Vegan Bread? and suggestions for Vegan party dishes [General]

2009 Nov 22
Hello,

I am having a party next weekend and will be having a few people coming who are vegans. I did look around the vegan tags but was still hoping to get some advice.

I have a few dishes in mind but was wondering if I could get something like Vegan bread at a bakery in Ottawa and if there is a vegan substitute for the butter/cheese spreads we often use with bread.

Any other suggestions for dishes I might prepare or Vegan treats I might buy would be greatly appreciate?

Cheers

Cheers and thanks in advance.

2009 Nov 22
Isn't most bread vegan by nature? The only things I could think of that make it non vegan is using butter for the oil, or putting an egg in it. I guess milk too but most is made without it.

What about margarine for a spread?

2009 Nov 22
the green door usually has loafs of bread if you just want to pick one up, but i'm not entirely sure if they are vegan or not.

2009 Nov 22
Ezekiel bread is whole grain and vegan. They sell it frozen in the organic section at larger Loblaws stores. (I know Kanata sells it). They also sell soy margarine (I can't have dairy, so I eat this). It's pretty good. Made from soy and olive oil.

You could also do a nice quinoa salad. Treat it like cous cous. More protein and delicious. Add some diced tomato, corn, black beans, red onion, green onion, cilantro, a little olive oil and some lime juice. Very tasty and filling.

Good luck with your party.

2009 Nov 23
medicinejar Although I have eaten out with vegans I have never cooked vegan meals. My usual choice is to pick an Indian restaurant since they have some vegan friendly dishes. Maybe an Indian dish of some sort might work in a pinch? There's one lady in Ottawa that offers raw foods workshops and she has some recipes on her website that might be vegan friendly. If you scroll down to the bottom of the page she has an ebook you can download: www.simplyraw.ca/

As for bread and other products you can visit the National Capital Vegetarian website. They have a vegetarian business directory that includes bakeries among other establishments: www.ncva.ca

Good luck with your dinner party.

2009 Nov 23
there's also a vegan bean salad i learnt to make in a vegetarian cooking course.

all you need is
- a large can of kidney beans and black beans.. (i go to the superstore and usually pick up their PC organic 'bean medley' which has various beans in it already)
- red wine vinegar
- olive oil
- white onions - i usually use 1/4 of one
- celery
- salt and pepper to taste

now i wish i could tell you the proper measurements for each but i know this sounds terrible but i usually just spot it, cause you can't really mess this up. :) i would put the red wine vinegar last because it has the strongest taste and you dont want to put too much in and ruin the yummy salad.

enjoy your party! :)

2009 Nov 23
Medicine Jar - this whole bread discussion somehow has got me thinking about "hot" cultures... Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, South American... and some of the nice things that can go along with a great bread(s).... Hummus, Tabouleh, Tapenade, Salsa etc. Of course there is always that old standby, a mix of Balsamic and a great Olive Oil.

2009 Nov 23
my suggestion is to not try to create vegan versions of bread & spread, instead make some vegan options. have lots of veggies, vegan dips - so many options!

for crackers, i really like mary's gone crackers brand. the original is best and very flavourful.

having vegan options seems second nature to me because so many foods fall into that catergory. maybe share your menu and we can give more advice?


2009 Nov 23
OK, nobody has answered my question above - isn't most bread vegan anyway? I'm not getting where the difficulty is here. Any bread I've made in the last number of years certainly has been vegan to the best of my knowledge - I guess unless vegans don't east yeast.

2009 Nov 23
Zym - lots of sandwich type bread contains milk or eggs (at least the recipes I've used do), otherwise you're correct that most bread is vegan (unless you add cheese or something to it?)

2009 Nov 23
i took the vegan bread thing to be looking for something wheat-free or gluten free?

vegan's won't eat honey, so i suppose if the bread has honey in it?

but, yeah, any traditional french stick - water, wheat, yeast, should be fine to serve. any dip made with legumes & spices (once again, so many options), veggies... it should be really easy.

if the question had been about vegan desserts, that is definitely more challenging.

