Fluffy Vegan Dinner Rolls
These are amazing dinner rolls! They're soft and moist and come together really easily using everyday ingredients. They’re perfect for the holiday table or any time that you need light and fluffy dinner rolls.
Servings: 9
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water
- 2 teaspoons active yeast
- 2 tablespoons sugar (or maple syrup)
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour or bread flour, or more, if needed, divided
- 2 teaspoons vital wheat gluten , optional
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 tablespoons melted vegan butter
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup non-dairy yogurt at room temperature (or use non dairy cream, cashew cream or coconut cream)
- sesame seeds or other seeds of choice, for topping, optional
- 1 to 2 teaspoons herbs such as chive, basil, parsley, etc., optional
Instructions
- Activate the yeast: Warm the water to about 110° F (43° C) or until it is just about warm to touch. Add it to a bowl along with the yeast and sugar, mixing well. Let this sit until the yeast mixture gets frothy, about 10 minutes. (If it doesn’t get frothy then the yeast is too old or dead and won’t work)
- In another bowl, add in 3 cups of the flour along with the salt, baking powder, and wheat gluten (if using) and mix in. Then, mix in the yeast mixture, the melted butter, olive oil, and yogurt. Mix to combine with all of the ingredients. The mixture will be somewhat sticky.
- Now, start adding flour, 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time, Keep kneading, adding flour 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time, until the dough is somewhat smooth. If you’re using a stand mixer or food processor, it will take 4 to 5 minutes. If you're kneading the dough by hand, it'll take 6 to 8 minutes. For kneading by hand, just fold the dough over and pound it a little, then fold again and pound it, and continue. Once the dough is not too sticky and somewhat even, pull it from the side and tuck under, so that you have a smooth top, and put it in a bowl. Brush the top with some oil or dust with flour and cover the dough with a kitchen towel and keep it in a warm place for up to 2 hours, or until doubled. Depending on your ambient temperature, the dough can double anywhere from 1 to 2 hours. I usually keep the dough in a slightly warm oven, so that it will double within the hour.
- Once the dough has risen, punch the dough lightly, and use a little flour to pick up the dough and transfer to your workspace. Use a little bit more flour to knead and shape it into somewhat of a long roll. Depending on the baking dish you're using as well as the size of the dinner rolls you want to make, you can get anywhere from 9 to 12 or even more dinner rolls. Slice them into equal-sized pieces, then shape into balls by just rolling them or by pulling on the sides and tucking them under and then placing the tucked-side-down on a parchment-lined baking dish or a greased baking dish. Keep the size of the ball about half of what you want your full-sized rolls to be, because these will rise quite a bit. Also, keep them just about 1/2” away from each other if you want them to rise and stick to each other, or keep them 1” or more away from each other, if you want individual dinner rolls.
- Brush the tops with oil, and lightly cover with a towel. Put them in a warm place to rise again, about 45 to 55 minutes, until they're doubled. Once doubled, spritz the top with water, sprinkle some seeds or herbs on top, and then bake in a preheated 375° F (191° C) oven for 19 to 22 minutes, or until the bread sounds hollow. You want to check the center bun and tap it to see if it's sounding hollow. If not, then continue to bake for another 2 to 4 minutes, then remove the baking dish from the oven. The buns that are kept closer to each other are going to take a little longer to bake than the buns that are spaced out further. Remove the baking dish from the oven, and let the buns cool for a few minutes before taking them out of the baking dish to cool on a cooling rack for 10 minutes or so. You can melt some more vegan butter on top and serve them nice and warm with some vegan butter or as a side with soups, curries, your holiday spread, or however you like.
Video
Notes
Variations: You can make these buns with some herbs or garlic parmesan variation or make a sweeter variation by adding more sugar. For garlic parmesan buns, add garlic and Italian herbs to the dough and make a garlic butter topping by melting 1 tablespoon of vegan butter, adding 1 or 2 cloves of minced garlic and some fresh herbs, and then brushing that all over once the buns are out of the oven and while they're still hot.
For buns whole grain, use my recipe forSoft Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls, and for gluten-free, make my gluten-free dinner rolls.
For nut-free and/or soy-free, just make sure that your vegan butter and non-dairy yogurt are nut- and/or soy-free.
Nutrition data is based on eating 1 of 9 rolls. If you make more rolls, the calories etc will decrease.
To make ahead, shape the dinner rolls and place in parchment lined pan, brush with oil. Then deal with plastic wrap or parchment(use enough parchment so air doesn’t dry out the rolls). Refrigerate for upto a day. To bake, remove from the fridge and let sit on counter for an hour and then bake.
To freeze, freeze baked dinner rolls in an airtight container or wrap. Reheat covered with parchment in the oven for 10 mins. Or microwave for 30-60 seconds depending on the number of rolls.
To make Oil-free, omit the butter and oil. Add 2 more tablespoons yogurt and proceed. Dust the top of the dough and rolls with flour and then cover with towel for rising. Brush rolls with a mix of milk and maple syrup, add seeds and bake. These rolls will have a less soft top when they are just done baking. Cover with a light towel to cool for 10 mins and the tops will soften up.
Nutrition
Calories: 246kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Sodium: 292mg | Potassium: 83mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 112IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 28mg | Iron: 2mg