Whole-grain Sourdough [Vegan] Waffles

It’s Saturday morning here, and breakfast time. And odds are good that my kids are running around and yelling for breakfast. And they’ll be having these. So, are you ready for this? Are you sure, because that title is a mouthful. I only promised it half your life ago, but it was totally worth the wait, right?

Still light, even at 100% whole grain

A few words to the wise [my notes], before laying it all out – and yes, there are A LOT of notes, for which I’m sorry if you don’t like notes. But I love them and wish more people had lots of them.

0. These are my favorite waffles to make, largely because I can store and use the culture that would otherwise get thrown out after feedings. I just pour it into a lidded container and save it for waffle day.

1. The batter can (and probably should) be made the night before. You’ll have breakfast at a normal time if you do. And the batter will keep in the fridge for a day or two after.

2. This recipe is for a single batch. It will probably feed a small family. A 1 ½-x batch makes 8 1/2 cups of batter, feeding my family with enough for leftovers. A double  batch may bury you, but that’s okay. I do it all the time.

2.5. The hydration level of your sourdough culture will determine the amount of liquid to add. I usually pour off some of the hooch (that black liquid on top) after pulling my collection of culture from the fridge. Start with the prescribed amount, but don’t be surprised if you need more.

3. The amount of fat you add is flexible. I have made it with no added fat (a bit difficult to choke down when reheated, no too bad fresh) and with full fat (much lighter and richer). The recipe is for full-fat. Half-fat is perfectly good, but not the best.

4. Use a variety of flours. I have used all white flour through various and sundry versions of all whole grains, including kamut, oat, cornmeal and varieties of whole wheat flour. I grind my own so I use whatever I have on hand, but love kamut and oat because it keeps the waffles from being too dense.

5. Sweeteners. Use some. I’ve used organic sugar, honey, malted milk powder, barley malt syrup, and probably agave or maple syrup. I can’t remember.

6. Egg substitute. Both flax eggs and Ener-G egg substitute work great. Heck, I’ve used eggs, but not so much lately. They work though. I try to give mine time to set up before adding it to the whole shebang.

7. Freeze and toast these. Much better than anything you’ll get at the store.

Powerstack

He’s BLEEDING. 😉

Raspberry syrup is yummy

Still light, even whole grain

And yes, that’s homemade maple syrup in the background.

the last bite.

The BEST Whole-Grain Sourdough Vegan Waffles

Egg Substitute: (4-egg equivalent)
4 T. ground flaxseed + ½ c. water
2 T. Ener-G + ½ c. water
2 c. Flour (mix up with white, whole wheat, pastry, kamut, oat, cornmeal)
2 t. Salt
1 t. Baking soda* (directions change if making the night before)
1 t. Baking powder
2 T. Sweetener (or to taste)
2 c. sourdough culture
1 ½ c. Lukewarm milk (almond and hemp are two favorites in our house)
½ c. Coconut Oil or Butter substitute, melted
1 t. vanilla

Directions:

• Mix together your egg substitute and set aside.
• Whisk together dry ingredients* in a large bowl. If you have one of those pitcher bowls, use it. It will be better. I don’t.
• Add wet ingredients to dry, including sourdough culture, milk, melted coconut oil, vanilla and your “eggs”. This is when you adjust your liquids, adding enough for it to be pretty loose – very pourable and not clumpy, because it will thicken as it sets up.
• Stir until smooth. Let it hang out for as long as you can. Overnight in the fridge is happiest, but even if you just let it hang out while your waffle iron heats up for 20 minutes or so, it will be better.
• *If doing this overnight, omit the baking soda in the second step. Instead, add it right before you plug in your waffle iron, mixing in quickly so reaction is disturbed as little as possible.
• Then … waffle! Cook as your waffle iron likes to cook them.

***And if you don’t feel inclined toward sourdough, no worries, I’ve got a standard vegan waffle in my queue. (Isn’t queue a lovely word?)

Gone Sour – Whole Grain Cranberry Walnut Sourdough Bread

So, apparently if I have a post started on my phone, it isn’t saved here, so I’m trying to catch up on all of my drafts that aren’t quite finished. Oops!

Fresh ground wheat flour

I was telling Annie (I think), from An Unrefined Vegan, that I had about 43 recipes and posts all queued up in my head, but it was the transfer from there to here that is causing some great problems! That, and we moved the computer into the basement and I almost never make it down here – which can be argued as both good and bad! I’m not making excuses, but I do have so, so much to share, not just in recipes but in fun experiences!

Thanksgiving with Annie & Somer

So, back to that title. One of the reasons I’ve been hesitant to post lately is that I have become a sourdough junkie. That’s not entirely a problem, but in order to make these lovely things, one must have a sourdough start and you can’t just pick one up at Whole Foods with your tofu and broccoli. But I am going to tell you now, and I’m only going to tell you once. Get one NOW! Okay, maybe not, but I have way too much fun with mine and think you could too.

