Vegan Bread Recipe

The recipe is modified because I didn't have all the ingredients on hand -- but I like this one just as it turned out.  The recipe calls for 2 cups whole wheat and 5 and a half cups unbleached white. Today, I only had the unbleached white, so I used that.

Fix 2 1/4 teaspoonfuls of yeast with 1/4 cup warm water and either  2 TB of pure maple syrup or honey or molasses. Today, I used molasses. Let it stand for ten minutes. Then add 2 1/4 cups warm water, 1 tablespoon of salt and 2 tablespoons of olive oil.

Mix your flours together if you're blending more than one kind. Then add half the flour to the yeast mixture and stir with a wooden spoon. Slowly add the rest of the flour and turn out on a floured board. Add two palmfuls of   spices such as rosemary, thyme and basil. Recipe calls for 1 tsp marjoram, 1 tsp chives and 1/2 tsp thyme. Sift the herbs over the bread and work it into the bread as you knead the dough.

Put the dough into an oiled bowl, turn it once to coat it and set it somewhere warm until it doubles in size.

Divide it into two and shape it however you want it. The recipe suggest freeform, baked on a baking sheet. Let it rise again. Just before you put it into the oven, make diagonal slashes across the top.

Your oven is preheated to 425 degrees. Bake ten minutes and lower the temperature to 350. Watch carefully to keep from burning -- takes about 30 minutes more (sometimes).

Vegan bread, but.... I'm not yet vegan, so I added goat cheese and topped it with sunflower seeds.