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Ciabatta Bread

February 16, 2012 by epicureanvegan

Ciabatta Bread -- Epicurean VeganIt all started with a Pampered Chef party I went to through Fort Vegan, my local vegetarian/vegan group. The hostess and rep prepared all-vegan samples, including this amazing bread—made of course, in their covered baking dish. Yes, I ended up buying it, but not just for the bread! It’s great for vegetable stews, casseroles, and even cake. Yes, cake. (Oh and in the microwave.) Sounds bizarre, but really delicious! (and it was a gluten-free cake). Anyway . . . my bread didn’t puff up and fill the entire baker like the one at the party, so I’m going to have to try again and see what happens. The recipe calls for only 1/4 tsp of yeast and I wonder if that was a typo since my version was denser. Dense or not, however, it was incredible! I’m guessing you can make this bread without the covered baker, so if you do, let me know how it turns out. Oh and did I mention the dough has to rise for at least 12 hours? Then another 2? Believe me, it’s worth it.

Ciabatta Bread -- Epicurean Vegan

INGREDIENTS:
3 C flour
1/4 tsp instant yeast
1-1/2 tsp salt
1-1/2 C water

DIRECTIONS:
In a large bowl, combine the flour, yeast, and salt. Stir in the water until well blended. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 12-18 hours. When it’s ready, it will have bubbles on the top. The recipe then has you flour a Pampered Chef Pastry Mat and cover the dough with it for another two hours. This, I didn’t have, so I improvised, using a cutting board and dish towel.

Ciabatta Bread -- Epicurean Vegan

1-1/2 hours into this second round of rising, preheat the oven to 450. Place the empty baker in the oven for 30 minutes to get it good and hot. Sounds crazy, but I did as I was told. Then dump the dough into the baker . . .

Ciabatta Bread -- Epicurean Vegan

. . . cover and bake for 30 minutes. The recipe says to uncover and bake another 8-15 minutes, but my bread came out gorgeous after the 30 minutes.

Ciabatta Bread -- Epicurean Vegan

It may not have been light and fluffy like the original, but it was mighty delicious just the same. If you give it a try, let me know how you made it and if you tweaked anything—I’d love to hear from you! Enjoy!

Ciabatta Bread
 
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It all started with a Pampered Chef party I went to through Fort Vegan, my local vegetarian/vegan group. The hostess and rep prepared all-vegan samples, including this amazing bread---made of course, in their covered baking dish. Yes, I ended up buying it, but not just for the bread! It's great for vegetable stews, casseroles, and even cake. Yes, cake. (Oh and in the microwave.) Sounds bizarre, but really delicious! (and it was a gluten-free cake). Anyway . . . my bread didn't puff up and fill the entire baker like the one at the party, so I'm going to have to try again and see what happens. The recipe calls for only ¼ tsp of yeast and I wonder if that was a typo since my version was denser. Dense or not, however, it was incredible! I'm guessing you can make this bread without the covered baker, so if you do, let me know how it turns out. Oh and did I mention the dough has to rise for at least 12 hours? Then another 2? Believe me, it's worth it.
Author: Epicurean Vegan
Ingredients
  • 3 C flour
  • ¼ tsp instant yeast
  • 1-1/2 tsp salt
  • 1-1/2 C water
Directions
  1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, yeast, and salt. Stir in the water until well blended. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 12-18 hours. When it's ready, it will have bubbles on the top. The recipe then has you flour a Pampered Chef Pastry Mat and cover the dough with it for another two hours. This, I didn't have, so I improvised, using a cutting board and dish towel.
  2. -1/2 hours into this second round of rising, preheat the oven to 450. Place the empty baker in the oven for 30 minutes to get it good and hot. Sounds crazy, but I did as I was told. Then dump the dough into the baker . . .
  3. cover and bake for 30 minutes. The recipe says to uncover and bake another 8-15 minutes, but my bread came out gorgeous after the 30 minutes.
  4. It may not have been light and fluffy like the original, but it was mighty delicious just the same. If you give it a try, let me know how you made it and if you tweaked anything---I'd love to hear from you! Enjoy!
3.5.3208

 

Filed Under: Breads Tagged With: ciabatta, easy, make ahead, Pampered Chef, vegan bread

Vegetable Panini with Pesto

May 19, 2010 by epicureanvegan

Vegetable Panini with Pesto -- Epicurean VeganThis was certainly a learning experience seeing as this is the first time I used my new panini maker. (Try Cuisinart’s Griddler –it was only $50 at Bed Bath & Beyond–and be sure to use their 20% off coupons to save even more–thought it was good deal and I really like this panini maker). So here’s my tip (which you probably can already guess…) slice everything super-duper thin, otherwise, you’ll have way too much spillage (see my pic). Live and learn. Anyway, I can’t wait to try out other ingredients–even a dessert variety! (Stay tuned). . .

INGREDIENTS:
1 large loaf of ciabatta bread will give you about 4 sandwiches:

Vegetable Panini with Pesto -- Epicurean VeganBut try flat bread, or any other kind of thick bread you want
Remember . . . slice very thin:
Red bell pepper
Roasted red peppers
AvocadoMushrooms
Red onion
Tomato
Vegan mozzarella
Other stuff:
Basil pesto, jarred or homemade
Balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper, to taste
Olive oil

DIRECTIONS:
Lightly brush the outside of each slice of bread with the oil. Pile on the veggies in an order that makes sense to you then drizzle with balsamic vinegar and add the salt and pepper. On the other slice of bread, spread on the pesto and then top the sandwich with it. Place in the panini maker and press down. Obviously, you can easily make these sandwiches on the stove or even on the grill–just don’t overload them with stuff—they’ll be too hard to flip over.

Other combinations:
Portobello mushrooms with vegan mozzarella, pesto and roasted red peppers
Roasted zucchini with pesto, roasted red peppers and muchrooms
Smart Deli Turkey with vegan cheese, horseradish, tomato and avocado
The ideas are pretty endless—you can’t go wrong with your favorite ingredients!
Great served with sweet potato fries:

Vegetable Panini with Pesto -- Epicurean Vegan

Filed Under: Dinners, Lunches Tagged With: ciabatta, mushrooms, panini, pesto, roasted red pepper

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The Epicurean Vegan is devoted to those wanting to eat healthy, save animals, and reduce their carbon footprint. My decision to go vegan started out as a quest to get healthier, but the more I learned about veganism, the more I realized how damaging the meat and dairy industries are to the environment and, of course, the animals. And it is for these reasons, that I would never go back to eating or wearing animal products. Ever.
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