2009 Nov 23
Oooooo, I hate all the crossover-arian-isms :-)

Never in a million years would I have guessed that vegan means either gluten or wheat free! What the heck is vegan about that? Not really a dig meant at you HFF - just exclaiming is all. I've known my share of "vegetarians" who ate fish, and even chicken for goodness sakes!

2009 Nov 23
ever heard of a level 5 vegan? won't eat anything that casts a shadow...;)

re: vegan treats for dessert - check out Auntie Loo's. she has a storefront on Bronson now.

www.auntieloostreats.ca/

2009 Nov 23
I, on the other hand, don't take vegan to mean wheat or gluten-free, but that could be what medicinejar is thinking. Vegans also won't eat gelatin or anything else derived from animals. I had trouble finding out some years ago (still don't know for sure) whether all lecithin is derived from soy or if there are any animal sources (I use it, combined with veg oil, as a release for my yeast and sweet breads (and pans of squares) as grandma's pans are kinda rough and nothing else would release the bread.
Wonderbread is apparently vegan! Well, most breads are, as zym says, and most breads I make are. All you have to do is read the label or ask the baker to know.

medicinejar, is there anything in particular (ingredient-wise) you are thinking of? What else are you having? Is it dinner or small bites, appy's, etc?

2009 Nov 23
Yes, gelatin makes sense since it is animal cartlidge (sp?). Even many vegetarians won't eat that.

Unless you are using agar or something like that.

2009 Nov 23
i don't think there is a cross-over with vegans and wheat-free, gluten-free. that is just the only thing i could think of when medicinejar said vegan bread. i assumed the confusion was on their end? i am interested to see what they served (is medicinejar a male or female?).

i find auntie loo's baking tastes like sawdust. it just isn't a cupcake without dairy.

for the record, i can handle a vegetarian who eats fish occasionally, but chicken - never! but that is completely personal. i don't think there is a substitute for fish oils in the vegetarian world. how you decide to get that fish oil is up to you.

2009 Nov 24
Further to smartcookie's message about the Green Door, you can also pick up vegan desserts there - just call ahead and tell them what you're looking for. I thought the chocolate cake was pretty darn dry but my vegan friend absolutely loves it.

2009 Nov 25
Just wanted to say thanks to everyone for all of your suggestions. I actually just realized today that Bread and Sons on Bank St offers some vegan options in terms of bread and a few desserts too so that will help me out a lot given that its an hors doeuvre party more than a dinner party. Though I am wondering if Trillium Bakery does any Vegan bread as its open on Sat. and sadly, Bread and Sons is not.

I definitely will be making a tapenade, guacamole and salsa and will be making some vegan toasts served with oven dried tomatoes and another served with a pesto. I normally spike both of those with a little prociutto and cheese but I think they taste fairly good on their own.

I also always do a good size veggie tray as my cooking is a little too butter/cream centric and can be a little heavy for some.

Thanks again to everyone and any further suggestions are appreciated.

Cheers

2009 Nov 25
A lot of locally baked breads contain milk powder, and you have to talk to the baker to find out which. For instance, Art-Is-In's baguettes contain milk powder, but most of their other loaves (the 5 grain fennel, for instance) do not.

As to spreads, Herb and Spice on Wellington sells Earth Balance butter, which is a vegan butter-flavoured spread.

2009 Nov 25
MJ - I'm still confused as to what you are calling "vegan" since most bread is vegan, but you are talking as though it is difficult to find.

2009 Nov 25
agreed zym. i thought after reading the responses, mj would realize they could just use regular bread (without any milk products as kombu mentioned).

bread and sons products are available at herb and spice on bank street. they also carry many vegan spreads. but really all the pre-made vegan stuff can be a tad dry. going with your own would be best. make some warm white bean spread with roasted garlic, black olive tapenade, instead of guacamole try deconstructed guac - chunked avocado tossed with a dressing of fresh lime juice, garlic and cumin. slow roast some tomatoes in olive oil and serve with toasted baguette slices. all those things would appeal to both vegans and non-vegans and all are freshier and livlier tasting than some of the premade spreads.

