INTRODUCTION
Everybody loves sweets. Omnivores and vegans alike have a deep desire for the occasional treat, and why not? A cookie here and there adds joy to life, and if your diet is generally balanced, it really isn’t a problem. Killjoys may recommend giving up eating sweet treats, but the fact is, most people like them: you like them, your family likes them, and they aren’t going away anytime soon.
This book is my answer to the sweets craving, in which the sweets you eat are as nutritious and healthful as I can make them without sacrificing the pleasure of sweetness. I’m not claiming that eating these treats will make the pounds melt away; I’m simply trying to make sure that when you decide to eat a cookie or other sweets, they will be packed with real food, like whole grains, fruit, and nuts—and sweeteners in as unrefined and natural a state as possible. Junk food is just empty calories, but these calories are nutrient-dense. In fact, you may find that eating high-fiber, nutritious treats is so much more satisfying that you eat less of them as a result.
You don’t have to adhere to any particular diet, vegan or otherwise, to enjoy these treats. I found that one of the great joys in developing the recipes for this book was sharing my treats with friends, neighbors, and coworkers who weren’t particularly vegan or into whole grains. Their glowing and enthusiastic praise was encouraging. Beyond letting me know these recipes are truly tasty, the positive response proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that people would come around once they actually got a bite. The proof is in the pudding—or the scone, cake, cookie, or biscuit, as the case may be.
CHOOSING SWEETNESS
For most bakers, the main sweeteners are white sugar and brown sugar (which is simply white sugar with some molasses mixed in). These sweeteners make life simple. Although they are familiar and therefore easy to cook with, they have some serious downsides. White sugar is made from sugarcane juice or sugar beets that have been refined to remove essentially all vitamin and mineral content, and the spritz of molasses that coats brown sugar contributes almost no nutrients. Whether in the form of refined sugar or high-fructose corn syrup, Americans eat an average of almost 1/2 cup/110 g of sugar per day and by some estimates the average person in the United Kingdom consumes his or her own weight in sugar each year—plus 20 lb/9 kg of corn syrup. That’s an awful lot of calories to dedicate to something with no nutrients other than fast-burning carbohydrates.
Still, our desire for sweetness is a natural part of our physiology. In our not-so-distant hunter-gatherer past, sweetness was a signal that a fruit or vegetable was ripe and at its most nutritious. Finding a patch of ripe berries or a date palm dropping sugary fruit was a chance to get valuable nutrients that perhaps hadn’t been available for a while. Sitting down to a feast and stuffing in as much as you could was a smart way to survive. Unfortunately, that drive has remained even as the world around us has become a twenty-four-hour buffet, too often filled with refined, processed, nutrient-poor foodstuffs. Instead of the scent of wild strawberries leading to a belly stuffed with nutritious fruit, rich in fiber, vitamins, and phyto-nutrients, a sniff of Cinnabon or a bag of Halloween candy can lead to a binge on sugary, high-fat foods.
It should come as no surprise that manufacturers know what you like and are happy to sell it to you. Sugar and high-fructose corn syrup are cheap and make junk food taste good. They hit your bloodstream with a surge of pure sugar, almost like a drug. For vegans, there’s also the downside that in some cases the processing of refined cane sugar involves filtration through bone char. The Vegetarian Resource Group estimates that 20 percent of the white sugar sold in the United States is filtered this way. The best answer to your innate drive for sweets is to make your own treats using real, whole foods and sweeteners that are as close to their natural state as possible, which ensures that they deliver not just sweetness, but also superior nutrition.
REAPING THE REWARDS OF SUPERIOR NUTRITION
Before refined sweeteners became such a cheap, readily available source of sweetness, people found other ways to sweeten foods. Those less-refined sweeteners are less like drugs and more like food. They are wholesome and still contain many of the nutrients of the plants they were made from. A study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association in 2009 took a look at just one nutritional difference between sugar and alternative sweeteners: antioxidant content. The researchers found that there are no antioxidants in sugar or corn syrup, but varying degrees of antioxidant activity in natural sweeteners (other than agave syrup). Molasses, date sugar, brown rice syrup, and barley malt syrup had the highest antioxidant content, while maple syrup and rapadura cane sweeteners were just below them. The researchers concluded that replacing the average daily intake of refined sweeteners with antioxidant-rich alternative sweeteners could increase antioxidant consumption as much as eating a serving of blueberries or nuts.
