The holidays is the time for sugar and spice. And everything nice! Today is special because bloggers around the world are all linking up to the awesome Vegan Virtual Potluck which is a bi-annual virtual event organised by Annie of An Unrefined Vegan.
Much like a real potluck, each participating blogger is bringing a dish to the event in one of eight courses. You are currently in the third course as I am bringing a bread recipe to the potluck. All blogs are linked, so to do the full circle and peruse at what others have brought, simply navigate by clicking on the “forward” and “back” buttons/links at the end of the post to move onto the next/previous blog. With all meals being plant-based, we hope you will be able to enjoy the most wonderful virtual dinner ever. So, why don’t you grab yourself a nice teapot full of your favourite infusion and enjoy this eight course degustation comprising of appetizers, beverages, breads, soups/stews, sides, salads, mains and of course dessert!
I am presenting a Sweet Fruit Crown Bread that you can either enjoy as a snack on its own or accompanied by some creamy dessert.
One thing before we start, do not be intimidated by the steps and process. It looks more than it is. I have made this bread many times already on week-day nights in less than half an hour preparation time. Then, while it bakes for only 25 minutes, I just quickly clean up the few utensils that I’ve used and get ready for movie time with a nice cuppa! This is the perfect bread for wintery nights.
Oh! I couldn’t resist making a video for this one too! So, sit back and relax while you watch or read the full recipe below. So, allons-y!
Sweet Fruit Crown Bread Wreath
Ingredients (1 crown: 10 portions)
Bread:
1 cup quick oats + 1/2 cup water (or use 3/4 cup oat pulp – leftover oat fibres from homemade oat milk)
1 teaspoon vinegar (or lemon juice)
1 1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch salt
1/4 cup coconut flakes
2 tablespoon sugar
1/4 vegetable oil (or coconut oil)
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom (you may omit this if you don’t like cardamom)
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Water as required to make dough
Filling:
1 tablespoon cinnamon powder (or as required for sprinkling)
2 tablespoons soft brown sugar
1 apple (peeled and cut into small pieces
Raisins, candied ginger, confit or other dried fruits
Glazing:
2 tablespoons non-dairy milk (I used oat milk)
Pinch turmeric
Icing:
1/4 icing sugar
Few drops of almond extract
Few drops of water as needed to make a running icing consistency
More icing sugar/cinnamon for dusting
Extra flour for work surface
Directions
- Preheat oven at 200 degrees Celsius or 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- If using oat pulp, omit this step. Place oats in a blender and blend on high until reduced to a powder/flour. Place oat flour in a bowl, then add the water. Mix well and leave oats to absorb all water. Leave aside.
- Peel and cut the apple into small pieces. Leave aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cardamom powder and sugar. Mix well.
- Next add oil and work between the fingers until mixture resembles fine bread crumbs.
- Add coconut flakes and mix well.
- Next, add vinegar and almond extract to the oat mixture (or oat pulp). Mix well.
- Then add to this to the flour mixture. Begin mixing in the oat with the flour. Do not knead the dough but just keep mixing until a smooth non-sticky dough is formed. If the mixture is dry, add a couple tablespoons of water until you are able to make a dough. If dough is too sticky, add one more tablespoon of oil.
- Place dough on a floured work surface.
- Shape into a rectangle. Then roll out with a rolling pin to about 1 cm or 2/5 inch thickness, try to keep the rectangular shape.
- Sprinkle dough with sugar and cinnamon.
- Add apples and other dried fruits. From the longest side, add the fruits to only about 3/4 of the way.
- From the longest side, roll the dough over, enclosing the fruits.
- Lightly press to secure the end.
- Before we continue with the next steps, place a piece of parchment paper (same size as the mold or tray you will be using) under the rolled dough. This will make it easier to transfer the dough into the mold or tray afterward.
- Turn the opposite ends of the log towards you to form a doughnut shape. Tuck the sides in and press lightly to secure in place.
- Take a pair of kitchen scissors and cut 3/4 of the way down through the log at equal intervals all round. You may also use a knife but I found that the knife had a tendency to flatten down the crown.
Tip: I found it easier to handle the scissors with my two hands. This allowed for the handles to be opened wider.
- Be careful not to cut all the way through! Leave the bottom layer of dough uncut. I obtained 10 cuts.
