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This gingerbread star bread is a fluffy pull-apart holiday miracle you can make with pantry staples. Layers of gingerbread sugar twist through the dough making it a slam dunk for a holiday breakfast, brunch, or dessert. Pull it apart, watch the layers ooze, and try not to disappear half of it before anyone else notices.
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Ginger- and orange-zest-kissed dough means the subtle gingerbread flavors aren't just happening in the glaze or filling.
Plate this up with vegan Christmas cookies, vegan pumpkin cinnamon rolls, and vegan cinnamon babka, because you're about to level up into "host of the century."
Santa is 100% going to do a dastardly deed with you under the mistletoe this year. I mean, if that's what you are into.
Jump to:
🥰 Why you'll adore this Gingerbread Star Bread recipe
✊ Vegan AF: Like all of my vegan Christmas recipes, this one is totally animal-free and proud of it. No heavy cream, eggs, or animal suffering necessary.
⏰ Surprisingly Simple to Shape: If you can tie your shoes, you can bake this. If not, m'love, you got bigger problems.
🛒 Everyday Ingredients: No $48 ingredient that only exists in a Berlin co-op or mail order catalog. Just basic pantry stuff like flour, sugar, and that plant milk you keep on hand at all times anyway.
✅ Tested and Approved Worldwide: Like all of my vegan recipes, this bread's been baked by hundreds of recipe testers who gave it a thumbs up.
Warning: Santa will FREAK OUT!
This FREE 5-day deep dive into vegan Christmas cooking might just make old man Claus do something inappropriate with you under the mistletoe.
👎 Get My Worst Recipes (that everyone hates)
😳 Get the low down on everyone's least fave recipes I have ever made. ✌️Don't stress: I'm also gonna share with you my best ones too.
⭐️ Gingerbread Star Bread Ingredients
The milk
Your dough's gotta drink too, okay? Unsweetened soy milk is my fave, but oat milk is a close second. Use whatever milk you want tho, they should all perform pretty much the same as long as they are unsweetened.
Instant yeast
Instant yeast makes this recipe foolproof, which is why I use it in my bombolini and Korean donuts too. Got active dry yeast instead? Just keep an eye on the proofing time staying at the hour mark so it doesn't get exhausted and over-fermented.
Vegan butter
I love Earth Balance buttery sticks or Trader Joe's vegan butter, but if you're tryna impress that cute boy you're inviting for Christmas dinner, learn to make your own with my Vegan Dairy Crash Course.
The Spices
I use Cloud Forest cardamom and Buffalo ginger from Burlap and Barrel because I like my spices like my personality: psychotic and annoying intense and fragrant. Any other brand still works tho, I'm not gatekeeping the holidays.
Bread flour
If you want that next-level fluff, use bread flour. If not, all-purpose still gets you to the party, just a little less fluffy and perfect. Bread flour is also the best thing ever for vegan cinnamon rolls and Halloween cinnamon roll guts, so you know it's legit, at least in my heart.
Powdered sugar
Heads up, not all powdered sugar is vegan because some of it's filtered through bone char (ew, right?). Certified organic ones are safe, so go with those.
*See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact quantities, nutritional info, and detailed cooking directions.
📖 How to make Gingerbread Star Bread
Already mentally eating this star bread while it's still raw? Mood! Skip down to the printable recipe card if you're just here for the carbs and not my sparkling personality (rude!).
Step One
Warm. What is it Good For?:
Pour the plant based milk into a small saucepan and warm it over medium heat for about 90 seconds until it feels just mildly warm, not hot.
Take the milk off the stove and pour into a mixing bowl, then stir in the yeast and maple syrup. Let it rest for roughly 10 minutes until foamy on top.
✅If you are unsure, use a candy thermometer and check the temperature isn't over 100°F.
Step Two
I Knead a Hero:
Add the vanilla extract, vegan butter, ginger, orange zest, cardamom, and salt.
Gradually stir in the flour until a soft dough starts to form. Move it to a floured surface and knead for 8 to 10 minutes until smooth and stretchy.
Step Three
Rise Wide Shut:
Round the dough into a ball and place it in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise somewhere warm for about an hour until it doubles in size.
Step Four
License to Fill:
Stir together the room temperature butter, ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and brown sugar in a small bowl to create the filling. Set aside until ready to use.
Step Five
Divide & Conquer:
Once the dough has risen, press it down and divide it into four equal portions.
Step Six
Rollin' With My Homies:
Roll each into a 10-inch circle.
Step Seven
Don't Hate the Layer, Hate the Game:
Lay one on a parchment-lined baking sheet and spread a third of the filling over it, leaving a thin border. Stack the rest of the circles on top, adding filling between layers and leaving the top one plain.
Step Eight
Mark Your Territory:
Put a small glass or 2½ inch biscuit cutter in the middle to mark the center. Slice the dough into 16 equal strips from the center outward.