Navinda Seeram, a plant scientist at the University of Rhode Island, has devoted a great deal of research to maple syrup. In 2011, he announced that he has identified fifty-four beneficial compounds in maple syrup, some with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The maple trees apparently produce these chemicals as part of their immune response to the wounds made to tap the syrup, and when we consume these compounds, they act to boost our immunity, as well. In addition, maple syrup is high in the minerals manganese and zinc, which also function as antioxidants and are crucial for many processes in the body.
The terms “evaporated cane juice” and “dehydrated cane juice” may be applied to a broad range of alternative sweeteners. All have the advantage that you can substitute them, in an equal ratio, for white or brown sugar. Some are made by fully refining sugarcane juice and then adding back in a bit of the molasses removed during the refining process. These sugars are shiny and crystalline, a sure sign that they are heavily processed. Other cane sugar products are superior, particularly rapadura, a type of sugar made by drying sugarcane juice, so it still contains most of the original molasses content, along with its minerals and antioxidants. Sucanat is a brand name for this type of sugar. I suggest that you choose Sucanat or rapadura—just be aware that these sugars have a stronger flavor. They also don’t melt the way that refined sugars do, but they do bring distinctive and delicious sugarcane flavor to sweet treats.
CONSIDERATIONS WHEN SUBSTITUTING ALTERNATIVE SWEETENERS
Beyond having slightly more assertive flavors, alternative sweeteners bring other qualities to baked goods, and sometimes recipes must be adjusted. Dry sweeteners like Sucanat, granular palm sugar, and evaporated cane juice work most like granular sugars. If you aren’t strict about avoiding refined sugar, you can use brown sugar in recipes calling for Sucanat or palm sugar. Traditional palm sugar, sometimes called coconut sugar, is a grainy paste; it’s typically available in Asian markets. It falls between dry and liquid sweeteners in terms of how it’s used. Because it’s such a wonderful food, I like to use it often. It’s a little trickier to work with, as you have to chop, grate, or crush before use so that it can be mixed in. If that seems like a pain, use Sucanat. Palm sugar paste is easiest to use in dishes like puddings and sauces, where it’s melted in a liquid.
I like to use liquid sweeteners like maple syrup, brown rice syrup, and agave syrup because they’re generally less refined than other sweeteners and contain more nutrients. However, substituting them in recipes does require that you adjust the liquids, usually cutting them by approximately 1/4 to 1/2 cup/60 to 120 ml per 1 cup/ 240 ml of liquid sweetener used. Many of the whole sweeteners, both liquid and dry forms, brown more quickly than white sugar, so it’s important to bake at moderate temperatures.
Part of the beauty of working with natural products is their uniqueness. Each of the natural sweeteners used here has its own flavors, moisture content, and level of sweetness. For example, brown rice syrup is less sweet than an equal amount of refined sugar, whereas maple syrup and agave syrup are sweeter. On the other hand, the stronger flavor of maple syrup gives a baked good a very different character than the more neutral taste of agave. In this book, I have chosen the sweetener that gives the sweetness and flavor appropriate to each recipe.
THE BENEFITS OF COMBINING SWEETENERS WITH WHOLE FOODS
So we have these wonderful alternative sweeteners that contain many or all of the nutrients in the plants or plant products from which they’re derived. They add good things to your diet, as well as sweetness. The next issue to consider is the effect that these sweeteners have on blood sugar. While this is a complicated phenomenon, a few simple things can help you to navigate the choices before you. First, you may be interested in the glycemic index. This scale, originally devised to help diabetics better understand the effects that food choices had on their health, rates how quickly the sugars from various foods enter the bloodstream. Basically, small amounts of single foods were fed to subjects, and their blood sugar levels were monitored for the following two hours. Anything under 56 is considered low. Refined sugar has a glycemic index of 64, whereas in almost all cases alternative sweeteners have lower values.
