Divine Vegan Everything Bagel Brioche Bread Secret

Oh my gosh, if you’ve been craving that melt-in-your-mouth, unbelievably soft, buttery bread vibe but need it to be 100% plant-based, stop scrolling right now. Seriously, I spent months trying to nail that perfect, rich crumb without dairy or eggs, and folks, I finally cracked the code! This **Vegan Everything Bagel Brioche Bread** is the answer to all our prayers—it’s savory, it’s luxurious, and it rises like a dream. After testing every trick in the book for vegan enriched doughs, I can promise you this recipe delivers that signature softness you wouldn’t think was possible without traditional ingredients. Get your plant milk warm, because we’re making magic!

Why This Vegan Everything Bagel Brioche Bread Stands Out

You might look at this recipe and think, “Brioche? Vegan? Impossible!” But trust me, this process yields results that feel downright decadent. It’s all about swapping out the heavy hitters—butter and eggs—with smart, accessible substitutes that work together beautifully. This isn’t just decent vegan bread; this is show-stopping, plate-licking good bread!

• It has that unmistakable brioche tenderness; it practically melts as you slice it.
• It’s completely dairy-free and egg-free, so everyone at the table can enjoy it!
• The savory, salty everything bagel crust gives it a perfect crunch against the soft interior.

The Secret to Rich Vegan Brioche Texture

The richness you usually get from loads of butter and eggs is perfectly mimicked here by combining soft vegan butter with applesauce. Sounds weird, right? But the applesauce not only adds incredible moisture but helps mimic that softness that eggs typically provide in enriched doughs. It keeps the crumb tender and wonderfully springy, avoiding that chewy texture some dairy-free breads get.

Achieving the Perfect Everything Bagel Crust on Your Vegan Everything Bagel Brioche Bread

What really makes this **Vegan Everything Bagel Brioche Bread** special is that crust! You absolutely need to brush the top with plain water right before it goes into the oven. The water acts as the perfect glue for the everything bagel seasoning. Don’t skimp on the seasoning—you want a thick, glorious layer so every slice has those poppy seeds and flakes popping off!

Essential Ingredients for Vegan Everything Bagel Brioche Bread

Okay, grabbing the right ingredients is half the battle when you’re working with yeast, especially in vegan baking. Everything needs to be ready to go and at the right temperature, or your yeast just sits there sulking! For this **Vegan Everything Bagel Brioche Bread**, we’re focusing on richness, which means using stuff that packs a flavorful punch.

Here’s what you need pulled out and prepped:

• We need 1 cup of warm plant milk; this is crucial—it needs to be between 105–115F. If it’s too hot, you kill the yeast. If it’s too cold, nothing happens!
• Active dry yeast, 2 and 1/4 teaspoons, obviously.
• Sugar for the yeast to eat—about 1/4 cup of granulated sugar. Speaking of sugar, I was just reading about how much natural sugar is in produce, which is neat context, but for yeast, we need the simple stuff!
• A full 1/2 cup of vegan butter, all nicely softened up.
• Unsweetened applesauce, 1/2 cup—this is our secret weapon for moisture!
• Salt, just 1 teaspoon.
• Flour—you’ll need 4 cups of all-purpose flour, plus extra dusting for kneading.
• Everything bagel seasoning—a generous 1/4 cup for that glorious topping.
• And finally, 2 tablespoons of water just for that final brush before baking.

Ingredient Notes and Substitution Tips

Listen, if you take one thing away from my years of testing vegan cakes and breads, use oat or soy milk for the liquid base. Sometimes I see people reach for almond milk, but it’s just too thin! In enriched doughs like this, you want that higher fat content from soy or oat milk—it really helps the bread achieve a decadent mouthfeel that mimics dairy creaminess. And please, use full-fat vegan butter sticks, not the soft tub stuff! You need that firmness when you soften it to get the right creaming process later on.

Step-by-Step Instructions for Vegan Everything Bagel Brioche Bread

This is where the fun starts! Yeast breads can feel intimidating, but honestly, the key to this recipe is just following the timing, especially for the rises. Don’t rush it, and you’ll have the most incredible loaves. We are building layers of flavor and texture here to create that ultimate **Vegan Everything Bagel Brioche Bread**, so grab your biggest bowl and let’s get mixing!

Activating Yeast and Mixing the Dough for Your Vegan Everything Bagel Brioche Bread

First things first: wake up that yeast! Pour your warm plant milk—remember, 105–115F is the sweet spot—into your bowl and sprinkle the yeast right on top. Give it a gentle stir and just let it sit happily for five minutes. If you see foam forming on top, that’s your green light; your yeast is alive and ready to go! If nothing happens, toss that batch of milk (it was probably too cold or too hot!) and start over.

