Recently, I went to sleep with one thought in my head –
How?? How do I create my perfect lentil bread as a vegan lentil bread.
Then the morning would come, and every time I would get up and try,
Each time I would try a different base that came to my mind and create a loaf of bread.
As far as I’m concerned, if it’s not perfect it’s just not something I sign my name on.
I tried everything,
Chia seeds, ground, chopped, whole, soaked in water or non-dairy milk,
Mash from any vegetable you can imagine – from apples to sweet potatoes and zucchini.
Flax seeds, hummus water, tahini, chickpeas, starchy flours, nut and seed spreads, and whatnot.
One night I got into bed, laid down and answered a lot of messages on Instagram.
I make sure that everyone gets personal attention,
The mere fact that someone in this universe stops and looks at what I’m doing and writes to me, it’s not
obvious at all.
That’s why each and every one receives personal attention from me, because each and every one is
valued with all my heart.
I turned off the phone, and thought about my lentil bread and again the question came up – how?
How do I make it vegan and accessible for everyone.
I almost fell asleep and suddenly an option that I haven’t tried yet came to mind.
I tried to think about the nature of the ingredients,
about how a recipe is born,
And not only about what ingredient will give flexibility to the pastry.
And I realized that eggs are actually protein, a protein that can contain,
And I need to find a replacement for it, a suitable replacement that’s easy to get and will be available to everyone.
That same evening I made my tofu cheese for us and I said to myself “hey Essy, silken tofu will provide the answer, silken tofu is exactly the protein you are looking for”.
And I decided it was something I had to try right at that moment!
Not in another hour or the next morning but at that moment, at 12:20 AM.
I said to myself “get out of bed, heat up an oven and create everything that was happening in my head”.
And that’s how the recipe was born, from a deep thought about it and out of passion,
Unexplainable fire,
Fire that’s between my two hands,
A fire that creates an entire world for me.
While grinding the flours for my bread I start to think and calculate the amounts of proteins and liquids in the
pastry.
Mixing and feeling the batter between my two hands,
Transfer it to a pan, shake it lightly, sprinkle sesame seeds and put it in the oven.
I sit on the kitchen floor and stare,
Staring at the process and my bread baking.
I’m anxious, praying that it’ll rise and grow,
That we succeed in creating the dreamy texture I wish for.
I talk to my bread and tell it that all my good energies are directed to it and its ability to become the fulfillment of my thoughts.
And then it happens – it starts to rise and swell,
It’s starting to get a precise crust and it’s starting to be exactly what I hoped it would be.
That’s it, after a few tests I understand that it’s ready!
It’s ready and I should take it out of the oven now to cool on the counter.
It’s already 01:40 AM and I’m at my peak, dancing with myself in the kitchen with huge excitement.
And now, until it cools down, I recreate and write the entire process and the recipe, clean and organize the kitchen.
And now comes the stage, the fateful moment of cutting the slice, peeking into the bread, the main part of
it.
I choose my favorite bread knife in the kitchen.
I place my bread on a cutting board and start cutting in linear motions.
That’s it, the slice has been cut and now I put the knife down and I’m ready for the moment when I pick up
the slice and peek inside.
This is the moment that’ll say it all, this is the moment that’ll reveal the texture and execution of all the thoughts I had in my head.
I pick up the slice of bread I cut and rejoice, my heart skips a beat,
Each side of my mouth reaches a different ear, the smile is huge and the heart beats hard.
I bite into it and realize that I succeeded, I managed to crack the riddle. It’s mine and it’s exactly the fulfillment of all my intentions and thoughts.
It was already 02:30 AM, I’m at the peak of energy and I really can’t fall asleep.
Everyone is asleep and I have no one to be excited about the discovery with,
I decide to choose my favorite song, the one that proved to me somewhere in the cinema that dreams do come true.
Only perseverance and belief in yourself will give you the right to realize your dreams, that there’s a path for everyone in life and it depends on their choices.
That I am here on my own path, proud of every step and every moment in which I grow, appreciate every
obstacle and every success and learn from everything.
I press PLAY and start dancing at home and sing along to myself the song from the movie “A star is born”.
The moment when Lady Gaga comes on stage and fulfills herself, fulfills herself and can’t believe it’s happening to her.
That was my sweet little moment,
In my kitchen at 03:00 in the morning.
A moment of fulfillment, one of many that I have experienced and those that I believe I will experience in the future.
And now after all the words I decide to share, share with you my creation, the fulfillment of my intentions and dreams.
My way, the way I believe in and the ability to not give up until it’s the most accurate, for me.
My vegan lentil bread is one of the best breads baked in my kitchen,
Beyond its perfect texture, it contains ingredients that you can find in any pantry.
