Bread & Butter Read online

  Copyright © 2015 by Erin McKenna

  Principal food photography copyright © 2015 by Davide Luciano

  Photography copyright © 2015 by Clarke Tolton

  All rights reserved.

  Published in the United States by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.

  www.crownpublishing.com

  www.clarksonpotter.com

  CLARKSON POTTER is a trademark and POTTER with colophon is a registered trademark of Penguin Random House LLC.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  McKenna, Erin, 1976–

  Bread & butter / Erin McKenna ; photographs by Davide Luciano and Clarke Tolton.

  pages cm

  Includes index.

  1. Gluten-free diet—Recipes. 2. Vegan cooking. 3. Baking. I. Luciano, Davide, illustrator. II. Tolton, Clarke, illustrator. III. BabyCakes (Bakery). IV. Title.

  RM237.86.M379 2015

  641.5′636—dc23 2014017004

  eBook ISBN: 978-0-8041-3722-5

  Hardcover ISBN: 978-0-8041-3721-8

  Book design by Ashley Tucker

  Photographs by Davide Luciano appear on the following pages:

  col1.1, frw.2, 1.1, 1.2, 1.4, 1.5, 1.7, 1.8, 1.10, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 2.6, 2.7, 2.9, 3.1, 3.3, 3.4, 4.2, 4.5, 4.6, 4.8, 5.1, 5.3, 5.6, 5.8, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 6.5, 6.6, 6.7, 7.2, 7.4, 8.1, 8.2, 8.4, 8.5, 9.1, 9.2, 9.3, 10.1, 10.2, 10.3, 11.1, 11.2, 11.3, 11.4

  Photographs by Clarke Tolton appear on the following pages:

  cop.1, col2.1, frw.1, fm1.1, fm2.1, fm3.1, fm4.1, 1.3, 1.6, 1.9, 1.11, 2.8, 3.2, 3.5, 4.1, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 4.7, 5.2, 5.4, 5.5, 5.7, 7.1, 7.3, 7.5, 8.3, 9.4, 9.5, 10.4, 11.5, bm1.1

  Jacket design by Ashley Tucker

  Jacket photograph: Davide Luciano

  v3.1

  contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  FOREWORD BY DAVID LEBOVITZ

  BREAD FOR EVERYONE

  INGREDIENT ASSISTANCE

  A GUIDE TO SWAPPING FLOURS

  THE HELP DESK

  the waking hours

  breads

  sandwiches

  pizza and focaccia

  this is for the kids

  foreign affairs

  puff pastry and beyond

  snacks

  dips and dressings, a sauce, a spread, and butter

  bread reborn

  sweets: the bonus round

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  INDEX

  foreword by David Lebovitz

  My first visit to BabyCakes was a rendezvous with a friend who lived in New York City and raved about the place. Always up for trying a new sweet spot, I headed to the Lower East Side. Unfortunately I got hopelessly lost in that part of Manhattan, where the streets are no longer numbered but named. After exiting the subway and wandering around until I ended up at the base of the Williamsburg Bridge, I started to give up hope.

  But when there’s a bakery involved, I am compelled to persevere. When I finally entered the homey BabyCakes shop, I felt like I’d stepped into a little time warp. There I found counter girls in suggestively snug ’50s diner garb pouring dark mugs of coffee, trays of cupcakes swirled high with frosting filling the showcases, and baked doughnuts so good they give their deep-fried counterparts a run for the money. (Now I knew how those women squeezed into those tight uniforms!) And Erin McKenna was in the kitchen, making her trademark swirl across racks and racks of bite-size cakes and confections.

  As I sat at the counter with my friend, we fought over the last of the crumbs and bits of frosting left on our plates. Since that day, BabyCakes is one of my “must stop” places when I visit the city. Even though I’m not gluten-free, I love that convivial feeling I experience every time I enter the shop—including that very first time, when I instantly felt comfortable. And my badge of honor is that I’ve gone there so much that I’ve almost memorized the route. It’s always a pleasure to walk in that now-familiar door and see Erin smiling away in the bakery, presiding over her glass cases overloaded with treats.