Once foamy, go ahead and stir in your sugar, the softened vegan butter, the applesauce, and the salt. Now, start adding that flour gradually, maybe a cup at a time, mixing it up until you get a shaggy, messy dough ball. I know it looks awful at this stage, but stick with me!

Kneading and First Rise: Building Structure

Time to get your hands dirty! Turn that shaggy dough out onto a lightly floured counter. You need to knead this for a good 8 to 10 full minutes. Keep going until it feels smooth, soft, and wonderfully elastic. Truly developing that gluten structure is what makes this dough behave like brioche, not just standard sandwich bread. Once it passes the windowpane test (or just looks smooth!), put it into an oiled bowl, swirl it around so it’s coated, cover it tightly, and find it a warm spot to chill out. It needs 1 to 1.5 hours, or until it has actually doubled in size. Seriously, look for the doubling!

Shaping, Second Proof, and Applying the Everything Bagel Topping

When it’s doubled, give it a gentle punch down to release the air—don’t crush it, just deflate it slightly! Form that dough into a nice tight loaf shape and nestle it right into your greased 9×5 inch pan. Now, this is the *second* rise, and it’s crucial. Cover it loosely and let it proof again for about 30 to 45 minutes. You want it to crest just slightly over the edge of the pan. While that’s happening, set your oven to 375F (190C).

Right before it heads into the heat, grab those two tablespoons of water and gently brush them over the top of the loaf. This is the secret sauce holder! Then, take your 1/4 cup of everything bagel seasoning and sprinkle it on generously. Make sure it sticks everywhere so every slice of your **Vegan Everything Bagel Brioche Bread** has that savory crunch!

If you’re looking for inspiration while you wait, I actually found this great article on making homemade wonton soup, which is totally different but reminds me how satisfying homemade things are!

Baking and Cooling Your Vegan Everything Bagel Brioche Bread

Okay, the hard work is done! Your loaf is proofed, seasoned, and ready for the heat. Slide that pan carefully into your preheated oven—we are baking at 375F (190C). Generally, this takes about 35 to 40 minutes. You’re looking for that gorgeous, deep golden-brown color everywhere, especially under that beautiful seasoning blanket.

Now, here’s a little tip from my kitchen: Sometimes, because that everything bagel seasoning is dark, the top can start browning *too* quickly before the inside is cooked through. If you notice that happening around the 25-minute mark, don’t panic! Just grab a small square of aluminum foil and loosely tent it over the top of the pan. That shields the crust while letting the heat penetrate down to the center where it needs to cook fully. I always check it a couple of times just to make sure the foil isn’t sticking.

When it’s done—when a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean—you need to pull it out immediately. Seriously! Don’t let it sit in the hot pan for even five minutes. Tip it out onto a wire cooling rack right away. This is where so many people mess up rich breads like this; if it stays in the hot pan, the trapped steam will make the bottom soggy!

This is the hardest part, I know, because it smells utterly divine, but you have to let this **Vegan Everything Bagel Brioche Bread** cool completely—like, all the way to room temperature—before you even think about slicing it. It’s still setting up internally! If you cut it warm, you’ll squash that beautiful, fluffy structure we worked so hard to create, and it won’t have that perfect brioche texture. Be strong! Once it’s cool, the slices will be clean, and the texture will be exactly right.

Tips for Success with Vegan Everything Bagel Brioche Bread

Even though this recipe is pretty straightforward because I’ve already tested all the tricky bits, I always have a few extra nuggets of wisdom handy for anyone diving into their first loaf of this **Vegan Everything Bagel Brioche Bread**.

Here are a couple of my top-tier tips that keep things running smoothly, especially if your kitchen is a little on the cooler side or if you tend to overmix things, which is too easy to do!

What if My Dough Won’t Rise? Troubleshooting Time!

If you’ve waited the full 90 minutes for that first rise and it looks stubbornly the same size, never fear! Cold kitchens are the absolute enemy of yeast. My go-to quick fix is what I call the “Oven Sauna.” Turn your oven light on—that’s it, don’t turn the heat on full blast—and pop the covered bowl inside. The heat from the light bulb is usually just enough to warm that corner up perfectly and encourage the yeast to wake up and get to work. Let it sit in there for another 30 to 45 minutes.

Also, if you’re worried about mixing too much, that’s when that dense crumb monster creeps in. Brioche needs kneading, yes, but once the dough comes together cleanly and passes the smoothness test, stop! Over-kneading can actually deflate the structure you just built. A wonderfully kneaded dough, like the one for this **Vegan Everything Bagel Brioche Bread**, should have a silky exterior.

