“Baby, Imunna Buttah Yo’ Bread!” Vegan Soaked Whole Wheat Bread!

Allow me to introduce you to my new best friend, saver of my new bread-heavy menu: Soaked Whole Wheat Bread! I got this recipe from The Elliot Homestead, whom I thoroughly recommend for those of you who enjoy REAL food! They are ALL ABOUT non-gmo and organic, whole foods, and home-made! They have been in the blogging world for longer than I have, and I subscribe to all of the same values they hold (plus veganism, but you knew that), so I HIGHLY recommend you check them out for more wholesome and money saving tips! They live in Washington as well, and buy their grains from Azure Standard (lovely source for non-gmo, organic bulk items) too, so they check out as far as authenticity and integrity are concerned!

That being said, I would like to share the veganized version of their recipe for Soaked Whole Wheat Bread! It tastes a bit on the yeasty side, but that makes it delicious, don’t let that deter you. It is the best recipe I have ever found, and that is saying a lot because I used to use my mom’s whole wheat bread recipe! The loaf this recipe produces is light, cuts and has that thin-edged outer shell that is characteristic of store bought, that I have never been able to duplicate until now! I always end up with a thick crust, better for soup, type bread, and EVEN with messing up the first rise, this bread STILL takes the cake!

Vegan Soaked Whole Wheat Bread:

Total Time: 2 Days

Prep Time: 30 Minutes

Soak Time: 8+ Hours (The loaf pictured Soaked for 26 hours)

Rise Time: 2.5 Hours

Bake Time: 45 Minutes

Ingredients:

7-7 ½ cups sifted Whole Wheat Flour, divided (The Elliot Homestead grinds their own)

3 teaspoons Sea Salt, divided

1 ½ cups Soy Milk

4 Tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar, divided

2 ½ teaspoons Active Dry Yeast, divided

1 ½ cups Water

2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil (Or shortening has been fine in a pinch)

1/3 cup Sugar

Day 1:

1. Combine 1 ½ cups soy milk with 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar and set aside.
2. Combine 3 ½ cups of sifted whole wheat flour, (it is important to measure the flour sifted for this part because we are trying to mimic the density of freshly ground flour. Non-sifted will work, it just has a bit more difficulty rising), 1 teaspoon salt, and curdled milk mixture. A wooden spoon works best to mix the ingredients.
3. Cover with a towel and plate or plastic wrap and set in a warm place for the night. This is called the Soaker.
4. Now combine 1 ½ cups water and 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and set aside.
5. In a mixer basin or a large bowl combine the rest of the flour (3 ½ cups), 1 teaspoon salt, and water mixture.
6. Mix for 5 minutes on low speed, or by hand.
7. Allow to rest for 5 minutes, before mixing again for 1 more minute.
8. Then towel or plastic wrap it for the night. This one is called the Sponge.

Day 2:

1.  Combine all of the soaker and sponge in your mixer with the rest of the salt (1 tsp), Coconut oil, sugar, and remaining yeast (2 ¼ tsp).
2. Mix for 8 minutes, or 15 minutes by hand, adding flour as necessary. ½ cup is almost always needed, because your soaker and sponge should have been sticky enough to require more flour, this time your flour does not have to be sifted. However, if you are not seeing a need for more flour, don’t force it or scrap it, you will just have a bit denser loaf is all! Your desired consistency should be tacky to the touch but still able to roll out with a pin.
3.  Transfer to an oiled bowl, cover and stick in a warm, draft-free place to rise 1 ½ hours.
4. Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces, and roll out on a lightly floured surface, roll up and tuck the ends. Be careful not to mar the outer shell of the loaf as it will split more as it finishes.
5. Place each loaf into an oiled pan, cover and allow to rise for 1 hour, or until it looks about ¾ of the height of the desired finished product. It will rise the rest of the way in the oven. Preheat your oven to 350 during this step.
6. Bake for 45 minutes, or until they sound completely hollow when tapped with your finger. You can also use a knife to test it.
7. Allow to cool for at least 15 minutes, then when it is a temperature you are comfortable with handling, slice your bread! It is easiest to slice warm bread.

If you find you are having trouble working around all of the rise times, and you are going to mess up a step, choose to prolong the first rise! I recommend just allowing the soaker and sponge to sit longer until you have a block of time to work with, however, I had to abandon the recipe at the first rise in the bowl, and allowed it to rise for 3 extra hours, but the only effect this had was a bread that did not rise so well the second time or in the oven! It still tasted great, and cut magnificently! That is my favorite part about this bread, the skin of it is so thin and the insides don’t crumble when I cut!!!

Thank you Elliott Homestead for the BEST BREAD RECIPE to start from!

All of the ingredients I used total $1.20 to make these two beautiful loaves, which comes out to $0.60 per loaf! How's that for some whole food goodness on a dime?!

ENJOY!

Update 10/9/13:
I was using bulk Bob's Red Mill "Whole Wheat Bread Flour" at 60 cents a pound, not realizing a better option was just All Natural bulk "Whole Wheat Flour" at 40 cents a pound, with a higher protein and fiber content! It brings the loaves down to 50 cents a loaf!!

AND for those of you not grinding your own wheat berries, I found a better measurement to counteract the density of bulk flour:

2 1/2 cups flour for the soaker, 3 cups for the sponge. During final mix add the remaining 1 1/2 - 2 cups of flour!! This replicates the tacky but manageable (barely) consistency which allows for even fluffier, enjoyable, high-rising bread!

Oh, and coconut oil? Definitely adds to the flavor on this one!!!