Save the egg! Vegan braided Easter bread recipe

1. In a medium-sized bowl, place the raisins and add the rum. Stir and then add 75ml of boiled water. Stir again, cover, and leave to soak.
2. Grind the linseeds into a sandy powder using a blender. Place the powder in a small bowl and mix in 6 tbsp of water. Let the mixture sit for 3 to 5 minutes until it resembles a thick, gel-like consistency.
3. Melt the coconut oil in another small bowl. Add the milk and stir. Be careful not to overheat the mixture or it will kill the yeast! Add the yeast and whisk. Leave for the yeast to bloom for 5 minutes or until it’s a little frothy on the surface.

4. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment, add the bread flour, pea flour, sugar, and the thickened linseed mixture. Add the yeast/milk mixture. Beat on low speed until the dough is combined and smooth but very sticky. Note that linseed tends to clump together, so you’ll need to knead well to ensure they’re incorporated throughout the dough.
5. Remove the dough hook and transfer the dough to another medium-sized bowl greased with a little neutral oil. Cover with reusable wrap or a damp tea towel and leave to proof at room temperature for an hour.
6. Once the dough has proofed, return it to the bowl of the stand mixer and add the cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, orange zest, and flaky sea salt. Drain the raisins but reserve the liquid. Add the raisins to the dough. Attach the dough hook and knead on low speed for a few minutes or until the fruit is fully incorporated. If the fruit doesn’t want to stay in the dough, transfer the dough to a clean surface and knead by hand instead. This should help.
7. Transfer the dough back to the oiled bowl, cover well, and leave to proof for another hour.
8. Once the second proofing is done, it’s time to shape the dough. Braid the dough: Lightly dust the clean countertop with flour and cut the dough into three equal pieces. Pick up one of the balls of dough. Roll and stretch the dough between your hands until the dough is about 20 inches long (50 cm) and 1½ inches thick (3.8 cm). Repeat with the other two balls of dough.
9. Place the three long pieces of dough beside each other. Press the ends of the dough together to seal them with a pinch of water and braid the dough until you have one long dough braid. Bring the two ends of the dough together into a circle and press them with a pinch of water to seal the ends together.
10. Transfer the braided dough to a lined baking sheet. Cover with a damp dish towel and leave aside until the dough is finished proofing about 15 minutes
11. Transfer the braided dough to a lined baking sheet. Cover with a damp dish towel and set aside until the dough has finished proofing, which should take around 15 minutes. Before baking, carefully pluck any raisins that are poking through the surface; otherwise, they will burn.
12. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
13. Place the braided dough in the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through to ensure even browning. While the bread is baking, prepare the glaze.
14. Combine all the glaze ingredients in a small saucepan and place it over medium heat. Bring it to a simmer and allow it to gently bubble for 3-5 minutes. The volume of the mixture should reduce by at least half. Once it is nicely reduced, pour the glaze through a sieve to remove the cardamom pods. Set it aside.
15. Remove the bread from the oven once baked, and place the baking sheet on a wire cooling rack for 10 minutes. After ten minutes, take a pastry brush and apply the glaze to the top of the bread. Allow the bread to cool for another 10 minutes before serving.

Instead of linseeds, you can also substitute eggs with 2 teaspoons of grounded psyllium husks mixed with 6 tsp water.