Plant-based brioche buns (infused with orange), filled with white chocolate ganache, and topped with pecan streusel! Possibly my new favourite baked good… I based this on my hot-cross bun recipe (because the dough is sooo soft!), I just adjusted the flavour and the execution :).
This recipe is so incredibly simple, but it is definitely a crowd-pleaser. The dough will take about 2 hours in total of rising time, but I always use this window to clean up my mess, and have a cup of tea!
Whenever the weekend rolls around, it acts as the perfect excuse to take up a new baking project – this weekend, we are tackling the art of brioche.
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JUMP TO:
• What you’ll need
• FAQ’s
• The history of brioche
• Recipe
What you’ll need
Ingredients list:
• Bread flour | This has a higher protein content than normal flour, and it is designed for yeast breads. Because it has a higher gluten content, it makes a lighter and more elastic dough, needed for these fluffy buns.
• Salt | This will enhance the flavour of your buns, and help the sweetness.
• Yeast | This is extremely important as it makes the buns rise. You must make sure your yeast is in-date and active, otherwise the dough will not rise properly (or at all). Use instant/fast action yeast.
• Vegan butter | This will be used melted in the dough. It provides a soft, fluffy dough resulting in the tastiest buns. You can use block or spreadable butter, the better the quality the better the taste. Make sure it’s not too hot once melted, otherwise you could kill the yeast.
• Vegan milk | This will be mixed with the melted butter, to make a very mildly warm (lukewarm) mixture. I used oat milk, but coconut, soy, and almond will also work.
• Orange zest | I don’t use too much of this, just enough to provide a warm, underlying flavour.
• Orange juice | This is optional, but I use it for just a little extra flavour. You could also just use a little extract.
• Cinnamon | I use this in the dough and streusel. Just a little, for the warmth.
• Brown sugar | I use this in the dough to feed the yeast, and to provide sweetness – you could use white sugar, but this adds more flavour.
• Plain flour | I use this in the streusel.
• Demerara sugar | I use this in the streusel and for a crunchy topping, but you can use brown sugar instead.
• Pecans | This was my nut of choice, as it compliments the other flavours. You could make this your own by using another nut, like hazelnuts!
• White chocolate | My favourite plant-based white chocolate is Moser Roth’s. If you want to make this recipe your own, you could use a different flavour.
• Plant cream | I use Elmlea plant double cream. This is for the ganache.
FAQ’s
• Why won’t my dough rise? | The most common problem is that your yeast has expired. Be sure to check your yeast is in date, if it’s not, your dough will not rise (or rise very slowly).
•How long do they last? | The buns will last about 3 days covered at room temperature. Considering this, the buns do taste best the same day.
•Why do I have to use bread flour? | Unlike others, bread flour has a higher protein content (11%-13%). When baking soft breads, like these brioche buns, the dough relies on the higher gluten content for strength.
History of Brioche
Brioche originally came from France in the middle-ages, like many delicious pastry’s and breads. It is not certain where exactly is came from, but it is suspected it originated in the Normandy region. It has been a part of French tradition for generations.
A famine in the 18th century deprived many people from luxuries such as brioche. Bread was suddenly made very expensive, especially brioche which is made from extravagant ingredients. Soon, brioche was made a symbol of your statis, the amount of butter put into your brioche was proportional to your prosperity!
The word “Brioche” came from the old French word “brier” which translates to “to crush the dough”. Now, Brioche means “sticky bun”. The first appearance of the word Brioche came in 1404. It became very popular in the 18th century – the first recipe appearing around 1742.
Vegan white chocolate orange pecan brioche buns
rise time: ~2h / serves: 6 buns / cook time: 25m
Ingredients:
for the dough
• 260g bread flour
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 5g yeast, instant/fast action
• 40g light brown sugar
• 1/2tsp salt
• zest of 1/2 an orange, ~1tbsp
• 40g vegan butter, melted
• 150ml vegan milk
• 2 tbsp orange juice, or 1/2 tsp extract
for the ganache
• 100g white chocolate
• 60ml vegan cream, hot
for the streusel
• 50g plain flour
• 25g demerara sugar, or brown sugar
• 45g pecans, chopped
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 30g vegan butter, melted
Method:
① Make the dough.
• Add the flour, sugar, cinnamon, yeast and salt to a stand-mixer bowl, mix.
• Add the vegan butter to a saucepan, melt on high-heat.
• Add the vegan milk to a jug. Add the hot butter and orange juice. Mix.
• Add to the flour mixer, mix briefly to form a shaggy dough.
• Knead on medium/high speed for ~7 minutes until smooth.
• Shape the dough into a ball in your hands. Place in a clean bowl.
② First (bulk) rise.
• Cover the dough and place in a warm area (or the oven with just the light on).
• Let it sit for about 1h 30mins until doubled in size.
③ Make the ganache.
• Add the chopped white chocolate to a bowl.
• Heat up the vegan cream until hot.
• Pour the hot cream over the chocolate, let sit for about 5 minutes.
• Mix until smooth (optionally, whip with an electric whisk!).
④ Make the streusel.
• Add the flour, sugar, cinnamon and chopped pecans to a bowl, mix.
• Add the vegan melted butter and mix with a fork, until combined.
⑤ Shape the buns.
• Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces. Shape into balls on a floured surface.
• Transfer the balls onto a floured and parchment-paper lined baking sheet.
• Lightly press an indent into the centre of each ball, creating a “boat”.
⑥ Second rise.
• Cover the shaped buns and place in a warm area.
• Let rise for about 20 minutes until puffy and risen more.
⑦ Assemble.
• Pre-heat oven to 200c (180c fan oven).
• Press an indent into a centre of the risen buns again, creating the “boat”.
• Add the white chocolate ganache into the middles (leave some for topping).
• Sprinkle the pecan streusel over each bun.
• Optionally, brush vegan “egg” wash (milk + maple syrup), on the edges.
• Optionally, sprinkle over demerara sugar on the edges.
⑧ Bake.
• Place onto the middle shelf of the preheated oven.
• Bake for 23 minutes until golden brown.
• Whilst hot, I like to re-brush the edges with vegan “egg” wash.
• *If the white ganache spills some of the streusel out of the buns, don’t worry! just scoop it back on the top once baked :).
• Drizzle a little extra white chocolate ganache over the top of each bun.
• Let cool (or eat warm), and enjoy!
NOTES:
• You can use white sugar in both the dough and streusel, if you like.
• You can skip the orange juice and switch for orange extract.
• The rise time depends on your temperature, if it’s cold place the dough into the oven with just the light on.
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