  But no man—nor woman—can live on cake alone (although I’ve considered trying). It’s bread that is the stuff of life, and I’m thrilled that Erin has created this collection of baked goods not just for the wheat-free crowd, but for everyone who enjoys good, fresh, honest food as much as I do. Looking through the recipes, I landed on the one for homemade English Muffins and immediately began racing around my kitchen (and making a quick trip to the nearby natural foods store), gathering up the ingredients. Because, well, what kind of person can pass up the opportunity for a warm, freshly baked English muffin with a slathering of jam? (Certainly no one I know.)

  I measured and mixed, let the batter rise, and then panfried them up on the stovetop, leaning over the pan to catch that impossible-to-replicate yeasty aroma. And for once, I was actually happy to be lost—lost in the smell of frying dough. To be honest, I couldn’t wait for them all to be done. As soon as the first of the English muffins were finished off in the oven, I split one open, smeared it with some homemade apricot jam, and a happy glow came over me. They were perfect.

  One doesn’t need to be gluten-free to appreciate breads made from the galaxy of grains that exists outside of the world of wheat. As I live a few thousand miles from Erin’s bakery, I’m thrilled to be able to bake her recipes from Bread & Butter in my home kitchen. Which means I can take a quick trip to BabyCakes whenever I want . . . with easy-to-follow directions, too.

  bread for everyone

  I don’t require a savory course—the dainty appetizer, some glam entrée. Because of my job as a dessertmaker, eating a meal entirely of sweets has, for better or often worse, become second nature to me. When I sit down at the dinner table, though, I find it far more difficult to pass by what comes before either of those courses, an early love that, over time and owing to a sensitivity to gluten, I had to abandon long ago: the bread basket. I admit that it is still difficult for me to live without the beautiful things inside that basket.

  If you are reading this book because you have dietary restrictions of some kind, I am certain you, too, can magically weave a meal out of almost any restaurant menu—find a hidden gluten-free side dish in more polite moments, and in meaner ones add so many aggravating customizations to a main course that the chef packs up her knives and dog, moves to the woods, and closes the restaurant forever.

  But there is no escaping that moment when a basket filled high with beautiful, crusty bread is presented. It brings a sudden quiet to the entire table. But instead of reaching in for a piece, we take a sip of water and watch as the others gorge themselves nonchalantly, olive oil splashing everywhere, oblivious to our suffering. We order a vodka and soda.

  I need to be cautious about what I eat: I avoid gluten because I hate the intense stomachaches it gives me. (I’m lucky not to have a life-threatening reaction to it.) But no matter what one’s reason might be for eliminating it from one’s diet, we all want bread. We want the chewy action that gluten gives bread.

  So I set out to create some vegan gluten-free recipes to fill the empty bread basket in my heart. A few early successes grew into the book you hold now. But it was very tough going from the start.

  One under-caffeinated morning at the bakery, when savory bread was far from my mind as I was faced with a long baking list of desserts for the day, I forgot to add several key ingredients to a cupcake batter. It wasn’t until I placed my ordinarily lovely carrot cupcakes on the rack to cool that I noticed they were dirty-blond and pocked everywhere with huge, wart-like clods.

  I tasted one anyway.

  The cupcakes I’d made thousands of times w
ere now, against all odds, a pretty terrible rendition of sandwich bread—a savory recipe, my most feared adversary. I brewed a cup of tea and stared at these things for a long while.

  Twenty-six days of refining later, the accidental savory recipe made its way onto the BabyCakes NYC menu as simple white sandwich bread. Over the next year, other breads followed.

  There are reasons breads usually contain gluten-rich flours, and also reasons why nearly every gluten-free bread contains eggs (which are also never included in BabyCakes recipes). Without either, creating chewy, airy, light breads with crunchy crusts was at times an emotionally troubling undertaking. For every success there were hundreds of tear-inducing failures. But I learned something at each turn and in time I solved the Gluten-Free Vegan Bread Puzzle. I am thrilled to share the spongy, delicious, eye-opening results we have been enjoying in the BabyCakes test kitchen these past eighteen months. We hope you might profit from both our good and bad experiences.

