teaspoon cayenneBread, the staff of life, is an integral part of the base of any food pyramid. Its carbohydrates give us energy to fuel our day, its proteins build our cells, and its vitamins and minerals sustain our body’s chemistry. Bread can stand alone in muffins or sweet quick breads. It can act as a backdrop for simple sandwiches like peanut butter and jelly, or elaborate creations like torta rustica.
Any way you slice it, bread takes a central role in the vegan diet. The recipes in this chapter are both familiar and innovative. An array of textures are represented, from flaky biscuits to a chewy multigrain bread with lentils. For information on ingredients for baking, see pages 289–290.
QUICK BREADS
If you haven’t done much baking, quick breads are a great way to start. There are two things to avoid: overworking the dough and working too slowly. Overworking the dough will develop the gluten too much and can turn a light, fluffy biscuit into a leaden mass. In addition, overmixing releases carbon dioxide from the batter and reduces leavening action. Working quickly optimizes the rising power of the baking powder and baking soda. The baking powder and soda release their carbon dioxide—the gas that gets trapped and makes baked goods rise—when liquid first hits them. Ideally, you should get batter breads into the oven shortly after the wet and dry ingredients have been mixed.
Biscuits
Biscuits do not contain any eggs so the transition to a vegan version is quite easy, requiring only the substitution of soymilk for cow’s milk. You can also sour 1 cup of soymilk with 1 tablespoon lemon juice to substitute for buttermilk in your favorite recipe. Vegetable shortening produces a light, airy biscuit. For a lower fat biscuit, without shortening, see Sweet Potato Biscuits (page 258).
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup shortening
¾ to 1 cup soymilk
Preheat the oven to 450°. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Cut in the shortening with a pastry blender or two knives until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in just enough soymilk to form a soft dough. Do not overmix. Place the dough on a lightly floured board and knead 3 or 4 times only. Roll the dough out to a thickness of ½ inch. Cut with a 2-inch round cookie cutter. Place on an ungreased baking sheet. Brush the tops with olive oil, if desired. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes.
Makes 12 biscuits.
Sweet Potato Biscuits
These biscuits contain no shortening so are relatively low in fat.
1 cup sifted bread flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
teaspoon cayenne
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup mashed sweet potatoes
¼ cup diced red bell pepper
2 to 4 tablespoons soymilk
Preheat the oven to 450°. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and cayenne in a bowl. Add the olive oil, mashed potatoes, and peppers and mix until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Stir in just enough soymilk to form a soft dough. Do not overmix. Place the dough on a lightly floured board and knead 3 or 4 times. Roll the dough out ¾ inch thick and cut with a 2-inch round cookie cutter. Place ½ inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Brush the tops with olive oil, if desired. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes.
Makes 12 biscuits.
Corn Bread
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup maple syrup
cup soymilk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 tablespoons oil
Preheat the oven to 375°. Grease a 9-inch square or round pan. Sift the dry ingredients together into a large bowl. Combine the syrup, soymilk, lemon juice, ¾ cup of warm water, and warm oil. Stir into the dry mixture and beat until smooth. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 25 minutes.
Makes 8 servings.
Tofu Banana Bread
Carl Lewis
¾ cup (about 6 ounces) medium tofu
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
1 cup sugar
¼ cup olive oil or canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon sea salt
¾ cup coarsely chopped walnuts
Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease a loaf pan. Puree the tofu with ½ cup of banana, sugar, olive oil, and vanilla. Stir in remaining banana. In a separate medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the tofu mixture and mix gently. Fold in the walnuts. Pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes. When bread is cool enough to handle, remove from the pan and cool on a wire rack.
Makes 1 loaf.
Pumpkin Bread
The ingredient list is long but the recipe is quite easy. The spices can be replaced by 2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice. Try substituting an equal amount of mashed sweet potato for the pumpkin.
2 tablespoons flaxseeds
1½ cups sugar
1 cup pumpkin purée
½ cup applesauce
1 cups all-purpose flour
cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease and flour a 9-inch loaf pan. In a blender or food processor, blend together the flaxseeds and 6 tablespoons of water until light and frothy. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flaxseed mixture, sugar, pumpkin, and applesauce.
Sift the flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves into a bowl. Add to the pumpkin mixture and mix well. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake in the center of the oven for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. When bread is cool enough to handle, remove from the pan and cool on a wire rack.