Nutrients in Various Sweeteners (mg/100g)
Phosphorus
Palm sugar: 79
Agave syrup: 7
Honey: 4
Maple syrup: 2
Brown sugar: 4
Refined white sugar: 0
Evaporated cane juice: 31.7
Potassium
Palm sugar: 1030
Agave syrup: 1
Honey: 52
Maple syrup: 204
Brown sugar: 133
Refined white sugar: 2.5
Evaporated cane juice: 742
Calcium
Palm sugar: 8
Agave syrup: 1.5
Honey: 6
Maple syrup: 67
Brown sugar: 83
Refined white sugar: 6
Evaporated cane juice: 108.9
Magnesium
Palm sugar: 29
Agave syrup: 1
Honey: 2
Maple syrup: 14
Brown sugar: 9
Refined white sugar: 1
Evaporated cane juice: 8
Sodium
Palm sugar: 45
Agave syrup: 1
Honey: 4
Maple syrup: 9
Brown sugar: 28
Refined white sugar: 1
Evaporated cane juice: 0.33
Chloride
Palm sugar: 470
Agave syrup: 0
Honey: 0
Maple syrup: 0
Brown sugar: 16
Refined white sugar: 10
Evaporated cane juice: 0
Sulfer
Palm sugar: 26
Agave syrup: 0
Honey: 0
Maple syrup: 0
Brown sugar: 0
Refined white sugar: 0
Evaporated cane juice: 0
Zinc
Palm sugar: 2
Agave syrup: 0.2
Honey: 0.2
Maple syrup: 4.2
Brown sugar: 0
Refined white sugar: 0.1
Evaporated cane juice: 1.5
Manganese
Palm sugar: 0.1
Agave syrup: 0.1
Honey: 0.1
Maple syrup: 3.3
Brown sugar: 0.1
Refined white sugar: 0
Evaporated cane juice: 0
Iron
Palm sugar: 2
Agave syrup: 1
Honey: 0.4
Maple syrup: 1.2
Brown sugar: 1.7
Refined white sugar: 0.1
Evaporated cane juice: 4.29
Copper
Palm sugar: 0.23
Agave syrup: 0.1
Honey: 0
Maple syrup: 0.1
Brown sugar: 0
Refined white sugar: 0
Evaporated cane juice: 0.2
Thiamin
Palm sugar: 0.41
Agave syrup: 0
Honey: 0
Maple syrup: 0
Brown sugar: 0
Refined white sugar: 0
Evaporated cane juice: 13.8
Vitarnin C
Palm sugar: 23.4
Agave syrup: 0.5
Honey: 0.5
Maple syrup: 0
Brown sugar: 0
Refined white sugar: 0
Evaporated cane juice: 79
Sources: “Comparison of the Elemental Content of Three Sources of Edible Sugar.” analyzed by PCA-TAL, Sept. 11, 2000 (MI Secretaria et al., 2003), in parts per million (ppm or mg/L): and nutrutiondata.com
In practice, though, we don’t sit down to a spoonful of maple syrup. We eat our sweeteners in concert with other foods. And those other foods can have profound effects on blood sugar as well. Fiber and fat both have the effect of slowing the absorption of whatever sweetener you consume. That means that the combinations of whole grains, healthful fats, and whole fiber-rich nuts, seeds, and fruits that make up the treats in this book work to keep your blood sugar on an even keel, even while you are enjoying cookies and cake. In fact, if the recipes in this book motivate you to eat more whole grains, you will reap many benefits, beyond stable blood sugar.
WHY WHOLE GRAINS
It’s hard to miss the messages recommending that you eat more whole grains. Bread and cereal commercials tout the whole-grain credentials of various breads, cereals, and other products. However, despite all the good reasons to eat whole grains, people have been hesitant to adopt them into their diets. Changing food habits is hard, and many people stick with refined products out of habit or because they’re convinced that whole grains just don’t taste as good.
HEALTH BENEFITS OF WHOLE GRAINS
Whether you are vegan or not, eating whole grains is really, really good for you. Study after study has found that consumption of these tiny powerhouses is akin to a magic bullet for good health. According to the Whole Grains Council, eating three servings of whole grains per day reduces risk of stroke by 30 to 36 percent, risk of type 2 diabetes by 21 to 30 percent, and risk of heart disease by 25 to 28 percent. People who eat whole grains have healthier blood pressure and carotid arteries, less gum disease and tooth loss, and lower risk of inflammatory disease, colorectal cancer, and asthma.
Consumption of whole grains is also linked to healthy body weight. The anticarbohydrate folks who say bread makes you fat aren’t looking at the whole picture. Like white sugar, refined white flour is stripped of its natural nutrients. It also has a higher glycemic index than whole-wheat flour and delivers empty calories without the balancing fiber to slow its release into your bloodstream. This helps explain why those who eat more whole grains have lower concentrations of trunk fat, which fills in around your organs inside your body cavity—the kind of fat that’s linked to diabetes and heart disease.
Remember that dietary fads and fashions come and go. Artificial sweeteners, low-carb diets, and fat-free products have all had their day in the sun—and all have failed to solve our obesity crisis, and have often created new problems. Your best bet is to hang on to the basics. We human beings evolved eating whole, unprocessed foods, and that’s what our bodies digest and run best on, not food engineered in a lab. When confronted with the next food fad, ask yourself, “Is it a whole, natural food? Is it minimally processed and something that humans have eaten for thousands of years?” When it comes to whole grains, the answer is yes.
