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Who doesn’t love bread? I know we all feel like Oprah in that commercial, “I Love Bread. I. LOVE. BREAD!”
While we enjoy the carb-filled goodness, many of us don’t love making bread. It can be time consuming. It can be frustrating. But, my partner and I have been slowly been perfecting a recipe for our favorite kind of bread—pita bread!
Is it worth making pita at home? Absolutely. Store-bought pita is often several days old and simply doesn’t taste as good as hot out of the oven bread. Warm, toasty home-baked pita is worth the effort. It puffs up perfectly for ‘pocket pita’ sandwiches and pairs great with your favorite hummus.
This pita bread recipe produces a nutty, rich flavor along with a light, airy consistency. Once you taste it, you won’t be buying pita bread at the store again. … Okay, at least not when you have the time to make your own.
What are you waiting for? Give it a shot!
Cheers & happy cooking!
Jocelyn
Homemade Pita Bread
***Please feel free to share widely, just give me some credit or a link back. Heavily adapted from Serious Eats. Check them out!
Prep Time: 50 minutes
Rise Time: 60 minutes
Proof Time: 20 minutes
Yield: ~Six 5″ pitas
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra
- 1 tablespoon real vegan sugar
- ½ cup whole wheat flour
- 1½ teaspoon salt
- 2¼ teaspoons instant yeast
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more (EVOO)
Directions
- Move oven rack as low as it will go, and preheat oven to 500 degrees F.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the warm water, EVOO, vegan sugar, yeast, salt, and whole wheat flour with a wooden spoon.
- The consistency should be smooth.
- Next slowly add in the all-purpose flour.
- The dough will begin to look a bit rugged.
- Knead the dough in the bowl for 10 minutes.
- Eventually the dough should become elastic and smooth.
- If it’s too sticky to work with add a small amount of all-purpose flour.
- Eventually the dough should become elastic and smooth.
- Take the dough out of the bowl and roll it into a smooth ball on a lightly floured area.
- Coat a new mixing bowl with EVOO and place the dough ball inside.
- Roll the ball around the oil making sure to coat all sides.
- Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and then let it rise for one hour.
- Line a baking sheet with a large kitchen towel and set aside.
- Flatten the dough and place it on your lightly floured work area.
- Cut the dough into six sections.
- Take each section and roll the dough into a ball.
- Put the dough balls on a plate and cover them with cling wrap (lightly oiled) or a damp towel to rest for 10 minutes.
- Roll each piece of dough into a 5-7 inch circle.
- Aim for ¼ inch in thickness all around.
- Cover the dough again to proof until it starts to puff up — 15-25 minutes.
- Take each dough section and place it in the oven to bake until it puffs up and is golden brown. Do not overcook! This should take just a few minutes.
- After each pita is made, place it on a towel lined sheet and cover with another towel.
- Repeat until all pitas are baked.
- If you would like a toasted, charred look and taste add the following steps:
- Heat a griddle or cast iron skillet until smoking.
- Briefly heat each pita until slightly charred. This will happen very quickly due to the high heat.
- Return the pita to the towel lined sheet and cover.
- Serve immediately with your favorite hummus or other dip!
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]]>Hello everyone,
A friend sent me a recipe for Salty Sesame and Dark Chocolate Chip cookies from Joy the Baker. It certainly wasn’t the easiest recipe to ‘veganize’ considering if called for quite a bit of butter and an egg, plus an extra egg yolk. However, it was worth the hassle!
These are the perfect cookies for anyone who likes things sweet and salty. They came out of the oven warm and chewy. Honestly, these had a consistency rarely found in vegan cookies. Plus, they taste even better! The sesame seeds add a unique twist on a salty chocolate chip cookie.
So here it goes, below is my highly modified version of the Salty Sesame and Dark Chocolate Chip cookies from Joy the Baker. Give them a try. Your tastebuds will thank you!
Cheers!
Jocelyn
- 25 minutes (12 cook, 13 prep)
- 24 cookies
- 2 1/4 cups flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup, 2 sticks Earth Balance, softened
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 3/4 cup granulated vegan sugar or sugar alternative (I used Splenda)
- 2 eggs worth of Ener-G Egg Replacer
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp tamari
- 2 tbs black sesame seeds
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips (I used ghirardelli)
- 1/2 cup crystalized ginger chips
- Sea salt
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- Line two baking pans with parchment paper.
- Mix together the flour, baking soda and salt.
- In a large bowl, beat together the Earth Balance and sugars until light and fluffy.
- Pause the mixer and add the two Ener-G Egg Replacers and beat until well combined.
- Add the vanilla and soy sauce and beat another 1-2 minutes.
- Stop the mixer and add the dry ingredients.
- Beat on low speed until mixed and no clumps remain.
- Fold in the dark chocolate chips, sesame seeds, and ginger chips.
- Pour a shallow layer of sesame seeds in a small dish.