Preventing the Bottom From Getting Too ‘Wet’

Because we are using applesauce and oil, this bread is inherently moist—which is great for flavor, but sometimes the very bottom can feel a little heavier or wetter than the rest of the loaf, especially when you take it out of the pan. To avoid this, make sure you get that loaf out of the hot pan *immediately* after baking, just like I mentioned before. But here’s a little secret: once it’s out, try placing the cooling rack on top of a metal baking sheet rather than directly on the counter. This allows air to circulate completely under the bread, drawing moisture up and away from the bottom as it cools. It makes a noticeable difference in maintaining that gorgeous, fluffy texture throughout the whole loaf!

And speaking of flavor pairings, even though this is savory, sometimes you just need something tangy. I made my own ketchup recipe last week, which would actually be surprisingly good alongside a thick slice of toasted **Vegan Everything Bagel Brioche Bread** for breakfast!

Storage and Reheating for Your Vegan Everything Bagel Brioche Bread

Now that you’ve successfully baked up this phenomenal loaf of **Vegan Everything Bagel Brioche Bread**, the last thing you want to do is let it go stale! Since this bread is dairy-free and ultra-moist, it actually holds up pretty well at room temperature, provided you keep it protected. Don’t even think about putting it in the fridge—cold temperatures are the enemy of soft brioche dough, and it will make this bread go hard way faster than it should!

For best results, keep your loaf stored in an airtight container or wrapped very tightly in plastic wrap. If you’ve got a big kitchen, sometimes wrapping it tightly in foil first, and *then* tucking it into a plastic bag helps seal in that freshness. Stored this way on the counter, you should enjoy its beautiful soft texture for a solid 3 to 4 days. If you can’t get through it that fast, pop the rest straight into the freezer!

Freezing Your Vegan Everything Bagel Brioche Bread

Freezing is my favorite trick for enriched breads like this. Slice the entire loaf before you freeze it—this is important! Once it’s sliced, you can just take out exactly what you need, when you need it. Wrap the slices tightly in plastic wrap, then perhaps follow that up with a layer of freezer-safe foil or put the bundle into a heavy-duty freezer bag. It lasts wonderfully for about two months this way.

Reheating to Bring Back That Fresh-Baked Feel

The beauty of freezing it sliced is the reheating process. You don’t have to thaw the whole thing out just for breakfast one day. If you want a single slice of your **Vegan Everything Bagel Brioche Bread** to taste like it just cooled down, just pop a slice straight from the freezer into your toaster! It toasts up beautifully, getting crispy corners while staying tender in the middle. If you’re feeling fancy, you can definitely warm up an entire loaf by wrapping it loosely in foil and baking it at about 300F for 10 to 15 minutes until it’s warm all the way through. That melts the inner crumb just perfectly!

Serving Suggestions for This Savory Vegan Everything Bagel Brioche Bread

Now that you have this incredibly soft, perfectly seasoned loaf of **Vegan Everything Bagel Brioche Bread**, what are you going to do with it? Honestly, you could just stand over the cutting board and eat slices plain—I’ve certainly done it! But this bread is too versatile and too special to just eat plain, even if it tastes amazing fresh from the rack.

Because this is a savory brioche, it works wonderfully in places where you might usually reach for standard white bread, but it brings so much more flavor to the table. Trust me, switch out your usual toast bread for this!

The Ultimate Toasted Breakfast

This is my personal favorite way to eat it when I first pull the cooled loaf off the rack. Get a thick slice—about an inch thick—and toast it up medium-dark. The heat really brings out the nutty, garlicky flavor of the everything seasoning. Spread on a thick layer of soft vegan cream cheese (the chive flavor is amazing here!) and maybe a sprinkle of cracked black pepper. It’s rich enough that you don’t really need jam or sweet toppings, though I know some people can’t resist a tiny drizzle of maple syrup on the toasted edge!

Savory Sandwich Base

Forget boring sandwich breads for lunch! This **Vegan Everything Bagel Brioche Bread** makes the most incredible savory sandwiches. Think beyond basic turkey and cheese. Try layering up smoked tofu slices, crunchy lettuce, tomato, and a tangy vegan aioli. It holds up beautifully to wetter fillings because of the brioche structure, meaning you won’t get soggy bread halfway through your lunch break.

It’s also fantastic for making a vegan version of a Monte Cristo or grilled cheese. The slight sweetness from the brioche dough balances perfectly against salty cheese analogs or savory fillings. I even used a few slices toasted thinly for an appetizer base the other week, serving it with a bit of that amazing crab salad (I just used hearts of palm instead of crab). The savory seasonings merged so well!