Whole grains are the solid foundation of a nourishing diet, but too many people cling to processed, refined foods. Hearty, chewy, filling whole-grain baked goods are a great way to tempt your family and friends to eat more healthful real food. The recommendation that we strive to eat three servings a day is based on the expectation that you will eat none. More is better, and if you eat almost exclusively whole-grain foods instead of white refined foods, you will significantly raise your intake of fiber, protein, trace minerals, and even antioxidants. Why eat stripped-down refined foods, when whole foods are so delicious?
Whole grains are also full of flavor. We may have adjusted to the neutral taste of white flour, and the pure hit of white sugar in our desserts, but we can learn to appreciate whole desserts, too.
Take a bite of whole-wheat bread. Chew it slowly, savoring the texture and flavor. Notice how, unlike white bread, it has nuttiness, subtle sweetness, and satisfying chewiness. It has some weight and presence, some gravitas. Like the ancient food that it is, it commands attention.
CONSIDERATIONS WHEN BAKING WITH WHOLE GRAINS
Both whole grains and alternative sweeteners bring more flavor to the table than their refined counterparts. In these recipes, a palette of colorful tastes are brought into each composition, balancing and complementing the base ingredients. With so much going on in the background flavors, a little more cinnamon, vanilla, or chocolate can help bring a familiar flavor to the foreground.
Whole-grain flours are weightier, being studded with bits of bran and germ, so more leavening may be required (or, in the case of yeasted doughs, more rising time).
And because whole flours contain the bran and germ, they have a lower ratio of gluten and starches to help hold structure in baked goods. If you aren’t gluten intolerant, pure gluten flour is a handy way to add a little structure to your whole-grain baked goods, along with more chewiness and wheat flavor. A little goes a long way, so you need only add 1 tsp here and there.
In some of these recipes I include some unbleached flour to help create the expected texture, but the majority of the flour will be whole-grain. In these cases, feel free to experiment with using 100 percent whole-grain flour if you like.
Like all natural products, whole-grain flours may vary from brand to brand. The main difference you might find is that some whole-wheat flours are ground more or less coarsely. For most sweet treats, finely ground flours are the better choice, and a finely ground whole-wheat pastry flour is the workhorse in the sweet vegan kitchen. White whole-wheat flour may sound like some kind of marketing scheme, but don’t be put off by the term “white.” It’s made from a variety of wheat that has an albino bran layer, making it paler in color than regular whole-wheat flour. The recipes in this book were all tested using Bob’s Red Mill flours and oats, which are widely available.
Once you get away from supersweet sugars and grow accustomed to the presence of whole grains, your palate will adjust. In time you’ll come to love this way of eating, especially because you’ll know that the recipes you make with alternative sweeteners and whole-grain flours are so much more healthful than conventional recipes, not to mention most premade, store-bought products. Even so, calories are calories, so you still need to eat these sweets in moderation. But you’ll probably find that easier to do when you aren’t on a roller coaster of blood sugar spikes.
VEGAN, THE WHY AND HOW
Given that you’re holding this book in your hands, chances are you have some idea of what vegan means. Vegan baked goods are made with no eggs, dairy, or honey. For some vegans, that extends to avoiding sugars processed using bone char and embracing healthier alternative sweeteners. People come to a vegan diet for a variety of reasons. Some do so out of a concern for the welfare of animals. Some are concerned about the carbon footprint of their diet and their impact on the environment. Some do so for health reasons, in a desire to avoid saturated fat, cholesterol, and white sugar. For many people, it’s a combination of all of the above and may change from day to day. But basically it boils down to eating a more plant-based diet.
Interest in this way of eating is growing, and as ever, plenty of enterprising businesspeople are stepping up to satisfy the demand. These days you can buy commercial vegan cookies, brownies, cakes, and more that are practically indistinguishable from their conventional counterparts. While those kinds of vegan treats are fine as fun foods, they often make use of refined sugars, flours, and margarine, which bring their own host of health and environmental concerns. The treats in this book will help you move in a healthier direction as you create sweet vegan treats with whole-grain flours, sweeteners that are less refined, and natural oils—vegan treats that will satisfy a sweet tooth while delivering some nutrition, as well. So not only will you be avoiding butter and eggs, you’ll also be eating high-fiber, antioxidant-rich whole grains and healthier sweeteners. How great is that?
Vegan baking has its challenges, especially if you’re accustomed to using conventional ingredients. When you bake without eggs, butter, milk, or other dairy products, you must find other ingredients to provide the same baking qualities.
