Vegan Sundried Tomato, Onion, and Rosemary Bread from a Bread Machine

I have wanted a bread machine since the day I saw one in a thrift store in Imperial Beach, California. It was $10 and looked like a deal to me. Although I am bummed I didn’t buy it back then I am glad now because I think I would’ve lost my love for them. The reviews on the cheaper models are terrible. They look like war stories of collapsed breads and mutilated pasta dough. That should be a crime because honestly breads and carbs are the only thing that make people truly happy sometimes and if they do all that work to make them from scratch and not go buy a slice of 8,000 calorie banana bread from the coffee shop, then they should be rewarded with something wonderful. Instead the bread falls in the center creating a volcano of doughy gooey mess that one must carefully discard without losing the little rudder that helps knead the bread in the bottom of the baking pan. (Yes, I have thrown mine out and had to recover it already). That being said over the weekend I was very sick with bronchitis. I think I may have coughed up my lungs. So what better to do when stuck in the house for a few days but bake.

I made a delicious batch of my low ingredient oatmeal cookies with bananas, hazelnuts, and chocolate and I made two breads. Only one of which survived because…. well…. I wasn’t paying attention and forgot the flour (yes the flour) in one of them. It didn’t dawn on me for about an hour and then I went OH COME ON! Because I knew the baking portion had started and the kneading/stirring had passed. So my bread lovers here is my recipe for my very successful and delicious smelling sundried tomato, onion, and rosemary bread.

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Sundried Tomato, Onion, and Rosemary Bread

Ingredients (see below for sizes and layering):

  • Crisco
  • (1) White Onion
  • Dried Rosemary
  • Sundried Tomato Infused Olive Oil
  • Sundried Tomatoes in olive oil
  • Bread Flour ( I used Gold’s,  DO NOT use all purpose)
  • Kosher Salt
  • Vegan Sugar
  • Dry Active Yeast ( I use fast rising or bread only)
  • Water

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Preparation:

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First you need to cook down and puree the onions. Just place chopped onions in a pan with Crisco and a few pinches of salt and cook down until translucent. Then puree with a hand blender or food processor. Place to the side.

Take the bread baking pan out of the breadmaker and begin layering your ingredients. Many breadmakers come with their own ingredients and settings. I will generally make a 1.5lb loaf in a 2lb machine instead of the max so that any ingredients I add can be incorporated with enough room. I also always use medium settings like a medium crust color. Not light or dark. Moderation helps with a finicky machine I feel.

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Layering:

The layering of ingredients for this bread are as follows (read below before you start layering:

  • Water (3/4 cup)
  • Infused olive oil (2 tablespoons)
  • Few pinches of salt (about 1 teaspoon)
  • 1/4 cup of onion mixture
  • Sugar (1 teaspoon)
  • Bread Flour (3cups)
  • Dried Rosemary (1-2 teaspoons)
  • Optional: dash of granulated garlic or other spices
  • Active Dry Yeast (1 packet) (make sure to read below before this layer)
  • Sliced Sundried Tomatoes in Oil (1/8 to 1/4 cup)

You will layer the above ingredients one on top of the other in the baking pan to be stirred, kneaded, etc. by the bread machine however when you go to add the yeast there is a small trick. Make a crater in the center so that the yeast can get to the sugar and water easier. Yeast eats sugar so this is helping guide the process. If a recipe doesn’t call for sugar but does for yeast I encourage the same process and 2 pinches of sugar into the dough to help it rise better. Also always use bread flour it is different than all purpose containing more proteins, etc.

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BAKING:

Last place the settings on your bread machine to a basic or white bread setting and moderate crust color and size is for 1.5 lbs. If you want you can always take the bread out and knead it a little before the rise setting and add a dash of water or flour if you think it needs it. I do this occasionally. Sometimes I also spray the pan with Pam/Canola or olive oil.

Once it rises and before it bakes add a drizzle of the infused olive oil and a pinch of salt on top. It will make it have a little extra zing on the crust.

Take out immediately after baking and place on rack. if you are not there that is okay. it will just get a little soggy on the bottom if it auto-shuts off.

Enjoy!

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Food is Love. 

The Hippie Gypsy

Veganized Savory Chicken Pot Pie

Lately, I have been addicted to Food Network Star. It ended the other night and the pie man lost but that didn’t make me lose the inspiration he created on screen. He could make anything into a pie. When I saw that grilled cheese pie with the short ribs I started to drool. I have actually been lucky enough to visit his restuarant in DC on my April road trip and was suprised to see they always feature multiple vegan pies there! However, I do not know how to make a vegan short rib equivalent so I started googling savory pies and looking at his pie shop menus. Chicken pot pie and chicken pie came up a lot in all these searches.

