FINGER BUNS
EVERY AUSSIE KID’S FAVOURITE TREAT
LONG SWEET BUNS TOPPED WITH ICING
FROM ‘SWEET BREADS’ IN THE VEGAN BAKER
The best kind of bun is a fingered one.
These long buns defy convention, and instead read like a sweet hot dog bun. For Kiwi and Aussie kids, the garish pink icing smeared along the top and dipped in coconut is an after-school siren for the sugar rush that’ll get you through to dinnertime. The sultanas in the dough are there just so you can say yes when Mum asks if you ate some fruit today.
They’re made of..
Soft white bread: made with dairy free milk and butter, then kneading in a stand mixer to create a strong enough gluten network for bread that’s sturdy but soft to bite into.
Pink Icing: that takes these from boring old bread to a treat that says ‘well done for a great day at school, now put this in your gob and stay quiet until we get home’. The sweet icing and sprinkle of coconut on top are all the flavour these buns need, especially with sweet pops of raisins already in the dough.
Glaze: A very simple sugary glaze goes on the outside before the icing, which helps keep these sweet to eat. There’s also a little agar-agar in the glaze to replace the traditional gelatine, which makes the bread extra shiny and visually appealing.
This recipe is extracted from The Vegan Baker cookbook by me! It’s from the ‘Sweet Breads’ chapter where you’ll find recipes for chocolate-hazelnut babka, jumbo blueberry muffins, Japanese melonpan, tsoureki, cinnamon scrolls and more! You can order signed copies of the book directly from me or find them online and from your favourite local book retailer.
Check out this video by my friends at Vegan Easy where you can see exactly what each step in creating these plant based finger buns looks like in action.
Vegan Finger Buns
Ingredients
- 160 ml (51⁄2 fl oz) plant- based milk
- 7 g (2 teaspoons) instant dried yeast
- 250 g (9 oz) bread flour, plus extra for dusting
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1⁄ 2 teaspoon fine salt 30 g (1 oz) vegan butter, softened
- 25 g (1 oz) caster (superfine) sugar
- cooking spray, for greasing
- 40 g (11⁄2 oz) sultanas (golden raisins)
- 2 tablespoons desiccated coconut
- 120 g (41⁄2 oz) icing (confectioners’) sugar, sifted
- 2 teaspoons vegan butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon plant-based milk
- few drops vegan red food colouring
- 1 tablespoon caster (superfine) sugar
- sprinkle of agar agar powder
- 1 tablespoon boiling water
Instructions
- Place the milk in a microwave-safe bowl and blast in a microwave, stirring at 15-second increments, until warm. Add the yeast and leave to bloom for a few minutes until frothy.
- Add the yeast mixture, flour, baking powder, salt, butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Knead on medium speed for 10 minutes to develop the gluten.
- Remove the dough from the bowl, oil the bowl with cooking spray, then place the dough back in. Cover with plastic wrap and leave to rise in a warm spot for 1–3 hours, until doubled in size.
- Spray an 18 cm × 28 cm (7 in × 11 in) baking tray with cooking spray. Punch down the dough in the bowl and toss in the sultanas. Knead by hand just enough to disperse the sultanas throughout. Divide the dough into six pieces, weighing about 85 g (3 oz) each.
- Roll each dough portion on a lightly floured work surface under your palms to make 15 cm (6 in) long fingers that are even in width, and taper only very slightly at the ends. Space the dough fingers evenly apart on the baking tray, so they fill the tray. Cover with a tea towel and leave to rise for another 1 hour in a warm spot, until the fingers are touching each other.
- Preheat the oven to 220°C (430°F). Bake the buns for 8–12 minutes, until evenly golden brown, covering with foil if they are browning too quickly. Move to a wire rack to cool. (It’s important that the buns are totally chilled out before approaching with any toppings, or they’ll buck them off.)
- Meanwhile, to make the icing, sift the icing sugar into a bowl, then whisk in the remaining ingredients until smooth. Transfer to the freezer to get cold.
- To make the glaze, whisk together the sugar and agar agar powder very well, then stir in the boiling water. Brush the glaze over the cooled finger buns, then let the glaze set.
- Spoon the icing in an even strip over the tops of the glazed buns. Use your finger to smooth out the icing, then sprinkle the coconut over the top.
- Keep the buns in an airtight container in the pantry and give yourself the finger as much as you want for up to 3 days.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
274.38Fat
2.48 gSat. Fat
1.23 gCarbs
63.02 gFiber
2.24 gNet carbs
60.76 gSugar
24.16 gProtein
6.07 gSodium
90.92 mgCholesterol
0 mg
Freshly glazed and iced vegan finger buns photographed by Emily Weaving for The Vegan Baker cookbook.