In the morning

In the two months, I’ve made not only several kinds of bread, but weekly waffles & pancakes, bagels, french toast, cornbread, cake, cookies (those last two were AWFUL!), and several big messes justified in the name of science.

First Rest

I maintain a whole wheat start that is happiest when fed twice a day with about 2/3 c. whole wheat flour and 1/2 c. filtered water (but survives when ignored for 36 hours). I stir it to death with a chopstick in a quart jar to incorporate air and loosely throw a plastic top on to keep out floaters and drifters. If I don’t need to use it 12 hours later, I dump most of it into an old peanut butter container in the fridge to use for waffles and pancakes. Don’t worry, I’ll share my waffles eventually because vegan, whole grain sourdough waffles are crazy good.

Resting

This bread is adapted from Classic Sourdoughs, a book that I will regrettably have to give back to the library in the next week or so. (Few of the recipes work the way I like, but it’s a good guide.) This bread is amazing because at Thanksgiving, I paired it with Somer’s OFF THE CHAIN (yes, I took that from Madagascar because that is the level of my life – tell me you’ve seen the commercial where the mom gets reprimanded by her 9 year old for saying “Raise the Roof!” – I digress, but that’s totally me) Baked Macadamia Nut Brie en Croute. I didn’t want to eat anything else, but I did because there were 22 other people there and I tried to be polite. The two were made for each other – this bread and her brie.

Bread and Brie

So, without further adieu, here is your Cranberry Walnut Bread:

 

Whole Grain Cranberry Walnut Sourdough Bread

(almost all) Whole Grain Cranberry Walnut Sourdough Bread

Adapted from Classic Sourdoughs, by Ed Wood and Jean Wood

Makes 2 loaves

2 c. whole wheat sourdough culture (I split my start into two jars and double feed it in the morning, then it’s ready to use in the evening)

1 ¼ c. water

2 T. sweetener (honey, sugar, barley malt syrup, but it’s flat without any sweetener)

2 t. salt

½ – 2/3 c. dried sweetened cranberries

½ – 2/3 c. chopped walnuts

4 ½ – 7 c. flour, mixed (I usually use 3-4 c. whole grain (wheat, kamut), and 2 c. all-purpose)

At night: Combine the first 6 ingredients, through the walnuts. Stir around in your stand mixer or a bowl. (I hear you can use a bread maker, but I haven’t tried.) Add flour a cup at a time, kneading on low speed and adding flour until your dough is crazy stiff, so stiff you don’t think it could possibly take any more flour (I usually add just a bit more after that). Knead until smooth and satiny. Place dough in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap (a towel didn’t work for me, I tried), and let rise overnight, 8-12 hours, until it is beautiful and at least doubled.

In the morning: Gently ease your dough out of its bowl onto a floured board or a silpat. (I love my silpat because it works through the whole process.) Let it sit there for 30 minutes or so, and if it looks like it’s deflating, add more flour. If not, cut it in half, shape into two loaves, cover with your plastic wrap from the first rise, and let it rise again until doubled, usually about 2 – 2 ½ hours.

Just after lunch: Place your silpat on the pan, slash your loaves in a lovely decorative manner, and slide them in a cold oven. Add some hot water to a pan on the lower rack (for oven spring). Turn the oven to 350F and bake for 65 – 70 minutes. The top will be dark brown, and if you used black walnuts, you’ll also have bluish bread – it’s cool, believe me.

Notes: When adding flour, I found that if I didn’t add enough, the bread didn’t turn out – it was flat and dense, which seems counterintuitive. I think that because it’s a whole grain bread, it doesn’t lend itself well to the custardy middle/wet dough philosophy.

On the second rise, I let mine rise at room temperature until it has just doubled, usually two hours. If it gets too warm (75+ degrees) or goes too long (4 hours), the sour flavor is more strongly pronounced and the bread is less fluffy, which isn’t always bad, but I don’t think it’s as nice with this particular bread.

If you don’t want to make Somer’s Baked Brie, then you might need to know that the Earth Balance Coconut Spread is fantastic on this as well. The sweet of the coconut with the hint of sour…yeah, it’s pretty much amazing.

And I will be trying this with dried apples and walnuts or pecans soon. Ooh, that sounds good. Maybe tonight even.

 

 

Carb Loading – Somer Saturday (Pretzel Rolls, Sourdough Pancakes)

I’ts Somer Saturday and I have been either been intentionally or unintentionally carb loading for my Ragnar Relay Race Next weekend. Not really sure which one, but I am really, really loving carbs at the moment.

