1. Mix the flour, salt, instant yeast and sugar in a large mixing bowl.
2. Pour in lukewarm (cold or too hot milk will kill the yeast) plant milk and vanilla extract. Bring all the ingredients together with a wooden spoon.
3. When the mixture has mostly stuck together, turn the mixture out on to a work surface. If the mixture feels dry, add another 5-10 ml of plant milk.
4. Knead the mixture by holding one end of the dough in one hand and stretching it out with the other hand. Reform the dough, turn it 90 degrees and start again. Repeat this for about 5 minutes, then work the coconut oil into the dough. To begin with the dough will be slippery and will look like it’s been ruined. Keep working it and eventually all the fat will get absorbed by the dough and it will become elastic and smooth (it takes about 10 minutes).
5. Put the dough in a large clean bowl, coat it in a thin layer of oil and cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel. Set aside, in a warm (but not too warm) place for 1-1½ hours, until the dough doubles in size. Proceed to make the filling and the icing.
6. Once the dough has doubled in size, punch all the air out of it and divide it into 8 identical portions.
7. Roll each portion into a ball, and then flatten into a circle using a rolling pin. Try to make sure that the middle has more padding and the edges of the circle are thinner to ensure that the dough is evenly distributed once the buns are filled and sealed.
8. Place a heaped tablespoon of blueberries in the middle of the dough and seal the dough around them making sure you don’t trap too much air in. Ensure the bun is really well sealed as otherwise it will open during baking and the juice will leak out.
9. Turn the bun over and roll it very gently around the counter to create a rounder bun. Place it on a lightly greased baking tray and cover with a kitchen towel while you make the remaining 7 buns.
10. Once you’ve made all your buns allow them to proof again, for about 30-45 minutes (until they double in size) under a kitchen towel.
11. Heat up the oven to 180° C / 355° F.
12. Glaze the buns with a mixture of plant milk and maple syrup. Bake for about 20-25 minutes.
13. Once done, you may want to glaze the buns with icing. If looking to avoid refined sugar, brush warm buns with maple syrup instead to give them a nice shine.

BLUEBERRY FILLING

1. Stir starch through clean blueberries in a large bowl. Set aside.

ICING (OPTIONAL)

1. Mix icing sugar, lemon juice (or water) and a few drops of vanilla extract in a small bowl.