I am proud of it and proud to stand behind this creation that’s all mine.
My bread baking night ended at 05:00 in the morning, after working on the recipe and reaching the most perfect texture.
After a good shower I got into bed straight into Noi’s arms who already felt that I had succeeded.
His smile was huge and he hugged me so tight, I fell asleep in his arms, in his pride and in my fulfillment and it was one of the sweetest moments of my life.
In the morning I woke up proud as if… Michael is getting married today!
I bathed and dressed nicer than usual, I arrived at my counter, to my parade of breads.
I made each neighbor a package of bread slices and tofu cheese to sweeten their morning.
Right after the distribution to my neighbors, I made us a sumptuous meal of vegan lentil bread and avocado, tomatoes, tofu cheese and hyssop.
Everything came together, everything was harmonious and I was so excited I went ahead and shared it with you on Instagram.
I couldn’t keep this joy to myself,
Just the thought of sharing it made me even happier.
I decided that there are a few more small corrections that I have to make, after which I will share with great love and deep intention.
Each and every one will make this bread with great love,
Deeply thinking about all the good intentions and energies invested in its creation.
After the preparation, eating it will be dreamy and its texture will be one of the best textures you will meet.
I promise you that you have never met such delicious vegan, gluten-free bread.
If I could write a patent on this bread, I would have a long time ago.
But you were here when it was born, you heard its story and the way it was created,
You’ll feel this unforgettable night in every bite.
You’ll also feel my huge hug.
And now all that’s left for you to do is to enter the kitchen and start the craft, a craft full of love, health, compassion and fun.
The oven will do its magic and you must stand by it and wait for the bread to cool completely.
Only then will the moment of slicing it begin to excite you and become an integral part of eating this bread with joy.
Enjoy, share and bite into the tastiest and best toasts of vegan lentil bread you will ever meet.
Happy and healthy days of fulfillment 🙂
Vegan Lentil Bread
Ingredients: suitable for a big loaf pan (not disposable, I recommend using an iron/glass pan)
- 1 cup red lentil flour
- 1 cup green buckwheat (Not brown buckwheat)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ½ block soft / silken tofu (175g)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder (10g)
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons non-dairy milk (Have a sneak peek at “A little extra from me”)
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon vinegar (I recommend apple cider vinegar)
- 1 tablespoon tahini (Have a sneak peek at “A little extra from me”)
- 3 tablespoons sesame to sprinkle on top of the bread before baking
Steps:
- Preheat the oven to 355°F (180°C) on turbo mode, and line a loaf pan with parchment paper.
- Put all the ingredients in a blender / food processor / bowl and use a hand stick blender, in the following order: silken tofu, olive oil, vinegar, tahini, salt, maple, milk and baking powder and mix well.
- Add the lentil flour and the green buckwheat flour and mix well. Mix very very well until you get a slightly thick and completely smooth dough, without lumps and without bubbles of flour.
- Transfer the mixture to a baking pan, hold both ends of the baking pan and gently slam the pan on the work surface. Repeat this action several times to release air bubbles from our mixture. Sprinkle a little sesame over the bread and create two stripes in the bread mixture with a knife, the stripes will not be visible but will give the bread an easier rise.
- Put in the oven to bake for between 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out dryish from the mixture. Pay attention, here the toothpick test is a little different, the toothpick should come out of the bread with a few sticky crumbs on it – this is normal. The baking time will usually be 30 minutes, but it really depends on your oven and its power.
- Take the bread out of the oven and with the help of the parchment paper, take the bread out of the pan. Peel the parchment paper from the bread and let it cool for at least 30 minutes to an hour. If you have a cooling grid that would be wonderful. I do not recommend cutting the loaf of bread before cooling it, the humidity of the heat will give you very crumbly and dense bread, so let it cool well.
Now comes the moment of slicing, take a bread knife and place the bread on a cutting board, cut into slices of the thickness you want and gobble 🙂
A little extra from me:
- The bread can be kept in the fridge in a sealed container for up to 4 days. I recommend slicing it close to eating and making toast from the bread in a panini press / lightly oiled pan.
- You can slice all the bread in advance and place parchment paper between each slice and freeze it in a sealed bag / container.
- Click here to see how to grind red lentil flour at home.
- Click here to see how to grind buckwheat flour at home.
- You can use any non-dairy milk you choose / cow milk / water.
- Tahini can be substituted for almond butter.
- You can sprinkle whatever you like on top of the bread and you can also omit the topping completely.
- What do you do with the other half of the silken tofu block?? An amazing tofu cheese, click here to view the recipe 🙂
How to grind buckwheat at home 🙂
how to grind red lentil flour at home 🙂
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