Table of Contents
To God be the glory, great things He has done.
Introduction
Maybe youre new to the vegan lifestyle and are searching for ways to veganize your favorite baked goods youve been missing out on. Or are you an accomplished baker looking to add healthful recipes to your collection? Whatever your reason for wanting to dive into vegan baking, youve come to the right place!
This book contains something for everyone. Muffins, cakes, cupcakes, pies, crisps, buckles, quick breads, yeast breads, and so much more, Ive included over 150 recipes for you to tryall 100 percent vegan, all 100 percent delicious!
If youre just starting out on your vegan journey, you might have to change your modus operandi a bit. One thing is constant in vegan eating: no animal products or by-products should cross your lips. This also goes for honey and any food products produced with animal products. Dont worry though; its not difficult, just a different way of doing things.
Once you get the hang of using alternative ingredients and baking vegan, youll soon be a baking wiz, whipping up gourmet cupcakes and ultra-creamy cheesecakes. Your family and friends will be amazed theyre all vegan!
You can have your vegan cake, and eatand most importantly, enjoyit, too! Bon apptit!
How to Use This Book
Each of the six parts in this book digs deep into specific areas of delicious vegan desserts and baked goods, with plenty of tips, ideas, and recipes for new or experienced vegan bakers.
Part 1, Vegan Baking Made Delicious, answers the question, Why vegan baking? I explain how vegan baking is different from regular baking, and what you need to make the most delicious vegan baked goods. I also discuss a few special tips and techniques, gizmos, and gadgets that will help make your time in your vegan kitchen a little easier and enjoyable. You also learn how to veganize your favorite recipes with easy substitutes.
Part 2, Muffins, Coffee Cakes, and Pastries, starts off with muffins, muffins, and more muffins. With so many muffin choices and variations, youll be busy for weeks trying them all. Buckles and coffee cakes follow with not only the traditional offerings, but unique recipes as well. Try the Chocolate-Chip and Coffee Coffee Cake, or the Cherry Carob Coffee Cake for those of you who cant have chocolate. And of course, theyre all vegan. Who doesnt love breakfast pastries? Ive included a selection of easy-to-make Danish, scones, and turnovers, too!
Part 3, Breads, Rolls, and Flatbreads, opens the bakery doors to the wonderful world of quick breads, yeast breads, rolls and sticky buns, flatbreads, and crackers. First up are quick breads, including everyones favoritesBanana Nut Bread and Gingerbread. Yeast breads are next, with a short primer to help you choose the best yeast to use and instructions on how to use it, with another quick chat on hand-kneading yeast bread versus kneading dough with a mixer. Next, we go on to the sweet bread portion of the book with ooey, gooey Maple Sticky Buns and Cinnamon Rolls. Finally, we get to flatbread and cracker recipes, focaccia, homemade pita pockets, and pizza dough.
Part 4, Cookies, Brownies, and Bars, features every kids dreamcookies! Whether youre a vegan or not, one taste of these cookies, and youll be back for more. Classic Chocolate-Chip Cookies, Snickerdoodles, or Oatmeal Raisin Cookieseach one will bring out your inner child. With specialty cookies for holiday platters and vegan Crispy Rice Treats with peanut butter, no matter how old you are8 or 80getting caught with your hand in the cookie jar never felt so good! Fudgy brownies and fruit bars are next, with yummy vegan handheld treats just right for sharing. Mmmmm pass the plate!
Part 5, Classic Pies and Desserts, begins by showing you how to make and roll a perfect Flaky Piecrust for a variety of awesome pies. I explain in detail how to make crusts, including fluting, lattice piecrusts, and double-crusted pies. Fruit and nut pie recipes follow, along with rustic free-form tarts, with directions for freezing baked and unbaked pies. The classic dessert section tempts you with luscious fruit cobblers and crisps, a variety of vegan bread puddings, brown Betties, and clafoutis.
Part 6, Cakes and Cupcakes, is perhaps the sweetest part of the book, with vegan recipes for chocolate, vanilla, carrot, coconut, and spice cakesand the yummiest vegan frostings to top your masterpieces! These chapters will prove to you that vegan baked goods really do taste terrific! And if thats not enough to tempt you, I include the creamiest, best-tasting cheesecakes this side of vegan heaven!
And last, but certainly not least, Ive included a glossary of terms and further resources at the back of the book to make your adventure into vegan baking a little easier.
Extras
Sprinkled throughout The Complete Idiots Guide to Vegan Baking, youll see little sidebars full of important information, tasty tips, vegan definitions, and potential pitfalls you might want to know before you put on your apron. Familiarize yourself with these sidebarstheyll help you navigate these delicious pages:
VEGAN VOCAB
These sidebars explain vegan and nonvegan baking terms you might not be familiar with.
BATTER UP!
Check these sidebars for interesting information about a recipe, ingredients, or just fun trivia.
BAKERS BONUS
Youll find time- and money-saving tips and tricks for vegan baking in these sidebars.
DOUGH-NOTS
These sidebars alert you to possible baking boo-boos or common mistakes youll want to avoid.
Acknowledgments
No book would be complete without a note of thanks to all those who helped along the way. My appreciation goes to Allen OShea Literary Agencys Marilyn Allen who had faith in me and e-mailed me with a brilliant idea; to Senior Acquisitions Editor Paul Dinas, who oozed patience beyond measure; and to Senior Development Editor Christy Wagner, who put the book in good order and oohed and aahed over all my photos.
Id also like to thank my husband and best friend, John, for sticking with me through this project, during the late nights baking and writing; and for tasting all my successes and failures throughout our many years together. Theyve all been worth it babe!
My son, Brad, gets special kudos, as he baked every recipe I threw at him during the writing of this book. Thanks, dude, you did a great job!
To the rest of my family, Kerri, Erika, and John, for their love and supportdiving cold turkey into a vegan lifestyle years ago. We always said, a family that bakes together, stays together. Thanks to my mother-in-law, and my late Mom and Grandma, who each had their own culinary specialties and taught me how to cook and bake. Thanks to all my guinea pig friends who tried all my recipesnow you have to buy them!
