Rosemary and Sultana Bread
Yesterday I baked a sweet but at the same time salty bread, with rosemary and raisins to be precise, something similar to ’pan di ramerino,’ which is a traditional Easter Tuscan bread. This combination is something that I believe works really well in breads and flour-based preparations. For this bread I referred to one of Ilona Chovancova’s amazing recipes of ‘Cakes Maison’ for the amounts of flour and liquids to use (and replacing 1-butter with olive oil, 2-cow’s milk with soy milk and 3-the eggs with silken tofu). This organic bread, or loaf cake, is perfect on its own or as an addition to any meal. I had the last slice for breakfast this morning, with a spoonful of homemade plum jam spread on it… :) For this bread I used organic ingredients ;)
Ingredients (makes 1 loaf):
150 g wholemeal flour
150 g unbleached kamut flour
5 tablespoons silken tofu
250 ml vegan buttermilk (which is 250 ml soy milk plus 1 teaspoon apple vinegar)
75 ml extra virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons raisins
2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary
3 tablespoons organic baking powder (I used cream of tartar)
½ teaspoon whole sea salt
Preheat the oven o 180° C and lightly oil a 24 cm loaf pan (alternatively, you can lay a sheet of parchment paper down on your loaf pan). In a large bowl, combine the flours, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, combine the tofu, vegan buttermilk, and olive oil. Add the wet mixture to the dry and fold until the dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in the raisins and rosemary and fold until they are evenly distributed. Do not overmix. The batter should be rather sticky and thick (if you realize it’s really too thick while mixing all the ingredients, feel free to add 1 or 2 more tablespoons of soy milk). Transfer the batter into your loaf pan and spread evenly. Bake for about 45 to 50 minutes, or until a wooden stick or toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Let cool for 10 to 15 minutes before unmolding. Let cool completely on a rack.