In the case of eggs, every egg is essentially two ingredients: one part from the white, and the other from the yolk. When beaten, the whites provide structure by trapping the gases made by yeast and other leavening agents. They also bind the ingredients together like an edible glue and have a drying effect that keeps baked goods from being overly moist. The yolks add richness and function as emulsifiers, which means that they help prevent liquids and fats from separating. Together, the whites and yolks help keep desserts from being crumbly, too dry, or too wet.
Luckily, plant-based ingredients can stand in for eggs, as long as you aren’t trying to make meringue or anything else that requires lots of egg whites for loft. For the kind of cookies, breads, and baked goods that have just an egg or two, ground flaxseeds are a good solution. When ground to a fine powder and mixed with liquid, they can provide the structure and binding usually contributed by eggs. A standard substitution for an egg is mixing 1 tbsp of ground flaxseeds with 1/4 cup/60 ml of water. I prefer to use golden flaxseeds for aesthetic reasons and have found that grinding them fresh is best. Grind them in a coffee or spice grinder until they are a fine powder, then whisk them with water or another liquid and let stand for a few minutes, until thickened. The ground seeds will soak in some liquid and form a gel. In many of these recipes, the ground flaxseeds are mixed with the other liquids, so you don’t need to whisk them with water. Flaxseeds have the bonus of adding healthful fiber and essential fats.
Powdered egg replacers, which use a mixture of starches and leaveners to mimic the properties of eggs, are another option. There are several brands available, made with different ingredients, used in different quantities, and mixed with water in varying ratios. I tested the recipes in this book using Ener-G brand egg replacer, which is the most widely available, so that’s what I call for. It’s convenient and works well, especially when you want something that disappears completely into the crumb. Some recipes work best with a combination of flaxseeds and powdered egg replacer standing in for the eggs.
When using these gels and starches for binding, be aware that they need to cool completely to fully set. If a recipe says to cool completely or even chill after baking, try to restrain yourself from cutting into it too soon. The structure of the baked good will be best when it has had time for steam to carry away moisture, resulting in a better texture.
In a few of these recipes, I’ve used a bit of gluten flour as a binder. This gives baked goods some of the structure that eggs would have provided in a nonvegan version.
However, too much gluten or overworked gluten will make the final product tough, so only use as much as directed, and stir or mix with a light hand.
Once the leavening and binding properties of eggs are taken care of, many vegan recipes for baked goods will also benefit from the moisture and bulk provided by applesauce, pumpkin purée, or puréed tofu. These ingredients can stand in for both eggs and fat, creating a very satisfying richness and heft. Pumpkin and applesauce also add sweetness and appealing, familiar flavors that help them stand in for the characteristic tastes of eggs or butter.
You can also learn to bake without butter. Of course, all sorts of healthful fats can be used in baking. For the mouthfeel of butter, coconut oil is a great ingredient. Because it is solid when chilled, it can be grated and added to dry ingredients to simulate cutting in butter or lard, resulting in a flaky crust. Baked goods made with coconut oil have a buttery density, especially when chilled. If you prefer, you can substitute Earth Balance or a similar vegan margarine for coconut oil in most cases. Many vegetable oils are excellent for baking. Canola oil is the default in many of these recipes, but you can use any neutral vegetable oil to achieve the same results. Alternatively, you can try flavorful nut oils for a boost in flavor or olive oil for a distinctive nuance.
Milk is the easiest dairy product to replace. So Delicious brand coconut-based milk has a mild, sweet taste and a relatively thick consistency that makes it a great choice for replacing milk in baked goods. Rice, soy, almond, hazelnut, hemp, and other milks also have their charms, and all should produce similar results if you use them in these recipes. Nondairy milks vary brand to brand; some are thicker and some taste more like their base ingredient. Try a wide variety to discover which you prefer. These recipes were tested using “original” versions of nondairy milks, which are less sweet than vanilla ones. If you use a vanilla version, the final product will just be a little sweeter. There are also unsweetened nondairy milks, which have no added sweeteners and will simply result in a final product that’s a little less sweet.
Cream, a fairly common ingredient in traditional sweets, is a bit trickier to replace. When conventional recipes call for cream in sauces or the batter for baked goods, coconut milk or nondairy creamer products work well. Both are richer than nondairy milks. To replace whipped cream, try whipping chilled coconut cream, which can hold some loft if it’s ice-cold and whipped quickly. If you want to separate the coconut cream for whipping, be sure to buy a natural brand with no emulsifiers, since you want the coconut milk to separate out into cream and water in the refrigerator. Cashew cream is a simple, elegant solution to the cream question and is easily made from soaked, raw cashews. Simply soak the cashews in water to cover for at least two hours, then drain and blend with just enough fresh water or nondairy milk to yield a velvety smooth purée, which you can sweeten and flavor to taste.
