Vegan Cinnamon Star Bread
This yeasted pull-apart star bread with buttery cinnamon sugar filling is a show-stopping take on cinnamon rolls. It would make a perfect festive breakfast, brunch or dessert.
Servings 8 people
Ingredients
Dough:
- 400 g (3 ⅓ cups) white bread flour
- 8 g (2 ¼ teaspoons) instant/fast action yeast
- 45 g (¼ cup) caster or granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon fine table salt
- 260 g (1 cup + 4 teaspoons) unsweetened non-dairy milk (I use soy) lukewarm
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 60 g (¼ cup) vegan block butter softened
Filling:
- 80 g (6 ½ Tablespoons) light brown soft sugar
- 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
- 45 g (3 Tablespoons) vegan butter melted
Glaze:
- ½ Tablespoon non-dairy milk
- ½ Tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
Instructions
- To make the dough, place the bread flour in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, add the yeast to one side and the salt and sugar to the other, stir to combine.400 g (3 ⅓ cups) white bread flour, 8 g (2 ¼ teaspoons) instant/fast action yeast, 45 g (¼ cup) caster or granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon fine table salt
- Add the lukewarm milk and the vanilla and mix to form a shaggy dough. Knead with the mixer or turn out onto an un-floured surface and knead for 5-10 minutes until smooth and elastic. The dough will be sticky at first but resist the temptation to add extra flour, it will become smooth after a minute or two of kneading (you may need to scrape it off the surface with a dough scraper).260 g (1 cup + 4 teaspoons) unsweetened non-dairy milk (I use soy), 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- Add the softened vegan butter. Continue to knead until the butter is fully incorporated and the dough is smooth and elastic. It may seem greasy and messy at first but keep kneading and I promise you the butter will all mix in and the dough will become smooth.60 g (¼ cup) vegan block butter
- Once the butter is fully incorporated the dough should look smooth and silky and it should pull away from the work surface or sides of the bowl cleanly. It should still be soft and slightly sticky however.
- Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and set aside to rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 1-2 hours.
- Punch down the risen dough, divide it into 4 even pieces (use a scale) and shape each one into a neat ball. Cover and set aside to rest for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, mix together the brown sugar and the cinnamon. Line a large baking sheet with baking paper.80 g (6 ½ Tablespoons) light brown soft sugar, 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
- Roll one of the balls of dough out on a lightly floured surface into a 25cm/10 in circle. Try and keep it as circular as possible.
- Transfer the circle of dough to the lined baking sheet and brush it generously with ⅓rd of the melted butter then sprinkle with ⅓rd of the cinnamon sugar, leaving a 2cm border around the edge.45 g (3 Tablespoons) vegan butter
- Roll out another 25cm circle of dough and place it on top of the first one, add another coating of butter and cinnamon sugar (half of what is left of each).
- Repeat again with a third layer of dough and the remaining filling ingredients.
- Roll out the last piece of dough and place it on top.
- Place a 7 cm/3 inch round cookie cutter or ramekin in the center of the dough circle. Press down enough to leave a circular imprint. You can then remove the round marker. (you can leave it in place if you prefer).
- Use a bench scraper/dough cutter to cut the circle into quarters - press straight down through the dough to cut through and use the circular imprint in the middle as a stopping point. (You can also cut with a pizza wheel or sharp knife).
- Cut each quarter in half to create 8 sections, then cut each of these in half again so that you end up with 16 triangles connected at the centre.
- Pick up two adjacent dough strips, one in each hand, and twist them away from each other twice. Do a third half twist so that the flat ends are facing each other, then pinch the ends together firmly into a point.
- Repeat with the remaining strips of dough; you should end up with an 8 pointed star.
- Loosely cover with plastic wrap or a tea towel and let rise until puffy, about 20 to 45 minutes depending on the temperature. You don't want to let it double in size, just become slightly puffy. If you poke it with a finger it should spring back slowly and maybe leave a small indentation, if it springs back quickly and fills in completely then it needs a little longer.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/gas mark 4. Mix together the milk, maple syrup and oil to make the glaze.½ Tablespoon non-dairy milk, ½ Tablespoon maple syrup, 1 teaspoon olive oil
- Gently brush the dough with the glaze and bake for 22-25 minutes until nicely browned and the temperature in the centre registers at least 90°C/194°F on a probe thermometer.
- Allow to cool on the tray for 15 minutes before dusting with icing sugar and serving warm.
Notes
- See post above for tips, details and step-by-step photos. If you have a question about the recipe I may have already answered it above!
- 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!
- Tablespoon and teaspoon measurements are for proper measuring spoons, NOT regular kitchen spoons. A Tablespoon is 15ml and a teaspoon is 5ml and they should be level, not heaped.
- 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.