Tag: recipes

Quarantine Bread

Quarantoast

We’ve spent nearly 3 months in quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I’ve been going through ingredients in order to minimize visits to the grocery store. While I’ve maintained a mostly gluten-free diet the last few months, there’s leftover wheat flour that needed to be used. The idea of making quarantine bread hit me.

It turns out that bread yeast is a hot-ticket item like toilet paper. Active dry yeast has become increasingly hard to find, so I ended up asking my neighbors for some through a “Buy Nothing” Facebook group. Now with all the ingredients in tow, I could finally make a loaf of bread that’s simple yet delicious.

Worth the time and effort

This bread takes about 4 hours to prepare and rise; the prep and rise time totals about 3 1/2 hours, and the bake time is half an hour. The end results are a fragrant and fluffy loaf that smells and tastes like heaven.

You will need

  • 3 3/4 cups of wheat flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
  • 1 tablespoon of flax meal (ground-up flax seeds)
  • 2 tablespoons of rolled oats
  • 1 1/2 cups of warm water
  • 1 packet of active dry yeast
  • 2 tablespoons of sugar

Steps to make and bake Quarantine Bread

Stir the sugar in the warm water; the sugar is what the yeast feeds on. Make sure the water isn’t too warm, or else it will kill the yeast.

Stir in the yeast, and let it “proof” for 10 minutes. You’ll know it’s ready when it looks foamy.

Mix the flour, salt, flax meal, and rolled oats thoroughly together.

Dig a little well in the center, and slowly pour in the yeast water.

With a wooden spoon, mix until a sticky dough forms. When the spoon can no longer mix, use your hands to finish this step. If it’s too sticky, you can add more flour, one tablespoon at a time, until it’s no longer sticking to the sides of the bowl.

It will look something like this.

Take the ball of dough out. Clean the bowl thoroughly and lightly grease the sides. Then put the dough back in.

Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 2 hours. The yeast will work its magic to make the bread dough rise.

It’s so puffy!

When the 2 hours is up, you’ll have a beautifully risen dough. Carefully set the plastic wrap aside. Punch the dough down and lift it out of the bowl onto a lightly floured surface.

Knead about 20 times, then put it in a greased 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.

With the same plastic wrap, loosely cover the dough. Set it aside again, and let it rise for 1 hour.

Just a few more steps.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Towards the end of preheating, slash the dough diagonally with a knife a few times.

Put the pan with the dough into the oven, and bake for 30 minutes. Towards the end, the fragrance of baking bread will waft in the kitchen, and it’s probably one of the greatest smells ever.

When the bread is done, let it cool for 15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Let it cool completely before slicing it.

The most beautiful loaf of bread

It’s so beautiful that I had to swaddle it like a baby.

The end result is a gorgeous, fragrant loaf of bread. The crust is thick and hearty, and the inside is steamy and fluffy. The first bite melted on my tongue, and it tasted like heaven.

The bread can be stored in the fridge for a few days. It does get slightly more dense each day. You can slice and toast it in order to revive the fluffy texture.

Melted plant-based cheese.

This bread is so versatile. You can add your favorite toppings, such as peanut butter, avocado, plant-based cheese, or whatever your heart desires. You can even slice it up and make French toast. There’s no right or wrong way to enjoy this bread.

Vegan Cupcakes

It was my last day at work on Friday. It felt so surreal. Time to plant new seeds now. I brought in vegan cupcakes for my coworkers, who were delighted to eat them.

I had a little send off last night. Everyone’s warm wishes, assurances, and company were much appreciated. I’ve been feeling a lot of anxiety about traveling for this long, because I’ve never done anything this crazy before. So, it was really nice to see my friends and have them tell me everything is going to be okay. There were lots of hugs all around… And there were vegan pizzas, snacks, and the vegan cupcakes everyone loves.

It’s a recipe that has been kept secret for ten years and I’m finally ready to share it. The cupcakes themselves have nine ingredients, so they’re simple to make. If you don’t have coconut oil, canola oil can do just fine. Water can also be substituted for soy milk. But I promise you, the coconut oil and soy milk make the cupcakes exquisite.

You Will Need:

  • 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup of organic sugar
  • 1 tsp. of baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp. of baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp. of sea salt
  • 1 cup of soy milk
  • 1/4 cup of coconut oil
  • 1 tsp. of vanilla extract
  • 1 Tbsp. of white vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put cupcake liners in the muffin tin.

Sift together all the dry ingredients into a bowl and stir together. Then poke a well into the dry mixture with your finger. In a separate bowl, mix together the wet ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients right into the center of the well of the dry mixture. Stir until incorporated fully, but don’t overdo it. (We want the batter to be a little lumpy. If it’s stirred too much, then it loses its texture. Then it won’t rise as well.)

Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners until about two-thirds full. Put the pan into the oven and bake for 22 minutes. Stick a toothpick in the center to ensure they’re fully baked. If some batter clings onto the toothpick, bake for two more minutes.

When they’re done, take the cupcakes out and let them cool for at least half an hour. After they’re cool, it’s time to add the frosting.

Some store-bought frosting, such as Duncan Hines brand, are accidentally vegan. I used the creamy home-style vanilla flavor here, but if you want to make your own, it’s quite simple. There are plenty of recipes around. Here is what I use sometimes:

Vegan Frosting:

  • 2 cups of organic powder sugar
  • 2 Tbsp. of Earth Balance (vegan butter)
  • 2 Tbsp. of soy milk
  • 1 tsp. of vanilla extract

Cream together the Earth Balance, soy milk, and vanilla extract with a hand mixer. Gradually add the powder sugar until a smooth consistency forms and all the lumps are gone. Slather the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes.

And voila! There you have it. I hope you love making these as much as I do! Do leave a comment and tell me what you think. Enjoy!