Step Nine
Twisted Sister:
Take away the glass, or whatever you used to cover up the center. Twist each pair of strips in opposite directions twice, and pinch the ends together firmly to shape the star points.
Step Ten
Fiddler on the Proof:
Cover the shaped dough with a damp towel and let it rest for another 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
✅ Once each point is formed, move and stretch the points as needed so they line up in as close to perfect symmetry as you can get them into.
Step Eleven
Bake Street Boys:
Bake the proofed star bread for 22-25 minutes until golden and firm on top.
Step Twelve
Glaze Anatomy:
As the bread cools a bit, whisk the powdered sugar, ground ginger, plant based milk, and molasses together until smooth and pourable.
Step Twelve
Glazed and Confused:
Using a pastry brush or basting brush, coat the warm bread evenly with the glaze and allow it to cool just long enough to set before serving.
💡Serving Ideas
This would make the ultimate Christmas dessert spread.
Serve it with a vegan yule log, vegan panettone, and a gingerbread latte!
On the easier side, a vegan sweet potato pie, vegan apple crisp, or vegan Christmas cookies make for the ultimate Xmas miracle!
👉Top tips
- Perfect Proofing: Let the dough do its rise in a warm spot (ideally 75-85 °F). If your kitchen feels like Antarctica, give it the oven-light spa treatment. Don't let it rise too long though, or those star arms will expand like they're trying to escape.
- Dial Down The Filling: Easy tiger. A thin layer of ginger-sugar goes a long way. If you spread it thick, it's gonna leak all over the place like my self-control at an all-you-can-eat brunch.
- Twist Away, Not Toward: Give those strips the ol' twist-and-shout treatment. Twist away from each other, nice and tight, then seal those ends. Twisting inward or leaving loose ends invites collapse or weird spikes (unless you want your star to serve Medusa core).
- Watch the Bake from Minute 18 On: At 18 minutes, start watching your oven like a hawk who drank a lot of coffee. Don't overbake because you don't want this to be tough on the outside.
🤷♀️ Recipe FAQs
If your star's losing its shape after the second rise, don't panic, she's just being a li'l dramatic. Grab those rebellious tips and press them back together. Pinch and press down firmly so they actually stay put this time.
Too much filling or a very wet filling can become liquid during baking and leak. Keep your layers light and the filling firm to prevent spillage.
Store at room temperature for up to 2 days in a pastry box or airtight container.
🧊 Freezing:
To freeze, place the cooled bread on a tray until firm, then move it into a reusable container with parchment between slices to prevent sticking. It'll stay good for about 2 months without losing flavor or texture.
To reheat, just slide it into a 400°F oven for 6 to 7 minutes and it'll resurrect itself like nothing ever happened.
✌️You'll love these vegan gingerbread recipes too
Gingerbread Star Bread Recipe
Equipment
- Large mixing bowl
- wooden spoon
- baking sheet
- Clean kitchen towel
Ingredients
Gingerbread Star Bread
For the Dough:
- ¾ cup unsweetened plant-based milk
- 2 ¼ teaspoons instant yeast
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 5 tablespoons vegan butter room temperature
- 2 teaspoons fresh ginger grated
- 2 teaspoons orange zest
- ½ teaspoon cardamom
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 2 ¾ cups bread flour or all-purpose flour
For the Filling:
- 6 tablespoons vegan butter room temperature
- 2 teaspoons dried ground ginger
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ cup brown sugar
For the Glaze:
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon dried ground ginger
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened plant-based milk
- 1 tablespoon molasses
Instructions
- Warm the plant-based milk in a small saucepan over medium heat for 90 seconds, until warm but not hot to the touch. Remove from heat and pour into a large mixing bowl. Add the yeast and maple syrup, stir briefly, and let sit for 10 minutes, until foamy.
- Add the vanilla extract, vegan butter, ginger, orange zest, cardamom, and salt to the bowl. Gradually add the flour, stirring until a soft dough forms. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead for 8-10 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
- In a small bowl, combine the room temperature butter, ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and brown sugar for the filling. Set aside.
- Once the dough has risen, punch it down and divide it into 4 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a 10-inch (25 cm) circle. Place one circle on a parchment-lined baking sheet and spread ⅓ of the filling evenly over the surface, leaving a small border. Layer the remaining circles on top, spreading filling between each, and leave the top circle plain.
- Place a small glass or 2 ½ inch biscuit cutter in the center of the dough to mark the middle. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into 16 equal strips from the edge of the glass outward. Remove the glass. Twist each pair of adjacent strips away from each other twice, then press the ends together to form points of a star.
- Cover the shaped dough with a moistened kitchen towel and let rise for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Bake for 22-25 minutes, or until golden brown and firm to the touch.
- While the bread cools slightly, prepare the glaze by whisking together the powdered sugar, ground ginger, plant-based milk, and molasses until smooth.
- Brush the glaze over the warm bread and let it cool briefly before serving.
Notes
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