A good replacement for gelatin, which is made from the hooves and tendons of animals, is agar, a gel made from a type of sea vegetable. Agar flakes must be soaked and simmered to fully dissolve, so be sure to follow the instructions in the recipes in this regard. Agar powder is finer and more easily incorporated but a little more refined, so I only use it in one recipe where the agar must be dissolved quickly. Note that agar can vary in strength from brand to brand and batch to batch, so results may vary.
All the treats in this book will please your healthy heart, your conscience, and your palate as you explore the world of vegan whole-grain fun!
GLOSSARY OF INGREDIENTS
Most of the ingredients used in vegan baking are reassuringly familiar and easy to find wherever you live. That said, there are a few special ingredients that are essential to fabulous vegan baked goods that may be less familiar. If you have questions about any of them, the answers are provided here. Thanks to the Internet and mail order, even items your local shop doesn’t carry are just a click or call away.
AGAR
Agar, which is derived from a sea vegetable, is used similarly to gelatin. It is sold in bars, strips, flakes, and powder form and is sometimes referred to as kanten, its Japanese name, which is also the name of the Japanese gelled dessert made using agar. Because it contains 80 percent fiber, some protein, and almost no calories, agar is often recommended when you want to feel full while cutting back on calories.
AGAVE SYRUP
Also known as agave nectar, agave syrup is the sweet sap of one of several kinds of agave plant. It comes in both raw and cooked versions. The raw variety is treated with enzymes; if not labeled “raw,” it has been cooked to concentrate the syrup. Agave syrup is naturally high in fructose, which is metabolized more slowly and therefore has a lower glycemic index.
ARROWROOT STARCH
A starch made from a tropical root, arrowroot can be substituted on a one-to-one basis for cornstarch in recipes. It has the benefit of being able to gel more acidic liquids than cornstarch can. Many vegan chefs choose it to avoid both the allergens in corn and genetically modified corn, so often used to make conventional cornstarch.
BROWN RICE SYRUP
To make brown rice syrup, whole brown rice is cooked, then enzymes are added that convert all of the starches in the grain into sugars. Once that is complete, the syrup is strained and cooked to a thick caramel consistency. Brown rice syrup is subtly sweet and can stand in for honey in some recipes.
CANOLA OIL
In recipes that call for a neutral-flavored oil, canola oil is listed in the ingredients, but you can substitute any mildly flavored vegetable oil. I recommend using only organic canola oil, because most of the conventional canola oil in the United States and Canada is made from genetically modified seeds. The label “100%” organic is your only guarantee that an oil is not made from GMO crops. It’s also good to seek out expeller-pressed or cold-pressed oils, which have not been heated to high temperatures or extracted with solvents.
CHOCOLATE, VEGAN
Dark chocolate and semisweet chocolate typically don’t contain dairy products, but they are made with sugar, which may have been filtered through bone char. If this concerns you, look for chocolates labeled “certified vegan.” Another option is grain-sweetened chocolate, which is made with malted grains like barley and corn and no refined sugar. It is mildly sweet and has a slightly stiffer texture when melted.
COCONUT MILK
Coconut milk, which is widely available in cans, can be used as the liquid in recipes, especially those that would be enhanced by a touch of coconut flavor. As always, you’ll want to purchase a natural product, but it’s especially important with coconut milk if you’d like to separate out the cream to substitute for heavy cream in sauces and baking, and even for whipping. Just refrigerate the can until well chilled, then pour off the thinner, more liquid portion. Be sure to save the coconut water. It can be used as a liquid in many recipes.
COCONUT OIL
In the past, coconut oil was greatly maligned because, technically speaking, it consists primarily of saturated fat. However, it differs from other saturated fats because it contains medium-chain triglycerides, which the body metabolizes more like carbohydrates. It also contains lauric acid, which is touted for its antibiotic and anti-fungal properties. It’s a great gift to the vegan kitchen because it contributes a mouthfeel that resembles shortening or butter, and because it’s more stable and therefore more suitable for high-heat cooking. To measure coconut oil accurately, it should be in liquid form. Melt it by setting it on the back of a hot stove or in a pan of warm water, or by microwaving it (remove the lid first!). To chill it for grating, measure the liquid and then put the measuring cup in the refrigerator for about an hour. Run warm water over the bottom of the cup to loosen the oil.