When I was a kid my mother would make Chicken Pot Pie a few times a month I swear. My father was always traveling and I can only imagine how stressed my mom was, so a one pot/pie meal was something she could throw together from all the leftovers during the week and we would have our bellies full. We either got it from scratch or in the box from Willow Farms that was fresh and local and a good alternative. My favorite however was just chicken and stuffing or potatoes. After watching Food Network and then googling for hours I decided I was going to make a chicken pie that was half chicken pie and a smidge chicken pot pie. I called my husband and told him to pick me up some pie crust on the way home. I was lucky because he got the refrigerated vegan pie crust from Whole Foods instead of the boxed kind and defrost was not needed.

NOTE: He is such a good sport about supporting my culinary undertakings without question.

I then embarked upon my first ever savory pie attempt and the stars must have aligned because it was the most delicious pie I had ever made. I don’t say this lightly because I make an amazing chocolate strawberry pie but this one was unbelievable. The crust was just a little sweet and perfectly flaky and the filling was hearty and subtle with an aroma of calming rosemary filling the house and the slight crunch of the diced broccoli stalks just finished it off. It will be ideal when Autumn hits. My husband, the resident omnivore, even had two slices before I was done with my first.

So let me tell you how I did it and you can make this for your Meatless Monday or meatless anyday or meatless everyday!

pie cut out

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Savory Rosemary and Thyme Chicken Pie

INGREDIENTS:

Filling

  • 1 Container Beyond Meat Lightly Seasoned Chicken Strips (available at Whole Foods)
  • 1 head of broccoli
  • 1/4 of an onion ciabatta bread square (8×8) (or any bread you have leftover just add extra onions)
  • 1 carmalized onion diced into tiny pieces or 1/3 cup of dehydrated onions (which I prefer)
  • 2tbsp Rosemary
  • 2tsp Thyme
  • 2 tbsp kosher salt
  • 1tsp black freshly ground pepper
  • 1tsp granulated garlic

Sauce

  • 1cup Almond Milk
  • 1/3 cup Tofutti Sour Cream
  • 1/3 cup Daiya Mozzarella Cheese Shreds
  • 1/4 block of Daiya Havarti Cheese
  • 2tbsp Olive Oil
  • 2tbsp dehydrated onion
  • 1tsp salt

Pie Crust

  • 2 Vegan Refrigerated Pie Crusts from Whole Foods
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Thyme
  • Rosemary
  • Granulated Garlic
  • Dehydrated Onions

Finishing

  • Olive Oil for Misting the top only
  • Pinch of salt

pie slice

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COOKING:

Prepare Filling:

  1. Dice Beyond Meat Vegan Chicken.
  2. Dice into very small pieces broccoli.
  3. Dice cubed bread and soak in warm water for 3 minutes. Remove and add to mixture.
  4. Toss all ingredients of filling until well combined.

Prepare Sauce

  1. Place all sauce ingredients in sauce pan on Medium heat and stir until melted and well combined.
  2. Take off heat and add filling until all contents are covered in sauce.

Prepare Crust

  1. Preheat oven to 350degrees.
  2. Take both pie crusts and knead in spices and salt until well-distributed through dough.
  3. Press 1 crust dough back into pie pan and then place parchment paper and pie weights on top for precooking. If you do not have pie weights you can use canned veggies with the paper ripped off or dry beans you have on hand to weigh down the crust and keep it from bubbling up while you precook the dough. Do not forget to precook the dough or the filling will cause it to come out raw. Precook until lightly golden.
  4. Knead second dough with spices and salt. Roll out to twice the size of original dough as this will cover the heaping pie.
  5. Take pie crust out of oven and fill with filling/sauce mixture. It will be dome shaped on top. Press in and condense. The Beyond Meat chicken is already cooked so you do not have to worry about raw meat.
  6. Once all the filling is in the crust cover with the second seasoned dough. Tuck in the edges so that it forms and thick layer that has no holes at the seam of the pie pan.

pie oven 2

  1. Cut air holes on the top of the crust to allow for steam to escape. I say 4 1 inch slits always work out well.
  2. Mist lightly with olive oil and sprinkle a pinch of salt on top.
  3. Bake at 425degrees for approximately 30minutes or until crust is golden on top .

pie done oven

Eat. Serve. Enjoy.

Serves 8-10.

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XOXOX,

The Hippie Gypsy

Veganized Savory Chicken Pot Pie

Lately, I have been addicted to Food Network Star. It ended the other night and the pie man lost but that didn’t make me lose the inspiration he created on screen. He could make anything into a pie. When I saw that grilled cheese pie with the short ribs I started to drool. I have actually been lucky enough to visit his restuarant in DC on my April road trip and was suprised to see they always feature multiple vegan pies there! However, I do not know how to make a vegan short rib equivalent so I started googling savory pies and looking at his pie shop menus. Chicken pot pie and chicken pie came up a lot in all these searches.

