Vegan MoFo VIII / Veggie Calzone

Today is sad day in my vegan baking history... I decided to take a break from baking!! So no cupcakes, cakes, brownies, cookies, etc... I'll probably allow some creamy and fruity desserts, but not that often. Reasons?
Well, although I enjoy baking, it is just too much at the moment.. too much cake, too much sugar, too much dessert, not enough savoury meals! And it gets difficult if I am the only one eating what I bake, I don't want to gain weight... after I lost 15kg in the last year! :)

So, here's the Calzone I made tonight for dinner.... There were actually 4 of them, two vegan ones, and the other two made my mum for my brother and dad. Even though they like the vegan version, they prefer their meat.. :/

Veggie Calzone

the dough makes 4, the filling 2

Dough:

1/2 cube of fresh yeast ( you can substitute instant yeast: 14g)

1 tsp malt (or any sugar)

1 dl lukewarm water

1 - 2 Tbsp. spelt wholemeal flour

350 gr spelt wholemeal flour

1 tsp. herb salt

 2 dl water

You start by making the sponge. In a large bowl, mix the fresh yeast with the lukewarm water until it dissolves, then add malt and whisk. Lastly add the flour and sprinkle it over the sponge mixture. Let stand for about 15 minutes, or until the mixture shows bubbles. 

Now add the flour and the salt and start incorporating it with the sponge. Slowly add the water until the flour is just incorporated, make sure it is not too wet. Take the dough out and knead on a floured surface, for about 5 minutes. Put it back in the bowl, cover and let it rise until about double the size, but it doesn't matter if you don't have that much time. In the meantime prepare your filling.

Filling:

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 zucchini, cubed

1 clove of garlic, finely cut

1/2 eggplant, cubed

5 leaves of savoy cabbage, finely cut

1 tomato, cubed

1 vegan sausage, cubed

lemon juice

worcester sauce

salt,  pepper

spices

350 gr silken tofu, soft

lemon juice

1 Tbsp. nutritional yeast,

salt, pepper

spices

 Heat olive oil in a pan, add zucchini, garlic, eggplant, savoy cabbage, tomato and vegan sausage. Sauté for about 5-10 minutes, stir often. Add some lemon juice and worcester sauce, so the mixture won't scorch! Let cook for about 10 minutes, until the veggies are soft. Add any spices you like! While the mixture cooks, whisk silken tofu in a bowl until smooth, add nutritional yeast and spices. Here as well, add the spices you like. In the end, combine the silken tofu with the veggies. 

Alternatively, you can use any filling you like! Be creative....! I even added some caramelised onions (I am obsessed!!) on top of the filling! This was so delicious, as it balanced out the spicy filling quite nice!

Preheat your oven to 180°C (350F). Take your dough and split in 4 equal parts. On a floured surface, roll each piece into a circle. Spread your filling on one half, and make sure to leave an edge of 1 cm. Now take the empty side of dough and close your calzone. Repeat, for the other ones and bake for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown. 

Sorry, no picture of the filling, I was too busy eating!! :D

Enjoy!

 

Vegan MoFo / I

I am really excited to be part of this years Vegan Month Of Food! Being part of the vegan blog community is still feels new, but it's gonna be epic! So I'll try to blog as often as possible, as I am currently studying for my A Levels that are due in a few weeks! Wish me luck, and for the first entry for Vegan MoFo I share with you a long-lasting family recipe. It is super easy, and turns out delicious!!

This is my mum's go-to bread recipe, she doesn't have it written down, and it may have changed over time. But I remember eating numerous slices of this bread, still warm with lots of butter, when I was younger. She has always baked this kind of bread, and it is so easy, once you've done it a few times, and I  promise you won't need the written-down recipe anymore...

Simple Homemade Bread

yields 2 big loafes, or 4 small ones

Ingredients:

1/2 cube of fresh yeast ( you can substitute instant yeast: 14g)

1 tsp malt (or any sugar)

1 dl lukewarm water

1 - 2 Tbsp. spelt wholemeal flour

1 kg spelt wholemeal flour

4 tsp. herb salt

9 dl water

 You start by making the sponge. In a large bowl, mix the fresh yeast with the lukewarm water until it dissolves, then add malt and whisk. Lastly add the flour and sprinkle it over the sponge mixture. Let stand for about 15 minutes, or until the mixture shows bubbles.

Now add the flour and the salt and start incorporating it with the sponge. Slowly add the water until you get a relatively wet dough. This bread dough won't need any kneading from you, but you should stir it for at least 5 minutes... So be aggressive and work with the dough, until it gets smooth!  Cover the bowl with a damp towel and place in a warm place. Let the dough rise until it reaches the top of your bowl. I guess I let it rise for about 1.5 hours.

 Prepare your baking pans and line them with parchment paper. I used 1 big loaf pan and 2 small ones. Pour the dough into the pans and now you could add nuts or oats if you want to. Preheat your oven to 200°C (392F) and let the dough rise a second time, until the oven is ready. Bake for 15 minutes then turn the temperature down to 180°C and bake for about 30 minutes. The baking time really depends on the size of your pan and how wet your dough is.

In my opinion, this recipe makes the yummiest bread ever. It is airy, with a nice crust and it tastes so good! You can either use savory or a sweet spread, this bread matches everything.

Happy Vegan Mofo! , Florence