Raisin the Bar
I’m thinking of making these babies bagel-style soon. sehr delicious, with a simple layer of Earth Balance for breakfast. and a cup of black coffee. and a three-week vacation on some deserted island. aaaaaaaaah…
for 6 bars:
3/4 cup + 2 T room temperature unsweetened plain soy milk
1/3 cup unsweetened apple sauce
2 T peanut oil
2 T blackstrap molasses
1 T Sucanat
2 cups bread flour [spoon and level, but you will need more when kneading, add 1 T at a time]
1 cup whole wheat flour [spoon and level]
1/4 cup wheat germ
2 T vital wheat gluten
1 t ground cinnamon
1 1/2 t fine sea salt
2 t bread machine or instant-rise yeast
3/4 cup chopped raisins, add after a few minutes of kneading
wash, for a shiny crust
place all ingredients [except for raisins] in the bowl of your stand mixer. using the dough hook, have it knead away for a few minutes, adding flour 1 T at a time if dough is too sticky.
throw in raisins, knead for another few minutes.
finish kneading by hand until dough is elastic and smooth.
brush oil in a large bowl, coat dough ball with oil by swirling it around the bowl. cover and let rise for 90 minutes, or until doubled in size.
(if not going for a second rise) preheat oven to 375F. prepare 8×8 inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. punch down dough and press it down into a rectangle. divide it into six equal rectangular portions. (just reshape them into bars a little and don’t fret if it’s not perfect.)
place bars in prepared pan, lightly pressing down on them with your knuckles. now would be the time to apply the wash.
this step is not absolutely necessary, especially if using instant-rise yeast, but humor the dough anyway: cover with plastic wrap and let rise again for 30-60 minutes.
(if doing a second rise, preheat oven 20 minutes before rise is done)
bake for 25 minutes or until bars reach 195-200F in the center. remove from pan, place on cooling rack and let cool completely.
Cassie said,
July 9, 2008 at 5:36 am
Celine, this looks great and I love the sound of the ingredients you’ve used. I’ve got to try this.
Reply
Sere said,
July 9, 2008 at 6:59 am
WoW… I eat a similar bread in France..It’s very gourmand!
Bye
Reply
Rosa said,
July 9, 2008 at 10:54 am
Delicious looking bread! I could eat one of those now…
Cheers,
Rosa
Reply
clairedille said,
July 9, 2008 at 12:23 pm
Oh the cinnamon raisin combo, too good for words. These look PERFECT.
Reply
VeggieGirl said,
July 9, 2008 at 12:27 pm
DEFINITELY make them “bagel style,” Celine – that would be heavenly!!
Reply
shellyfish said,
July 9, 2008 at 1:04 pm
How do you come up with this stuff? You are a rock star…now about that vacation…
Reply
Ricki said,
July 9, 2008 at 1:46 pm
Love the apple/raisin/molasses combo!
Reply
jessy79 said,
July 9, 2008 at 2:20 pm
raisin the bar of gloriousness! my goodness, these look super stellar! and i’m all excitedface because i have just about everything on hand to make them (minus the instant yeast). superw00t!
Reply
Jennifer said,
July 9, 2008 at 2:38 pm
After reading your posts over the last few days, I really, really want to try to make some bread (loaf, rolls, anything!), but I’m so scared! What’s the trick to getting bread that looks as perfect as yours?
Reply
Mihl said,
July 9, 2008 at 3:45 pm
Sehr gut! Rosinen im Brot. I love raisins in my bread so much, especially when the bread comes in bar form :)
Reply
vegan addict said,
July 9, 2008 at 4:41 pm
Pshhhhhh… Anybody could come up with that recipe Celine…! Hahaaahhaa! I am only kidding. Seriously. Cinnamon-raisin bagels are my favorite, so please do a bagel-style version. It’s nice to see there isn’t much sugar in these.
Reply
Bianca- Vegan Crunk said,
July 9, 2008 at 5:09 pm
And they don’t have cute little faces, which taste aside, probably makes them easier to eat! Love cinnamon raisiness….
Reply
Paty said,
July 9, 2008 at 6:35 pm
I’m not sure how I came upon your blog, but I love all of those little faces you put on your food. Very cute.
Reply
atxvegn said,
July 10, 2008 at 2:05 am
A bagel version of these would be perfection.
Reply
meghan said,
July 10, 2008 at 2:44 am
that sounds like the perfect breakfast…
count me in!
Reply
Celine said,
July 10, 2008 at 1:03 pm
thanks everyone! (except Amy…;p)
don’t fear the yeast beast, Jennifer. it’s really nothing big. the more you practice working with bread, the better you get at it and the easier it becomes. a few tips, just in case.
Reply
Vegan on STAGE said,
July 11, 2008 at 1:16 am
ah take me to a deserted island with lots and lots of delish vegan food…!!!
Reply
Jennifer said,
July 14, 2008 at 2:47 am
“don’t fear the yeast beast, Jennifer. it’s really nothing big. the more you practice working with bread, the better you get at it and the easier it becomes. a few tips, just in case.”
Thanks so much, Celine! I’ve bookmarked your tips page so I can read it and read it and read it and work up my courage to tackle the “yeast beast!”
Reply
veganhomemade said,
July 14, 2008 at 4:56 pm
Sounds so yummy! Cinnamon and raisins can’t go wrong.
Reply