Gingerbread Cinnamon Rolls (Vegan)
Gingerbread cinnamon rolls - these delicious vegan cinnamon rolls are flavoured with ginger and treacle making them a delicious, Christmassy version of the classic treat. Perfect for a special breakfast or brunch.
Servings 12 people
Ingredients
Dough:
- 450 g (3 + ¾ cups) white bread flour
- 8 g (2 ¼ tsp) fast action/instant yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 40 g (¼ cup) dark brown soft sugar
- 250 ml (1 cup) lukewarm unsweetened non-dairy milk (soy is best)
- 60 g (¼ cup) vegan block butter melted and cooled slightly
- 50 g (2 Tbsp) treacle or molasses
Filling:
- 120 g (⅔ cup) light brown soft sugar
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 60 g (¼ cup) softened vegan butter
- 55 g (2 oz) chopped crystallised ginger/candied ginger/stem ginger
Glaze:
- 130 g (1 + ¼ cups) icing (powdered) sugar
- 1 tablespoon syrup from a jar of stem ginger
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice or milk
Instructions
- To make the dough, add the bread flour, instant yeast, salt and dark brown soft sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook and stir to combine.
- Add the milk, melted vegan block butter and treacle or molasses and mix to form a rough dough.
- Knead with the stand mixer on a high speed for about 5-10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and stretchy and pulls away from the sides of the bowl cleanly. The dough should be soft and sticky, don’t be tempted to add more flour as this can result in dry cinnamon rolls.If you don’t have a stand mixer it can be kneaded by hand on a lightly oiled surface but it is quite a messy job and a bench scraper will come in handy.
- Shape the dough into a ball and place it in an oiled bowl, cover and place in a warm place to rise until it has doubled in size – about 1-2 hours.
- For the filling, mix together the light brown soft sugar, ground cinnamon, ginger and cloves in a bowl and set aside.
- Once the dough has risen, punch it down and give it a brief thirty second knead to knock out any air bubbles.
- Roll the dough out on a floured surface to an approx 30×45 cm / 12×18 inch rectangle then spread the softened vegan butter evenly over the surface. Scatter over the ginger cinnamon sugar mixture and press it down gently. Scatter over the chopped crystallised/stem ginger.
- Roll the dough up tightly from one of the long edges into a sausage then use a sharp knife to slice the roll into twelve even slices. Arrange them cut side down in a 23cm/9inch square tin or a 25cm round skillet lined with baking parchment.
- Cover loosely and set aside to rise for about 1 hour until nice and puffy. If you press one gently the dough should spring back slowly. If it springs back quickly then they need a little bit longer. While they are rising preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4.At this point you can also place them in the fridge to rise overnight (straight after shaping them - don't leave them to rise then refrigerate them). The following morning, let them come up to room temperature for 30-60 minutes until they are puffy (preheat the oven in the meantime) and bake as normal.
- Once the buns have risen, bake for about 30 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 94°C/201°F on a probe thermometer. Cover them loosely with tin foil partway through baking if the tops start to colour too much.
- Leave the cinnamon rolls to cool in the tin for about half an hour then carefully lift them out using the baking parchment and place on a wire rack.
- To make the ginger glaze, sift the icing sugar into a bowl and gradually stir in the ginger syrup and enough lemon juice or milk to form a thick but pourable glaze. Drizzle the glaze over the tops of the buns and serve. Store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to two days.
Notes
- For the best results make sure that you follow the recipe closely. As always, I highly recommend 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.
- Make sure that you use a foil wrapped block vegan butter rather than the spreadable kind in a tub which has too high a water content for baking.
- Make sure that your yeast hasn't expired! Out of date yeast can lead to bread that doesn't rise.
- You can make these gingerbread 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 recipe will work using plain (all-purpose) flour, but bread flour gives the best texture.
- You can add some chopped nuts or dried fruit to the filling if you like.
- The best way to tell if bread is baked properly is to check the internal temperature with a probe thermometer. It should reach at least 94°C/201°F.
- The gingerbread cinnamon rolls are best eaten on the day they are baked but any leftovers will still be good the next day; especially if you warm them up a bit before serving.