DRIED CHERRIES, CRANBERRIES, AND OTHER FRUIT
When using dried fruit that is very tart in its original state, you may find that it has been sweetened. If you are avoiding white sugar, look for dried fruit that is unsweetened versions or sweetened with fruit juice.
EGG REPLACER POWDER
Commercial egg replacer powders are a convenient way to give baked goods some rise and structure. They’re typically made with a combination of starches, gums, and leaveners. Just whisk the powder into the amount of liquid specified on the package, being sure to whisk until smooth. All the recipes in this book were tested using Ener-G brand egg replacer, which calls for 11/2 tsp powder mixed with 2 tbsp water per egg. If you substitute another brand, you may need to use quantities other than those specified in the recipe. Whichever brand you use, using an egg replacer works best in recipes that don’t call for many eggs.
FLAXSEEDS
Flaxseeds are the vegan’s friend, providing essential fatty acids that omnivores get from fish, and also standing in for eggs in baking. For each egg you’re replacing, whisk together 1 tbsp of finely ground flaxseeds and 1/4 cup/60 ml of water.
FRUIT JUICE CONCENTRATES
Canned, frozen fruit juice concentrate can be used as a sweetener in certain preparations. Use neutral juices, like white grape, apple, or pear when making granolas, sauces, or glazes. Note that they tend to be more acidic than other sweeteners, and this can overwhelm some recipes if you use too much.
GLUTEN FLOUR
Gluten is the wheat protein that helps create structure in baked goods. Sometimes called “vital wheat gluten,” gluten flour is 75 percent protein and a concentrated source of the protein that gives bread and seitan (often called mock duck, a vegan protein used in stir-fries and savory dishes) their structure. Don’t confuse it with high-gluten bread flour, which just has more gluten than regular white flour. Gluten flour is very concentrated so you don’t need much in a baked good; for example, just 1 tsp in a whole-wheat bread recipe is sufficient to hold the gases produced by the leavening agents and create some rise, and to stay firm after baking.
JAM AND JELLY, FRUIT-SWEETENED
Preserves and spreads labeled as “fruit-sweetened” are just that: fruits cooked with fruit juice concentrates like white grape, pear, and pineapple rather than sugar. These are a great resource for adding wholesome sweetness, as well as the flavor of the base fruit.
MAPLE SYRUP
Maple syrup is the concentrated sap of the maple tree, and one of the finest sweeteners you can buy. Grade B maple syrup has a darker hue and more distinctive maple flavor that can enhance recipes. If you prefer pure sweetness, use Grade A.
NONDAIRY MILKS
The choices in nondairy milks have exploded in recent years. They are typically made from soy, rice, almonds, oats, and, more recently, hempseeds, coconut, and hazelnuts. Many are now fortified with vitamin B12 and other nutrients that may be lacking in a vegan diet. If this is an issue for you, check the label. In most of the recipes in this book, I used sweetened, unflavored nondairy milks (usually labeled as “Original” flavor) to test the recipes, so if you use a sweeter vanilla version, the final product will be a little sweeter. You can also use “unsweetened” versions, in which case the final product won’t be quite as sweet.
NUTRITIONAL YEAST
This vegan standby is made from deactivated yeast grown on a medium enriched with vitamin B12 . Don’t confuse it with brewer’s yeast, which isn’t nearly as tasty. It’s available in both flakes and powdered form and has a cheesy flavor that complements many savory dishes. In this book, I use it in a few baked goods to give them a yellow hue and a dairylike taste, as well as a B12 boost.
OATS, ROLLED
Familiar rolled oats, which usually make their appearance as a breakfast cereal, come in several forms. I’m partial to Bob’s Red Mill Extra Thick Rolled Oats for my granolas, but other manufacturers also make hefty old-fashioned rolled oats. Don’t use instant or quick oats in the recipes in this book; you won’t get the best results. Also, you might be surprised to learn that the smaller and finer the flakes, the higher their glycemic index. A few of the recipes in this book call for oat flour, which you can purchase in most natural food stores. But if you don’t have any on hand, simply put some rolled oats in a blender and grind them until powdery.
OLIVE OIL
Olive oil is considered one of the healthiest oils. It may surprise you that it has been used in sweets for centuries in the Mediterranean. So many options are available these days. The more buttery, mild varieties are best for baking with; if you aren’t sure which variety to purchase, hopefully a knowledgeable salesperson can guide you. You may also enjoy the hint of flavor that comes from baking with stronger flavored extra-virgin oils. Start with the Olive Oil and Date Granola and see how you like it.
