Buttery and fluffy vegan brioche with a tender crumb which just melts in your mouth. I included a ‘classic’ version using vegan butter and ‘healthier’ version with spelt flour, olive oil and no refined sugar!
I used to be obsessed with French desserts before I went vegan. Macarons, creme brulees, profiteroles. You name it! Alas, I haven’t had brioche in years because I thought it was impossible. Conventional brioche is made with butter and eggs and I wasn’t sure if any vegan equivalent could substitute those ingredients. Plus, I was scared of baking with yeast so never tried baking bread until now! I’ve included a visual step-by-step guide to show you how easy it is!
Preparing vegan bread
There aren’t too many differences between preparing bread with or without animal ingredients. In brioche, eggs add fat to the loaf which makes a super tender crumb. In order to create a beautiful crumb, I used apple cider vinegar which is an acid and tenderises the gluten in the flour. Magic, hey?! You can definitely not taste the apple cider vinegar in the final product!
Instead of using conventional butter, I used vegan butter or olive oil. Vegan butter creates a lighter crumb than olive oil. However, one benefit of using olive oil is that the strong yellow colour can turn the loaf into a more beautiful golden colour. I used olive oil in this brioche which you can see on this recipe video on my Facebook page.
Like any other bread, all you have to do is mix and knead the yeast with all the other ingredients and let it double, like so:
Due to the angle of these photos, you can’t really see the dough ‘doubling’ in size, but it was good enough!
Next, you need to divide the dough into 6 sections and arrange it in a lined loaf tin. Cover it then let it rise again!
How to customise this vegan brioche loaf
There are a few ways you can customise this loaf:
- Plain flour vs white spelt flour. Spelt flour doesn’t rise as well as plain flour but it still creates a beautiful crumb!
- Vegan butter vs olive oil. The taste and colour is probably the biggest difference in the final products. Butter helps create a lighter crumb so the bread ‘tears’ like a traditional brioche. Olive oil creates a crumb which is more similar to cake!
- Organic cane sugar or maple syrup. As always, baking with a granulated sugar results in a lighter bread than baking with maple syrup!
I have not tried a gluten free flour for this recipe but if you do, please let me know how you go!
I hope you enjoy this recipe xo
Check out my other bread-like recipes!
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Buttery Vegan Brioche (classic and healthier options)
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 tsp quick yeast
- 3 cups (400g) plain or all-purpose flour, or white spelt flour
- 2/3 cup (165mL) plant-based milk, such as almond, soy or coconut*, warm
- 1/4 cup (80g) organic cane sugar, or maple syrup
- 1/4 cup (70mL) melted vegan butter, or olive oil
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp maple syrup, or any other light-coloured liquid sweetener
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients except the maple syrup to a large bowl and mix until combined. Knead the dough for at least 5 minutes or until the dough becomes soft and elastic. If you're using a stand mixer, use the dough hook and knead until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl.
- Leave the dough in the bowl and cover with a tea towel. Leave it in a warm area to rest for at least 2 hours.
- When the dough is doubled in size, divide it into 6 sections. Shape each section into a round ball and place them a lined loaf tin. Cover the tin with a tea towel and leave it in a warm area to rest for another 30 minutes - 1 hour.
- When the dough has increased in size, preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Brush the dough with maple syrup.
- Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until golden. The loaf is fully cooked in the middle when you can tap the bottom of the loaf and it sounds hollow. If the bread is browning too quickly on the top and has not fully cooked, reduce the oven temperature to 160°C (320°F). Allow the bread to rest in the tin for 15 minutes then turn it onto a wire rack.
Notes
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