2009 Nov 25
medicine jar If you are looking into the Trillium Bakery you might want to call the bakery first. I know they cater to people with restricted diets (celiac disease, diabetes, lactose intolerance, etc.). But apparently some of their breads are made with honey and some vegans may not include honey in their diet. I discovered that the Trilium Bakery has a website and you can find a little more about their products here: www.trilliumbakery.com

zymurgist I can't speak for Medicine Jar but if I were buying bread for a vegan I would also proceed with caution. I am the first to admit I know nothing about bread making so I wouldn't know what ingredients are used in the bread making process. My only baking experience is with muffins and quick breads which often contain milk (my recipes do anyway) so it would be easy for me anyway to jump to conclusions and assume there "might" be milk products in bread as well. I guess it is a case of inexperience-;) I guess the best advise is to ask the bakery for assistance.

2009 Nov 25
Two ideas for serving with bread mj; here's something that goes really nicely with some fresh good bread and is tasty, tasty, tasty! It's a "Cuban" recipe (I make Pan Cubano or a vegan version of it - without lard - to go with it) that's easy to make and keeps a few days. This is really good with beer imo but my dw loves it with her wine.

Cuban dipping sauce for bread

8 cloves of garlic
1/4 chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Juice of one lime
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt and black pepper to taste

Place the garlic, cilantro leaves, lime juice, and white vinegar in a food processor and puree until thoroughly chopped. Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan until hot, but not smoking. Remove pan from heat. Pour the pureed garlic and cilantro leaf mixture into the hot oil, whisking constantly for a minute or two. Serve warm. The sauce should have an intense garlic/sour flavor.
Note: you can replace the vinegar with a nice white wine vinegar but that reduses the vinegary impact a little - still tasty, but less bang, imo. Test the oil for heat with a piece of onion or bread - should sizzle or brown fairly quickly.

Something really, really tasty that you can buy (I usually make it but bought some recently and was very impressed) is Muhammara (there are various spellings and recipes); it's a mid-eastern dip, spicy hot and flavoured with roasted red peppers, walnuts and pomegranate molasses (which gives it a really distinct flavour that has guests wondering what gives the dip such a unique flavour). It's served with pita, most of which is vegan-friendly. I bought it at ottawafoodies.com/vendor/1217 (Mid-East Food Centre) - YUM!

Also, here's a site with some things vegans don't eat - most are no-brainers but there's always something to learn by reading such lists:
library.thinkquest.org

fyi in case you have any leather furniture: my dd is vegetarian but not vegan, but she throws a blanket over our leather couch before sitting on it; maybe a vegan wouldn't even sit on it?

2009 Nov 26
Thanks again to everyone for you suggestions. Andy I really appreciate your recipe. I don't think I will be using it this time as my menu is now set but I am going to save it for the future as I know it sounds great!

On the issue of vegan bread and is all bread vegan as Zygmurst asked. For parties I like to buy bread from local bakeries and almost always from Art-is-In bakery (BTW it was Ottawa Foodies that turned me onto them a few years back....mmmm Fennel bread) The problem with such bakeries is that there ingredients are not listed at least not the ones I buy from and normally that is not a problem.

I guess for me I wanted to make sure that I was getting something truly vegan. At Bread and Sons, they have a hand written sign that lists of their vegan products and only the sour dough bread is listed as vegan in their store. They had a few others breads, I think, that were for vegans who ate honey and one of my friends does not.

I contacted Art-is-In who informed me that their sour dough is also vegan but that's it for them. I am going to buy the Bread and Sons sour dough baguette and the sour dough loaf from Art is In. I am also going to take hip funky's suggestion and make a few of my own things: tapemade, hummus, a white bean dip, a salsa and probably the chunky guacamole. I will also be surving some oven dried tomatoes on baguette toast as well.

I have also so made some vegan pita chips (essentially dipped in olive oil that was infused with garlic, rosemary and thyme. I think it will be pretty good. My non vegan version uses is butter and then I dust then with some parmesian...

Thanks to everyone and cheers!

2009 Nov 27
mj - menu sounds great! i am sure your vegan guests will really appreciate the time and effort you put into the party on their behalf. it means a lot when a host goes out of their way to make sure dietary needs are being met, especially since you are going the extra mile and providing some delicious home made goodies. kudos to you!

