Fluffy Vegan Cinnamon Rolls

Made with pillowy plant-based brioche dough

Oct 12, 2023

∙ Paid

Vegan cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting seen from the top in a pan — Swirls of cinnamon sugar brioche topped with vegan cream cheese frosting

Cinnamon rolls are one of my favorite breakfast treats, and my vegan cinnamon roll recipe is this week’s treat for my paid subscribers!

I began testing this recipe with my Plant Milk Bread Dough, but I then decided it wasn’t rich enough for the indulgent pastry I’d envisioned. So I developed a brioche recipe (available below for all subscribers) that is even softer and butter-ier. It is derived from the milk bread recipe, which includes a tangzhong (milk and flour paste) for a plush texture and a sweet poolish for extra flavor. I increased the amount of sugar and vegan butter and then swapped out soy milk for oat milk as the added protein in soy milk adds structure to the dough, which counteracts the slackening effect of the additional sugar and fat. This is a great all purpose brioche recipe, but for those looking for a slightly more savory take, check out my Olive Oil Brioche Dough.

The dough gets an overnight proof in the fridge to further develop its flavor and make it easier to work with, though if you’re in a rush a 2-hour chill is sufficient. The next day, it is rolled up with dark brown cinnamon sugar and vanilla bean butter before being baked into golden spirals that will make your entire house smell like IKEA in the best way possible. Finally, the rolls are generously spread with vanilla-specked, vegan cream cheese frosting. These pillowy pastries are the quintessential fall treat, and I can’t wait for you to try them.

Vegan brioche dough in a stainless steel bowl — Vegan brioche dough ready for bed! (i.e. an overnight fridge proof)

Vegan Butter Brioche Dough

Makes enough dough for 1 loaf or 12 rolls

30 mins active time, 12 hrs total time (includes overnight chilling)

Ingredients

Sweet Poolish

60 g (1/2 cup) bread flour

60 g (1/4 cup) unsweetened soy milk

10 g (2 tsp) granulated sugar

0.75 g (1/4 tsp) instant yeast

Tangzhong

20 g (2 tbsp + 2 tsp) bread flour

100 g (1/4 cup + 3 tbsp) unsweetened soy milk

Brioche Dough

1 recipe Sweet Poolish

1 recipe Tangzhong

390 g (3 1/4 cups) bread flour

180 g (3/4 cup) unsweetened soy milk

50 g (1/4 cup) vegetable oil

6 g (2 tsp) instant yeast

67 g (1/3 cup) granulated sugar

9 g (1 tbsp) kosher salt (Diamond Crystal or see note below)

169 g (3/4 cup) unsalted, cultured-style vegan butter (e.g. Miyoko's), chilled and diced (see note below)

Instructions

Prepare and proof the Sweet Poolish

Combine ingredients in a small bowl and mix thoroughly
Cover with plastic wrap and proof at 82 F for 4 hours - I recommend using a countertop proofer to keep the temperature consistent - see Things I Used below

Prepare and cool the Tangzhong

Combine ingredients in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture reaches 150 F and it has thickened
Remove the mixture from the heat; pour into a small bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and allow it to cool to room temperature

Make and chill the Brioche Dough

Knead all ingredients except sugar, salt, and vegan butter on low speed for 5 mins
Increase the speed to medium-low and slowly stream in the sugar and salt; knead for a total of 5 mins at this speed
Increase the speed to medium and add the butter slowly, one piece at a time; knead for a total of 4 mins
Stop the mixer and rest the dough for 2 mins; scrape down the sides of the bowl in the meantime; this aids in gluten formation without overheating the dough
Restart the mixer on medium speed and continue kneading for 8 mins more. The dough will at first be greasy and loose, then it will get stickier and more cohesive, and then finally it will unstick from the bowl and be very smooth, shiny, and taut
Perform the "windowpane test" by stretching a small bit of dough between your fingers; if it stretches thin enough to be translucent (hence "windowpane") without breaking, the dough is ready to proof. If not, continue kneading on medium speed in 1-min increments until it passes this test
Place the dough on a small, lightly oiled sheet pan and press it into a rectangle. Fold each side into the center and flip the dough over, so the smooth side is up; press it down gently; cover with plastic wrap
Proof the dough at 82 F for 1 hour - I recommend using a countertop proofer to keep the temperature consistent - see Things I Used below
Place the dough in the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours, ideally overnight
The dough is now ready to be used in a variety of applications, including simple loaves or cinnamon rolls, the recipe for which is available below for paid subscribers

Images showing stages of kneading for vegan brioche dough — Making vegan brioche dough: (1) lean dough with vegan butter, (2) loose, batter-like dough, (3) sticky, shaggy dough, (4) smooth, shiny final dough

Notes & Variations

Ingredient Notes

Kosher salt: I use Diamond Crystal kosher salt, which has larger crystals than other kinds of kosher salt, normal table salt or fine sea salt. As a result, when measured by volume (teaspoons/tablespoons) it will add less "saltiness" than an equal quantity of the other salts. If you are not using Diamond Crystal, I recommend measuring your salt by weight, in which case you won't run into this issue. Otherwise, use half the volume quantity of salt
Vegan butter: There are two main types of vegan butter: (1) margarine-style products that are basically butter-flavored vegetable shortening (e.g. Earth Balance or Violife), and (2) cultured-style products made from cashew, coconut, or other kinds of fats (e.g. Miyoko's). I generally prefer the first type in cakes, muffins, and frostings, where the more obvious "butter" flavor and greater stability, and yellow color are beneficial. I prefer the second type in recipes where the fat will caramelize, such as cookies, pie or tart dough, and bread, as margarine-style butters can develop unpleasant burnt oil flavors when heated to high temperatures. Also, cultured-style butter can be browned similarly to dairy butter, while margarine-style butter cannot

For Maple Sugar Brioche Dough

Replace the granulated sugar in the Brioche Dough with an equal quantity of maple sugar (see Things I Used below)
You can also replace the sugar with 67 g (3 tbsp + 1 tsp) maple syrup, but note that the dough will be a bit softer
Otherwise, proceed with the recipe as directed