Small and fluffy, these pull apart brioche bread buns are stuffed with spinach and vegan meat balls and funnily shaped into a Christmas tree.
Questa ricetta è disponibile anche in italiano.
It's almost Christmas lovely people!
How is your preparation going? Are you by any chance still uncertain on what to cook for all your guests?
I'm aware that sometimes providing the best meal that meets everyone's needs can be very challenging, but hey! that's why people that share recipes like me are here for!
I am positive you are going to love these little brioche buns that I'm about to present to you.
Small and fluffy, these brioche bread buns are stuffed with sautéed spinach and vegan friendly meat balls and funnily arranged into a Christmas tree shape.
Procedure might seem a tag long, but believe me, despite that they are very easy to nail and the final result speaks for itself.
I believe it is very eye catching, perfect as starter to share or center piece on your Christmas table, do you agree?
In this post I will guide you on how to achieve these pull apart bread rolls completely from scratch!
We are indeed going to make the fluffiest brioche bun dough that not only is vegan friendly, but also very delicious and easy to make too!
Let's now go through each step of this recipe, shall we?
How to make pull apart bread from scratch
Key ingredients for this brioche bread are: flour, vegan butter (or oil) and flaxseeds.
We are going to use flaxseed as egg replacement.
To do so you will only require 2 ingredients:
- flaxseeds
- plantbased milk
Method:
1. Blend the flaxseeds until powdered.
2. Add 3 tablespoon of plant-based milk for each tablespoon of ground flaxseeds.
3. Set aside for 10-15 minutes.
After this time the mixture will turn from runny to a gel-like consistency.
This happens thanks to a very specific substance naturally contained in flaxseeds: mucilage.
When we add water or any liquid to flaxseeds they thicken up into a gluey, viscous texture, which acts perfectly to replace eggs in this preparation.
This flaxseed mixture is indeed the best egg substitute for this recipe.
Alternatively, you can also use chia seeds, although I do recommend to stick with flaxseed if possible.
Next: the dough
On the hob heat the plant based milk of your choice and the vegan butter to around 40° C.
In a large bowl sift the flour, form a little hole in the middle with a fork or spoon, then add the yeast, the syrup* and the flaxseed mixture.
On a side of the bowl make a little hole for the salt as well, making sure it doesn't touch the yeast, otherwise it will deactivate it.
*you can use: golden syrup, maple syrup, agave syrup, brown sugar or caster sugar.
Gently pour in the middle hole the milk and the melted butter.
Work the dough until all the flour is absorbed, then kneed it for 5 minutes on a lightly flour dusted surface.
Allow to prove until it double its size (it can take up to 2/2:30 hours during winter).
I suggest to leave the the dough to prove in the microwave since it creates one of best environment for the dough to rise. I've been proofing any kind of dough like this for decades, and the result is comparable to those using a professional and expensive proofing boxes.
Please note: the microwave must be turned off.
All you need to do is basically put the bowl containing the dough on the microwave plate, shut its door and let the time do the rest.
..Yep, as simple as that!
The filling
I decided to keep the filling of these pull apart Christmas tree simple yet tasty.
It only consists on two simple ingredients:
- meat-free balls
- sautéed spinach
The meatballs can be whatever you like. You can buy premade or make your own: it's completely up to you.
Note: I've used ASDA's vegan meatballs, available in the frozen aisle.
If you are making your own meatballs I can suggest you to try these flavourful Lentil Meatballs!
For the sautéed spinach
Simply grate or finely slice 1 or 2 cloves of garlic, heat up a tablespoon of olive oil with garlic and some chili flakes (optional) until it starts to sizzle.
Add a bag of baby spinach to the pan, season with salt and pepper, give it a stir and cook for 3-5 minutes on medium heat.
Set aside and allow to cool completely before using it.
Stuffing the bread rolls
Once the dough has doubled its size, transfer it on a dusted surface and create little balls of 30 grams each.
Roll each ball into a disc, then arrange a few spinach on the bottom and one meatball on top.
Arrange each ball into a tree shape on a baking tray (this recipe makes 15 balls), roughly ½ inch apart from each other.
Allow to prove for another hour and half covered with a clean cloth or in the oven (turned off).
Last step: bake!
Now that our beautiful brioche bread rolls have doubled in size it's finally time to bake them!
This step will only require 20 to 25 minutes in a fan assisted oven at 180°C.
And here it is, our Pull Apart Christmas Tree ready to be enjoyed and shared with your loved ones.
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Pull Apart Brioche Bread Christmas Edition: Recipe
Ingredients:
..for the brioche bread..
300 gr All purpose Flour
150 ml Plant Based Milk (Soy)
60 ml Vegan Butter
25 gr Golden Syrup
6 gr Sea Salt
5 gr Dry Yeast
1 tbs Flaxseeds + 3 tbs Plant Milk
..for the filling..
15 Meat Free Balls of your choice
200 gr Baby Spinach
1-2 Garlic Cloves
1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Chili Flakes (optional)
Salt
Pepper
Method:
1. For the brioche bread dough. Blend the flax seeds until powdered, then add 3 tbs of plantbased milk. Set aside for 10 minutes. Heat the plant based milk of your choice and the vegan butter to around 40° C.
Sift the flour in a large bowl, form a little hole in the middle and add yeast, golden syrup and flaxseed mixture.
On a side of the bowl make a little hole for the salt as well, making sure it doesn't touch the yeast, otherwise it will deactivate it. Gently pour in the middle hole the milk and the melted butter.
Work the dough until all the flour is absorbed, then kneed it for 5 minutes on a lightly flour dusted surface.
Allow to prove until it double its size (it can take up ⅔ hours during winter).
2. In the meantime let's make the spinach for the filling. Grate or finely slice 1 or 2 cloves of garlic, heat up a tablespoon of olive oil with garlic and some chili flakes (optional) until it starts to sizzle. Add baby spinach to the pan, season with salt and pepper, give it a stir and cook for 3-5 minutes on medium heat. Allow to cool completely before using it.
3. Once the dough has doubled the size, transfer it on a dusted surface and form little balls of 30 grams each.
4. Roll each ball into discs and stuff with a bit of sautéed spinach and a meatball.
5. Seal the balls forming an half moon shape and gently rolling them back into a ball.
6. Arrange on a oven tray into a Christmas tree shape.
7. Allow to prove in a warm environment for another hour and half.
8. Preheat the oven at 180° C (350°F) and bake for 20-25 minutes (fan assisted).
9. Serve warm or at room temperature with some gravy or any dipping sauce of your choice.
If you’d like other Christmas-y ideas for your mains check out this Roundup!
Adriana Z.
Thank you very much! Hope that you will try it 🙂
Madhavi
Looks amazing.
Adriana Z.
Thank you very much! Hope that you will try it 🙂