PALM SUGAR
Throughout the tropics, the sap from a variety of palm trees is boiled down to make concentrated sweeteners. When the sap of coconut palms is used, the sugar is sometimes labeled “coconut sugar.” Traditionally, it was generally formed into a moist, grainy paste, and this variety is still available, typically in Asian stores, packed in jars or molded into rounds. It has a delicious caramel flavor and is often added to Thai curries and puddings.
As sweeteners go, it’s a relatively natural, unprocessed food, somewhat akin to maple syrup, and also has a low glycemic index. Increased interest in palm sugar has led to a dried version becoming available in natural food stores. For the purposes of this book, I’ll refer to the moist version as “palm sugar paste” and the dry form as “granular palm sugar.” Granular palm sugar is interchangeable with Sucanat or rapadura on a one-to-one basis. Palm sugar paste is easiest to use in recipes where it can be combined with liquids and then heated to melt it. Because it comes in solid form, to measure it by volume you first must chop it, grate it, or mash it. This makes it easier to stir into dry mixtures or helps it dissolve in unheated liquid mixtures. The fresher it is, the softer and easier it is to work with.
PHYLLO DOUGH, WHOLE-WHEAT
Most phyllo dough is made solely with white flour, but in recent years versions that include some whole-wheat flour have become available. Look for whole-wheat phyllo dough in the freezer case at natural food stores. The whole-wheat variety is actually easier to handle because it’s a little thicker. Phyllo has a reputation for being tricky to work with, but I’ve found that thawing it properly makes a huge difference. The day before you want to use it, move it from the freezer to the refrigerator so it thaws slowly. Another challenge with phyllo is that it tends to dry out quickly. You can remedy this by covering the sheets you aren’t using with plastic wrap and topping that with a barely damp towel.
SPELT FLOUR
Spelt is an ancient variety of wheat. It does contain gluten, so it isn’t suitable for people with celiac disease or with severe wheat allergies. However, people who have only moderate wheat intolerance sometimes find they tolerate spelt fairly well. Whole-spelt flour is lower in gluten than regular whole-wheat bread flour.
SUCANAT
Sucanat (a brand name for rapadura sugar) is a great alternative sweetener because it comes in granular dry form like conventional crystalline sugar yet is also relatively unprocessed and higher in nutrients. It’s made by pressing whole sugarcane to extract the juice, then boiling and stirring the juice until it forms crumbly bits. No filtration or crystallization is done, and none of the mineral-rich molasses is spun off. It tends to be fairly coarse, so in recipes where a finer texture is required, I call for first blending it until powdery. You can use either a blender or food processor for this.
TOFU
Tofu comes in two main forms: regular (usually packaged in water and sold refrigerated) and silken (typically sold in aseptic cartons, but sometimes in refrigerated tubs). Only a few recipes in this book call for tofu, in most cases to stand in for eggs. All call for silken tofu, which is much smoother and wetter than regular tofu.
UNBLEACHED ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR
In some of these recipes, I found that using some unbleached wheat flour helped give the final result a better crumb and lighter texture. If you want to go all whole-grain, use white whole-wheat flour and see how you like it.
WHITE WHOLE-WHEAT FLOUR
There are many varieties of wheat in the world, but most people only eat one. Break out of the monoculture and try white whole-wheat flour, an excellent flour made from a lighter-colored wheat. It performs much the same and has all the same antioxidants and nutrients as whole-wheat bread flour does, but it’s a little lower in gluten. It works well in both yeasted breads and desserts.
WHOLE-WHEAT FLOUR
Made from higher-gluten winter wheat, whole-wheat flour is typically used for bread baking. Because of the added bran and germ in the flour, you may want to add a little gluten flour to help your breads achieve loft. It’s not as tender in treats like cake or cookies, so use whole-wheat pastry flour when called for in the recipe.
WHOLE-WHEAT PASTRY FLOUR
Made from finely ground soft winter wheat, which has a lower gluten content, whole-wheat pastry flour produces tender pastries and baked goods.
A Note on Measuring
Some baking books suggest that you sift flours before measuring.I don’t want to do that, and I don’t think you do, either. The rationalebehind sifting is to get an aerated product that is most uniform in measure; the result is flour that weighs less than flour that’s simply scooped out of a container. My method, and that of many bakers, is a compromise. Instead of sifting, scoop the flour with a cup or any other utensil, or even with your hand, then gently shake it into the measuring cup. Tap to make sure there aren’t empty spots, then level the top with the back of a knife or any straight edge. This cup of flour will weigh more than a cup of sifted flour, but less than a cup that you scoop right out of the bag, which packs the flour.