Dutch Oven Sourdough Bread and Fudgy Vegan Brownies

This week’s Adventures With Sourdough addition is particularly exciting, because I finally acquired a Dutch oven.  Despite the jokes you have to put up with when you talk about Dutch oven cooking, I can now attest that Dutch ovens—or other clay bakers—are absolutely essential for crusty sourdough bread.

Dutch ovens originated in the Netherlands during the late 1600s.  In the early 1700s, British inventor Abraham Darby observed the Dutch system of producing these smooth-walled cooking vessels with dry sand, patented a similar procedure, and produced Dutch ovens for Great Britain and the American colonies.  Dutch ovens have always been popular in the U.S. because of its versatility and durability.  Besides baking, Dutch ovens can be used for boiling, frying, roasting, and for casseroles.  They can be used on a stove, in an oven, and over a campfire.  George Washington’s wife was fond of Dutch oven cooking, Lewis and Clark carried one on their famous expedition, and campers and cowboys have used them for centuries.

For baking, the Dutch oven creates the perfect closed vessel humidity for crispy, crusty sourdough bread.  This week, I made the whole-wheat sourdough bread in first addition of Adventures With Sourdough.  This time, however, instead of baking dense, doughy bread, I was able to get a loaf with a crusty crust and a light, fluffy inside.  Following the instructions from Breadtopia, I preheated the Dutch oven at 500 degrees for 30 minutes.  I then placed the bread in the Dutch oven and baked it at 500 degrees for 30 minutes. Finally, I removed the lid, lowered the oven temperature to 450 degrees, and baked the bread uncovered for 15 minutes.  Here is a picture of the bread:

Another great discovery I made this week in the realm of vegan baking is the advantages of using soft tofu in dessert recipes.  Here’s the vegan brownie recipe I adapted from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar. 

Fudgy Vegan Brownies
3 oz. firm silken tofu
1/3 cup nondairy milk
1/3 cup nonhydrogenated vegetable oil
½ cup agave nectar
1 cup flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking powder

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Lightly coat an 8-inch baking pan with cooking spray.

Puree the tofu, nondairy milk, and oil in a blender or food processor until smooth.  Transfer mixture to a bowl and mix in agave.

Gently stir in the flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder.  Batter will be very thick. 

Spread batter into baking pan and bake for 35 minutes.  Cool for 15 minutes.  Serve warm or at room temperature.  Enjoy (possibly with some soy ice cream!)!

Make Your Own Shampoo!

 I’ve wanted to make my own shampoo for a long time.  After learning bits and pieces about the potential dangers of some chemicals commonly found in shampoos and soaps and considering the fact that other shampoo ingredients are derived from or tested on animals, I decided to experiment this week with some homemade beauty products. 

If you’re not interested in reading further about the process of making your own hair care products, but still want to know a bit about chemicals to watch out for, I’ll provide a bit of information first. Two common and potentially harmful chemicals I’ve read about are laurel sulfates (particularly sodium laurel sulfate) and parabens.  Laurel sulfates dissolve grease from your hair, but are also used to degrease car engines.  Laurel sulfates are also responsible for making our shampoos sudsy. Parabens are chemical preservatives identified as methyl, propyl, butyl, or ethyl that can disruptively alter estrogenic hormones, interfering with the body’s endocrine system.

Although the amount of laurel sulfates and parabens we actually absorb from daily shampooing is arguable, it’s important to note a few things:

• Both laurel sulfates and parabens are absorbed through intact skin and have caused severe irritation—and damage—to the skin and eyes in higher concentrations.
• Higher concentrations of laurel sulfates and parabens alter the body’s estrogen hormones, which can stimulate breast and ovarian cancers in females and decrease male fertility rates.
• The laurel sulfates and parabens we wash down the drain in the shower are later absorbed by the fish we eat and the water we drink, raising an important environmental concern.

Laurel sulfates and parabens are inexpensive, which is why cosmetic companies use not only in shampoo but conditioners, lotions, toothpastes, and a variety of other cosmetics instead of natural, more expensive cleansers and preservatives.  Natural products such as castile soap, baking soda, essential oils, and vinegars, however, can cleanse just as well, last up to several months, and do not carry potential health risks.

Besides potentially harmful chemicals, many cosmetics—or specific ingredients in shampoos—are tested on animals and/or contain animal byproducts.  Although animal fats can make our hair smooth and shiny, slaughterhouses often sell their unusable animal products to cosmetic companies for use in our soaps.  Glycerin is one common animal ingredient (although there is vegetable glycerin), but there are many others.  The best way to be sure that your product is animal-free is to call the manufacturer if your product is not labeled accordingly.

If you’re not up for making your own shampoo, which can take a bit of work, and often doesn’t result in the color and consistency we’re used to, there are many companies that make products without laurel sulfates, parabens, or animal products.  Some brands include Burts Bees, Kiss My Face, Jason, Nature’s Gate, and Avalon Organics, although there are many others.  Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods also make body products without laurel sulfates, parabens, or animal products.

This week, I tried two types of shampoo recipes and one conditioner.

