Halah Bakes Double Crust Apple Pie (Vegan)

This apple pie was awesome. The crust stayed crisp and there was no fear of a "soggy bottom." The apple filling is sweet, yet not too sweet. Try it out and let me know how it goes!

Ingredients:

For the double crust - for a 10 inch pie pan:

1 cup oil

2 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

7 to 8 tablespoons cold water

For the filling:

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons coconut oil

8 to 9 cups sliced and pared Golden Delicious apples (about 9 apples)

Instructions:

Following these instructions exactly will provide the best results.

1. Combine flour, salt, and sugar into a bowl. Mix well.
2. Pour the oil into the flour mixture and mix until you get small crumbs the size of peas.
3. Add in 1 tablespoon of water at a time. Mixing the dough between tablespoons with a fork. Stop when the dough begins to leave the sides of the bowl. For me, this only required 7 tablespoons of cold water.
4. With hands, gather the dough into a ball and split into two. Roll each half into a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap until your filling is ready.
5. Prep your filling by mixing all filling ingredients together in a bowl.
6. Roll out 1 of the balls of dough to be about 2 to 3 inches larger than the base of the pie pan (this will ensure that the sides of the pan are covered with dough). I recommend flouring the surface you will be rolling on and the rolling pin lightly. Place the rolled out dough into your pie pan. Fill in any cracks (pressing excess dough into the cracks gently) using excess dough from the dough overhanging the sides of the pie pan.
7. Fill the pie with the apple mixture. Note: the flour added to the apple mixture will prevent the filling from getting too wet and making the bottom of the pie soggy.
8. Now roll out the 2nd ball of dough so that it completely covers the top of the pie. Cut off and discard any excess dough. Using a fork, press down the edges of the dough.
9. Cut slits on the top of the crust so that the apple mixture can thicken in the oven and to prevent a soggy pie bottom.
10. Bake the pie for 50 minutes at 450 degrees, but cover the edges of the pie with tin foil. After 40 minutes, remove the tin foil from the sides of the pie and allow the pie to bake for the last 10 minutes completely uncovered. This prevents the edges from getting too brown. When the pie is done, the crust will be a golden brown color and the apple filling will be bubbling through the slits.
11. Serve with vanilla ice cream and enjoy!

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Vegan Whole Wheat "Buttermilk" Biscuits

This recipe does not taste vegan at all. The biscuits are fluffy and soft. This is because it uses "vegan buttermilk" which is basically a mixture of a non-dairy milk (like almond or soy milk) with an acid (like vinegar or lemon juice). Instead of 1 cup of buttermilk, you just have to mix 1 cup of non-dairy milk combined with 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice and let both sit for about 5 minutes. In baking, you won't taste a difference!

Ingredients:

Vegan Buttermilk:
3/4 cups to maximum 1 cup almond milk (or another type of non-dairy milk)
1 tablespoon rice vinegar (you can also use lemon juice or another clear vinegar)

Other Ingredients:
1/4 cup oil
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

Instructions:

Following these instructions exactly will provide the best results.

1. Mix whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium sized bowl.
2. Pour the oil into the dough and mix until the dough resembles fine crumbs.
3. Make your buttermilk: Combine almond milk with vinegar in a separate cup. Stir. Let sit for 5 minutes.
4. Once buttermilk is prepped, pour the "buttermilk" into the dough. Add just enough so that the dough leaves the side of the bowl when kneading. Usually this means pouring just a bit more than 3/4 cups and less than 1 cup. Too much liquid will make the dough sticky and too little liquid will make the biscuits dry.
5. Knead dough for about a minute by hand. The dough will be slightly sticky, but not so much that it will stick to the bowl or your hands.
6. Pull apart about 2 to 3 tablespoons worth of dough and create a ball. On a foiled baking sheet, place the ball on the baking sheet and press down until you have a flattened disc like shape that is about 3/4 of an inch high. The flattened disc diameter will be about 2 inches. Repeat until all dough is used, making sure that biscuits are placed 1 to 2 inches apart from one another. If desired, check out my Instagram video to see this process - swipe right until you get to the video.
7. Bake at 450 degrees for 8 to 9 minutes and until the biscuits are golden brown. If you made your biscuits bigger than in Step 6, increase baking time to 10 to 12 minutes.