- You may want to pull the slices alternating them toward the center and the outside.
- Transfer into a mold or onto a tray with the parchment paper.
- Bake at 200 degrees Celsius or 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 minutes.
- After 25 minutes, take the bread out of the oven.
- For the glazing, mix the non-dairy milk with the turmeric. Brush this mixture onto the crown.
- Pop the bread back in the oven for 2 minutes.
- Then take it out and leave to cool before icing.
- For icing, mix the icing sugar with a few drops of almond extract and water (if required) to make a somewhat liquid consistency.
- Drizzle all around on the bread.
- You may also dust with more icing sugar and cinnamon.
Sweet Fruit Crown Bread Wreath
Ingredients
Bread:
- 1 cup quick oats + 1/2 cup water, [80 g quick oats + 120 ml water] (or use 3/4 cup oat pulp - leftover oat fibres from homemade oat milk, see notes)
- 1 teaspoon vinegar, or lemon juice
- 1 1/2 cup flour, [180 g] (all-purpose or plain flour)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- Pinch salt
- 1/4 cup coconut flakes, [20 g]
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil, or coconut oil [60 ml]
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom, you may omit this if you don't like cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- Water as required to make dough
Filling:
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon powder, or as required for sprinkling
- 2 tablespoons soft brown sugar
- 1 apple, (peeled and cut into small pieces)
- Raisins, candied ginger, confit or other dried fruits
Glazing:
- 2 tablespoons non-dairy milk, I used oat milk
- Pinch turmeric
Icing:
- 1/4 cup icing sugar, [30 g]
- Few drops of almond extract
- Few drops of water as needed to make a running icing consistency
- More icing sugar/cinnamon for dusting
- Extra flour for work surface
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 200 degrees Celsius or 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- If using oat pulp, omit this step. Place oats in a blender and blend on high until reduced to a powder/flour. Place oat flour in a bowl, then add the water. Mix well and leave oats to absorb all water. Leave aside.
- Peel and cut the apple into small pieces. Leave aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cardamom powder and sugar. Mix well.
- Next add oil and work between the fingers until mixture resembles fine bread crumbs.
- Add coconut flakes and mix well.
- Next, add vinegar and almond extract to the oat mixture (or oat pulp). Mix well.
- Then add to this to the flour mixture. Begin mixing in the oat with the flour. Do not knead the dough but just keep mixing until a smooth non-sticky dough is formed. If the mixture is dry, add a couple tablespoons of water until you are able to make a dough. If dough is too sticky, add one more tablespoon of oil.
- Place dough on a floured work surface.
- Shape into a rectangle. Then roll out with a rolling pin to about 1 cm or 2/5 inch thickness, try to keep the rectangular shape.
- Sprinkle dough with sugar and cinnamon.
- Add apples and other dried fruits. From the longest side, add the fruits to only about 3/4 of the way.
- From the longest side, roll the dough over, enclosing the fruits.
- Lightly press to secure the end.
- Before we continue with the next steps, place a piece of parchment paper (same size as the mold or tray you will be using) under the rolled dough. This will make it easier to transfer the dough into the mold or tray afterward.
- Turn the opposite ends of the log towards you to form a doughnut shape. Tuck the sides in and press lightly to secure in place.
- Take a pair of kitchen scissors and cut 3/4 of the way down through the log at equal intervals all round. You may also use a knife but I found that the knife had a tendency to flatten down the crown.
- Tip: I found it easier to handle the scissors with my two hands. This allowed for the handles to be opened wider.
- Be careful not to cut all the way through! Leave the bottom layer of dough uncut. I obtained 10 cuts.
- You may want to pull the slices alternating them toward the center and the outside.
- Transfer into a mold or onto a tray with the parchment paper.
- Bake at 200 degrees Celsius or 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 minutes.
- After 25 minutes, take the bread out of the oven.
- For the glazing, mix the non-dairy milk with the turmeric. Brush this mixture onto the crown.
- Pop the bread back in the oven for 2 minutes.
- Then take it out and leave to cool before icing.
- For icing, mix the icing sugar with a few drops of almond extract and water (if required) to make a somewhat liquid consistency.
- Drizzle all around on the bread.