Pretzel Rolls: Adapted & veganized from this recipe here.  3 C. White whole wheat flour, 1 C. organic unbleached flour, 1 t. salt, 1 1/4 C. warm almond milk, 1/2 C. warm water, 2 t. active dry yeast, 2 T. vital wheat gluten, kosher salt for sprinkling. In a breadmaker or other kneading apparatus (possibly your hands) knead all the above for 10 minutes. Let rise for 30 minutes. Divide into 12 rolls or 8 hamburger buns (for the best vegan Scott Jurek burger ever). Let rise for 15 more minutes. In the meantime boil 2 quarts (8 cups) water with 1 T. kosher salt and 4 T. baking soda. Poach 3 rolls at a time for one minute, turning over halfway through until all are poached. Remove with a slotted spoon. Slash each roll 3 times across the top with a sharp knife. Sprinkle with a bit of kosher salt and some sesame seeds. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes for rolls or 25-30 minutes for hamburger buns. Please use parchment paper to bake on, otherwise you will need a chisel and a hammer and quite possibly ruin your favorite baking sheet. I also made a sourdough version later in the week by replacing 1 C. Sourdough starter for 1/2 c. of the liquid and 1/2 C. of the flour. INSANE.

Kristy’s Vegan M&M Cookies. I baked them for 2 minutes less than she recommended, because I like super soft cookies. There aren’t any left. BOO! I also used leftover dairy free chocolate beans I got for my kids for Easter from a Jewish Kosher online store because the one’s Kristy used are no longer available (I would provide you with a link, but can’t find it). These would also be crazy good with Vegan Chocolate Chips!

And finally….. Vegan Sourdough Pancakes: I did an “In the in the pan shot” because look! I had to show you that they behave like normal (non-vegan) pancakes do! Getting dry at the edges and bubbles bursting when ready to flip. It nearly made me cry! Plus they were the fluffiest vegan pancakes I have made to date!

Ingredients: 1.5 C. sourdough starter, 3/4 C. White whole wheat flour, 3/4 C. Soymilk, 1 t. baking soda, 1 t. baking powder.

Method: Whisk until just combined. Cook over medium heat in lightly oiled skillet. Makes 4 giant pancakes or 8-12 smaller pancakes. Top with fruit of choice and a drizzle of pure maple syrup.

p.s. if you want to start your own sourdough starter, google it. I’m not an expert. Carolyn gave me mine and I think I nearly killed it. I did recently however convert it to a 100% whole wheat starter and it is currently a normal color and doing well in my fridge at the moment since I have stopped neglecting it.

Oh and I nearly forgot to mention the most recent nomination for Good Clean Food! Thanks Kristy at Keepin it Kind, for your cookie recipe and the nomination!!! I’m pretty sure she is a fellow runner and carboholic. 😉 Love her!

Are you carb loading for any races at the moment too?

Seven Discoveries

This week has been a week of discoveries.

1-      Eat to Live: started the book this week, and it just makes sense.

2-      Spice Princess:  I love all the spices in the vegan dishes I have been making, but my spices were up high and really hard to get to. They were shoved in a cupboard that made it necessary to practically pull everything out every time I got in the cupboard. It has been this way for years. When I first built my house the cabinet man made a “spice drawer” right next to my stove, I thought that was stupid so I removed the spice holder and turned it into my “big spoon and spatula” drawer—so much more practical, I mean the only spice I needed was salt and for convenience I just kept a large jar of it next to the stove, always out—never hidden away in a drawer.  Now I have learned there are other spices besides salt I had to find a better system for getting to them. I went searching for a spice rack on Amazon and found something better, a spice carousel! It holds 12 spices, and is stackable, each canister pulls out easily, has a ¼ t dispenser, shaker or large opening. When I am ready to cook I grab the entire carousel from the cupboard.  Weird, but it makes me feel like a princess.

I bought the “stainless steel” But wish I had saved the money and got the white one, as the “stainless” steel is just colored plastic.

KitchenArt Pro Auto-Measure Spice Carousel, Stainless Steel Satin

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000VLQTS/ref=oh_o04_s00_i01_details

 

3-      Not your mother’s pressure cooker: My sisters gave me a pressure cooker for my birthday and it can cook dry black beans, or any bean in minutes not to mention anything else you want to cook in minutes.

 

I made Hot and Sour soup in it this week. Very tasty.

