Baking Extravaganza, Day #3

I didn’t do nearly as much baking today as I wanted to. I got bogged down with other work things. Oh well. I did make a batch of hamburger buns.

Fat Free, Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns

• 2 c. soymilk
• 1/4 c. applesauce
• 1/4 c. warm water
• 3 tbsp. active dry yeast
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 2 tsp. salt
• 3 c. whole wheat flour
• 2-3 c. all-purpose flour (as needed)
• soymilk, for brushing tops
• sesame seeds, for sprinkling on tops

1.Proof the yeast: Add yeast and sugar to the warm water. Let sit 10 minutes.

2. Add the applesauce and soy milk to years mixture. Mix well. Add salt and gradually add the flour until the dough is thick enough to knead, but not too stiff. Add the whole wheat flour first, and then use as much all-purpose flour as you need.

3. Knead for 8-10 minutes, until dough is smooth and elastic.

4. Cover, and let rise 45 minutes, or until doubled in size.

5. Punch dough down. Separate dough into 12 balls (this number may change depending on how large you want the buns). Form each ball and place on a baking sheet.

6. Cover with a damp dish cloth and let rise another 30 to 45 minutes, or until doubled in size.

7. Brush tops with soymilk and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

8. Bake at 400ºF for 15-20 minutes, until brown on the top.

These freeze quite nice. In the future I would like to experiment with replacing the sugar with maple syrup.

I also made two loaves of multigrain bread. It turned out sooo moist. One loaf is in the freezer and the other is waiting to be made into sandwiches for the coming week.

Multigrain Bread (Adapted from VegWeb)

• 2 1/2 cups warm water
• 6 to 7 cups multigrain bread flour
• 1/4 c. vital wheat gluten
• 2 tbsp. active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 1/4 cup applesauce
• 1/4 cup soy milk
• 1 tsp. salt

1. Mix water, yeast and molasses together in a large bowl. Let sit for 10 minutes.

2. Add applesauce, soy milk and salt. Mix together. Begin to gradually add flour. When you can no longer mix it, start to knead in the flour. Knead it for 5 to 10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic.

3. Cut the dough into two, equal parts. Shape them into loaves and place them into two greased bread pans.

4. Cover pans and let the dough double in size (approx. 1 hour)

5. Bake loaves at 350 F for 35-40 minutes. Bread should sound hollow when you knock on the bottom of the loaf. Let cool.