Kristen Kreates

A few years ago I began experimenting with different diets. Although I tried several diets, I stuck to a vegan diet the longest. I no longer follow the vegan diet now but I will probably do it in the future. Well anyway, the reason I say all this is because this bread recipe was developed during this time. I loved my mom’s shepherd’s bread, but it had butter, and milk, and eggs and everything you can’t have on a vegan diet. So I created this recipe completely vegan and yet still delicious! I still love making this recipe and sharing it with my family and friends. I am so proud of this recipe and so excited to share it with you!

Recipe

• 1 cup room temperature water (I use tap water)
• 3/4 cup boiling water
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 cups all-purpose flour

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit once your dough is almost done rising. You will bake your bread on a greased cookie sheet or shallow pan is also fine.

Begin by combining your room temperature water and boiling water together, mix in your sugar, salt, olive oil and vanilla in a small bowl. Lastly, add the yeast and set aside to allow growth.

You can mix your dough either by hand or in a bread mixer. Once your yeast has grown slightly add it to your mixing bowl along with one cup of flour. Begin mixing and wait until completely mixed before adding more flour. You may need to stop the mixer and scrape the sides or your bowl to ensure all the flour is mixing into the dough.

Continue by slowly adding your next cup of flour and so on until you have dumped in all four cups of flour. You should now have a firm ball of dough.

Detach your bowl from the mixer and use your hands to slightly knead it and form a smooth round sphere. Lightly dust with flour so it isn’t too sticky.

Now place your dough into a clean bowl and cover with a tea towel. Allow your dough to rise in a warm place for an hour. Once your dough has risen, place it gently on your greased pan. Smooth out any bumps that may be in the dough. Allow the dough to rest for an additional ten minutes. Place your pan in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes or until your bread is a golden brown. Once out of the oven, brush melted butter over the warm bread. Allow to cool before cutting.

Enjoy this bread with butter, jam, and a cup of tea!

A few notes:

• This bread can be mixed by hand or in a bread mixer. I use a bread mixer, but also enjoy mixing by hand to remember the good ol’ days of not having an electric bread mixer.
• If you have never made bread before, then please feel free to ask me any questions about the process! I’d be happy to help you along.
• This recipe only makes one loaf of bread. You can also double the recipe if you need more than one loaf.

If you made this bread and enjoyed it please let me know! I’d love to hear all about it.