Vegan Lemon Blueberry Bread

Even though I had trouble falling asleep Saturday night, I was up super early Sunday morning so I could bust out another loaf of blueberry bread before going to tutor. This variation uses lemon zest for a delicious, citrus-y flavor. This bread is a serious contender in my blueberry competition. I modified a recipe from Joy of Baking by using agave, earth balance, applesauce, and ener-g egg replacer.
I was still up in the air about whether I wanted to do a lemon recipe or just do another regular one and vary the flour, until I had dinner at Sante La Brea, a vegan restaurant near the New Beverly.  The dinner was ok. I had a vegan patty melt with cashew cheeze, and it tasted pretty much like I expected it to. The one thing that I like about vegan food is that it's pretty consistent. It usually tastes the same no matter where you get it, so the mark of a really good vegan restaurant is one where you are pleasantly surprised. Anyway, dinner was ok, but what blew me away was the lemon cake that we had for dessert. It was moist and delicious, with the most amazing lemon icing. My recent tribulations have given me a newfound respect for any vegan baker, and this guy was on top of his game. I highly reccomend Sante La Brea for dessert. Maybe the next time I go I will try something different as a main course. Like I said, it's right next to the New Beverly, and I'm in that neighborhood quite often to fuel my double feature addiction.

So, without further adieu, here is the third contender in the Great Blueberry Bread Bake-off.



Vegan Lemon Blueberry Bread
Bread

• 1 c. whole wheat flour
• 1/2 c. unbleached white flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 4 tbsp. room temperature earth balance
• 4 tbsp. unsweetened applesauce
• 4 tbsp. agave nectar
• ener-g for 2 eggs (pre-mixed)
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 tbsp. lemon zest
• 1 c. fresh blueberries

Glaze

• 1/4 c. raw turbinado sugar
• 2 tbsp. lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray the bottom and halfway up the sides of a bread pan.
Whisk the flour, salt, and baking powder together.
In a separate bowl, cream the earth balance, sugar, and applesauce until light and smooth. Add the egg replacer, vanilla, and lemon zest and stir well.
Add about half your flour and blend it in, then half your soymilk, then the rest of your flour (minus about 2 tbsp), then the last of your milk.
Toss the blueberries in the remaining flour and then fold gently into your batter.
Pour into a baking pan and bake at 350 for 55 minutes.
Allow the bread some time to cool, and then combine the raw sugar and lemon juice over medium heat until the sugar melts. Drizzle it over the bread.
8 servings at 196 calories each

The result: This bread didn't rise as well as the banana blueberry bread, but it also didn't fall and go to mush like the walnut struesal blueberry bread. However, the flavor was hands-down the best one. If I did it for the pot-luck, I would probably just bake a double batch in one loaf pan. I think I can do that. Does anyone know? The real charm of this bread is its bright citrus-y flavor. This is easily my favorite, but we will have to wait and see the results of the great office taste test.