baked tofu basics
Posted by yogaferret on Nov 15, 2006 · Member since Nov 2006 · 460 posts
I keep finding receipes that say to use baked tofu. I've never had to use baked tofu before so ...how should I bake it? IE, What temp and for how long?
Thanks!
md
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Or you can buy White Wave baked tofu.
It's very good, although pricey. :-\
My favorite way to prepare tofu is to bake it; I think it is far easier than any other method.
Slice the tofu how' you'd like (don't bother pressing or freezing)
Lay out on a greased cookine sheet
Season anyway you like (most of the time I just drizzle Bragg's liquid aminos or soy sauce and sprinkle some nutritional yeast)
Bake at 325 deg
After 30 minutes flip them over and season other side
Then,
cook 30 more minutes for a fairly dense, chewy tofu (meaty, for lack of a better word)
cook 60 minutes more for a very dense, jerky-like consistency (when cooled)
or flip every 30 minutes for 2 hours and you'll get crispy tofu chips
My husband requests these as "treats," which I consider a small victory.
Or you can buy White Wave baked tofu.
It's very good, although pricey. :-\
Not here I can't. ;> They don't even know what Tempeh is.
But good to keep inmind when I return to the US.
Thanks!
MD
My favorite way to prepare tofu is to bake it; I think it is far easier than any other method.
Slice the tofu how' you'd like (don't bother pressing or freezing)
Lay out on a greased cookine sheet
Season anyway you like (most of the time I just drizzle Bragg's liquid aminos or soy sauce and sprinkle some nutritional yeast)
Bake at 325 deg
After 30 minutes flip them over and season other side
Then,
cook 30 more minutes for a fairly dense, chewy tofu (meaty, for lack of a better word)
cook 60 minutes more for a very dense, jerky-like consistency (when cooled)
or flip every 30 minutes for 2 hours and you'll get crispy tofu chips
Perfect!
I was looking for just a basic recipe on how to bake it since there is no extra-firm tofu here. And "firm" tofu always falls apart in my curries.
I think I'm good to go now. :)
Thanks again!
MD
Yesterday we were shopping & noticed that some of our favorite regular purchases had gone up significantly -- like 30¢-45¢. That's alot for things like Near East boxed rice mix, White Wave Baked tofu & Silk. My wages have not gone up that much!!! Not in quite a long time!
We love White Wave baked tofu, but it cost approx $3 for 8 ounces & now is 26¢ - ¢50 a package more. ~gasp!! :-X
I decided to master baked tofu. I 'mastered' biscuits. Baked tofu has to be easier. So I searched VW & this thread was included in the recipe search results. Knowing that NutDragon is an excellent cook I decided to try her suggestions:
My favorite way to prepare tofu is to bake it; I think it is far easier than any other method.
Slice the tofu how' you'd like (don't bother pressing or freezing)
Lay out on a greased cookine sheet
Season anyway you like (most of the time I just drizzle Bragg's liquid aminos or soy sauce and sprinkle some nutritional yeast)
Bake at 325 deg
After 30 minutes flip them over and season other side
Then,
cook 30 more minutes for a fairly dense, chewy tofu (meaty, for lack of a better word)
cook 60 minutes more for a very dense, jerky-like consistency (when cooled)
or flip every 30 minutes for 2 hours and you'll get crispy tofu chips
My husband requests these as "treats," which I consider a small victory.
I followed these directions & on my first attempt, I had the most delectable baked tofu!! Oh my! This stuff rocked!
http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL728/2745263/9507627/242175304.jpg
I bought a 19 ounce Denver organic extra hard tofu. First I pressed the tofu between two cookie sheets with a 20# dumbbell. ;D Then I sliced it into six slices. I shook some Bragg's on it & sprinkled with vegan parm** & Italian spices. I baked for 30 minutes, flipped, re-seasoned the fresh side, baked for another 30 minutes. Whoa!! :D Crazy good stuff!
In the future, I will use a small spray bottle with a mixture of 2/3 Bragg's & 1/3 water & spray the tofu first, then sprinkle the cheeze/herb combo.