  Just remember that this is essentially a new thing we’re doing together. Don’t be too hard on yourself if you make a mistake here or there, and please, do not be afraid to experiment on your own. Accidents—and learning from them—are a part of vegan and gluten-free baking. Have the courage to screw up. Then laugh at your fallen dough, have a glass of wine, and hurl the dough against the wall if you like. I absolutely believe that you can taste happiness or frustration in the final product.

  So smile, and fill your bread basket as high as it will go!

  ingredient assistance

  At the heart of what I do is a pantry full of ingredients you may not know very well (unless, of course, you have my first two books). This section covers the basics.

  flours and other powders

  Garbanzo–fava bean flour: I’ve used this bean-based blend ever since I opened the doors of BabyCakes NYC in 2005, and to this day I have not found a better, more versatile flour. Bean flour gives an extraordinary amount of lift to gluten-free baked goods, but it is critical not to over-measure as a heavy hand will absolutely result in something that tastes overwhelmingly of beans.

  Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free All-Purpose Baking Flour: Without this my kitchens would be an absolute disaster, riddled with hundreds of half-used bags left over from lame attempts to re-create what Bob’s does for us already. This flour is a blend of garbanzo and fava bean flours, sorghum flour, potato starch, and arrowroot. It is a very reliable product.

  Teff flour: Teff may be the tiniest grain in the world with the germ and the bran still fully intact. It is definitely among the most nutritious of flours. I find it slightly bitter when used on its own, but it adds a nice tartness to my Brown Bread recipe.

  Millet flour: I cherish how light and sweet this flour is, and I turn to it to provide a tender crumb. It pairs extremely well with the more robust oat flour.

  Oat flour: It is critical to read your labels and ensure that the oat flour you are purchasing is certified gluten-free, as some purveyors process wheat on the same equipment. I love whole-grain oat flour for the added fiber and because it helped me create Oat Crackies, my Wheat Thins knockoff!

  Potato starch: When wheat is removed from the list of ingredients, something beyond a pinch of xanthan gum is needed to give bread elasticity. Potato starch gives recipes bounce and a subtle, tender crumb. I feel self-conscious even saying this, but I will anyway, just to be absolutely clear: Potato starch is not interchangeable with potato flour. You can’t do it. Please don’t do it.

  Arrowroot: Chewiness can be elusive in gluten-free bread, but arrowroot is a welcome ally. I use it less frequently in my recipes than I do potato starch, but only because it is a bit more expensive. When you see arrowroot in my recipes, it is because the alternatives are not cutting it. As with potato starch, arrowroot is extremely potent and tends to have an overpowering flavor when too much is used. Be careful.

  Xanthan gum: More than anything else, this finely ground powder adds much-needed viscosity to your cake and bread batters. It is important not to over-measure this, as it will make your baked item extremely gummy.

  Chia seeds: I use chia seeds because they add a good amount of omega-3s and add a nice nutty flavor and texture. Plus the word chia is fun to say.

  sweeteners

  Vegan sugar: You’ll find this ingredient at the grocery stores as evaporated cane juice, rapadura, Sucanat, turbinado sugar, and raw sugar. It comes straight from the cane and is minimally processed, unlike white sugar, which in many cases has been processed using animal bones.

  Coconut sugar: I like this sugar because it is among the natural sweeteners on the market that have a low glycemic index and it is rich in potassium, magnesium, zinc, iron, and B vitamins. It is made from the sap of the coconut tree, which is dehydrated to create that granular feel we love so much. Some say it tastes like a caramelized brown sugar, and I would add that it has a hint of molasses as well. You can experiment with replacing agave nectar and vegan sugar with coconut sugar in most bread recipes.

