Easy Vegan Bread Rolls, light and fluffy!

I have enjoyed making my own bread for many years and these Easy Vegan Bread Rolls are one of my favourites because they are so easy to make!

They have a light crust and are deliciously light and fluffy inside.

I have also become a fan of Dried Active Yeast as, in my opinion, it works faster and reduces the rising/proving times. This is great for me as I am not the most patient of cooks!

However, you do need to make sure you knock the dough back properly and be careful not to let it rise/prove for longer than it needs as it can cause ‘spreading’. This is when the dough has stopped absorbing the sugar, thus stopping the process, which will cause the dough to spread and flatten. When this happens, it’s still perfectly edible when cooked, but the texture will not have the desired effect.

Making these Easy Vegan Bread Rolls

Some breads do call for some extra ingredients that need pre-cooking, and they are great, but when you just want something that’s easy to make, these bread rolls are great.

There is an element of time involved with any bread making but the process in this recipe is very easy to follow.

Start by activating the yeast. Again, this is an easy process that I know off by heart now and rarely go back to packet dried yeast.

All you need to do is dissolve the sugar in 150 ml / 7½ fl oz of the warm water, then sprinkle the yeast over, whisk lightly with a fork and then leave to activate in a warm place. The activation takes about 5 minutes and gives you enough time to weigh the flours and place them in a bowl with the salt ready for the yeast.

The yeast will look frothy when it is ready! That’s from all the tiny air bubbles that have formed.

Once the yeast is ready, whisk it again and add to the bowl of flour along with the remaining warm water. Then, using your hand, bring the ingredients together to form a soft dough.

Note on flours used and amount of water used

I am a massive bread fan. I will eat white, wholemeal, seeded, etc. etc. and even remove mould rather than waste bread! ????????

Flour – However, the majority of the time, when making it at home, I do try and be a bit healthy! Thus, I often use a mixture of both white and wholemeal flours to give some extra fibre content. I also love the colour it gives to the baked rolls.

Water – It’s important to use enough water as, if the dough is too dry, it can affect how the yeast works in the dough.

However, the 280 ml / 9½ fl oz of water stated for this recipe has never failed me. I must admit that you get to a point when combining the ingredients together, that it needs extra water. But please persevere and keep blending and kneading until the dough has completely absorbed all of the flour.

You will end up with a smooth dough that can be handled without it sticking to your hands or the bowl. The dough will now need to be kneaded for at least 10 minutes to activate the gluten in the flour. The gluten traps the air bubbles and causes the dough to rise during proving.

Now for the proving

Oil a clean bowl and place your smooth ball of dough in it and cover with a piece of oiled cling film and place somewhere warm. It should take 30-40 minutes to rise.

The dough should at least double in size.

Now the dough is ready to be knocked back so turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead again for a couple of minutes.

I then form it into a sausage shape and cut it into 10 pieces.

Then shape each piece into the shape of a roll and place them on a lined or lightly greased oven tray, loosely cover with oiled cling film and leave to rise/prove for the second time.

The second rise/prove will take about 30-40 minutes. (Halfway through would be a good time to preheat the oven as per recipe instructions.)

The bread rolls will have risen and will be touching each other in the tray. They are now ready to bake in the middle of the oven for 25 minutes.

A good way to test that they are cooked properly is to tap the bottom of them. If they sound hollow when tapped you can place them on a wire rack to cool. If they don’t sound hollow, bake for a further 5 minutes.

25 minutes has always been the perfect time for me when making these easy vegan bread rolls but, different ovens can either cook things quicker or slower. Therefore, if, after 20 minutes, they look cooked, do the tap test.

Bread rolls are so versatile. You can serve them with soups, filled for lunches and picnics, or simply with lashing of vegan butter! ????

Please leave me a comment in the comments box below and tell me what you like with your bread rolls! ????

Happy bread roll making and ENJOY! ????