Makes 1 loaf.
Whole Wheat Quick Bread
If you are intimidated by yeast breads or feel you don’t have the time for them, try this amazingly fast recipe. It has a rustic taste and texture and is good for sopping up soups and stews.
1½ cups creamy soymilk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
½ cup all-purpose flour or soy flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
¼ cup canola oil
¼ cup molasses
Preheat the oven to 375°. Grease and flour a 9-inch loaf pan. Mix the soymilk and lemon juice and let stand for 5 minutes or until the soymilk has curdled. Mix the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Mix the soymilk with the oil and molasses. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until blended. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for about 50 minutes. When the bread is cool enough to handle, remove from the pan and cool on a rack.
Makes 1 loaf.
YEAST BREADS
Many conventional yeast breads use few eggs or dairy products, so using or adapting your favorite recipes should be fairly simple. The recipes that follow are perennial favorites.
Bread baking falls somewhere between science and art. For more information on theory and practice, you should consult one of the many excellent bread books available. The following recipes include instructions for working the dough by hand or with a standing mixer. You may also use a food processor, if you have one that can handle bread dough. Of course, you may also use a bread machine, adapting the recipes to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Potato Rolls
Since the dough for these rolls must be refrigerated for several hours, it is convenient to mix it up after dinner, using leftover mashed potatoes. This dough also makes a great base for cinnamon rolls or sticky buns.
1 teaspoon sugar or barley malt
½ cup warm water, about 110°
1½ tablespoons (2 envelopes) dry active yeast
¼ cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed potatoes, at room temperature
4½ cups all-purpose flour
In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the sugar in the water and sprinkle the yeast on the water. Let stand until foamy. Whisk in the oil, salt, and potatoes. Add half the flour and beat with a wooden spoon until a sticky batter forms. Add the remaining flour. Coat your hands with flour and knead the dough in the bowl until it forms a ball. Add a little extra water or flour as needed. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead the dough until it is quite elastic, about 12 to 15 minutes by hand or 8 to 10 minutes in a standing mixer fitted with a dough hook. Form the dough into a tight ball.
Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl. Turn the dough to coat with oil all over. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in the refrigerator for 8 to 18 hours.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator 1½ hours before you want to make the rolls. When the dough has come to room temperature, punch it down and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough a few times to eliminate any large air pockets.
Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. Shape the rolls and place them, seam side down, on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Cut a slash in the top of each roll and cover the rolls with a clean kitchen towel. Let the rolls rise until they have doubled in bulk, about 25 to 35 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375°. Bake the rolls until the crusts just begin to brown and the rolls sound hollow when tapped. For a crunchy crust, spray the rolls with clean water from a clean spray bottle before putting them in the oven and then every 2 minutes for the first 8 minutes.
Makes 12 rolls.
Big Fat Sandwich Loaf
This is the perfect loaf for Muffuletta (page 150) or any large, communal sandwich. You may also make long Italian loaves with this dough. Just divide the dough into two equal pieces and shape into long loaves. Whole wheat pastry flour may be substituted for the all-purpose flour.
2¾ cups all-purpose flour
2½ cups bread flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup warm water, 110°
1½ tablespoons (2 envelopes) dry active yeast
3 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons oil
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
In a medium bowl, mix the all-purpose and the bread flours together. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the sugar in the water. Sprinkle the yeast over the water and let it soften. Beat 2½ cups of the flour mixture into the yeast mixture. Cover the bowl and let the mixture (called a “sponge”) rise until doubled in bulk, about 20 minutes.
Using a spoon or dough hook, beat the oil, salt, and remaining flours into the sponge. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes in a mixer or 15 minutes by hand. This long kneading will give the bread a fine grain. The dough will be quite soft and easy to work.
Shape the dough into a ball and place it, seam side down, on a baking sheet lined with parchment or lightly greased. Preheat the oven to 375°. Let the bread rise for about 20 to 30 minutes or until it is puffy. Do not let it rise too long or it will fall during baking. Brush the top lightly with oil and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. If a crispy crust is desired, spray the bread with clean water from a clean spray bottle every 6 minutes.
Makes 1 big, fat loaf.