When I was a kid my mother would make Chicken Pot Pie a few times a month I swear. My father was always traveling and I can only imagine how stressed my mom was, so a one pot/pie meal was something she could throw together from all the leftovers during the week and we would have our bellies full. We either got it from scratch or in the box from Willow Farms that was fresh and local and a good alternative. My favorite however was just chicken and stuffing or potatoes. After watching Food Network and then googling for hours I decided I was going to make a chicken pie that was half chicken pie and a smidge chicken pot pie. I called my husband and told him to pick me up some pie crust on the way home. I was lucky because he got the refrigerated vegan pie crust from Whole Foods instead of the boxed kind and defrost was not needed.

NOTE: He is such a good sport about supporting my culinary undertakings without question.

I then embarked upon my first ever savory pie attempt and the stars must have aligned because it was the most delicious pie I had ever made. I don’t say this lightly because I make an amazing chocolate strawberry pie but this one was unbelievable. The crust was just a little sweet and perfectly flaky and the filling was hearty and subtle with an aroma of calming rosemary filling the house and the slight crunch of the diced broccoli stalks just finished it off. It will be ideal when Autumn hits. My husband, the resident omnivore, even had two slices before I was done with my first.

So let me tell you how I did it and you can make this for your Meatless Monday or meatless anyday or meatless everyday!

pie cut out

___________________________________________________________________________________

Savory Rosemary and Thyme Chicken Pie

INGREDIENTS:

Filling

  • 1 Container Beyond Meat Lightly Seasoned Chicken Strips (available at Whole Foods)
  • 1 head of broccoli
  • 1/4 of an onion ciabatta bread square (8×8) (or any bread you have leftover just add extra onions)
  • 1 carmalized onion diced into tiny pieces or 1/3 cup of dehydrated onions (which I prefer)
  • 2tbsp Rosemary
  • 2tsp Thyme
  • 2 tbsp kosher salt
  • 1tsp black freshly ground pepper
  • 1tsp granulated garlic

Sauce

  • 1cup Almond Milk
  • 1/3 cup Tofutti Sour Cream
  • 1/3 cup Daiya Mozzarella Cheese Shreds
  • 1/4 block of Daiya Havarti Cheese
  • 2tbsp Olive Oil
  • 2tbsp dehydrated onion
  • 1tsp salt

Pie Crust

  • 2 Vegan Refrigerated Pie Crusts from Whole Foods
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Thyme
  • Rosemary
  • Granulated Garlic
  • Dehydrated Onions

Finishing

  • Olive Oil for Misting the top only
  • Pinch of salt

pie slice

____________________________________________________________________________

COOKING:

Prepare Filling:

  1. Dice Beyond Meat Vegan Chicken.
  2. Dice into very small pieces broccoli.
  3. Dice cubed bread and soak in warm water for 3 minutes. Remove and add to mixture.
  4. Toss all ingredients of filling until well combined.

Prepare Sauce

  1. Place all sauce ingredients in sauce pan on Medium heat and stir until melted and well combined.
  2. Take off heat and add filling until all contents are covered in sauce.

Prepare Crust

  1. Preheat oven to 350degrees.
  2. Take both pie crusts and knead in spices and salt until well-distributed through dough.
  3. Press 1 crust dough back into pie pan and then place parchment paper and pie weights on top for precooking. If you do not have pie weights you can use canned veggies with the paper ripped off or dry beans you have on hand to weigh down the crust and keep it from bubbling up while you precook the dough. Do not forget to precook the dough or the filling will cause it to come out raw. Precook until lightly golden.
  4. Knead second dough with spices and salt. Roll out to twice the size of original dough as this will cover the heaping pie.
  5. Take pie crust out of oven and fill with filling/sauce mixture. It will be dome shaped on top. Press in and condense. The Beyond Meat chicken is already cooked so you do not have to worry about raw meat.
  6. Once all the filling is in the crust cover with the second seasoned dough. Tuck in the edges so that it forms and thick layer that has no holes at the seam of the pie pan.

pie oven 2

  1. Cut air holes on the top of the crust to allow for steam to escape. I say 4 1 inch slits always work out well.
  2. Mist lightly with olive oil and sprinkle a pinch of salt on top.
  3. Bake at 425degrees for approximately 30minutes or until crust is golden on top .

pie done oven

Eat. Serve. Enjoy.

Serves 8-10.

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XOXOX,

The Hippie Gypsy