Vegan wholemeal maple cinnamon rolls - incredibly good sticky cinnamon buns flavoured with maple syrup that just so happen to be vegan too!
These soft, gooey, sticky vegan wholemeal maple cinnamon rolls are some of the best cinnamon buns that I have ever made, ever.
Damian was completely stunned that they were vegan and said that they were utterly indistinguishable from non-vegan ones, and that they were some of the best, most amazing cinnamon buns he had ever had.
Which just goes to show that vegan food can be just as indulgent and delicious!
I made the dough using half wholemeal bread flour and half plain white flour. I figured that using all wholemeal flour would have made the rolls too dense and heavy, so going for half is a happy medium – the rolls are a little bit more wholesome, but still have a wonderful soft, light texture.
If you want more of a chewy, bread-like texture then you can replace the plain flour with white bread flour instead.
The buns are filled with a sweet, sticky, delicious mixture of maple syrup, brown sugar, vegan butter and obviously lots of cinnamon.
When they came out of the oven I brushed the tops with a little more maple syrup to give them even more maple flavour and a lovely shine.
The buns are topped with a simple maple glaze, you can skip it if you like, they are utterly delicious and quite sweet enough as they are; but the glaze just takes them into all-out indulgence territory and sometimes that is exactly what you want!
How To Make Vegan Wholemeal Maple Cinnamon Rolls:
(For ingredients and full instructions see the recipe card below)
Place the plain and wholemeal bread flours into a large bowl; add the yeast, sugar and salt. Give it a stir then add the maple syrup, coconut oil and almond milk.
Mix until it forms a rough dough then either place it in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook and let the machine knead it until it becomes smooth and elastic and begins to pull away from the sides cleanly; or turn it out onto an unfloured worksurface and knead by hand for about 10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic. The dough should be quite sticky at first but become less so as you knead. When it is ready it should pass the windowpane test.
Shape into a ball and place in a large, lightly oiled bowl. Cover with clingfilm and set aside to rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours. Alternatively, you can place the bowl in the fridge and allow the dough to rise overnight.
Once the dough has risen make the filling. Place the vegan butter, maple syrup, brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Don't worry if it looks a bit curdled.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll it out into a rectangle. Spread the filling evenly all over the dough then roll it up tightly from one of the long sides. Cut the log into 12 even pieces.
Arrange the buns well spaced apart in a baking tray. Loosely cover with oiled clingfilm and set aside to rise for about an hour until puffy.
Bake the risen buns for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown.
Brush the tops of the buns with the 1 ½ Tbsp maple syrup while they are still hot then set aside to cool in the pan.
Once the buns have cooled make the glaze. Sift the powdered sugar into a bowl and gradually stir in the maple syrup and milk until smooth. Drizzle the glaze over the top of the buns and serve.
Top Tips:
For the best results make sure that you follow the recipe closely. As always, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients using the gram measurements (with a digital scale), rather than the cup conversions. Cup measurements are simply not accurate enough for baking and I cannot guarantee the best results if you use them.
Do make sure that you use proper maple syrup in these, the darker the grade the better to give the best flavour. Maple flavoured syrups just aren't as good as the real thing and won't give you the same delicious taste that using real maple syrup will.
Make sure that your yeast hasn’t expired! Out of date yeast can lead to bread that doesn’t rise.
You can make these vegan wholemeal maple cinnamon rolls all in one day or you can break the work up a bit by preparing the rolls in the evening and placing them in the fridge to rise overnight then baking them in the morning once they have come up to room temperature.
The rising time of the dough will vary depending on how warm it is; on hot days it will rise much faster than on cold ones.
The best way to tell if bread is baked properly is to check the internal temperature with a probe thermometer. It should reach about 90°C/194°F.
These vegan wholemeal maple cinnamon rolls are best eaten on the day they are baked but will keep for a couple of days in an airtight container.
Can I Freeze These Wholemeal Maple Cinnamon Rolls?:
Yes, the baked cinnamon rolls can be frozen. Allow to defrost at room temperature then refresh in the microwave for 10-20 seconds before serving.
What Kind Of Yeast?:
I always use fast action yeast which is also known as instant or easy yeast as it doesn’t need to be activated first, you just add it straight to the flour.