Everything Bread
Your local health food store may not carry millet and barley flours. If you can’t find these, you can grind the grains in a coffee grinder. Millet is quite soft, so it grinds easily and even some food processors can handle grinding it into flour. Barley is harder and very few food processors are up to the job. The coffee grinder works well, but you’ll need to grind it in small batches. I prefer to use whole barley rather than pearled barley for the added texture and nutrition, but pearled is much softer and easier to grind.
The water measurements in the recipe are not exact since everyone’s lentils will be different. It is better for the dough to be a little wet than a little dry. This dough is relatively low in gluten, so it will not have that familiar elastic texture.
2 teaspoons (1 envelope) dry active yeast
2 cups spelt flour
¾ cup barley flour
½ cup soy flour
¼ cup millet flour
2 tablespoons rye flour
½ teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon sea salt
½ cup cooked lentils, mashed
1 tablespoon olive oil
Sprinkle the yeast over ½ cup of warm water in a small bowl and let stand for 10 minutes.
Mix the flours, thyme, and salt in a bowl. In a large mixing bowl, blend the lentils and olive oil with ½ cup of warm water (¼ cup if the lentils are really mushy). Add the yeast mixture and 2 cups of the flour mixture and mix well. Stir in the remaining flour and knead in the bowl until a smooth dough is formed. Alternatively, place the ingredients in a standing mixer fitted with a dough hook and mix on medium-low speed until a smooth dough is formed. Add a little extra water or flour, if needed, to form a dough that is soft but not too sticky. Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a bowl greased with olive oil. Turn the dough to coat with oil all over. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let the dough rise until it is doubled in bulk, about 1 to 1½ hours.
Grease a 9-inch loaf pan. Punch the dough down and knead lightly. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Shape the dough into a loaf and put it into the prepared pan. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise until it is doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 375°. Bake the bread for an hour or until it sounds hollow when tapped.
Makes 1 loaf.
Focaccia
The glory of focaccia comes from the olive oil, so splurge on a rich, fruity extra virgin oil. Coarse salt and fresh rosemary are helpful also. You can top your focaccia like a pizza or use it for sandwiches (try Mixed Vegetable Romesco Focaccia, page 153), but I prefer it in its naked, oily glory.
Let the focaccia rise at room temperature, rather than in a very warm spot. The long rising time allows the gluten to develop, giving the bread its slightly chewy texture. The dough can be made the night before and refrigerated after its first rising or after shaping the final loaf. Make sure the dough comes to room temperature before you work with it.
1½ tablespoons (2 envelopes) dry active yeast
1¾ cups warm water, about 110°
¼ cup olive oil
4 cups all-purpose flour, or 2 cups all-purpose flour and 2 cups bread flour
3 teaspoons salt
¼ to cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh rosemary
In the bowl of a mixer or a large mixing bowl, sprinkle the yeast over ½ cup of the warm water. Let stand 5 minutes. Add the oil and remaining 1¼ cups of warm water. In another bowl, whisk the flour and salt together. Add half the flour mixture to the yeast mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon until a sticky dough forms. Add the remaining flour. With a mixer fitted with a dough hook, blend the flour into the dough on low speed until it comes together in a ball, about 2 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl and knead the dough with the dough hook until elastic, about 6 minutes. If working by hand, mix the remaining flour into the dough. Knead the dough in the bowl, adding a little extra water or flour as needed until the dough comes together in a ball and is soft but not sticky. Continue to knead the dough in the bowl until it is quite elastic, about 12 to 15 minutes.
Shape the dough into a ball and place in a medium mixing bowl lightly coated with olive oil. Turn the dough to coat with oil all over. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let the dough rise until it is doubled in bulk, about 1 to 1½ hours.
Punch the dough down, fold it into thirds, and form it into a ball. Turn the ball to coat with oil. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let the dough rise until it is doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes to an hour.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Starting from the middle of the dough, push the dough down and away from you with the palm of your hand. Burst any bubbles that appear on the surface of the dough. Gently work the dough into a rectangle the size of a cookie sheet or a circle the size of a 12-inch pizza pan. Fold the shaped dough in half or thirds and lay it on a lightly oiled pan. Unfold the dough and shape it to the pan so the dough is uniform in thickness.