- Rolls golf ball size balls of dough by hand and then roll them in the sesame seeds before placing them on the parchment lined baking sheet.
- Repeat until all of the dough has been used.
- Sprinkle a very light amount of sea salt over the cookie dough balls.
- Bake for ~12 minutes until the edges of the cookies look golden brown.
- Remove from the oven, transfer to cooling racks, and allow to cool completely before enjoying these delicious cookies!
- PS – You should store these cookies in an air tight container. This will ensure they last about 5 days.
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]]>The post Recipe: Vegan Carrot Cake appeared first on Vegan Hostess.
]]>Hello friends,
I had never tried to make a carrot cake before so I decided to look at a few recipes online. I wasn’t in love with what I saw – a lot of recipes with a ton of ingredients, most of which were not in my cupboards. Rather than move onto a different cake, I decided to look at a carrot cake cupcake recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Takeover the World. If you don’t have this book, you should snatch a copy ASAP. It’s my #1 goto recipe book.
What follows is a highly modified version of the cupcake recipe. I added in almond milk, tweaked the ingredient amounts, and added crystalized ginger instead of powder. Everyone seemed to enjoy the end result, and they said it was quite moist and creamy. I will admit, it’s a bit rich, so if you don’t have a real sweet tooth, beware! Please give this recipe a try and let me know what you think.
Cheers!
Jocelyn
- 36 minutes (26 cook, 10 prep)
- One tall 9 in round cake pan (or 18 cupcakes)
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 2/3 cup sugar or sugar alternative (I used splenda)
- 1/3 cup canola oil
- 1/3 cup soy yogurt (I used vanilla Silk yogurt)
- 1/2 cup almond or soy milk
- 2 tsps vanilla extract
- 2 cups finely grated carrots
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/4 cup crystalized ginger chips
- 1/2 cup Earth Balance margarine, softened
- 1/2 cup vegan cream cheese, softened
- 2 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- Grease a 9 in baking pan. (alternatively fill a cupcake pan with liners)
- In a large bowl, mix together the sugar, vegetable oil, yogurt, and vanilla.
- Sift the dry ingredients together and then add them to the wet ingredients.
- Mix until no large clump remain.
- Fold in the carrots, walnuts, raisins and crystalized ginger.
- Spread the batter evenly into a 9 in round cake pan or fill the cupcake liners 2/3 full.
- Bake for ~26 minutes until you can insert a toothpick in the middle and it comes out clean.
- While the cake is cooking, make the icing.
- Use an electric mixer to beat the margarine and cream cheese together until combined.
- Turn the mixer on slow and begin to add in the confectioners sugar in small batches.
- Mix until smooth and creamy and then beat in the vanilla.
- Set the icing in the refrigerator until the cake is ready to be iced.
- Transfer the cake/ cupcakes to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before frosting.
- Ice the cake/ cupcakes, decorate, and enjoy!
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]]>The post A Spicy Giveaway & Choco Banana-Oat Cookies! appeared first on Vegan Hostess.
]]>I hope you’re all staying warm! In an effort to help bring the heat, I am happy to announce my first product give away – a Siracha 2 Go keychain. Oh yes, now you can ensure you never have to head out to a restaurant without the sweet spicy chili sauce everyone knows and loves. I’ll also throw in some ‘surprise’ products as well.
How to enter:
- Follow this blog if you aren’t already; and
- Like any post of your choice.
- For an an extra entry like the Vegan Hostess Facebook page.
I will randomly select the winner on Sunday, Feb. 22 at 6pm EST.
Okay, now on to the treats! I found a carton of oats in my refrigerator tonight, and I just couldn’t help myself. It’d been too long since I made a warm, chewy oatmeal cookie. The below-listed recipe is for a slightly more healthy version which utilizes whole wheat flour in lieu of all-purpose, Splenda instead of sugar, and mashed bananas as the binder. The cocoa and vegan chocolate chips pair wonderfully with the light banana flavor. Don’t take my word for it when I say this recipe produces a delicious, healthier alternative, try it yourself!
“Healthy” Chocolate Banana-Oat Cookies
Ingredients/ Shopping List:
- 2 overripe bananas (mine were frozen and thawed)
- ½ cup and 1 tbsp earth balance, softened
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp almond extract
- ½ cup almond milk, unsweetened
- 1 cup Splenda
- ½ -3/4 cup cocoa powder
- 3 cups rolled oats
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ cup vegan chocolate chips
- ¼ cup crystalized ginger chips
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Combine all wet and dry ingredients separately except the ginger and chocolate chips. (The cocoa and sugar get mixed with the wet ingredients).
- Once no flour or oat clumps remain, fold in the chocolate chips and crystalized ginger.
- Roll golf ball sizes balls of dough in your hands.
- Flatten until ~1 inch thick and place on the baking sheet.
- Repeat step 6, leaving 1-2 inches between cookies.
- Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes.
- Remove the cookies and place on a cooling rack.
- Enjoy!
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