Easy Crusty Vegan Bread Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret of crusty bread? ›

Use a pizza stone or cloche

So heat and steam are a key part of getting that crust of dreams. To help even more, pre-heat a pizza stone in the oven before starting to bake. Place the baking tray or tin directly onto the baking stone. This brings a hot surface into (almost) direct contact with the bread you're baking.

CREATE STEAM IN OVEN

Close the oven door immediately. You've just created a "steam bath" in your oven. Steam hitting the bread surface will facilitate the process of creating crust, especially during the first part of the baking process. That's why many professional bakers use steam-injected ovens.

Our secret to a brilliant crust even when no dutch oven is in sight is to fill a pot with water and put it below the pan you have picked for your bread. Then as it cooks, make sure you check on the water level so that there is always some as it bakes.

Large crusty loaves can be stored unwrapped (to preserve their crispy crust) at room temperature for a day or so, cut side down on the counter. For optimum long-term storage (longer than a couple of days), wrap bread in single-day portions and freeze.

As the loaf cools, any moisture which is left in the loaf escapes through the crust as steam and this is what causes the softening.

This seems counterintuitive, but if you've got some soft crust bread you want crisped up, crank your oven up, then wet the bread where you want it crispy (running a wet hand over it is about enough water), and chuck it in the oven directly on the rack and bake for a few minutes until you're satisfied.

Wetting the dough causes the surface to steam. Covering it traps the moisture. This partnership stops the bread from drying out on the surface in the hot air of the oven and forming a premature crust. Your bread rises more and produces a richer colour, becoming glossy on the surface.

Crust chemistry 101

But while the Maillard reaction is responsible for the formation of cancer-protective pronyl-lysine, it can also result in the production of a cancer-causing compound known as acrylamide. That doesn't mean bread crust causes cancer, however. It just means the science is mixed when it comes to crust.

What are good vegan butter substitutes? In baking, you can use vegan butter, applesauce, dairy-free yogurt, coconut oil, coconut butter, olive oil, nut butter, mashed banana and mashed avocado. In cooking, you can use olive oil, coconut oil, vegetable stock, or avocado oil to replace butter.

Q: Are your products vegan? A: All DKB bread products are considered vegan and do not contain any animal products, however, our limited edition DKB Snack Bars (Trail Mix Crumble and Oat-Rageous Honey Almond™) are NOT considered vegan as they contain organic honey. Q: Do you make a gluten-free bread?

Is Ezekiel bread vegan? ›

Ezekiel bread is a healthy and tasty vegan bread that includes no dairy, no eggs, and no honey. It is a truly vegan bread that is an excellent protein source. The unique sprouted grains and legumes produce a complete protein, which is something you don't typically get from bread.

This has been used to great success by many No-Knead bakers. Oven-safe casserole dish – Really, any oven-safe casserole dish will do. Just check the documentation and make sure it's safe up to temperatures of 500°F, just to be on the safe side.

Steam also helps produce a really crisp crust. When the surface of the dough reaches 180°F, the starches in the slowly forming crust start absorbing moisture.

Similarities between Casserole Dishes and Dutch Ovens

That said, you can use a casserole dish in place of a Dutch oven, but you cannot use a Dutch oven in place of a casserole because of its physical construction.

The short answer is: yes, bread crusts do contain more nutrients. The reason for this is that the baking process causes the exterior of the bread to become firmer and more browned. This chemical baking process also results in changes to the nutrients in the crust of bread.

Yeast is definitely the simpler answer to this question, however the reality is that the gluten and airyness produced by the chemical reaction between yeast and sugar (which produces gluten) that really makes bread soft, rather than just being a block of cooked flour. Bread minus leavening is a recipe for disaster.

While there are many types of French bread, some of the most popular kinds—like baguettes and boules—have an extremely crusty exterior and a chewy crumb, making them perfect for tearing, dipping or slathering with butter. It's not uncommon for these breads to require a lengthy preparation process.

Making an enriched dough, with ingredients like butter, honey, sugar and dairy. Many sandwich loaves are made with enriched doughs to give them a tighter, more even crumb. Because these dough have more ingredients, they rise more slowly.