With clean fingers, poke deep dents all over the dough. Drizzle the olive oil evenly over the dough. Sprinkle the kosher salt and rosemary over the dough. Cover the focaccia lightly with plastic wrap (which won’t absorb the precious oil) and let rise until double in height, about 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 400°. Bake the focaccia in the center of the oven. For a crispy crust, spray the focaccia with clean water from a clean spray bottle every 3 minutes for the first 10 minutes. Then allow the focaccia to brown lightly, another 2 to 5 minutes.
Makes 12 servings.
FLATBREADS
Most cuisines have a particular flatbread that helps to define them. Some of these are not worth the trouble to prepare at home. While tortillas are not hard to make, it can be difficult to duplicate the results obtained from baking on a comal. Injera, an Ethiopian flatbread, is a fabulous light creation made from teff, a cousin of millet, but it takes three or four days to prepare by the traditional method. Fortunately, most groceries have a wide variety of flatbreads available—crackers, tortillas, lavosh, and Scandinavian flatbrod. In this section we include several recipes for an all-time favorite—pizza—because of its adaptability to the vegan diet and its ease of preparation.
Pizza Crust
Pizza crust is a scaled-down version of focaccia.
2 teaspoons (1 envelope) dry active yeast
1 cups warm water, about 110°
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
¼ cup wheat bran (optional)
In the bowl of a mixer or a large mixing bowl, sprinkle the yeast over cup of the warm water. Let stand 5 minutes, then add the oil and remaining 1 cup of warm water. In another bowl, whisk the flour and salt together. Add half the flour mixture to the yeast and water. Stir with a wooden spoon until a sticky dough is formed. Add the remaining flour and wheat bran. With a mixer fitted with a dough hook, blend the flour into the dough on low speed until it comes together in a ball, about 2 minutes. Scrape the bowl down, turn the mixer on medium, and knead the dough until elastic, about 6 minutes. If working by hand, mix the remaining flour into the dough. Knead the dough in the bowl, adding a little extra water or flour as needed until the dough comes together in a ball and is soft but not sticky. Continue to knead the dough in the bowl until it is quite elastic, about 12 to 15 minutes.
Place the ball of dough in a medium mixing bowl lightly coated with olive oil. Turn the dough to coat with oil all over. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let rise until it is doubled in bulk, about 1 to 1½ hours.
Punch the dough down. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough in half. Turn each ball of dough inside out, then form into a smooth ball with no air pockets. Take each dough ball and rotate it in a little clockwise circle on the countertop (this will makes the dough easier to roll out into a circle later). If you are making only one pizza, wrap the remaining dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate. Cover the dough with a clean kitchen towel and let it rest for 20 to 45 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 400°. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface. Put the palm of your hand in the middle of the ball and flatten with a clockwise twist. Roll or press the dough into a circle or rectangle slightly larger than your pan, working from the center of the dough out to the edges in a clockwise direction. As you work, occasionally pick up the dough and re-flour the surface underneath so the dough doesn’t stick. Fold the shaped dough in half or thirds and lay it on the pan. Unfold the dough and fit it into the pan. Pop any visible air bubbles. Top the pizza and bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until the crust just begins to brown and the toppings are bubbling.
Makes 2 12-inch pizza crusts.
Whole Wheat Pizza Crust: For the all-purpose flour, substitute 2 cups of all-purpose flour and 2 cups of whole wheat flour, or 4 cups of whole wheat pastry flour.
Pizza Sauce
Any bottled pizza or marinara sauce will work on your pizza, but I prefer this very simple sauce, which is barely cooked and somewhat chunky.
1 28-ounce can good quality diced tomatoes, preferably roma
2 tablespoons olive oil
1½ teaspoons minced garlic
teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
teaspoon sea salt
Pinch ground black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
Drain the tomatoes, reserving the juice for making Vegetable Stock (page 65), if desired. Heat the oil in a wide skillet. Sauté the garlic and pepper flakes with the salt and pepper. Do not brown the garlic. When the garlic is fragrant, add the tomatoes. Stir the tomatoes until they are barely warm and turn off the heat. Use a potato masher to crush the tomatoes. Add the basil and mix well. Taste and adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper.
Makes about 2 cups.
