Put all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl or bowl of your stand mixer.Make sure to keep yeast away from salt and sugar at this point. Give it all a good mix with a whisk or paddle attachment (if using stand mixer). 500 g strong white bread flour, 1 7g sachet dried yeast, 100 g caster sugar, generous pinch of salt
Put butter in a small saucepan/milk pan and melt it gently over low heat. Once melted, take it off the heat, add oat/soya milk and vanilla extract (if using) and give it a little stir.The heat from just melted butter will warm up the milk and the mixture will be just the right (warm to hand) temperature to use in the dough. 250 ml plant milk, 100 g unsalted vegan block butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Next, add lemon zest directly into dry ingredients (if using) and pour in butter mixture.
lemon zest (½ a large lemon)
If using stand mixer, knead the dough (using dough hook attachment) for good 5-10 minutes until it becomes soft and elastic. If kneading by hand you will have to allow longer kneading time. You will know when dough is ready as it will spring back when you press it with your finger. It is normal for the dough to be slightly sticky at the start but the longer you knead it the easier to work with and less sticky it becomes. You can always add a little bit more flour but be careful not to add too much as it will make your buns tough.Put the dough back into lightly oiled bowl, cover it with a clean tea towel and put it somewhere warm to proof and double in size. It will take anything from 1-2 hours depending on the temperature of the environment it's in. Prepare the filling by washing and drying blueberries and mixing them gently with icing sugar and cornflour.
300 g blueberries, 2 tablespoon icing sugar, 1 tablespoon cornflour
Punch your risen dough to deflate it, give it a quick knead and divide into 16 equal pieces. I like to weigh my dough but you don't have to.
Flatten each piece of dough roughly to the size of your palm and fill it with a generous tablespoon (I use a soup spoon for measure).Seal the bun really well as if you were sealing a dumpling (sort of a crescent shape) and shape them gently in your hands to form a roll. Place seam side down on prepared baking tray allowing some space for expansion. Repeat with all the other buns. Once filled, let the rolls proof again on baking trays for approx 20-30 min (covered with clean tea towel). They will puff up a bit but won't double in size.As you wait, preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4. Once puffed up and ready for the oven you may choose to brush the buns with some vegan "egg wash".Mix some plant milk and maple syrup together in a little bowl and gently brush over the buns. 1 tablespoon plant milk, 2 teaspoon maple syrup or agave nectar
Bake in preheated oven for approx 20 min or until nicely browned. You might have to bake them in batches due to the number of buns. Once baked, take them out onto the cooling rack and let them cool completely before icing. Prepare the lemon glaze by mixing icing sugar with lemon juice to reach desired consistency and brush or spoon gently over cooled buns.
130 g icing sugar, 2 tablespoon lemon juice
Enjoy!