Cranberry Orange Rolls (Vegan)

Cranberry orange rolls - these soft, sticky vegan bread rolls are scented with orange and filled with a tangy, jammy cranberry filling.

They would make a decadent festive breakfast or brunch treat or a great pick-me-up with a cup of coffee.

These vegan cranberry orange rolls are soft, tender, sticky, rich but not too sweet and utterly moreish! They are made using the tangzhong method which helps to make them extra soft and squishy.

They are a great alternative to cinnamon rolls for Christmas or Thanksgiving and they look very attractive with their colourful, jammy filling.

The best sweet rolls have a beautifully soft, fluffy, tender texture and these are no exception! The dough is light yet rich and is perfectly complemented by the tart, sticky, just sweet enough cranberry filling and sweet orange glaze.

Ingredient Details:

Cranberries: You will need either fresh or frozen cranberries and dried cranberries to make the filling. If using frozen do not defrost them first, just use them straight from the freezer.

Orange: You will need both orange zest and juice. I also add some orange blossom water but you can swap that for vanilla if you want.

Bread flour: White bread flour helps to give these cranberry orange rolls 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 buns too dense.

Instant yeast: I always prefer to use instant yeast when making bread as it can just be added straight to the flour and doesn’t need to be activated first.

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, and definitely soy milk if you have it.

Vegan butter: For best results please use a block variety, not a spreadable one. I like Flora plant butter or Naturli vegan block.

Sugar: I use caster sugar in the dough and light brown soft in the filling; you can swap the caster for light brown or granulated if you want.

How To Make Vegan Cranberry Orange Rolls:

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

Step 1: To make the tangzhong, place the flour in a saucepan and gradually whisk in the milk.

Place the pan over a medium/low heat and whisk constantly until the mixture has thickened to a paste/pudding-like consistency.

Step 2: Scrape the tangzhong into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook and pour the cold milk and orange juice on top.

Add the orange zest and blossom water, sugar, salt, flour and yeast. Stir until it forms a rough dough then set the stand mixer to a medium speed and mix until the dough is smooth and stretchy.

Step 3: Add the softened vegan butter and knead for about another 5 minutes until it is fully incorporated and the dough is sticky but smooth and elastic.

The dough should pass the windowpane test - you should be able to stretch a portion of it very thin before it breaks, so thin that you can see light through it.

Step 4: Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and place in a warm spot to rise for 1-2 hours.

Step 5: Meanwhile make the filling. Place the orange zest and juice, sugar, fresh and dried cranberries and a pinch of salt in a pan and bring to a simmer. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring often, until thick and jammy. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter.

Step 6: Roll the dough out into a large rectangle, spread over the cooled filling evenly.

Step 7: Trim off the ends to neaten, then slice the dough crosswise into 10 strips. Gently roll the strips up into spirals, don't roll them too tightly.

Step 8: Tuck the ends of the spirals under and place the rolls spaced apart on a couple of lined baking sheets. Loosely cover and set aside to rise for about 45 minutes until puffy.

Step 9: Gently brush the exposed dough with milk and bake for 25 minutes.

Top Tips:

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!

Make sure that your yeast isn't out of date! Old yeast can lead to dough that doesn’t rise.

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.

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 bread will end up being dry and dense, not light and fluffy.

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 bread an even better flavour.

They can be baked next to each other, cinnamon roll style, in a 23 x 33 cm (9 x 13 in) tin if you prefer, in which case they may take a little longer to cook, about 35 minutes.

I made 10 medium sized rolls, but you can make 12 small ones or 8-9 giant ones if you want.

These vegan cranberry orange rolls are best eaten on the day they are baked but will still be good for a couple more days, especially if you warm them up a bit before serving.

FAQ's:

More Festive Vegan Breads:

• Vegan stollen bars
• Vegan St. Lucia buns
• Orange and anise snowflake bread
• Vegan banana monkey bread
• Vegan garlic dough balls
• Vegan stollen wreath
• Gingerbread cinnamon rolls

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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