Potato and Rosemary Pizza
1 to 2 pounds new potatoes or Yukon Gold potatoes
1 12-inch Pizza Crust (page 266), unbaked
2 to 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1½ tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
Freshly ground black pepper
Steam, boil, or microwave the potatoes until they are about half-cooked. Let the potatoes cool completely. Slice the potatoes paper-thin on a mandoline or with the side of a box grater.
Brush the pizza crust with half of the olive oil. Sprinkle half the salt and 1 tablespoon of the rosemary on the oil. Grind a little black pepper over the crust.
Preheat the oven to 375°. Arrange the potato slices decoratively over the pizza to within ½ inch of the edge. The potatoes should overlap a bit but should be no more than 2 layers thick anywhere on the pizza. Do not use the thick end slices, as they will not cook at the same rate as the rest of the potatoes.
Brush the remaining olive oil on the potatoes and sprinkle them with the rest of the salt. Bake the pizza in the oven until the potatoes are tender and just starting to brown, about 12 to 15 minutes.
Sprinkle with the remaining rosemary and serve immediately.
Makes 12 appetizer servings or 4 main-course servings.
Bianca Pizza with Tofu Boursin
For many vegans, the bianca is a pizza favorite that’s hard to give up. Fortunately, there’s no need to deprive yourself.
1 12-inch Pizza Crust (page 266), unbaked
1½ tablespoons olive oil
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
Freshly ground black pepper
2 cups Tofu Boursin (page 154)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
Preheat the oven to 400°. Brush the pizza crust with half the olive oil. Sprinkle with half the salt and all the garlic. Grind a little pepper over the crust and spread the boursin to within ¾ inch of the edge. Brush the pizza with the remaining olive oil. Bake in the lower third of the oven until the crust just begins to brown, about 10 to 15 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining salt and chives just before serving.
Makes 12 appetizer servings or 4 main-course servings.
Two-Tone Tomato Pizza with
Basil and Garlic
Meaty tomatoes work best in this recipe, since juicy tomatoes can make for a soggy crust. For added visual appeal and flavor, just before serving, paint the top of the pizza with Soy Syrup (page 201) made with balsamic vinegar and without the ginger.
2 pounds ripe red tomatoes
2 pounds yellow, pink, or striped tomatoes
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 12-inch Pizza Crust (page 266), unbaked
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon minced garlic
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup Pizza Sauce (page 267)
½ cup fresh whole basil leaves
Preheat the oven to 400°. Slice the tomatoes as thinly as possible. Sprinkle with half the salt and let the tomatoes drain in a colander while preparing the rest of the pizza.
Brush the pizza crust with half the olive oil. Sprinkle with the garlic. Grind a little black pepper over the crust and spread the pizza sauce to within ¾ inch of the edge. Arrange half the basil leaves on the pizza sauce. Arrange the tomatoes and remaining basil in a decorative pattern over the pizza. Sprinkle the remaining salt over the tomatoes and drizzle with the remaining olive oil. Bake the pizza until the crust begins to brown, about 12 to 15 minutes.
Makes 12 appetizer servings or 4 main-course servings.
Vegetable Tofu Pizza
Carl Lewis
1 12-inch Whole Wheat Pizza Crust (page 267), unbaked
1 cup Pizza Sauce (page 267)
½ cup sun-dried tomatoes, rehydrated and drained
2 medium tomatoes, thinly sliced
½ cup thinly sliced mushrooms
1 10-ounce package extra firm tofu, thinly sliced
cup sliced green olives
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced (optional)
cup spicy brown mustard (optional)
Preheat the oven to 375°. Place the pizza crust on a baking sheet or pizza pan. Spread the Pizza Sauce to within ¾ inch of the edge. Arrange the tomatoes, mushrooms, tofu, olives, and onion over the sauce. Bake the pizza until the crust just begins to brown, about 12 to 15 minutes. Serve with mustard, if desired.
Makes 12 appetizer servings or 4 main-course servings.
Torta Rustica
This is a great way to use up leftover grilled or roasted vegetables. Just about any assortment of veggies will do, but the ones listed below make for a stunning presentation.
Dough for 2 12-inch Pizza Crusts (page 266)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons olive oil
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon minced garlic
Freshly ground black pepper
1 medium eggplant, sliced and grilled or roasted
¾ cup roasted peppers
1 cup Tofu Boursin (optional, page 154)
1 medium zucchini, sliced, and grilled or roasted
2 medium tomatoes, sliced
1 large bulb fennel, trimmed (page 222), thinly sliced, and grilled or roasted
Preheat the oven to 350°. Roll one pizza crust 12 inches in diameter and the other 14 inches. Place the 12inch crust on a pizza pan or large, lightly oiled sheet pan.
