Name: Vegan Belgian Buns
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 20 min
Ingredients: 500 g (4 cups) white bread flour; 9 g (2 ¾ teaspoons) instant/fast action yeast; 50 g (¼ cup) caster or granulated sugar; ½ teaspoon salt; finely grated zest of 1 large lemon; 315 ml (1 ¼ cups + 1 Tablespoon) lukewarm unsweetened non-dairy milk (I use soy); 80 g (⅓ cup) vegan butter (I use Flora original) (softened); milk for brushing; 125 g (rounded ½ cup) homemade vegan lemon curd; 150 g (5 oz) sultanas; 200 g (1 ¾ cups) icing (powdered) sugar; about 2 Tablespoons lemon juice (or water or milk); 6 glace cherries (halved)

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Vegan Belgian buns - these glazed lemon and sultana buns are soft, sticky and utterly moreish!

Soft swirls of yeast dough are filled with homemade vegan lemon curd and sultanas, and topped with icing and a glacé cherry; so much better than Gregg's!

Vegan Belgian buns on a sheet of baking parchment with a bowl of glace cherries.

I've given the classic British bake the Belgian bun a vegan makeover and the result is delicious!

Swirls of soft, enriched yeasted dough are filled with my homemade vegan lemon curd and sultanas and topped with lemon glaze and a glacé cherry.

They are sweet, zingy, soft and sticky. Lovely as a snack with a cup of tea!

What Are Belgian Buns?:

Contrary to the name, Belgian buns are not from Belgium, they are a British bake; sort of similar to a Chelsea bun.

They are usually circular in shape, made with an enriched bread dough which is filled with sultanas and topped with icing and a glacé cherry.

They may also be filled with lemon curd which is obviously the superior version so that is what I have done for these vegan ones.

What Do I Need To Make These Buns?:

Vegan lemon curd: I use my homemade vegan lemon curd to fill these Belgian buns; it is really quick and easy to make. I make a half batch and there will be a bit left over but an excess of lemon curd isn't a problem in my book!

Bread flour: White bread flour helps to give these buns their soft, fluffy, chewy texture. Plain (all-purpose) flour will also work though the texture isn't quite the same. I don't recommend using wholemeal flour as that will make the bread too dense.

Instant/fast action yeast: I always prefer to use fast action yeast when making bread as it can just be added straight to the flour and doesn't need to be activated first. See below for instructions if you only have active dry yeast.

Salt: You simply cannot make good bread without salt. Don't omit it.

Non-dairy milk: Soy milk is always my favourite for baking as it has the highest protein content so most closely resembles dairy milk. Any variety of non-dairy milk will work however, but go for an unsweetened one if you can.

Sugar: I use caster sugar in the dough as it dissolves easily; it can be swapped for granulated if that is all you have. You will also need icing (powdered) sugar for the icing.

Vegan butter: While in most cases I only recommend using a block butter for baking, in this case a tub variety is fine as well (but not one of the low-fat ones!). I used Flora Original.

Sultanas: Traditional for the filling though raisins will also work.

Glacé cherries: It's not a Belgian bun without a cherry on top!

Lemon: I add a bit of lemon zest to the dough. This is optional but I like the extra depth of lemonyness it adds. I also use lemon juice to make the glaze but water or milk will also work.

A Belgian bun with a bite taken out of it.

How To Make Vegan Belgian Buns:

(Full measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the page)

Place the flour, sugar, yeast, salt and lemon zest in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Mix to combine.

Add the milk and mix to form a rough dough. Knead until it forms a smooth ball.

Add the softened vegan butter. Continue to knead until the butter is fully incorporated and the dough is smooth and elastic.

Step 1, a four image collage of making the dough.

Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and set aside to rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Step 2, a two image collage of the dough before and after rising.

Punch down the risen dough and give it a brief knead to knock out any air bubbles.

Roll it out on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle about 30 x 40 cm (12 x 16 in).

Spread the lemon curd evenly over the surface. Scatter over the sultanas.

Step 3, the rolled out dough topped with lemon curd and sultanas.

Roll the dough up fairly tightly from one of the short edges into a sausage.

