There are many ways cinnamon rolls are made, which commonly are made from sweet bread dough giving a fluffy and soft texture or pastry dough. In this recipe, I have removed egg out of the dough ingredient and replace other ingredient with plant based products to make vegan version of cinnamon roll. The result is a pastry-like cinnamon roll that became my favorite kind of cinnamon roll now. The dough goes perfectly with the cinnamon and brown sugar filling, plus the icing glaze makes this vegan cinnamon roll so irresistible.
Serving: 9-12 rolls
Prep time: 3 hrs (including 2 hrs for the dough to rise)
Ingredients
The Dough
1 cup Almond milk
7 g. Active dry yeast
1/4 cup Granulated sugar +1 tbsp for the yeast mixture
2 1/2 cup Whole wheat bread flour +2 tbsp for kneading
1/2 cup Vegan butter
Filling
1/2 cup Brown sugar
1 1/2 tbsp Ground cinnamon
1 tsp Salt
Icing Glaze
1/2 cup Icing sugar
2/3 cup Almond milk
1 tsp Vanilla extract
Directions
- For the yeast, warm up a cup of almond milk (make sure the milk is not too hot and should feel like warm shower which is around 110°F/45°C). Stir in 1 tbsp of granulated sugar and yeast until dissolve, leave the mixture uncover for 6-8 minutes. This allows the yeast to be activated, the bubble will start to form and looks foamy when ready. If no bubbles forming after 3 minus, start again as this could mean the milk is either to hot or not warm enough.
- Divide 1/2 cup butter in half and put 1/4 cup to melt. When the yeast is ready, add 1/4 cup of granulated sugar, 1/4 cup melted butter and 1/4 cup butter at room temperature. Use a whisk to mix the ingredients until the sugar melts.
- Add 2 1/2 cup of whole wheat read flour and mix in the bowl with a spatula until the dough is form (can use stand mixer at medium speed for this step as well). For kneading, find a flat surface and lightly sprinkle some flour to cover the surface to prevent the dough from sticking to the surface. Knead the dough until it turn smooth and elastic which should take around 3 to 5 minutes (add some flour while kneading if the dough is sticky). Shape the dough into a ball and put in well greased bowl that is large enough for the dough to expand. Flit the dough around to cover the surface with oil the cover the bowl with thin cloth or clear wrap with small holes.
- After the dough rise double in size (take around 2 hours), punch the dough down and roll it out on a flour surface into rectangle shape using a roller. The dimension should be around 40 x 25 cm and roughly 1 to 2 cm thick.
- For the filling, mix the brown sugar, ground cinnamon and salt. Spread the butter over the dough surface and sprinkle the cinnamon filling over. Start rolling the dough from 40 cm side (the longer side), try to tighten the dough up so it doesn't lose the shape when cut.
- Cut 9 to 12 slices and place them on the tray. Leave the roll to rise for another 30 minute before bake. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180°C.
- Depending on your preference, you can brush the dough with butter before bake (I prefer not to). Bake the roll for 17 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown. For the icing glaze, mix the icing sugar with milk and vanilla extract using a whisk until there's no lump of sugar left (can sift the icing sugar to prevent lump).
- Let it cool down for 10 minutes. Spread the icing glaze over the roll. The rolls can be kept in the fridge for up to a week.
Tips- If the room weather is quite chill, put the dough to rise in the oven with no heat.
- If you prefer not to leave the dough to rise in the second time, the dough will turn out really thin and dense.
- Whole wheat flour gives more flavor but normal bread flour will do the work as well.