Mix the basil, rosemary, and thyme in a small bowl. If any of the cooked vegetables have expressed any liquid, pat them dry with paper towels.
Brush the 12-inch crust with half the olive oil. Sprinkle the salt, garlic, and a third of the herbs on the crust. Grind a little black pepper over the crust. Arrange half the eggplant over the crust, leaving a 2-inch margin around the edge of the pizza. Top with half the roasted peppers and half the boursin. Layer on all the zucchini, then the tomatoes. Sprinkle with a third of the herbs. Top with all the fennel, the remaining roasted peppers, boursin, and eggplant. Sprinkle with the last of the herbs.
Carefully lay the 14-inch crust over the torta so that the dough comes to within ½ inch of the bottom’s edge. Once the top crust is on, gently press down to remove any air pockets. Try to shape the torta so it is a uniform height and straight-sided. Fold the bottom crust over the top crust and crimp them together so an air-tight seal is formed all around the torta. Brush all over with the rest of the olive oil.
Cover the torta loosely with aluminum foil to prevent overbrowning and bake for 15 minutes. Uncover and bake for 15 to 25 minutes longer.
Makes 6 to 8 main-course servings.
Whole Wheat Pita Bread
If these pitas are baked at the right temperature, they will form pockets like those found in the store.
2 teaspoons sugar
2 cups warm water, about 110°
1½ tablespoons (2 envelopes) dry active yeast
2 cups whole wheat flour
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar with ½ cup of the warm water, sprinkle the yeast on top, and let stand until foamy, about 5 to 8 minutes. Mix the flours and salt together. Add the rest of the water to the yeast mixture and beat in half the flour mixture until a thick, smooth batter is formed. Add the rest of the flour and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes by hand or 6 minutes in a standing mixer fitted with a dough hook. Put the dough into a bowl lightly coated with olive oil. Turn the dough to coat with oil all over. Cover the dough with a clean kitchen towel and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 450°. Punch the dough down and let rest for 15 minutes. Divide the dough into 8 pieces. On a lightly floured surface, roll each piece of dough into 6to 8-inch circles. (Alternatively, with lightly floured hands, slap the dough from palm to palm until the circle is formed.) Keep the edges of the pitas thicker than the middles (to prevent sandwich filling leakage later). For best results preheat 2 baking sheets for 5 minutes. Place the pitas on the hot baking sheets and bake in the center of the oven for 10 to 12 minutes, or until lightly browned and puffy in the middle.
Makes 8 pitas.
Green Onion Pancakes
Try serving these tasty pancakes with Simple Soy Dipping Sauce (page 138), Sweet and Sour Dipping Sauce (page 138), or Vietnamese Lime Dipping Sauce (page 139).
2 cups all-purpose flour, or 1 cup all-purpose flour and 1 cup cake flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon peanut, blended, or canola oil
1 cup boiling water
1 teaspoon sesame oil
½ cup very thinly sliced green onions
Peanut oil, for frying
Combine the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the oil and stir with a wooden spoon while gradually pouring in the boiling water. Beat until a dough forms. When the dough is cool enough to handle, knead it for 10 minutes by hand or 6 minutes with a standing mixer fitted with a dough hook, or until the dough is elastic. Place dough in a bowl and cover with a clean, damp kitchen towel for 30 minutes.
Roll the dough out to a 10x15-inch rectangle that is about ¼ inch thick. Brush the sesame oil evenly over the dough. Sprinkle the green onions over the dough. Roll up the dough jelly-roll style. Cut the roll into 8 thick slices. Flatten each slice slightly with your hand. Roll out each piece, turning it to keep it circular, until it is ¼ inch thick and about 6 inches in diameter. Keep the finished pancakes covered with a damp towel while you work.
Heat a skillet over high heat. When it is hot, pour in oil to a depth of ¼ inch. When the oil is hot, turn the heat to medium-low. Cook the pancakes in the oil, one at a time, for about 2 to 3 minutes on each side, until they are golden. Replenish the oil as needed.
Makes 8 pancakes.