Vegan chef and artisan bread-maker Ed Tatton shares techniques and 100 recipes for making naturally leavened sourdough loaves, small breads, and earth-friendly small baked goods
I don’t review cookbooks, but I couldn’t help but share about the recently released cookbook by my previous clients Ed and Natasha Tatton at BReD, Whistler’s only plant-based bakery. Check out their launch videos:
Sourdough bread is naturally vegan—flour, water, and salt transformed into extraordinary, delicious bread. With the help of Natasha, his partner in life and business, vegan chef Ed has been baking and refining his recipes and techniques for naturally leavened sourdough for many years—including a wide array of boules, baguettes, loaves, flatbreads, buns, and pizza. As required, he uses plant-based alternatives in some savoury and sweet sourdoughs that would traditionally include dairy (butter, milk, or buttermilk) including panettone buns, hot cross buns, sticky buns, cinnamon buns, English muffins, brioche, and babka. Inside BReD, you’ll find these perfected recipes to start your journey in bread-making; along with a detailed sourdough starter guide with step-by-step visuals on making and maintaining a sourdough starter, levain, mixing, shaping, and baking methods.
BReD is a complete plant-based book for bakers that goes beyond just making bread. Experienced bakers and novices alike can take their baking to the next level with gorgeous vegan baked goods from cakes, muffins, and scones to biscuits, cookies, and tarts. Passionate about a vegan lifestyle for the benefit of all people and the planet, the book also includes gluten-free recipes (bread and other baked goods), discard starter recipes to further zero-waste efforts, and an offering of dips, spreads, and accompaniments to complement the breads.
The couple permitted me to share one recipe from the new book: Millet, Peanut Butter, and Chocolate Blondies.
Millet, Peanut Butter, and Chocolate Blondies
Makes about 10 slices
What exactly is a blondie, you might ask? Imagine a brownie, except it is not brown as there is no cocoa powder. It is blond in colour, in this case from the peanut butter. If you have a craving for a Snickers bar, this is a healthier and cruelty-free treat that will satisfy you whether or not you are gluten-free.
You can use chickpea flour instead of millet flour, as well as different nut butters such as almond, cashew, or hazelnut and then top with your chosen chopped nut.
Ingredients
50g (1/3 cup) ground flaxseed
155g (2/3 cup) unsweetened oat milk
125g (½ cup) cold vegan butter
300g (11/3 cups) raw cane sugar
400g (1½ cups) crunchy peanut butter
10g (2 teaspoons) pure vanilla extract
10g (2 teaspoons) baking powder
3g (½ teaspoon) fine sea salt
180g (1 cup) millet flour
250g (1½ cups) dairy-free dark chocolate chips
100g (2/3 cup) chopped natural peanuts
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Lightly coat a 9-inch (23cm) square cake or brownie pan with canola oil spray, then line the bottom and sides with parchment paper, leaving extra hanging over the sides.
2. To make your flax egg, whisk together the flaxseed and oat milk in a small bowl until a smooth paste If there are any lumps, push a small rubber spatula against the side of the bowl to break them up. Let sit for 10 minutes to bloom and thicken.
3. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the butter with the sugar on medium speed until smooth and paler, 5 minutes. Add the peanut butter, vanilla, and flax egg and beat until everything is well incorporated, 2 minutes.
4. Add the baking powder, salt, and millet flour and beat on medium speed until no dry patches remain, 1 minute.
5. Add the chocolate chips and gently incorporate until just mixed.
6. Scrape the batter into the lined pan and spread it evenly with a rubber spatula. Lightly compress the batter. Sprinkle evenly with the peanuts. Bake until the blondie is golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Let the blondie cool in the pan on a cooling rack for at least 1 hour or overnight before cutting.
7. Store the blondies in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. The blondies are best eaten at room temperature.
See all the places where you can purchase BReD at Penguin Random House USA or Canada.
Congrats, Ed and Natasha!