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** Parma Zaan Sprinkles http://www.thevegetarianexpress.com/Public/Catalog.php?catid=97
These are quite delicious & better than, actually, way better than, the Galaxy Vegan Parm with the purple label, that is available in most health food stores. I have to add, however, I'm not sure there is much difference between this product & Dragonfly's dry cheeze mix. If you try it, please report back.
Nutdragon, I printed your section of the thread & your wonderful dog friend's face will be forever in my recipe collection! Zang! 8)
Well if you've mastered biscuits, I'd sure like to know how. I have tried several times to make biscuits vegan and they always end up like hard little hockey pucks. I would say just like hardtack, but I've had hardtack and it's much better.
I even went on line and found the Hardee's and McDonald's biscuit recipes and veganized them and the results were still practically inedible.
How about some help?
Thanks.
Here you go. A few suggestions I got from some people on this site & one other veg site I go to:
..if your baking powder is old, buy some new
..baking powder works best in an acidic base, which is why buttermilk biscuits are so popular. I make my own vegan buttermilk **
..use a sharp cookie cutter. If your using a glass, it 'seals' the edges of the biscuit & impedes the rising of the biscuit.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees
1 and 2/3 cups unbleached white flour
1/3 cups nutritional yeast flakes (use all flour if you don't have ny flakes)
5 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
I always add a generous amount of Rosemary to the dry ingredients
5 tablespoons Earth Balance or other vegan marg
1 cup vegan buttermilk *
Measure the flour, nutritional yeast flakes, baking powder, & salt into a medium bowl. Using a pastry blender, blend the margarine into the dry mixture until it is pea sized. Add the 1 cup of vegan buttermilk. Mix dry & wet ingredients.
Flour a dry surface & spoon the biscuit dough onto the surface. Knead more flour into the dough, if the dough is too sticky. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out to about 1/2" & cut with round cookie cutter. Place biscuits on lightly oiled cookie sheet. Re-roll what dough is left & continue until all biscuits are rolled. I get about 12-13 biscuits.
Bake for approx 20 minutes. Check about 2/3 of the way through & flip pan around if needed.
** 1 cup vegan buttermilk = measure 2 Tablespoons of apple cider viinegar into the bottom of a one cup measure. Top with Silk or other veegan milk & stir. Have your Earth Balance already mixed into the flour mixture before doing this.
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http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL728/2745263/9507627/242194187.jpg
Thank you!
They look really pretty. Like real biscuits.
Yes, I was using a glass to cut the biscuits!
I can't wait to make these.
1 cup vegan buttermilk *
** 1 cup vegan buttermilk = measure 2 Tablespoons of apple cider viinegar into the bottom of a one cup measure. Top with Silk or other veegan milk & stir. Have your Earth Balance already mixed into the flour mixture before doing this.
I actually use soy yogurt for this, it has an acidic content similar to buttermilk (more?), so my biscuits are always nice and fluffy. Though I wouldn't use sweetened soy yogurt and the unsweetened is really hard to find. The only brand I know of is WildWood. Silk, WholeSoy, OhSoy, Trader Joe's, and all other brands I've tried have really sweet vanilla tasting "plain" flavors (so what happened to PLAIN?). I guess you could make your own by adding yogurt cultures to soymilk with a little bit of sugar, since the fact that soy yogurt is thinner than cow's milk yogurt doesn't matter if you're baking with it anyway.
Why, I am so pleased to have helped you with the tofu. It looked wonderful; I made some myself last week. I like the "jerky-style" because it travels well and I was travelling.
(a week at my sister's house; I wish I had recorded everytime I heard "you don't eat shrimp? Oh, how about salmon? I thought you liked salmon No? What if I made crab cakes, would you eat those?" ) but I did get my sister to try tofu and she seemed to like it (BIL, however declared that he'd try it after a few beers... and he didn't...sOK tho, they'll be up here in July and he promised) ;)
So now it's my turn to master biscuits....I have declared myself a failure as a "southern woman" because I can't make an edible biscuit to save my life (or eat fried chicken or drink sweet tea). I'll let you know how they turn out.