- You may also dust with more icing sugar and cinnamon.
Notes
I hope you’ve enjoyed this recipe. Leave me a dodo love telling me what you think and then carry on relishing on the rest of the potluck meals.
⇠ To read the blog that precedes mine in the Potluck, click here!
To start at the beginning of the Potluck, click here! ⇡
To read the blog that follows mine in the Potluck, click here! ➸
What a wonderfully festive recipe!
Please can you update your 'to the beginning' link to http://virtualveganpotluck.com/december-2014/
Thank you!
Wow-this recipe always looked so intimidating, with the making it into a circle. But you made it look super-easy. Now I want to make it!!
This looks…so incredibly good. 😀
xoxo Juhea aka Peaceful Dumpling
Updated. 🙂 Thank you for stopping by!
Spectacular! Thanks so much for sharing it with us at the Potluck!
It's looks more complicated than it actually is. And I sometimes vary the filling which makes it different every time.
Thanks Juhea. I hope you give it a try. I like making this bread because I can use up my oat pulp in this way. I make a lot of oat milk at home so I get a lot of pulp left. 🙂
Thank you Annie for organising this event. I am thrilled to be part of it and meet so many bloggers out there. 🙂
Wow! I love the look of this bread “crown” so beautiful, healthy and hearty too!
This looks so festive and wonderful, and I love that you can use oat milk pulp in the recipe 🙂 that's such a nice vegan touch, haha! Happy VVP!
Lovely blog. I look forward to looking around and learning about Mauritian food!
This looks like Christmas! Such a beautiful thing. Thanks for sharing it with the VVP!
This looks SO good! I'm so thrilled there isn't yeast (stuff of horrors for a novice baker) – can't wait to try it out 😀
How lovely for the holidays! I especially like how it is called a crown. Thanks for the step by step guide as well! I wouldn't know how to go about it if there wasn't all these great pics. Great recipe for VVP. Happy Holidays!
What a great idea – looks absolutely delicious! Thanks so much for sharing!
I am happy the way this bread always turns. Looks festive without much effort.
Yes, oat pulp is what I usually use because I am always making oat milk at home. So, that's a great way to use the pulp. Happy VVP too!
Thanks Cat. Please be my guest. Mauritian food is already a fusion-style cuisine to which I add my own touch depending on the local ingredients I can find.
You're welcome Amy. I've enjoyed participating in the VVP so much! Thank you for stopping by. 🙂
Yes no yeast, no waiting time. I am quite impatient when it comes to waiting for bread to rise. So this one is a quick alternative. 🙂
I always find it a lot easier to follow a recipe with step by step photos. My poor camera is covered in flour and stuffs though. Thank you for stopping by and Happy Holidays too!
This is gorgeous! Happy belated VVP!
Thanks Jamie. This has become one of my favourite fruit breads. 🙂
Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
Delighted to see you on VVP Lovlie! Wow, it looks incredibly delicious, with cinnamon, apples and dried fruits! It’s a perfect crown bread for the festivities!
★ ＨＡＰＰＹ ＶＶＰ ★
Looks so yummy and festive! Thank you for the recipe!
How beautiful and festive–thanks so much for sharing this!
Thanks rika. Nice to see you on VVP! It has been a fab event.
Thank you for stopping. Sorry for the late-ish reply. I am still doing the round of all the VVP blogs!
Thank you so much for stopping by. It's so great to meet new bloggers!
This is my favorite pick from the VVP breads! Lovely ingredients and the method so clearly explained. Just realized that I did not comment at all! And, thanks for visiting my blog. 🙂
Thank you for your comment Apsara. You actually commented at the wrong blog. I have a duplicate blog on WordPress at the moment because I am in the process of transferring. Please comment here: https://www.veganlovlie.com/2014/12/virtual-vegan-potluck-december-2014.html
Sorry about the confusion.
My favorite entry in breads at the VVP! Beautiful work with simple ingredients. Thanks for the step-wise pics too, very helpful.
Great recipe! I thought it would be super hard to make, but the step-by-step pictures and the video made it all super clear 🙂
I made your lovely round shaped bread yesterday & it is one fantastic festive one!
So delicious too & a great step-by-step tutorial! Xx
Oh WOW, it's like a beautiful gift parcel to share! Love it! x