mizchef

Posts Tagged ‘vegan pastry crust’

On Saturday, July 23, 2011, New York City experienced a heatwave that knocked everyone on their asses. Temperatures were record breaking—it was 104 degrees F in Central Park! And so, on this day, the air conditioning unit in the kitchen at school was broken. Oh, yes. Broken. It was hot enough to bake a quiche in that room when it was still dark and empty.

Imagine, then, how 14 students felt when they had to show up to class in full uniform, turn on the ovens (that’s plural), and bake pastry crusts. Sweet fancy Moses, it felt like my brain was melting. Everyone was withering and was barely able to stay alert. Finally, at about 3:15, we got word that we were allowed to take off our jackets and hats. And thank god, because I really don’t know if I would have made it. We all practically stripped down to our skivvies, except for our pants and aprons. That is, with the exception of one resilient soul who felt that it was her duty to stay in uniform. Bless her heart, she made it, and we didn’t have to call the paramedics.

Our instructor said that that kind of heat is typical of restaurant kitchens and being able to deal with the heat was a badge of honor. Understood. But I don’t plan on working in a restaurant kitchen so to hell with that. Badges? We don’t need your stinkin’ badges.

Anyway, we made apple galettes with vegan pastry crusts and they all turned out pretty nice. The instructor was impressed with the height I achieved with only two apples. LOL Don’t know what to say about that. I took the galette to my parents’ house the next day. It was my brother’s birthday, so I thought I’d share it. Not bad. Not bad at all. The apple filling was light and not cloyingly sweet. The crust was not flaky because we used solid coconut oil rather than butter and it was so hot in the room that the oil was melting as we were working with it. So, it came out denser than I would have liked, but it was still tender and tasty with the nutty flavor of whole wheat pastry flour.

Here is the recipe, and you don’t have to be a vegan to enjoy it.

Apple Galette with Vegan Crust

© Susan Baldassano/The Natural Gourmet Institute

Yield: 1 6-inch diameter galette

Make dough first
*Addition to the original recipe

Filling
2 large apples, peeled, thinly sliced
1 tbsp lemon juice in 1 cup water
1 tbsp coconut oil
2 tbsp maple crystals
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp maple crystals
2 tbsp bread crumbs
Pinch cinnamon
*2 tbsp maple syrup

1. Place sliced apples in bowl with lemon juice and water.
2. In medium sauté pan, heat oil. Add apples and cook until apples are slightly tender but not mushy,
3. Place cooked apples in bowl. Add 2 tbsp maple crystals, cinnamon, and vanilla. Mix to combine. Set aside.
4. Preheat oven to 375 F. roll out dough to 9-inch circle, 1/8 inch thick.
5. In small bowl, combine bread crumbs with remaining 2 tbsp of maple crystals and pinch cinnamon.
6. Scatter bread crumbs/maple crystal mixture into center of circle leaving 1 ½ inch border.
7. Fan apples in concentric circles over area covered with bread crumb/crystal mixture
8. Rotate halfway through and brush completely with maple syrup.* Fold dough over apples. Place in refrigerator 30 minutes.
9. Bake 30-35 minutes until crust is brown and firm to touch. Cook, slice, and serve.

Vegan Pastry Crust

¾ cup whole wheat pastry crust
¾ cup unbleached white flour
2 tbsp maple crystals
¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
Pinch sea salt
1/3 cup coconut oil (room temp, partially sold)
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp maple syrup
3-5 tbsp ice cold water

1. In medium bowl, sift together dry ingredients. Use whisk to fully combine.
2. Add oil to bowl. Using pastry cutter; blend oil into flour. Dough should have coarse, sand-like consistency.
3. Add vanilla, 1 tbsp water and maple syrup to dough with wooden spoon. Mix to combine.
4. Slowly add water to dough one tbsp at at a time. Dough should just hold together and be wet (but not dripping).
5. Place dough in plastic wrap. Flatten to disc shape and refrigerate 10-15 minutes only.
6. Take out dough; allow to rest until workable.
7. Roll out dough between 2 layers of parchment paper. Dough should be about 9 inches around and no more than 1/8 inch thick.