Saturday, January 18, 2014

vegan cinnamon pull-apart bread

Happy 2014!!! 
I'm back from vacation and it's taken me a couple of weeks to come back to reality. I totally blew my vegan diet while I was away and I admit I also cheated a bit with Momofuku Milk Bar's Birthday Cake that I get every year for my birthday. But now that all of the festivities are over, it's time to get back on my vegan train. Check out my vegan version of cinnamon pull-apart bread…..


























I searched all over for a pull-apart bread recipe that didn't contain any eggs since I'm still trying to get used to chia/flax egg replacements. I found The Pioneer Woman's recipe and simply swapped out dairy for non-dairy ingredients. The Pioneer Woman also photographs every step, so if you need more visuals, visit the link.

Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread
thank you Pioneer Woman
serves 6 - 10

INGREDIENTS
For the DOUGH:
1 cup soy milk
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup sugar
1-1/8 teaspoons active dry yeast
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt

For the CINNAMON SUGAR:
1/4 cup vegan butter - softened/room temp ***I used Earth Balance***
1/2 - 3/4 cups sugar
1-1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

For the ICING:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 - 3 tablespoons soy milk
tiny splash of vanilla extract
pinch of salt

To make the DOUGH:
Combine milk, canola oil, and 1/4 cup sugar in a medium saucepan. Heat until hot but not boiling. Turn off heat and allow to cool to warm.

Sprinkle in the yeast and add 2 cups of flour. Stir to combine, then put the lid on the pot and allow to rise for 1 hour. After 1 hour, stir in an additional 1/4 cup flour, along with baking powder, baking soda, and salt. ***I dumped mine out onto a lightly floured surface and used my hands to work in these ingredients.*** If the dough is sticky, stir in another 2 tbs. - 1/4 cup flour. ***Mine was perfect after the first 1/4 cup of flour.*** 

Place dough in the fridge for at least 1 hour to make it easier to work with.

Roll out dough onto a floured surface.



Gently spread your room temp non-dairy butter onto the dough. Mix together the sugar and cinnamon and generously sprinkle it all over the buttered dough.


Using a pastry cutter or sharp knife, cut the dough into 6 to 8 strips. Then carefully stack the strips on top of each other.



Spray a loaf pan with baking spray. Cut the stack of strips into 6 slices. Place the stacks sideways into your prepared pan. Do not cram your slices into the pan. ***If you have leftovers, spray a small loaf pan or even a cupcake muffin tin and place your leftover slices in that.***

Cover your pan with a dish towel and allow to rise for 20 - 30 minutes. Preheat your oven to 350ºF. Place your loaf pan in the oven and bake for 30 minutes, checking at 20 minutes to make sure it's not getting too brown on top. ***Since I was using disposable tin pans, I placed my pans on a cookie sheet while it baked in the oven.*** It's important to bake your bread completely to ensure that the middle isn't doughy, because if it is it won't pull apart easily. After 30 minutes, I continued to bake mine in 5 minute increments. Total baking time for me was between 40 - 50 minutes. ***If the bread seems to be getting too brown, tent it with a little aluminum foil.***

Remove the pan/s from the oven when the bread's done. Run a little knife along the sides  and gently take the bread out of the pan. 


Mix together the icing ingredients and generously drizzle over the top, allowing it to sink into the crevices. Super delicious warm, but also good at room temp.