Tuck the ends under (see picture 3) and fold the top part under
and then poke it through the top of the braid.(See picture 4.)
repeat with the second piece of dough.Now, on nonstick or
lightly-oiled baking sheets, form each braid into a ring and tuck the
ends together so that they look neat.(See picture 5.)
3 4
5
before
Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled.In the meantime, make the Glaze
by stirring together the orange juice and sugar until the sugar dissolves.Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Bake the unglazed loaves for 20 minutes, then brush them with the
Glaze and sprinkle the loaves with sesame seeds or slivered
almonds (I did one of each).Bake for about 15 minutes more, or
until a rich and shiny chestnut color.Cool on racks before serving.
Sesame Tsoureki
THE MISSING RECIPE FOR THE SEITAN ROAST THAT YOU NEED TO MAKE THE "SEITAN ROAST IN A FRENCH BREAD CRUST AU JUS" FROM THE"Vegan Easter main dishes, breakfast and brunch, PART 1:" FILE:
1/2 cup mushroom-based vegetarian "oyster" sauce (such as Lee Kum Kee brand "Vegetarian Stir-Fry Sauce") (can be homemade; SEE RECIPE BELOW)
1 Tbsgravy browner (like Kitchen Bouquet-- if you don't have any, then use mushroom soy sauce instead of regular soy sauce because it is darker)
2 Tbssoy sauce
2 Tbstahini
BASTING BROTH:
4 cuphot water
4 tspMarmite yeast extract
3 Tbssoy sauce
3 Tbsketchup
1 For the Wet Mix, in a blender, blend all the ingredients until very smooth.
2 Mix the Dry Mix ingredients in the bowl of your electric mixer with dough hook attachment, or place them in the bread machine in the order given. Add the Wet Mix and knead for about 10 minutes. (If your bread machine has a dough cycle-two kneads with a long rest in between-use that cycle. Otherwise, just run it through the kneading part and then unplug it and let it rest in the cover container, then plug it in again for another knead, then remove it,) Let rest for about 1 hour, covered. You can make your Cooking Broth at this time and have it ready. Then knead it for 10 more minutes.
3 (NOTE: You can knead by hand, too, but it's tougher than bread dough. You may want to let the seitan dough sit for a while to soak up the liquid more thoroughly before you starting hand-kneading.)
4 The dough should be quite shiny and smooth. Avoid breaking it up when you take it out of the bowl. NOTE: I like to line the pan with cooking parchment to avoid sticking and tearing, and make the loaves easier to turn, by whichever method.
5 COOKING METHOD #1.) Flatten the dough out into a long piece. Form the dough into one large loaf. Place into a oval greased clay cooker or claypot that has been soaked for 15 minutes in cold water (bottom and cover), and lined with cooking parchment. DO NOT PREHEAT OVEN. Pour the cooking broth over the roast, and cover. Place in oven and turn to 325 degrees. F. Bake for 3 and 1/2 hours, turning the roast over twice (ALTERNATE TO THIS METHOD: If you don't have a clay cooker, you can use an ordinary oval meat or turkey roaster, medium size, with a cover. PREHEAT THE OVEN FIRST WITH THIS PAN.)
6 COOKING METHOD #2.) Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Flatten the dough out into a long piece and cut in half equally to make two rectangles. Form into 2 loaves. Place each loaf in an oiled 8 and1/2" x 4 and 1/2" loaf pan and press down a bit with your hand. Mix the Cooking Broth ingredients in a small bowl and pour 1/2 over each loaf. Cover each loaf pan with foil and place in the oven. Immediately reduce the oven heat to 200 degrees F. Bake for 3 hours. Turn the loaves over, carefully loosening around the edges and from the bottom with a small, thin spatula first. The loaves will have puffed up quite a bit by now, but they will flatten out as they cook further. Turn heat back to 325 degrees F. Cover loaves and bake for 30 minutes. Turn them over again, cover and bake 15 minutes. Turn them over again and bake 15 more minutes, covered. Turn them over one last time and bake 5-10 minutes.
7 Either way, the loaves should almost completely soak up the broth by the end of the cooking time. If they don't, cook until they do. There will be a bit of sticky "sauce" left in the bottom, which you can use to glaze the loaves. Remove from the pans and serve, or let cool. Seitan is generally better when cooled first, then reheated-it firms up. So, it's a good idea to make it a day or more before serving. Can be frozen.
***********************
BRYANNA'S NEW HOMEMADE CHINESE VEGETARIAN MUSHROOM "OYSTER" SAUCE (ALSO KNOWN AS "VEGETARIAN STIR-FRY SAUCE")
This recipe differs from the one in my Chinese cookbook (see that recipe below) in that you don't need mushroom bouillon cubes, which are expensive and sometimes difficult to find.
*NOTE ON DRIED MUSHROOMS: For the dried mushrooms, you don't need expensive shiitakes-just use the inexpensive dried Chinese mushrooms that are easily available (sometimes called "dried Chinese Forest mushrooms" or just "dried Chinese black mushrooms"). Snap off the stems and discard them, then grind the mushrooms to a powder in a DRY blender or coffee/spice grinder (well-cleaned).
**NOTE ON CHINESE BROWN BEAN SAUCE: This is a very common Chinese ingredient and should be available wherever Chinese foods are sold. It is also known as "brown bean paste", "yellow bean paste or sauce', "soybean condiment", "Yuan Shai Shih" or "Mo Yuen Shih". If, however, you can't find it, substitute a mild brown miso, mixed with a bit of water to make a softer mixture, sort of halfway between a sauce and a paste.
1 and 1/2 c. boiling water
6 T. ground dried Chinese mushroom (*see note above)
6 T. Chinese brown bean sauce (**see note above for alternate names and substitute)
6 T. soy sauce
7 T. brown sugar, or Sucanat
1 T. cornstarch dissolved in 1 T. cold water
Blend all the ingredients EXCEPT the dissolved cornstarch in a blender (leave the plastic thing out of the center hole in the blender lid and cover with a folded towel, so that the hot liquid doesn't explode) until as smooth as possible. Pour into in a medium saucepan and heat to boiling over high heat. Add the dissolved cornstarch and stir until thickened. Cool and store in a covered jar or bottle in the refrigerator. Since it is quite salty and sweet, it should keep for several months.
NOTE: You can, alternately, microwave the mixture, with the cornstarch, in a medium bowl and cook on HIGH for 1 minute, then whisk. Repeat until thickened.
Almond Tsoureki
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Sesame Tsoureki