Holistic Vegan

Since wheat has been very much off the table for me for a while now, I've been searching high and low for a good flour to use to make flatbreads for wraps and sandwiches. Much as I love gram flour (chickpea) flatbreads , which are delicious with curries, they don't have the right consistency and structural integrity required to make a sandwich wrap.  I wanted to find something that was closer to the wheat texture and taste that I've been missing but without the uncomfortable effect on my tummy. After a lot of searching, I kept coming across a mysterious flour called sorghum, but it always seemed to be mixed with other flours in bread recipes, and often with wheat - ugh! So I decided to go global, and search for traditional recipes from India that would be delicious, tried & tested and more importantly wheat free.  My Google search didn't disappoint! I soon found a whole array of recipes using Jowar Flour which I discovered was the elusive sorghum or wh

Continuing my new obsession with gram flour , it was brought to my attention by a lovely person on Instagram that I haven't shared this recipe yet! I don't even have a photo, because whenever I make these they get eaten far too quickly for Instagramming. These are a satisfying and tasty flatbread that is the perfect accompaniment for curries and spicy foods. They also have a very slightly eggy flavour to them which makes them very good with tomato based curry. These cook very much like a pancake, but are quite firm and cannot be rolled up to use as a wrap. They are better torn or cut into quarters and dipped into delicious sauces or chutneys. This is another recipe that I have to credit to the amazing Ghazalla who was kind enough to teach me some of her traditional Persian and Indian recipes. It's definitely one of my favourites because they are very filling, satisfying and make the perfect contract to a hot and spicy curry. Makes 6 Ingredients 90z/255g Gram

In my search for wheat free bread products a couple of years ago, I stumbled upon Masa Harina.  I was originally hunting for recipes for cornbread, having never tried it and thinking it could be a useful staple to replace the wheat I'm no longer able to eat. Masa Harina is dried corn dough, often called corn flour, but not to be mistaken for the cornflour we use for thickening sauces here in the UK! I've also had a go at making corn tortillas with Masa Harina and they are really stunning.  I'm also working on sweet and savoury cornbread receipes for you all that I'll share soon. All in all, Masa harina is now one of my favourite non-wheat flours to work with. Arepas are small fried corn cakes that are traditionally eaten in South America. They are often sliced in half and filled. I've tried a few different fillings, including tomato & mustard, vegan sausage and vegan cheese and they make a pretty good wheat free replacement for a muffin or savoury bun

Wheat free bread suitable for vegans is horribly expensive, not to mention hard to get hold of. Tesco make a passable loaf but the price is about 5 times what I would have spent on a wheat loaf, and you gate about one third of the quantity. It's far from good value! I decided to have a go at baking my own wheat free bread, so I invested in some Freee gluten free bread flour and started experimenting with my bread maker. Whilst I used to make all my bread by hand, I tend to use my bread maker these days for convenience and speed, so the bread maker method is the one I will be focusing on in this blog. The Freee flour made by Doves Farm, is made from blend of rice, tapioca and potato flour, with added xanthan gum.  If you're not familiar with xanthan gum, it's an additive that adds the elasticity missing from most gluten free flours and stops your baked goods from crumbling to bits when you touch them. Freee have a standard recipe for a white loaf on the packet w

When you first go vegan, it can feel like you're missing out on a lot of your favourite treats. Although we've come a long want in the past few years, it can still be difficult and expensive to find delicious chocolate (and wheat free) treats that are affordable and delicious. These can be made on quite a low budget, or as fancy as you want if you choose to splash out on posh ingredients. It doesn't matter, they will be lovely anyway! I made my latest batch with gluten free digestives from Asda. To give you an idea of proportions, I used 10 biscuits because they're rather small. You would need around 6 or 7 normal sized wheat digestives or HobNobs. Digestives and oaty biscuits like HobNobs are *usually* vegan friendly, but be sure to check the label! Ingredients 200g vegan friendly chocolate (dark or milk, I like to use half and half) 70ml plant milk 100g vegan friendly digestive biscuit crumbs (gluten & wheat free if required) 100g plant based m

I've been missing the lovely sundried tomato and herb bread that I usually make recently. Obviously the recipe I've always used includes wheat flour so I've bee racking my brains as to how to make a wheat free version that tastes nice. I came across some receipes online for a kind of no-yeast bread made with one of my favourite ingredients - gram flour . After some tweaking, I came up with this Italian style bread which is very tasty (unlike a lot of gluten free bread!) and also has a good crumb, good structural integrity and responds well to toasting or frying for a cooked breakfast. The gram flour gives it a slightly yellow colour, and a slightly nutty taste which works well with the savoury flavours. Makes 1 Loaf Ingredients 225g gram flour 335ml water 1 tbsp baking powder 1.5 tbsp sugar 1 tsp Himalayan pink salt 1 tbsp dried oregano or Italian herb mix 2 tbsp olive oil 3 sundried tomatoes, chopped into small pieces Method Grease and fully li

I recently had to take this subject seriously because I've been struggling with a painful, sore and bloated tummy which has been getting worse for a few months now. I was told back in 2016 that I should avoid wheat as I had a mild intolerance to it, ironically whole wheat affects me worse, so I was told if I did eat wheat to stick to good quality white flour but to avoid it as much as possible. I did try going wheat free for a while, but it was a pain. And the shop bought bread was so expensive! I quickly got bored and wheat crept back into my diet again. Everything seemed ok, but I did notice that my tummy was always more bloated when I ate wheat than not. I reached a point earlier this year when I realised that I needed to take another look at my diet because I was starting to really struggle with nasty symptoms. I took the decision to ditch the wheat as advised, and after a couple of slip-ups (darn you, Gregg's vegan sausage roll!) I'm now entirely wheat free. My