If you only have active dried yeast then you can still use it, but you will need to mix it with some of the lukewarm milk and a pinch of the sugar first. Let it sit for 10-20 minutes until it has become bubbly then proceed with the rest of the recipe as written.
More Vegan Bread Recipes:
Chocolate orange hot cross buns
If you tried this recipe let me know how it went! Rate it, leave a comment or tag @domestic_gothess on Instagram and hashtag it #domesticgothess
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Vegan Wholemeal Maple Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
Dough:
- 215 g (1 ¾ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
- 215 g (1 ¾ cups) wholemeal bread flour
- 7 g (2 ¼ tsp) fast action yeast
- 50 g (¼ cup) granulated sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 Tbsp maple syrup
- 50 g (¼ cup) coconut oil (or vegan block butter) melted
- 240 ml (1 cup) unsweetened non-dairy milk lukewarm
Filling:
- 80 g (⅓ cup) vegan butter
- 3 Tbsp maple syrup
- 45 g (¼ cup) light brown soft sugar
- 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ Tbsp maple syrup to glaze the buns
Glaze:
- 130 g (1 cup) icing (powdered) sugar
- 2 Tbsp maple syrup
- 1 Tbsp unsweetened non-dairy milk
Instructions
- Place the plain and wholemeal bread flours into a large bowl; add the yeast to one side and the sugar and salt to the other. Give it a stir then add the maple syrup, coconut oil and milk.
- Mix until it forms a rough dough then either place it in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook and let the machine knead it until it becomes smooth and elastic and begins to pull away from the sides cleanly; or turn it out onto an unfloured worksurface and knead by hand for about 10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic. The dough should be quite sticky at first but become less so as you knead. When it is ready it should pass the windowpane test.
- Shape into a ball and place in a large, lightly oiled bowl. Cover with clingfilm and set aside to rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours. Alternatively, you can place the bowl in the fridge and allow the dough to rise overnight; in which case, allow it to come up to room temperature for half an hour before proceeding with the next step.
- Once the dough has risen make the filling. Place the vegan butter, maple syrup, brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Don't worry if it looks a bit curdled.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll it out into a rectangle about 20X40cm/8x16inches. Spread the filling evenly all over the dough then roll it up tightly from one of the long sides.
- Cut the log into 12 even pieces. Line the base of an approx 20x30cm/8x12 inch rectangular tin with baking parchment. Arrange the buns well spaced apart in the tray. Loosely cover with oiled clingfilm and set aside to rise for about an hour until puffy.
- While the buns are rising preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. Bake the buns for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown and the internal temperature reaches about 90°C/194°F on a probe thermometer.
- Brush the tops of the buns with the 1 ½ Tbsp maple syrup while they are still hot then set aside to cool in the pan.
- Once the buns have cooled make the glaze (if using). Sift the powdered sugar into a bowl and gradually stir in the maple syrup and milk until smooth. Drizzle the glaze over the top of the buns and serve. Best eaten on the day they are made.
Notes
I originally made these vegan wholemeal maple cinnamon rolls for DIYs, check them out for some awesome craft and recipe ideas.
Claire
Why did you use plain white over strong white flour here? Merely curious.
hannahhossack
Hi Claire, I used plain flour to give them a soft texture, you can absolutely use strong flour instead for a chewier texture if you prefer.
Annabell
these look so good!!! x
Agness of Run Agness Run
As a passionate lover of cinnamon rolls, I will have to try your recipe, Hannah. Can I substitute maple syrup with honey?
hannahhossack
Hi Agness, yes absolutely, you can use honey in place of maple syrup; in that case they will no longer be vegan however.
Minela
Yes, vegan rolls for breakfast! I'm definitely going to try these; I just want to reach through the screen right now.
Lou
Hi Hannah,
This recipe looks fantastic
Could you substitute other plant based milk for the almond milk?
Cheers
Lou
hannahhossack
Hi Lou, Thank you! Yes, any other plant based milk will work 🙂
Paula Roberts
Hi Hannah- would you be able to freeze these once they are cooked? Thank you!
hannahhossack
Hi Paula, yes they freeze well 🙂
Eric
Just found this recipe and tried it out. They turned out absolutely delicious and we're a huge hit! The recipe is so easy to follow. Thanks so much!