Cover by Lori Huang

What You Knead To Know About Vegan Food

By Korrina Gidwani

Eight billion dollars. 

That figure represents the value of the vegan food industry in the United States last year. This is a whopping increase from its 3.9 billion dollar value back in 2017. The vegan food industry has taken the United States – and the world – by storm, and will continue to do so in the coming years. In fact, it is projected to reach a total worth of 22 billion dollars by 2025. 

The intersection between science and veganism has become increasingly prominent in recent years as well. In fact, one entrepreneur in Pittsburgh has made strides in this field. Omar Abuhejleh, the founder of the vegan bakery Allegro Hearth Bakery, and B52, a vegan restaurant, is well-known for crafting delicious vegan dishes using handmade ingredients and for having a steady grasp on the science behind vegan food preparation.

Abuhejleh entered the professional food industry around 17 years ago when he established Allegro Hearth Bakery in Squirrel Hill South, one of Pittsburgh’s neighborhoods. Years ahead of his time, he began crafting and selling hand-made hummus, but eventually transitioned into a new era of food production. After deciding to fully pursue veganism, he transformed Allegro Hearth Bakery into a completely vegan business and worked to establish a new vegan restaurant called B52, located in Upper Lawrenceville. At the onset of the pandemic, Abuhejleh took over the role of head baker at Allegro Hearth Bakery and began pursuing a tremendous undertaking - learning the science behind vegan bread-making - with support and guidance from his colleagues. 

“To be a good baker, you do need to understand the science behind it,” Abuhejleh explains. At the most basic level, vegan bread is formed using flour, water, salt, and a fermenting agent that relies on yeast to raise dough at high temperatures. At Allegro Hearth Bakery, their fermentation agent is a “sourdough starter,” which is a mixture of bacteria and wild yeast. Next, bakers must choose a type of flour to use in their recipe. For example, malted flour is a key component of the bread at Abuhejleh’s bakery. Malted flour is produced from barley and other grains that undergo malting, a process in which grains are sprouted and roasted. Given the diversity of grain types and the number of unique fermentation processes, it is no surprise that Abuhejleh has experimented with several grain mixtures and fermentation techniques to produce his current recipes. As the grain sprouts, enzymatic activity of alpha and beta amylase - two enzymes responsible for hydrolyzing starch - increases significantly, thus catalyzing the conversion of starches into sugars. These sugars serve as a fuel source for grains as they sprout into a full-fledged plant. Finally, the sprouted grains are roasted and the resulting mixture of malted barley is added into flour, which can be used in the production of vegan bread. 

Now, what if one parameter is altered during the malting process? How would such a change impact the quality of vegan bread produced? Ideally, bakers tightly regulate the levels of enzymatic activity in the malted barley mixture by halting grain sprouting early. This prevents hyperactivity of enzymes in the mixture since enzymatic activity intensifies as grains continue to sprout over time. In extreme cases, high enzymatic activity can degrade gluten strands that form a bread loaf’s structure, which results in gummy bread. Not enough enzymatic activity? The bread will be dense and severely lacking in flavor and color. Moreover, hydration levels play an equally vital role in bread-making. When the initial mixture lacks water, enzymatic activity remains low, which reduces the rate of fermentation. It can also lead to the production of different acid types. For instance, in a dry sourdough starter, more acetic acids are produced during fermentation, thus giving the bread a distinctive acidic, vinegar-like flavor. On the other hand, a wet sourdough starter leads to the re-routing of bacteria into a different fermentation pathway that produces lactic acid. Ultimately, the bread will have a sweet taste with subtle sour undertones. The possibilities are truly limitless in the context of vegan bread-making, and Abuhejleh has it down to a science. 

Although he tends to follow meticulous scientific procedures and measurements, many of his other recipes were created on the basis of trial and error. He states that his inspiration usually comes from dishes he has tasted in the past, pictures of food, and other sources. “Sometimes you try something, make a few tweaks, and it just works out. Along the way, you can tweak the quantity of ingredients or change the ingredients entirely.” In such instances, it is important to understand the texture and tastes of certain ingredients. That way, it becomes easier to substitute and adjust ingredients to achieve balance. 

For example, Abuhejleh has practiced making seitan, a plant-based meat alternative, using varying quantities of wheat gluten. After years of using trial and error to refine his recipe, he ultimately decided to use a set proportion of wheat gluten as the base and included other ingredients that complement the wheat gluten’s texture and flavor. He also incorporated a set quantity of garbanzo bean flour, which makes seitan more tender and succulent. This composition allows seitan to absorb more marinade as well. In general, trial and error allowed him to craft a balanced flavor profile and ideal texture – meaty, but not tough or hard – for his homemade seitan. Another type of seitan at B52 – one that is more flavorful and served un-marinated – can be fried and placed in a shawarma. Since this type of seitan fulfills a different purpose, Abuhejleh crafted a new recipe that incorporates mushrooms, currants, and onions to give the seitan a full flavor profile and a consistency that makes it easy to shape. 

Alongside vegan bread and seitan, Abuhejleh has tried his hand at producing another staple in vegan cuisine: cashew cheese. Abuhejleh detailed his approach to cheese production using cashews and sprouted grains as the base. Several years ago, Abuhejleh and his team used their own creation, Rejuvelac, to produce high-quality cashew cheese. Rejuvelac is a liquid culture formed from an assortment of sprouted grains, including wheat and millet. First, the culture must be added to water at room temperature, which sparks the fermentation process that allows bacteria to grow and replicate. At that point, the grains are discarded and the resulting bacteria culture is mixed with cashews that were soaked and softened beforehand. The final mixture is a cashew “cream” that can be left for further fermentation at 95-100 degrees Fahrenheit. Today at B52, Abuhejleh and his team have streamlined this process by purchasing bacteria cultures that already contain high levels of seven to eight bacteria types. However, he still follows the aforementioned process when preparing bacteria cultures and continues to use cashews as the base for vegan cheese, a strategic decision due to cashews’ high fat composition and ideal texture. 

After immersing himself in the vegan food industry for several years, Abuhejleh has some predictions for the trajectory of this promising field. “Bean flour is the future of vegan cooking,” he states. He sees immense potential in this ingredient due to the high protein content and distinct flavors of beans. Best of all, beans can be cultivated and processed in a sustainable manner, since bean crops contribute to biodiversity and improve soil health. In addition, the processing of bean crops requires minimal energy expenditure and reduces waste output. 

Aside from bean flour, Abuhejleh highlighted the importance of new dairy alternatives. In recent years, the US food industry has experienced a strong shift towards dairy-free milk, such as soy milk, almond milk, and coconut milk. Nuts as a replacement for dairy products in milk is a significant step towards a vegan-dominated food market as well. Not only do dairy-free products accommodate consumers with dietary restrictions like lactose intolerance, but they also incorporate sustainable techniques. In particular, dairy-free milk reduces greenhouse gas emissions and minimizes water usage. 

All in all, food products tailored to vegans and vegetarians will continue to hold an important place in societies around the world, and we can owe much of this progress to food entrepreneurs and innovators like Abuhejleh right in our own city.