Your's didn't look anything like the floured rocks that I make :P
my fav way to eat tofu is baked! I usually freeze/thaw/press my firm regular tofu first - it gives it a chewy/meatier texture. Then I make a simple marinade depending on what flavor I want - soy/water/poltry seasoning/onion powder/garlic. Slice the tofu into 8 equal sized pieces and marinate for 4 hours or overnight - depending on how much time you have. Then I heat the oven to 400 and bake for 15 minutes, flip over and bake for another 15 minutes. yummy!
Your's didn't look anything like the floured rocks that I make :P
;D
Soon you will be posting your photo of delectable biscuits!!
Nutdragon--could I travel with the tofu in the jerky form or would I have to go all the way to chips?
Lezly--in the biscuits. Is the nutritional yeast for cheezy deliciousness or is it required for the chemical reaction to be right. I'm not a fan of nutritional yeast.
Thanks both.
I always just answer this sort of inquiry with "nothing with a face or parents" it usually stops most questions, and my omni friends even quote it to each other to explain. My omni Mother-in-law thought it was hilarious when my husband told her.
Lezly--in the biscuits. Is the nutritional yeast for cheezy deliciousness or is it required for the chemical reaction to be right. I'm not a fan of nutritional yeast.
It's just for added flavor. They will be tasty without, too. I love to add a generous amount of rosemary to my biscuits.
Baypuppy, I love your new avatar photo!!
Cates, you most certainly could travel with it in jerky form. We take it camping, hiking, to lunch, the job site, etc... I wouldn't leave it room temp for a week, but a day or two has always worked for me. Don't discount the chips tho, yummy.
Anna1111, I like to say "nothing that bleeds red." a hold over from a misguided fishing experience with friends a few years after I became veg. {It never occurred to me that fish bled red. I know, weird. I am blonde.} ;) of course then some jerk always asks "do you eat bugs?"
Hmmm - I didn't know that either! I always thought fish had clear blood - guess from the time I dissected in high school biology. But, now that I think of it, I guess that was formaldehyde. Shows I haven't spent much time in the company of dead fish, I guess- don't plan to start any time soon, either! :)
My favorite way to prepare tofu is to bake it; I think it is far easier than any other method.
Slice the tofu how' you'd like (don't bother pressing or freezing)
Lay out on a greased cookine sheet
Season anyway you like (most of the time I just drizzle Bragg's liquid aminos or soy sauce and sprinkle some nutritional yeast)
Bake at 325 deg
After 30 minutes flip them over and season other side
Then,
cook 30 more minutes for a fairly dense, chewy tofu (meaty, for lack of a better word)
cook 60 minutes more for a very dense, jerky-like consistency (when cooled)
or flip every 30 minutes for 2 hours and you'll get crispy tofu chips
My husband requests these as "treats," which I consider a small victory.
Hey nutdragon, I just wanted to thank you for these instructions. You made it sound so easy that I felt brave enought to make baked tofu for dinner last night using the above method. Needless to say, it came out wonderfully! Like Lezly above, I sprayed braggs on the tofu and then sprinkled nut yeast, italian herbs, plus grated lemon pepper on each side before baking. I served it with mashed cauliflower, potato, and kale with musroom gravy... So yummy! Thanks!!! :D
i've never baked tofu either. Yogaferret, i think it's awesome that you live in Japan. I'm curious as to know if you speak japanese and if you do where did you learn it? ( i'm very interested in world cultures)
oops. this topic was so old, i've been ignoring it lately and then rather then cooking dinner, just popped in on this topic again. :)
sorry for the wait!
Yes, I speak Japanese, but I read better (goes for me English too. )
Previously, lived in a state that had a total of 4 colleges were you could study Japanese, and only 2 of those at the BA level.
needlesstosay, they were all expensive private schools. :P
so.... I Learned by teaching myself and then just by living here.
I always just answer this sort of inquiry with "nothing with a face or parents" it usually stops most questions...
.oO That's a good one.
probably wouldn't work well in Japanese tho. I imagine would have to continue to further explain it... probably.
I felt brave enought to make baked tofu for dinner last night using the above method. Needless to say, it came out wonderfully!
Hooray!! I always feel badly because I tend to discourage people from making tofu. It's not that I don't want everyone to love it, it's just that it's real easy to give up on if you don't know what you're doing (or the results that you are trying to achieve).
Happy cooking!
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