Sourdough cinnamon rolls

So a while ago Sainsbury’s sent me some flour, and for a while I was thinking about what I fancied making with it.

2014-09-13 14.33.43It is ages since I have made bread. I did have a spate of making sourdough a while back, but then I ran out of time at the weekends, and we discovered M&S’s San-Fran style which is just amazing.

While perusing the internet I came across a few recipes for sourdough cinnamon rolls, and once the idea was in my head that was it, I wanted to make them. This was the recipe I went for in the end.

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First up I had to make the sourdough starter, which although can take as little as a week, I ended up feeding it for two weeks. There are all sorts of weird recipes for sourdough starter out there, some involving yoghurt, or even apple cores, but actually all you need is flour and water. That is it. You want it to capture the natural yeast (bacteria? Something) that is in the air. I used half wholewheat and half white bread flour, mixed in a jar with warm water. Then each day add a tablespoon of flour, a tablespoon of water, and stir. I think you are meant to throw some away each day too, but I only do this every now and then. I have read I could keep it in the fridge, as then it does not need feeding, so I might do that now I have used some of it.

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The recipe I found told you to put it all in the machine, so I kneaded it for probably 10 minutes. At first it was sticky, but it soon turned, as if by magic, into a lovely ball of smooth dough.

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Here is where it went a big wrong. The recipe was massive- I printed off two pages, but missed off the filling. Never mind, I can make one with butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Which was fine, but not quite right I don’t think!

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I didn’t manage to roll them too tight either. I think next time I would roll it thinner to have a proper swirl in there. Half I have put in the freezer (as the recipe said you could) and half went in the fridge overnight.

In the morning I as heading off on a long run (I did 10.5 miles at a steady pace- felt strong even though my legs were sore after Body Pump)- then when I got home I put on the oven and baked them while I had a shower.

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They didn’t rise a huge amount, but I left out the yeast in the recipe, as my opinion is that the sourdough should make them rise enough. They smelled amazing while baking, but the filling leaked all over the pan!

I did have a starter of fruit and soya yoghurt as I was too hungry to wait for them to cook.

2014-10-04 10.52.18Then they were enjoyed with a cup of tea. Such a good treat. Since going back and checking the recipe I saw that I could have made icing for them too, with icing sugar and vanilla, and I suppose that would make them more like a dessert, but I quite liked them with just the filling for breakfast.

The verdict? Not as good as Starbucks cinnamon rolls (but what is really?) but I love using sourdough for the gentle overnight rise- this was great to be baking (and smelling amazing) when I got out of the shower. I think using the sourdough means they have a denser feel, a bit chewier and perhaps more filling than a normal one too.

Favourite cinnamon roll recipe? I have made these ones before (often on Christmas Eve) as that recipe is really simple. I have also seen some amazing ones like apple caramel ones, or pumpkin ones. Not enough time in the week for all these goodies!

*Sainsbury’s sent me a voucher to cover the cost of additional ingredients, but all opinions are my own.

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12 thoughts on “Sourdough cinnamon rolls”

  1. That’s so interesting about how you make the sourdough starter, I always assumed it was a super complicated process with lots of ingredients! I quite like the sound of making one now, feeding it each day like a pet haha!!
    I like the sound of these for breakfast, I think the icing would make them more desserty. I can’t deal with icing first thing!!

    1. Yeah I am sure you can. The recipe needed milk and an egg to enrich the dough, but the you could replace the flour and sourdough starter with the mix I am sure.

  2. Do you know I only just recently found out about sourdough and how it’s made. I read some recipes and was so shocked by how long it takes! Days!? That so crazy dedication for a recipe. But then I’m very impatient soul so… I had sourdough toast at the airport the other day and it was very nice. Very chewy. I rarely have toast as I’m not a huge bread fan, but drenched in lots of real and salted butter, it was heavenly!

    1. Well the starter takes days to make, but once you have it you only need to add flour and water to it. It rises slowly overnight so is meant to be better than quick action yeast. I love the chewy texture of it 🙂

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