Vegan Braided Yeast Bread (or 'Hefezopf') with Sliced Almonds
(*ad: in cooperation with pandoo)
Some days there’s just nothing more comforting than a soft and fluffy slice of sweet yeast bread with some vegan butter and jam. Or vegan chocolate spread (and yes, I also put vegan butter under my chocolate spread. I know that’s a very polarizing debate).
However, while braided yeast bread does not sound as promising, it pretty much describes the traditional german ‘Hefezopf’ quite well. Slightly sweet, super light and sometimes really artistically braided, a ‘Hefezopf’ is a very common breakfast item for special occasions like the easter holidays. It’s also very similar to the jewish Challah bread!
Normally, eggs are used in traditional recipes but it’s also fairly easy to make this beauty of a bun vegan. With a bit of rapeseed oil or vegan butter, warmth and lots of love, your cute little yeast dough will feel just as comfortable and will pay you back by being super light and fluffy. Braided and topped with some sliced almonds it’s perfect for any special breakfast occasion, a chill sunday morning or literally any other day, if you ask me.
…You’re more a fan of already filled baked goods? Well, say no more fam, how does a braided yeast wreath with pistachio-maple-filling sound to you?
but first off to this particular recipe:
Vegan Braided Yeast Bread with Sliced Almonds
(aka a german ‘Hefezopf’)
Ingredients:
500g flour*
50g sugar (or liquid sweetener of choice)*
60ml rapeseed oil*
250ml plant milk of choice
2 tsp dry active yeast
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
a pinch of salt
1-2 drops of vegan butter flavoring (optional)
1 tbsp plant based yogurt (optional)*
50-100g sliced almonds
Instructions:
Start by slightly heating up your plant milk until lukewarm. Then stir in dry active yeast and let the mix sit for a few minutes.
Combine flour, sugar and salt in a big bowl and add the yeast-plant milk mixture, as well as the oil, the vanilla and optionally the butter flavoring and plant based yogurt. Combine everything until it forms a soft dough.
On a floured sourface, knead the dough by hand for about 5-10mins until soft but not sticky.* Then place the dough in a slightly oiled bowl and cover with a clean, wet kitchen towel. Place the bowl in a warm space and let the dough rise for 1-2 hours until doubled in size.
After the dough has risen, knead again slightly on a floured surface and divide into 3 or 4 equal parts.
Out of these parts you now want to form strands and start braiding the dough however you like* on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
Now let the braided dough rise for another 30mins, while preheating the oven to 180°C.
Mix a little bit more of the oil and plant milk you used before and brush over the dough. Sprinkle the sliced almonds on top and bake the bread for about 25-30mins until light golden brown. If your bread starts to become too dark in the oven, you can cover it with some aluminium foil. (You can also test if the dough is ready by using a wooden stick towards the end of the baking time to prevent your bread from over-baking and becoming dry!)
When your bread looks done, remove from the oven, let it cool down slightly and enjoy! It tastes best when it’s still freshly baked!
Now have fun adding your favorite sweet vegan spread
and have yourself a nice and cozy breakfast!
*Notes:
For the dough to be light and fluffy I’d suggest you use very fine and light flour for this recipe. Cake or pastry flour, as well as all-purpose or while spelt flour should work.
I like to use a liquid sweetener like agave or maple syrup but you can use whatever sweetener you like. Both, a granulated or liquid sweetener, will work!
I like to use a particular organic rapeseed oil with a hint of butter aroma when making this recipe but if you can’t find anything like that or don’t want to use rapeseed oil at all, you can also replace it with 75g melted vegan butter. Just make sure that your freshly melted butter is only lukewarm and not hot anymore when you combine it with the yeast!
You can skip adding the one tablespoon of plant based yogurt, but I find that the texture of the dough becomes extra fluffy, light and soft when added, so I highly recommend it!
While kneading it, the dough will soak up a little bit more flour and becomes way softer and more flexible as well. Therefore you should really take your time with this step and gradually add more flour if the dough sticks to your hands or the surface too much!
There are many ways to braid your sweet yeast dough. I was using the most simple 3 strand braid but you can also get creative and braid with more strands or create different shapes!
Did you make this recipe?
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