Vegan MOFO day 3: Pineapple sweet bread

One of my favorite things growing up was the delectable sweet bread my parents used to buy for our family to snack on. Sadly becoming vegan meant no more easy trips to the store for these sweet treats. That is until this recipe. Though its not exactly as I remember, its a great dessert full of flavor and literally finger licking good. I've made this a few times both for other vegan and non vegan friends and never do I have any left over to snack on. So sad. I even took a batch to a bar for a friends birthday and they were inhaled! I would highly recommend trying this recipe out, its a little bit of work but thankfully most of the time is spent letting the dough rise.

Pineapple sweet bread

1/2 Cup rice milk

5 Tbsp. butter {I used Earth balance}

3 pieces of star anise

4 Tbsp. ground flax seed and 12 Tbsp. water

3 Cups flour

2 envelopes dry active yeast

3/4 Cup sugar + more for sprinkling

2 Tbsp. wheat germ {optional}

Pineapple {canned will work in a pinch but fresh is better}

In a small pot, combine rice milk, butter and anise and bring to a low boil. Once boiling, remove from heat and set aside.

In a small bowl mix the flax seed and water, set aside.

In a large bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups flour, yeast, sugar and wheat germ. 

Remove the anise from milk/butter mixture and add to dry ingredients. Add flax seed mixture. Dough will be very sticky, add another 1 1/2 cup flour until dough is a bit more workable. 

On a floured work surface kneed the dough till it is a bit elastic like. 

Lightly grease a large bowl and place dough inside to let rise. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm place.

When dough is rising, pulse pineapple with a teaspoon of sugar in a food processor till smooth.

Once dough has doubled in size, about 1 hour - 1 1/2 hours, pull apart and shape individual pieces. I tried for about 5-6 inch rounds rolled out slightly. 

Place a small amount of pineapple in the center of the dough and fold over pinching edges closed so the mixture stays put.

Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and sprinkle lightly with sugar.

Bake at 350 for 25-35 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from heat and brush with orange juice. Immediately sprinkle with a little more sugar and let cool.

Serve and enjoy!

Serves 8

This recipe is also entered in the Better Recipes Mexican themed cooking contest, I sure would love it if you gave me a little vote! I promise these are super tasty and highly addictive.

images by our designed life