Rosemary Chamomile Shampoo
Adapted from Ecobites.com
Ingredients:
1 4oz. bar Castile soap (I like Kirk’s)
4 cups water
¼ cup strong chamomile tea
10 drops rosemary oil

Using a cheese grater, finely grate the soap.  Place in a large saucepan with the water and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.  Reduce heat to medium, and stir until soap dissolves completely.  Add tea and rosemary oil and pour into a glass or heat-resistant plastic jar.  Soap will be paste-like at room temperature.  If it’s too thick for your taste, reheat, adding more water.

How it really worked: I liked this shampoo recipe because it degreases my hair, suds nicely, and the rosemary and chamomile combination balances soothing and refreshing.  It leaves my hair with a slight residue, but the conditioner recipe cleans that out beautifully.

Olive Oil and Baking Soda Shampoo
Adapted from The Daily Green
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. baking soda
2 Tbsp. water

Knead the olive oil into your scalp.  Wait 30 minutes. Mix baking soda and water together in a cup to make a paste.  Knead mixture through scalp and hair in the shower and rinse.

How it really worked:  My hair is not naturally oily, but kneading olive oil through my scalp left my hair way too greasy and heavy feeling. 

Cider Vinegar Conditioner
Adapted from Ecobites.com
1 part cider vinegar (I like Whole Foods brand)
3 parts water
rosemary oil

Mix ingredients together in a bottle.  Pour over hair in the shower and rinse well.

How it really worked: This conditioner works fantastically well for removing residue and leaving my hair shiny.  It also enhances my natural curls.  Definitely a keeper!

If you’ve made your own shampoo and conditioner before or have more information about natural hair care products, I’d love to hear from you!  I’m by no means and expert on the subject, but hope to try—and post—more shampoo and conditioner recipes in the next few weeks.  Happy shampooing!

Vegan Recipes of the Week: Spelt Bread and Chocolate Peanut Butter Pillows

Thank you to everyone, especially my readers on AnnArbor.com, who posted such interesting and though-provoking comments to last week’s entry.  It was great to read so many opinions on the issue of veganism, the philosophies behind it, and how vegans fit into our larger society.

I’m going to take a lighter approach this week and offer you two new recipes, one a continuation of creATE’s Adventures With Sourdough, and the other the start of a new creATE theme, vegan cookies.

Last week, I switched gears in my sourdough bread activities to try spelt sourdough bread.  Here’s a bit of history on spelt, before I explain the process of making the actual bread, which turned out to be quite involved.  Spelt is one of the most ancient grains, first grown around 5000 B.C.E. in ancient Mesopotamia.  In Europe, spelt is very popular and is known by many names, including “Farro” in Italy and “Dinkle” in Germany.  Besides having funny names overseas and a great, nutty flavor in baked goods, spelt has a high fiber, protein, and B vitamin content than wheat.  Its tough hull makes it difficult to process by modern methods, protecting the grain from pollutants and insects, and thereby decreasing the need for pesticides.  Spelt has a lower gluten content than some processed wheat products, so those with gluten sensitivities may be able to eat spelt.

Making the spelt bread was more labor-intensive than the basic whole-wheat sourdough I wrote about in previous entries.  The results, however, were well worth the effort.  I’d recommend starting your spelt bread in the late afternoon or early evening.

In a large bowl, mix together 5 cups whole spelt flour and 1½ tsp. salt.  In another bowl, mix together 1 ½ cup distilled water, 2 Tbsp. agave nectar or other natural sweetener, and ¼ cup sourdough starter. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until a moist dough forms.  Cover the bowl with a plastic bag and let sit for one hour in a warm place.


After one hour, uncover the dough, stretch it and fold in half.  Repeat 3-4 times.  Cover again, let the dough sit for thirty more minutes and repeat.  Repeat this process two more times for a total of four “stretch-and-fold” periods.

Cover the dough with a plastic bag and let sit for twelve hours, or overnight.

The next morning, place the dough on a lightly floured board.  Fold the sides of the dough upwards and pinch the sides together at the top.  Place the dough top side down in a lightly floured bowl, cover, and let sit for 1½ hours. 

After one hour, place a pan of water in the lower rack of the oven and preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  This creates humidity in the oven that simulates the environment of a Dutch oven or clay baker.  Flip the bread from the bowl on to an oiled baking pan.  Bake for 45 minutes. Cool loaf on a wire rack and enjoy!

Having just purchased the book Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero and finding that the recipes in the book have completely changed my vegan baked goods, I’m going to try to also publish one vegan cookie recipe each week.  Here’s the recipe for the Peanut Butter Chocolate Pillows I baked last week:

Chocolate dough:
½ cup oil
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup maple syrup or other natural sweetener
¼ cup nondairy milk
½ tsp vanilla extract
1½ cups flour
½ cup cocoa powder
½ tsp. baking soda

Peanut butter filling:
¾ cup peanut butter
¼ cup agave nectar
¼ cup nondairy milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl, combine the oil, sugar, maple syrup, nondairy milk, and vanilla and mix until smooth. Stir in flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda until mixture forms a moist dough.

To make the filling, mix together all ingredients in a medium bowl until uniform.  Divide into 24 balls.

To assemble the cookies, scoop a tablespoon of dough and flatten with your hands to form a round disk.  Place a peanut butter ball in the middle and wrap the dough around the filling to a “pillow.”  Place the cookies on a lightly oiled baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes.  Let cookies cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.  Enjoy!