You know, there is nothing quite like the smell of freshly baked cinnamon rolls in the morning. It’s not exactly a healthy breakfast, but sometimes you gotta indulge your gut.

I made these vegan cinnamon rolls a while ago. I was testing cinnamon roll recipes for the Bakery Monthly magazine, trying to come up with one that worked best~ I submitted the recipe and was going to wait until the magazine was published to share the recipe with you guys, but I’m just too impatient, so I’m sharing it now, except with a twist! Instead of making cinnamon rolls, I used the same recipe to make pull-apart bread! Tadaaaa~:

대 to the 박. This is seriously probably one of the best things I’ve baked in a long time… Do you ever have those baking moments where you surprise yourself because you didn’t know you had it in you? This was that kind of moment for me. I rarely bake things that require yeast because after all these years, it still intimidates me. And so for it to turn out so deliciously, I was kind of in awe. ‘Ahhh, the baking gods have favored me today~~”

Now admittedly, making cinnamon rolls or pull-apart bread isn’t exactly a walk in the park. As much as the optimist in me wants to be all like “You’ll be amazed at how easy this is!”, it’s actually is a bit of work. Even though a good chunk of the time is waiting for the dough to rise, you should still keep an eye out on it and make sure that the resting temperature is right, etc. And if you’re like me, you’ll keep coming back for a peek, fussing with it, and stressing over whether the dough will really rise. So yea… it’s a hassle, but you gotta trust me on this one. It will be worth the effort. And you’ll feel like a badass when you achieve success.

Vegan Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread with Maple Glaze
makes 2 small loaves

For the dough:
45g warm water (around 45C)
15g organic cane sugar
8g dry yeast
60g non-dairy vegan butter (brand: Nuttelex)
110g organic soy milk

45g organic cane sugar
4g organic pure vanilla extract
2g salt
280g all purpose flour (plus more for rolling)

For the cinnamon filling:
60g organic cane sugar
5g ground cinnamon
25g non-dairy butter, melted
20g raisins
20g walnut pieces

For the maple icing glaze:
70g powdered sugar
20g non-dairy butter, melted
30g organic soy milk
2g maple extract
1g salt

METHOD:
1. Place the warm water and 15g of sugar in a small bowl. Let the sugar dissolve. Add the yeast and stir for a few seconds then set it aside for about 10 minutes, until the yeast has bubbled up and doubled in size. if the yeast does not expand, then the yeast is dead or the water is not the right temperature, and you will have to try again.
2. In a small sauce pan, heat up the butter just until it has melted. Remove from heat and mix in the soy milk, sugar, vanilla and salt. Add the yeast mixture (after it has been proofed), and stir.
3. In a larger bowl, sift the flour. Pour the wet mixture in and mix everything together. After a while, use your hands to knead the dough for about 5 minutes. The dough will be a bit wet and sticky, but still manageable. If it is too sticky, add a little more flour. Next, cover the bowl with plastic wrap or damp kitchen towel, and set aside in a warm place for at least 1:30 hours, until the dough has risen and doubled in size. I heated my oven at the lowest temperature for about 5 minutes and then turned it off and placed the dough bowl in there to rise.
4. Once the dough has risen, punch it down and turn it out onto a floured table top. Knead a few times and then let it rest again for about 15 minutes, covered.

5. Preheat oven to 170C. Line baking pans with parchment paper.
6.On a floured surface, roll the dough out to a 45cm x30cm rectangle.

7. In a small bowl, mix the sugar and cinnamon. Drizzle the melted butter over the rolled out dough and brush evenly until the surface is all covered. Generously sprinkle the cinnamon sugar all over. No holding back. Add the raisins and walnuts on top (if using).

8. Using a sharp, floured knife, cut the rolled out dough into four even strips. Layer them on top of each other and then slice those strips up into 8+ squares.

The size you cut the squares will depend on the size of your bread pan. My pans are quite small, hence the thin strips. If you are using one larger bread pan, then maybe cut 3 strips and then cut those layers into 6 squares.

9. Carefully arrange the layers into your baking pans lined with parchment paper. Some of the raisins and walnuts will no doubt try to escape, but just stuff them back in later. Cover with a cloth and let the dough rest and rise in the pans for about 15-20 minutes.

10. Bake at 360F or 180C for about 20-25 minutes, until they are golden brown on top. If they start to become too brown before they are fully baked, lower the heat slightly and place a sheet of foil over the top and continue baking. Let cool about 10 minutes before adding any glaze.

Fresh out of the oven! The cinnamon-sugar aroma is glorious and all the layers are happily sandwiched together. You can enjoy this just as is, or you can go all the way and top it with some sweet maple glaze.

11. To make the glaze, just mix all of the ingredients (powdered sugar, soy milk, melted vegan butter, maple extract, and salt). Drizzle evenly over the warm cinnamon rolls.

This is best enjoyed while still warm and peeling apart the layers is half the enjoyment of eating this bread. You simply cannot stop at one layer… just one more…. and another… and another. Until it’s all gone. No regrets though.

So sexy, so seductive… :P

The cinnamon-sugar goes so well with walnuts and raisins, but feel free to add whatever fruits/nuts your heart desires. Even chocolate chips!

They also make the most adorable pressies~ And you will no doubt impress the pants off of everyone. Enjoy~

I love hearing feedback from you guys! Feel free to leave a comment by clicking here~~ :)