Move over cinnamon rolls! These vegan whole-grain treats filled with tahini and brown sugar might become everyone’s new favorite breakfast treat.
This was my second time ever working with yeast and, well, it wasn’t a disaster. These hit the craving for my favorite not-super-healthy childhood breakfast pastry: Turkish Tahini Rolls.
You know me, I’m always craving treats of my childhood. It’s part being a homesick ex-pat, part being a mom I think. I just watch Austen live the BEST time of her life every day (except she’s living it kicking and screaming toddler-style, one day she’ll know LOL) and I get this intense desire to try to bring my childhood back. I miss Turkey every day but I’m also glad that I don’t live there anymore, so it’s kind of an in-between-forever kind of bittersweet situation.
So until next time I visit home for an amazing vacation filled with amazing food and beautiful countryside, I’ll just daydream about some of my favorite pastries, and Tahini Rolls are one of them.
Authentic tahini rolls are not quite easy to make. You not only make the perfect dough and filling (full of butter, sugar, tahini everything, you know it), you have to roll them by hand, one, by, one… Mama’s got no patience for that so I made mine Cinnamon Roll style! Make a single roll, cut into slices, bake. Voila! Easier, healthier, vegan tahini rolls. Craving fulfilled, nobody got hyped up on sugar, triple win!
By the way, yeast is freaking intimidating. That thing is live, man! And it bubbles! Totally weird! But don’t worry, if I can pull this off on first try, so can you. Just follow the steps.
PS. If you’re ever in Turkey, forget being healthy and go and have a gigantic unhealthy Tahini Roll the size of your head! OK maybe share it with some people you love!
Easy Tahini Rolls (Tahinli Corek)
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cups flour (330 g) gf all purpose if desired
- 1/4 cup maple syrup (84 g)
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 1/4 tsp active yeast (1 packet)
- 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk (180 g)
- 2 tbsp any oil (28 g) I used avocado oil
- 1/4 cup tahini, or other nut/seed butter (64 g)
- 1/4 cup brown or coconut sugar (48 g)
- 1 tbsp (optional) ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Make the dough: Whisk together flour, salt, yeast in a large bowl. Combine milk, oil, syrup in a microwave dish or stove top. Heat 30 sec at a time until it’s warm to touch (about 110F), don't make it too warm or you'll end up murdering your little yeasty friends. Pour warm mixture into the dry ingredients, stir until it forms a soft dough. On a floured surface knead the dough for a few minutes. Place in a greased bowl, cover loosely and let it rest about 10 minutes.
- Make the rolls: Roll the dough out in a rectangle (about 16×8), drizzle the tahini and sprinkle the brown sugar and optional cinnamon. Roll up the dough and cut into 16 rolls. Arrange in a greased pan (mine was 15×7). Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let the rolls rise in a warm draft-free environment for about an hour (I just stick mine in the oven with the oven light on for warmth). They will get much bigger and fill up the dish.
- Bake the rolls: Preheat the oven to 375F and bake for 25 or so minutes until the rolls are nicely browned.
Notes
- I made these a bit less decadent to enjoy as a snack or breakfast. Add a little tahini or syrup drizzle to enjoy them as dessert.
- I stored leftovers in the refrigerator. I’m sure they would freeze well and in fact I’m kicking myself now for not freezing some!