 

4-      Alpine Food storage: My mom took me to a wondrous place in Alpine. There are shelves and shelves of dried “food storage” at fantastic prices. I bought a 10 gallon bucket of dry black beans for $49 that I will cook in minutes in my new pressure cooker.  I also got 5lbs of chia seed for $28.69—I have Chia to spare now. If you are interested in checking the place out here is the info:

Alpine Food Storage

11800 North 6000 west

Highland Utah 84003

www.alpinefoodstorage.com

Get on their email list for notifications of new shipments. chirine@alpinefoodstorage.com

 

5-      Being Normal: A friend introduced us to vegan “ham” slices. Andrew, my 13 year old, was in heaven. He told me “he felt like a normal person.” He has been vegetarian since he was 5 and last summer went vegan (not my idea, I am a meat eater—except the last 3 weeks). I know it is crazy we haven’t discovered vegan deli slices in the eight years he has been a vegetarian—I just thought he would grow out of it J

6-      Kamut. I tried a variation on my sour dough bread and it turned out pretty tasty and a lot more nutritious than the white flour version.  Here it is:

Sour Dough Bread

1 c flour (I used fresh ground kamut today, but you can use whole wheat or white)

3 T sweetener (I used honey )

3 ½ t salt

2 T yeast

1 c warm milk (I use almond milk, just heat it in the microwave for 30 seconds)

2 T oil (I used olive oil)

1 ½ c sour dough start (you can get a start at good earth, and it is good for you and tasty!)

Put all ingredients in mixer. Mix with dough hook, add additional 3- 3 ½ c flour, until the dough starts to pull away from the sides. Mix 10 minutes, put in bowl, cover with towel, let rise 1 hour, divide and place in two bread pans or free form on large baking sheet. Cover, let rise until it doubles. (about 30 minutes). Bake 30-35 minutes at 375.

Variation: brush tops with egg whites and sprinkle with chopped onion, Italian seasoning and garlic salt.

 

Why Kamut  (I like the way it tastes, but here are some other good reasons)

Kamut® wheat is an ancestor of modern wheat. It has been discovered thousands of years ago in the region located between Egypt and Mesopotamia. After a long period of oblivion, this grain was rediscovered

 Its features are particularly suited to production methods of organic farming : it has an exceptional resistance to adverse environmental, so it is possible to produce high-quality crops without artificial fertilizers and without pesticides. Currently the Kamut® is produced exclusively through organic farming.

Unlike other wheats, Kamut® has never been subjected to genetic manipulation, selection, crossbred varieties, keeping intact its original chromosomal, its special nutritional properties and its ancestral taste.

 

Its energy value is higher than that of other grains. Compared to common wheat, the composition of Kamut® is richer of minerals, like magnesium, zinc and selenium, a powerful antioxidant.

Furthermore, Kamut® is characterized by a high percentage of vitamin E, a higher rate of amino acids (+65%) compared to other grains, and higher quantity of lipids and fats.

The protein content is the most distinctive quality of Kamut®. Given the high proportion of lipids, the grain kamut can be classified as high-energy grain.

 

The wheat with Kamut mark has a strong flavor reminiscent of butter and hazelnut.

Kamut® grain is perfectly suited for preparing breakfast cereals, muesli, bread, biscuits, snacks, cakes, flours, flakes and food prepared and frozen.

With its natural sweet taste, which is nicknamed the “sweet grain“, is not necessary to add sugar as some other cereals to hide the slightly bitter taste. Its good natural consistency is perfect to make pilaf or to add it to salads or soups.

The Kamut® is also used to produce a great pasta: its high protein content and gluten permit to elaborate without eggs, a very good and quality pasta.

The bread is delicious and remains fresh for several days.

7-      Triplets My tummy is happy, but the best “new” thing this week is triplets. My sister’s goat had three little babies and they are the cutest tiniest things you have ever seen. Two have blue eyes and the runt, Bernadette, my favorite, has hazel eyes.  Somer is holding Clara Bell

 

Sourdough Black Bean Quinoa Bread

I have been eating vegan for 10 days now and I am FREAKING out over the carbs. I jumped on the south beach diet wagon10 years ago and have more or less eaten that way since. I don’t want to gain weight, I also want  to be healthy. I started South Beach to lose weight, but stuck to it for the health benefits. There are so many “right ways” to eat, how do you know which one is right? ie Gluten is bad, meat is bad, carbs are bad, fat is bad AHHHHHH!

I am sticking to the vegan way for now, but, as I said, FREAKING out.  I made the Spicy-Smokey-black Bean soup for dinner yesterday. It was DELICIOUS. I also enjoyed some Black bean, Quinoa Bread. Love this bread, very easy to make, just dump everything in my Bosch, rise and then into the oven.

Quinoa Black Bean Bread

(this is the last 1/8 of the loaf—I told you I love this bread)

Ingredients

¼ c fresh ground black bean flour

1 C hot water

½ c sour dough starter (mine is from my mother–supposedly came across “the plains” but you can order on Amazon and sour dough has lots of health benefits not to mention tasty!)

½ c cooked quinoa

4 T olive oil

2 t salt

4 T maple syrup

1 T yeast

2-3 cups fresh ground whole wheat flour

Place all ingredients in mixer, add ½ the flour and sprinkle yeast over top. Start mixer and add flour until dough pulls away from edges. Knead for 6 mins, remove from mixer, form free standing loaf (big ball) let rise on baking pan until doubled. Bake at 350  degrees 20-25 mins