Vegan Sweet Bread with Halva and Turkish Delight
One of the most popular desserts during this period is the vegan sweet bread. Although without eggs and dairy, I assure you it has a very good taste and a perfect texture. The little secret of this vegan cake recipe is the orange juice - it adds extra flavor and color, which usually lacks in eggless cakes.
You can fill it with walnuts, Turkish delight, raisins. I thought it was interesting to fill it with halva combined with vanilla and cocoa. Turkish delight is absolutely indispensable in any sweet bread I make, we like it too much and we try to satisfy this craving ...
It is important to understand that the fluffy texture of the cake depends a lot on the amount of flour you use. Using more flour to prevent the dough from sticking to your hands is a trap and you'll end up with a hard and dense cake. It's better to make a soft and sticky dough. You will learn how to mold it with your hands greased with oil or dusted with flour - this way the sweet bread, even the vegan one, will always be a success!
Use a glass to measure 250ml orange juice, heat on the stove or in the microwave and pour into the bowl where we will make the dough.
Add the following to the warm (not hot!) juice: 3 tablespoons of sugar, 5 tablespoons of oil, vanilla essence and salt, mix well.
Now crumble the yeast with your hands into the bowl.
Mix well and let sit for 10 minutes until a light foam forms.
Now add in 350g of flour and mix with a spatula until the dough comes together.
If it's too liquid or soft, add a little more flour, but try to do it gradually and little by little.
I usually dust the table with flour and turn the soft dough out onto it. Now I will start kneading with my hands.
I add flour only if it is very sticky and just enough not to stick badly to the table.
Do not over knead, knead for 2-3 minutes until dough is uniform and slightly smoother.
Return the dough to the floured bowl and let rise for about an hour, covered with a towel, in a warm place.
After this time it must double in size.
Now remove the dough from the bowl and cut into 2 equal pieces.
Knead each of them a little more on the table dusted with flour. You will notice that they become even smoother, uniform.
Let rest for 10 minutes on the table.
While the dough rests, prepare the filling - because I used sunflower seed Halva for me it was simple.
Otherwise, grind the walnuts (about 300g), mix them with cocoa, water or jam, sugar - all according to taste and preferences.
Now take each ball of dough and spread out into a large rectangle (adjust its length according to the size of the baking tin - the tin should be slightly larger).
Sprinkle over with the crumbled halva and arrange the pieces of Turkish delight.
And roll up carefully.
Also spread out, fill and roll the second ball of dough.
Knit the 2 rolls together in the shape of a sweet bread.
Transfer the sweet bread to a loaf tin lined with baking paper, cover with a towel and let rise at room temperature.
I usually let rise for about 1 hour, or until it doubles in size, it may also depend on the quality of the yeast, the room temperature etc.
This is what it looks like when it has risen and it goes straight into the preheated oven at 160 degrees C for 45-60 minutes.
Check for brownness periodically. If you notice it's a bit too brown before the 45-60 minutes have passed, cover with foil.
The baking time must be at least 45 minutes, do not rush to remove from the oven. This sweet bread is quite big and it has to be cooked through.
After removing from the oven, I usually let sit in the tin for about 30 minutes and cover it with a towel - to steam a little - the crust will become softer and more tender.
After that, take it out of the pan, wrap it in a towel and let it cool completely - if you can be patient :)
Cut with a thin and sharp knife for perfect and delicious slices!
Enjoy!