  Agave nectar: This sweetener is lower on the glycemic index than sugar and is made by extracting sap from the blue agave plant. It is sweeter than sugar, so you can use less of it. I love it for its neutral taste and for how readily available it is in most markets.

  fats

  Coconut oil: My preferred fat, this is full of medium-chain triglycerides that travel from your digestive tract straight to your liver, where the fat is converted for quick energy. Flavor- and texture-wise it covers perfectly for absentee butter. Buy it unscented.

  Walnut oil: This very costly ingredient pops up in these pages from time to time. It is an indulgence. If you feel like giving it a try, you will find it is sweetly rich and extremely flavorful. Let’s all hope it catches on so the price comes down a bit!

  a guide to swapping flours

  The ingredients in the following list are interchangeable measure for measure. Please, please, please do not get confused: An ingredient can ONLY be replaced with the ingredient or ingredients on the same line below.

  1. Oat flour, sorghum flour, and millet flour are interchangeable.

  2. Teff flour and buckwheat flour are interchangeable.

  3. Rice flour and quinoa flour are interchangeable.

  4. Flax meal and ground chia seeds are interchangeable.

  the help desk

  Welcome to the Bread & Butter Help Desk! Here I will answer so many of your questions in a handy question-and-answer format that I’m confident will help you bake my recipes successfully.

  Q: Look, following rules isn’t really my thing, so be honest: How faithful do I need to be to these recipes?

  A: Great question. Answer #1: Very faithful, if you are new to these ingredients. Answer #2: Mildly faithful, if you know your way around the BabyCakes pantry, have baked at least nineteen times in your life, and are willing to make a few mistakes and lose a couple of dollars in the mistake-making process.

  Q: The taste is great and all, but I’m getting these very-low-rise breads and am forced to make tiny sandwiches. That’s fine, except I need to make twice as many to feed the family and I’m starting to hate sandwich day. What can I do?

  A: If you add a bit more hot water (not to exceed 3 tablespoons), the dough will rise higher, but that’s when things get tricky. You also need to be careful when placing the loaf in the oven so it doesn’t fall. And, when rotating the bread in the oven, move extremely slowly—and the same goes for when you pull it out. The additional water makes your loaf more fragile.

  Q: My bread rose really high and I was so excited, and then it shrank and shriveled up. What did I do?

  A: A few things may have happened. If you added too much water in hopes of getting a higher rise, you may have gone overboard and caused your yeast to collapse from exhaustion. If you live in a humid environment, try reducing the water in the recipe by ½ cup. Another culprit is overfed yeast, a result of over-measuring your sugar. If you find your risen dough is climbing over the sides of your loaf pan, beat it down with a rubber spatu
la, let it rise again for 15 minutes, and get it in the oven.

  Q: Can I use a rapid-rise yeast instead of active dry yeast?

  A: These recipes have been developed with active dry yeast, so stick with it.

  Q: Don’t make fun of me, but I’m very sensitive to yeast. Is there any way around using it?

  A: I’d never make fun of you out here in public because I love you! Although I haven’t done proper tests, I would recommend replacing the yeast with 1 tablespoon baking powder and ¼ teaspoon baking soda if yeast is not your thing. Please note you will be sacrificing much of the taste, but desperate sensitivities call for desperate measures, as we’re all aware.

  Q: Can I substitute sugar for agave nectar without getting blasted in my mom circle for how terrible everything tastes?

  A: Although these recipes might change slightly in texture when you swap sugar for agave nectar—or agave nectar for sugar—it won’t change the final flavor too much. The rule is 2 teaspoons of agave nectar for every tablespoon of sugar listed in the measurements. You don’t have to worry about altering the wet or dry ingredients since the amount used in the recipes is minimal. If you substituted sugar for agave nectar and your dough is looking too dry, just add a splash of warm water.

  Q: I couldn’t help myself: I cut into my bread before it was fully cooled, even though you told me not to, and it is so gummy. What gives with this rule, and can my loaf be saved?

  A: Tsk, tsk. We let the bread cool to almost lukewarm before cutting into it so that the crumb has time to rest and form and finish doing its secret bread thing. Try tossing it into the freezer—now!—for 15 minutes for a rapid cool-down, but I fear you probably need to begin again.