Lemon Monkey Bread (Vegan)
A perfectly light, fluffy, citrusy pull-apart yeast bread. It is egg-free, dairy-free, and has a lovely lemon flavor in every bite. With just a few ingredients and a little time, you can enjoy this lemony-sweet indulgence.
This citrusy, sweet loaf is packed with lemon goodness. Lemon zest can be found in the dough as well as the sugar mixture the dough is rolled in, and lemon juice can be found in the glaze. Lemon can be found in every nook and cranny of this beautiful, shareable little loaf of springtime deliciousness.
What you will need:
All that is required for this recipe are a handful of basic pantry items and 2 to 3 medium-sized lemons. A tablespoon plus one teaspoon of zest is needed for the dough as well as for the sugar mixture the dough balls are rolled in. A total of 4 teaspoons of lemon juice are needed for the glaze. I ended up needing part of a third lemon to fill the zest requirement.
Dough
- bread flour
- cane sugar
- salt
- plant based butter with salt
- lemon zest
- yeast
- plant based milk
Lemon sugar and butter
- cane sugar
- lemon zest
- plant based butter with salt (melted)
Lemon Glaze
- powdered sugar
- lemon juice
How to:
This recipe can be done with a stand mixer or by hand. If using a stand mixer, combine the sugar and zest by rubbing them together with your fingers or combining them with a fork and then adding the mixture to the bowl of the stand mixer; add the rest of the ingredients to the same bowl. With a dough hook attached, mix on medium speed until a soft ball forms and the dough starts coming away from the bowl, then continue on medium speed for another 5 to 8 minutes. Once done kneading, place the dough in a lightly greased bowl.
If doing this by hand, add the lemon zest and sugar to a medium bowl. Blend the sugar and zest by rubbing them together with your fingers or combining with a fork. Add the rest of the ingredients minus the milk to the bowl. With your hand or a spoon, mix the ingredients together until well combined. Add the milk to the mixture and mix until all the flour is absorbed. Turn the dough out onto a lightly oiled surface, continue bringing the dough together with your hands and begin kneading. I knead the dough no more than 10 minutes. You are looking for the dough to become smoother and more stretchy. Once done kneading, place the dough into a lightly greased bowl.
Cover the bowl with a towel or place it in a “proofing bag” and leave it in a warm place to double in size. Once the dough has doubled in size, punch the air out and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough out to an 8×8 square and divide it into 8 strips; divide each of those 8 strips into 5 pieces. Each piece is then dipped in melted butter and rolled in a lemon sugar mixture. Place each dipped and rolled piece in a prepared 8×4 loaf pan. Once all of the pieces have been dipped, rolled, and placed in the pan, cover the pan or place it back in a proofing bag and leave to double in size (takes 45 to 50 minutes). Once doubled in size, preheat the oven to 350F. Bake for 27 minutes; once out of the oven, let cool in the pan for 15 to 20 minutes, and then transfer to a cooling rack.
While the bread is cooling, the glaze can be prepared. In a small bowl, add the powdered sugar and lemon juice. Mix until well combined and smooth. Drizzle the glaze over the bread and serve.
Helpful tools/tips:
This pull-apart bread is best served the same day. I strongly suggest, when preparing the loaf pan, to lightly grease it as well as line it with parchment paper. I also warn against letting it cool too much in the pan. The cooler the loaf is, the harder it can be to remove it from the pan. This recipe can be doubled to fit a bundt pan. The baking time should be 25 to 30 minutes. Lastly, I found the recipe came out better if I used a finer sugar to roll the dough pieces in, so I ground my cane sugar in a coffee grinder to get a finer sugar.
So, let’s get started. Please make, bake and enjoy!
Lemon Monkey Bread (Vegan)
Ingredients
Dough
- 300 grams / 2½ cups bread flour
- ¾ cup plant based milk (room temperature)
- 7 grams / 2 tsp yeast
- 3 tbsp / 42 grams plant based butter with salt (room temperature)
- 2 tbsp cane sugar
- 1 tbsp + 1 tsp lemon zest
- ½ tsp / 3 grams salt
Lemon sugar and butter
- 200 grams / 1 cup cane sugar (ground mine in a coffee grinder to make a little more fine)
- 4 tsp lemon zest
- 5 tbsp plant based butter with salt
Lemon glaze
- 10 tbsp powdered sugar
- 4 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
- To make the dough, in a medium bowl add the cane sugar and lemon zest and, with a fork or your fingers, combine the two until well incorporated. Add the flour, yeast, salt, sugar and butter. Mix to combine. Add the milk and mix until all the liquid is incorporated and the dough starts coming together. Turn the dough out on to a lightly greased surface and continue bringing the dough together with your hands. Begin kneading the dough and continue kneading until the dough becomes smoother and stretchy, takes about 10 minutes. Form the dough into a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl. Cover the bowl with a towel or place the bowl in a proofing bag (see note below) and leave in a warm place to double in size (takes 1 1/2 to 2 hours). I place mine in a proofing bag and place the bag in the oven with only the oven light on.
- Prepare an 8×4 loaf pan by lightly greasing it and lining it with parchment paper. Prepare the lemon sugar and butter. In a small container melt the butter. In a second small container combine the cane sugar and lemon zest. With a fork or your fingers combine the sugar and zest until well incorporated.
- Once the dough has doubled in size, punch the air out and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough out to 8×8 and cut it into 8 strips. Each strip should be divided into 5 pieces. Dip each piece in the melted butter and then roll in the lemon sugar and place in the prepared loaf pan. Repeat this process for all 40 pieces. Once done, cover the loaf pan or place back in the proofing bag and leave in a warm place to double in size. I place mine back in the proofing bag and back into the oven with only the oven light on. This takes 45 to 50 minutes.Once doubled in size, preheat the oven to 350F (remove the loaf pan from the oven if it is proofing in there). Once the oven is ready, bake for 27 minutes. Once removed from the oven, let cool for 15 to 20 minutes in the pan and then transfer to a cooling rack. Don't let the loaf cool for too long in the pan or it will become too difficult to remove from the pan.
- While the loaf is cooling, the glaze can be prepared. In small bowl combine the powdered sugar and lemon juice. Stir until fully combined and smooth. Drizzle over the loaf and serve.Loaf is best served same day.