2009 Nov 27
So were the sales people at Art is In not able to tell you over the counter what was in each bread? If not, that is pretty bad. You should not have to "contact" them, you should just be able to ask the person at the counter.

I guess a lot of them must be putting eggs in their bread are they? I'm still having trouble with this one obviously :-)

2009 Nov 27
Does Art-is-in actually have over the counter service at this point?

2009 Nov 27
You could always take a different approach - report them for not having ingredients listed :-) Isn't it the law?

2009 Nov 27
the art-is-in loaves that are sold in the glebe metro store, do have the ingredients listed. the loaves sold through catering and bakeries do not (it at thyme & again). i imagine this is standard. not sure about the loaves sold through bagel shop, this seems more of a grocery store and not a bakery.

2009 Dec 1
Art-Is-In does not have over the counter service at this time, AFAIK. The Metro at Glebe may have the ingredients, but that's the only place I've seen it.

2009 Dec 1
Focaccia (Roman flat bread) for vegetarian.
This is very easy to make. So flavourful, you don't need any dip for this bread.
Since this bread does not contain any fat in the dough, this bread has very short shelf life. It gets very hard as it ages.

A:
water 187g
dry yeast 6g (if you use fresh yeast,use 175g and substract 12g of water)

B:
bread flour 270g
sugar 5g
salt 5g
onion chopped 45g

C:
rosemary, fresh
coase salt
olive oil

1 combine A (the water and yeast) in a machine bowl
2 mix B (flour, salt, sugar and chopped onions.) add to above
3 mix with dough hook until smooth dough is developed
(low speed for 1 min, then mid speed for 6 mins, total of 7 mins of mixing)
4 place dough into oiled stainless steel bowl and cover. ferment until doubled in size
5 punch down dough and divide dough in two or three. Flatten the dough onto
parchment paper on the cookie sheet. about 1.25cm thick (look like small pizza dough)
6 brush top with olive oil and let proof to doubled the size
7 sprinlkle with the chopped rosemary and coase salt
8 bake at 400F until lightly browned


2009 Dec 9
Sorry to be so late in replying (got behind on my RSS feeds on google reader), but for future reference, Earth Balance (margarine) is a vegan butter substitute that is available at Herb and Spice (and many other health food stores) as well as some Loblaws stores.

Zym, I agree that it's not hard to make vegan bread, but many bakeries either add milk ingredients or smother their bread in butter or egg as others mentioned. If they're trying to be healthy, they'll use honey instead of sugar. I can almost never eat the bread in restaurants because either they don't know what the ingredients are or it contains one of those things. Also, it's not always comfortable for people to play 20 questions if things aren't obviously labeled, so I think it's perfectly valid to call ahead or email. It means that there isn't a line up behind you rolling their eyes while you figure out what you want to buy.

MJ, sounds like you came up with a great menu! If you're looking for recipe ideas again in the future, I recommend vegetariantimes.com or vegweb.com


2009 Dec 16
Ha ha, vegan dietary restrictions are nothing much; members of some Hindu sects (Jains, particularly) won't eat garlic, potatoes, onions, or other root vegetables. Why? Well, pulling them from the ground disturbs insects that live in the earth, and that harms them. Some of them also won't eat tomatoes (a staple of Indian cooking) because the red colour of the juice and meat (ha ha, pun!) looks like blood.

I have a friend who is Jain and, while she is not as strict as I mention above (for example, she will eat eggs in baked goods) she recently had to be very careful when buying a birthday cake for her daughter. She wanted a Cinderella theme cake, but most of them had the face of Cinderella iced on the cake. In her religion you shouldn't "cut" any image of a human/animal, so that cake decoration wouldn't do. Instead, she got a cake with 3 plastic princess figurines on it. Even some of my other vegetarian friends were surprised by that!

I, however, am a happy omnivore!

2010 Jan 24
I was at Rainbow Foods today and noticed they no longer have an Art-Is-In stand. I asked at customer service and was told that they've switched to another supplier -- one that does not use dairy products in their bread. The man didn't seem too sure of the name (O.P.P.?) but he said it was started by one of the Art-Is-In bakers who... defected.

Does anyone know anything else about this vegan bakery? I would have bought some bread to try, except they don't have any on Sundays.