***Note: my process is the "lazy" way. If you want clean, sharp edges on the biscuits, roll out dough so that all the dough is 3/4 of an inch thick. Use a 2 to 3 inch biscuit cutter to shape your biscuits.

#halahbakes

Spicy Zucchini Bread

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour

1 tablespoon salt
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
3 green chili peppers diced into small pieces

5 jalapeno peppers (pickled or raw) diced
2 cups grated zucchini

1 teaspoon basil spice
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon flax seed powder

1 tablespoon chia seeds

Gram flour ("besan" flour) for dusting
4 cups of water for boiling (not to be used in bread)

Variation Tips:

*The amount of green chili peppers and jalapeno peppers required is based on your desired amount of kick.

* Pickled jalapenos add a slightly stronger kick to the final product than using raw jalapenos.

Instructions:

Following these instructions exactly will provide the best results.

1.       Combine warm water (like bath water) with yeast in a large mixing bowl and let set for 5 minutes to get foamy. Then, add the whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, salt, old fashioned oats, chili peppers, jalapeno peppers, grated zucchini, basil, black pepper, flax seed powder, and chia seeds. Mix and knead dough until thoroughly mixed.

2.       Cover dough and let it rise in a warm place for 1 hour.

3.       Once doubled in size, lightly sprinkle the dough with gram flour and transfer to a generously floured work surface. Knead a few times adding flour as needed.

4.       Place on a baking sheet (you may choose to lightly grease the pan). Sift a light coating of gram flour over the top to help keep the dough moist. Let dough sit for 5 to 10 minutes.

5.       Preheat oven to 450°F, fill a metal or cast iron pan (not glass, Pyrex, or ceramic) with the 4 cups of water, and place on the lowest oven rack.

6.       When the oven is ready, slash the bread 2 or 3 times with a knife, making a cut about ½-inch deep.

7.       Place bread in oven on the middle rack, above the rack with the pan now containing boiling water. Close oven door quickly.

8.       Bake the bread for 25 to 35 minutes, or until golden brown and crusty.

9.       Remove the bread from the oven and cool on a rack. Once fully cooled, store leftovers in a plastic bag at room temperature.

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Fluffy and Healthy Pizza Dough

This recipe is my go-to pizza dough as the cooked dough is soft and fluffy. I have used this recipe many times with a variety of different sauces and toppings. Enjoy!

PS: Photos were updated on June 8, 2018. 

Cooked Vegan, No Oil Pizza

Ingredients:

1 and 1/2 cups warm water (not hot, about warm bathtub temperature)
 1 tablespoon yeast
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 teaspoons salt
2 cups all purpose flour
1 and 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

Uncooked Vegetarian Pizza

Instructions:

Following these instructions exactly will provide the best results.

1. Add yeast to warm water and stir. Leave for 5 to 10 minutes until water becomes foamy. If the water does not foam up, your yeast may no longer be active or your water was too warm.

2. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

3. Add in the foamy yeast water into the dry ingredients and knead until all the flour has been incorporated. Keep kneading for about 10 additional minutes.

4. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise for an hour in a warm place (I usually place it into a cooled oven).

5. When the dough has doubled (or, sometimes even tripled), knead dough again for a few minutes with flour on your hands as the dough will be extra sticky. Form a large ball of dough. Place plastic wrap on the bowl again and let rise for another 30 minutes.

6. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Press out dough onto a foiled pizza pan (or two, if you want thinner crusts). You may consider lightly greasing the pan to make sure the dough comes off nicely (but, I have done it without oil and it has turned out just fine with a bit of strategic fork use). Place your desired toppings on the pizza (fun vegan fact: nutritional yeast is a good substitute for cheese).

7. Bake for 16 to 18 minutes until the edges of the crust are golden brown. Bake longer if you chose to make a thick crust.

Uncooked Vegan, No Oil Pizza

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