Bread is love, as simple as that. I started my baking journey with bread and it is still just as enjoyable to knead and shape dough as it was over 20 years ago.
This little loaf is simply wonderful for colder weather, delightfully full of cinnamon and cloves, sweetened with dandelion honey, and enriched with vanilla. The perfect slice for a sweet spread of your choice and a mug of tea.
Depending on the variety of vegan honey you use, you might need to add a bit more flour to the cinnamon portion of the dough. Or, on the other hand, if your vegan honey is particularly thick, you might need to add a splash of warm water. The goal is for the dough to be soft and supple, regardless of how you get there.
It toasts beautifully and it is also fantastic if slathered with a bit of vegan butter and broiled for just a few moments. You can top it with any sweet spread you want, although my heartfelt recommendation will always be fig jam.
Ingredients
For the bread dough
350 grams plain flour
1 teaspoon salt
30 grams granulated sugar
200 millilitres water
30 millilitres vegetable oil
25 grams fresh yeast
½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste
For the vegan honey swirl
30 grams vegan block butter, melted
50 grams vegan honey
20 grams plain flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
Preparation
Mix the warm water and sugar in a large bowl, add in the oil, and crumble in the fresh yeast. Mix well so the yeast dissolves, and then let it stand for about 10 minutes, or until bubbly. Once the yeast is ready, add in the vanilla.
Sift in half of the flour and the salt, and mix well with a wooden spoon. Sift in the rest of the flour, and proceed to knead with your hands, either in the bowl or on the work surface, for 3-5 minutes more, until the dough is smooth and elastic. Place the dough back into the bowl, cover it, and let it rest and rise for about an hour.
Once the dough is ready, turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface and divide it into two parts by estimation. Add all of the cinnamon swirl ingredients to one part, and knead them through. Depending on your honey, you might need to add a bit more flour. Let that part rest for about 10 minutes, and then roll both out to about 5 millimetres in thickness. Stack them together and cut the dough in three long strips.
Turn the oven on to preheat to 200˚C. Roll each dough part into a tight roll, and then plait them and make a swirl. Gently mist the loaf and place it onto a large baking sheet lined with baking parchment. Cover the top with a clean kitchen towel, and let it rise for another 30 minutes. Once risen, generously mist the dough with cold water, and bake it in a preheated oven, at 200˚C, for about 30-35 minutes, until baked through and nicely browned. Let it cool down to room temperature, and serve. Yields one small loaf.