Bread Pudding or French Toast Surprise

Don’t throw away any end pieces that might get a little stale! Because this bread is enriched with fat (vegan butter) and applesauce, it’s phenomenal when used in a sweet-savory application. Cut slightly older slices into cubes and make a savory bread pudding—think cheese, chives, and maybe some caramelized onions baked into a custard base. Or, if you want a true flavor bomb, whisk up a simple plant milk, cinnamon, and vanilla batter and make French toast out of your **Vegan Everything Bagel Brioche Bread**. The seasoning on the crust gets wonderfully complex when dipped and pan-fried!

Frequently Asked Questions About Vegan Everything Bagel Brioche Bread

It’s totally normal to have questions when you move into enriched vegan bread baking! Yeast can be fussy, and frankly, getting that perfect brioche texture without butter and eggs takes a little know-how. I’ve collected the most common stumbling blocks folks run into when they try making my **Vegan Everything Bagel Brioche Bread**.

Can I use a stand mixer for kneading the Vegan Everything Bagel Brioche Bread dough?

Yes, absolutely! Unless you have the arm strength of a professional baker, I highly recommend using your stand mixer for the kneading portion. Toss the shaggy mass in there with the dough hook attachment. Mix it on a medium-low speed—we don’t want to overheat the dough, remember! You’ll usually only need about 5 to 7 minutes in the mixer to achieve that smooth, elastic quality that we look for. It saves your arms major time, and if you’re consistent with the speed, the final product is just as fantastic as hand-kneading.

Why did my vegan brioche bread turn out dense?

That’s the million-dollar question for any enriched bread recipe, vegan or not! If your **vegan brioche bread** is denser than you hoped, it usually boils down to one of three things. First, check your yeast; did it foam up properly in step one? Dead yeast means no lift! Second, check your kneading time. If you didn’t knead for that full 8-10 minutes (or 5-7 in the mixer), the gluten network didn’t fully develop to trap the gases. Third, and this happens a lot, sometimes the kitchen is just too cold, and the dough didn’t get enough time during the first rise. If you skip the rise, you end up with a brick.

Is this recipe much different than a standard dairy-free bread?

Oh, yes! A standard loaf of dairy-free bread just relies on the yeast and flour structure. But this **Vegan Everything Bagel Brioche Bread** is different because we are adding fats (vegan butter) and binders (applesauce) in high quantities to create that signature richness. It needs more kneading time to incorporate those fats evenly, and it generally requires more time for rising because the heavy ingredients slow down the yeast a little. It’s richer, softer, and definitely more decadent than a regular lean dough.

What happens if I skip brushing the top with water?

If you skip the water wash, the everything bagel seasoning just won’t stick! It will sit loose on top of the dry dough, and most of it will fall off onto the bottom of your oven during baking. That water layer is crucial for maximum savory impact for your **Vegan Everything Bagel Brioche Bread**. You can use plant milk or melted vegan butter too, but water is simplest and lets the seasoning flavor shine.

Can I use this vegan brioche dough to make rolls instead of a loaf?

You absolutely can! As long as you’ve finished that first rise, you can skip putting it in the loaf pan and instead divide the dough up into equal pieces—maybe 12 or 16 pieces—and roll them into balls. Place those balls close together in a greased 9×13 inch baking dish. You’ll need to adjust the second rise time slightly so they puff up and touch. When baking, you might take 5 to 10 minutes off the bake time since rolls are smaller and have more surface area exposed to the heat. They bake up into amazing tear-apart rolls!

Speaking of baking, if you’re interested in other wonderfully moist, though much sweeter, baked goods, you should check out my recipe for the Boston Cream Poke Cake. It’s a whole different vibe, but just as satisfying to bake!

Share Your Vegan Everything Bagel Brioche Bread Creations

I truly hope you’ve enjoyed making this loaf as much as I love sharing it with you! Baking this **Vegan Everything Bagel Brioche Bread** is an experience, and I just can’t wait to see what you all come up with in your kitchens. Seriously, the pictures I see on social media from you guys always blow me away!

When you pull that golden, fragrant loaf out of the oven, don’t forget to snap a picture! Tag me so I can see your beautiful crusts and hear about how soft the crumb turned out. I love getting those little notes from folks who were skeptical about vegan brioche and are now totally converted. It just makes my day!

And if you loved this recipe—if it became your new favorite savory bake—please do me a huge favor and leave a star rating right below the instructions. Those ratings really help other bakers decide to try out these plant-based magic tricks. Even just telling me you loved it in the comments helps me know what recipes to share next. Happy baking, friends!

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