IN THIS NEWSLETTER:
I went to a workout class by myself
Recipe: No-Knead Whole Wheat Bread - with and WITHOUT a Dutch oven
I have this vision of my dream life, but I don’t know where it came from. But it involves waking up at 6 am, going to a workout class, then getting a coffee.
Actually, I know where it comes from: social media. It comes from the hundreds of aspirational videos I’ve watched - intentionally or not - of girls (well, mostly girls/women) and their morning routines, their get-ready-with-me’s, etc.
Anyways. I finally decided to take one step closer to this supposed dream life.
I went to a workout class by myself!
As you might know, I have struggled with social anxiety to an extent for most of my life, which may or may not have been exacerbated by becoming vegetarian and then vegan as a teenager. Right when I really started to care about what other people thought, I suddenly had something “weird” about me to be made fun of, and for me to hide.
Anyways. I have been to workout classes before, but never by myself.
TL;DR, I went to a reformer Pilates class. I loved it. Great workout, not too intense. Everyone was nice. No one cared I was there by myself. They were all doing their own thing.
I’m proud of myself.
To tie this back to veganism (because this is a vegan newsletter), I guess it just goes to show that people are really just focussed on themselves. Any backlash you get from someone for being vegan is because they are threatened by veganism, they don’t understand veganism, they tried being vegan in the past but failed, etc. It’s about them. It’s not about you. This applies when it comes to veganism, but also it applies to life in general.
So if you’re contemplating doing something, but you’re holding yourself back because of what other people might think, then this is your sign to go and do it!!
Blah blah blah, let’s get onto the recipe.
My friends and I love this bread. It’s no-knead, so minimal effort. Just what I like!
Yum :)
No-Knead Whole Wheat Bread
Prep time: 5 minutes
Rising time: 3 hours, or overnight
Cook time: 45 minutes
Tools:
An oven
A Dutch oven (a type of pot)
Ingredients
Dry
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose (white) flour
1/2 tsp instant yeast
1 tsp salt
Wet
1 1/2 cup hot water
Method
In a large mixing bowl: combine the whole wheat flour, white flour, salt, and yeast.
Add any optional dry add-ins at this point: garlic powder, nutritional yeast, etc.
Add in the hot water (about 125° F) to the flour mixture.
How to get your water hot enough:
Option 1: Turn your tap up to as hot as it can go. This will be about 125° F.
Option 2: Use a water boiler (this is what I do). Mix together about 1 cup hot water from the water boiler and 1/2 cup cold water from your tap. This will be about right.
Add any optional wet add-ins at this point: e.g., 2 tbsp olive oil to make the bread come out even softer.
Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature for 3 hours. Alternatively, let it sit overnight either on the counter or in the fridge.
After 3 hours (or overnight) the dough should have risen. Punch it down and let it stand again while you preheat the oven.
Put your Dutch oven, with its lid on, in your cold oven. Preheat the oven to 450° F. (I actually do 425° F because my oven runs hot).
When your oven reaches 450°, take the Dutch oven out.
Place parchment paper into the Dutch oven. I use reusable parchment paper which you can see in the video. Be careful - the Dutch oven is hot!!
Place the dough on top of the parchment paper. Put the lid back onto the Dutch oven.
Bake for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, remove the lid. Bake for another 15 minutes.
Let the bread cool for about 10-20 minutes before enjoying it.
It keeps well on your counter for about 3 days.
Link to printer version.
Cost breakdown:
White flour: 120 g at 12 cents per 100 g = 14.4 cents
Whole wheat flour: 240 g at 15 cents per 100 g = 36 cents
Salt: negligible cost
Yeast: 2.84 g at $4.40 per 100 g = 12.5 cents
Total, rounded up: 63 cents
Make it softer: Add 2 tbsp of oil along with the water. That fat content will make the bread come out softer.
Be creative with spice: Try adding 1/4 cup of sliced green onion, 1 tbsp garlic powder, some sundried tomatoes, olives, etc. It’s a versatile recipe and you can make it what you want.
My favourite add-ons: I love adding 2 tbsp of nutritional yeast with 2 tbsp of olive oil. It makes the bread taste additive to me, haha.
Make it without a Dutch oven: I understand that not everyone owns a Dutch oven. Here’s how you can make the bread without one. You will need a baking sheet. Here are the steps to follow once the dough has risen:
Preheat your oven to 400°F.
Optional if you want crusty bread: Fill a metal pan (e.g., a 9x9 baking dish) with 3 cups of hot water and place on the bottom rack of the oven.
Place parchment paper onto a baking sheet.
Place the dough onto the parchment paper, and shape into a round loaf.
Bake for 45-60 minutes.
How much yeast to use? My yeast seems to always be off so I use 1/2 tsp for this recipe. If your yeast is great, then use 1/4 tsp. There might be some trial and error component here.
Whole wheat / white flour: If you’d like to, use entirely white flour. Or entirely whole wheat flour. If using entirely white flour then add a bit less water.