Use a very sharp knife or a length of floss to trim the ends off the roll to kneaten it, then slice it into 12 rounds.

Step 4, a two image collage of the rolled up dough, and the log cut into slices.

Place them spaced apart on two lined baking sheets; loosely cover and set aside to rise for about 45 minutes, until doubled in size.

Step 5, a two image collage of the buns before and after rising.

Gently brush the buns with milk then bake for 20 minutes until deep golden. Allow to cool before adding the icing.

Top Tips:

All of my recipes are developed using grams, and as with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scale rather than the cup conversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!

Ideally you should make the lemon curd the day before baking the buns to give it time to cool and set but this isn't strictly necessary.

Make sure that your yeast hasn’t expired! Out of date yeast can lead to bread that doesn’t rise.

Don't be tempted to add more flour to the dough (unless it is wet rather than sticky), it is supposed to be a bit soft and sticky. If you add too much flour the rolls will end up being dry and dense, not light and fluffy.

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. If you refrigerate the dough for it's first rise, the second rise will take longer than if it's first rise was at room temperature.

If you want, you can give the dough it’s first rise overnight in the fridge rather than at room temperature. This breaks up the workload and gives the buns an even better flavour.

The best way to tell if a loaf of bread is cooked in the middle is to use a probe thermometer. It is impossible to give a one-size-fits-all baking time as ovens vary so much. The buns should be done when they reach 90°C / 195°F.

What Kind Of Yeast?:

I always use instant yeast when I am baking bread as it doesn’t need to be activated in liquid first, you can just add it straight to the flour. I highly recommend buying instant yeast if possible.

If you are only able to get active dry yeast then you can still use it but the method will be a little different.

Use 10g (3 tsp) of active dry yeast. Mix the yeast with the lukewarm milk (NOT hot!) and a pinch of the sugar. Let it sit for 10-20 minutes until it has become bubbly then proceed with the rest of the recipe as written.

How To Speed Up The Rising Time:

If your room temperature is cold and you want to speed up the rising time a bit then you can heat the oven up on it’s lowest temperature for a couple of minutes then switch it off and open the door for 30 seconds to let some of the heat out.

Hold your hand in there for a few seconds to make sure it isn’t too hot. It should feel warm but not hot, like a warm summer day kind of temperature. If it is too hot it will kill the yeast so be careful!

Place the covered dough in the oven and shut the door. If it is a really cold day then you may need to warm the oven up again after a while but I usually find that once is enough.

Alternatively, place a bowl or loaf tin in the bottom of your (cold, switched off) oven and place the covered dough on the middle shelf. Fill the bowl with boiling water and close the oven door. The steam will create a warm environment for the dough to rise.

Can I Knead The Dough By Hand?:

This is a fairly soft, sticky dough so it is easier to use a stand mixer to do the kneading for you but yes, you absolutely can knead the dough by hand, just be prepared for a bit of a workout!

When kneading, you shouldn't flour the surface as you will end up incorporating too much flour and making the dough too dry. Instead, if the dough is sticking too much, you can lightly oil the worksurface and your hands to help, or just be prepared to get a bit sticky!

A bench scraper is incredibly handy when kneading dough by hand to unstick the dough from the surface.

How To Store Vegan Belgian Buns:

Ideally these buns should be eaten on the day they are baked, the fresher the better. Enriched bread like this tends to go stale quite quickly.

They will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for a day or two but will need to be warmed up slightly before serving to soften them up.

Can I Freeze Them?:

Yes, you can freeze the baked and cooled buns before they are iced. Defrost them and add the icing before serving.

(They can be frozen with the icing but they likely won't look as nice once they are defrosted).

Can I Make Them Gluten-Free?:

No, I’m afraid that you cannot use gluten free flour. Making gluten free bread is tricky and the entire recipe would need reworking. Gluten free baking is not my area of expertise so I cannot advise you. It is best to use a recipe that is designed to be gluten free rather than trying to adapt a non gluten free recipe.

More Vegan Bun And Roll Recipes:

Vegan Belgian buns on a wire cooling rack.

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5 from 2 votes