Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls

No refined sugars needed...

When I first started baking with my sourdough starter, I never realized how versatile it could be! You can transform such simple ingredients such as flour, salt and water into an array of wonderful home baked goods. By adding butter and milk to our dough, its very easy to turn sourdough into a rich bread dough. 

There are many reasons to start using sourdough in your vintage kitchen. The fermentation process that takes place unlocks the nutritional value making iron, folic acid, zinc, magnesium, B vitamins, and calcium bioavailable to us. Phytic acid prevents us from absorbing these vitamins and minerals, which is present in the bran layers of cereal. With even just a few hours of fermentation, phytic acid can be neutralized. Longer fermentation helps to break down gluten. I aim to use a 24 hour fermentation in order to break down as much gluten as possible. By using an age-old method of preparing bread, we not only eat like our ancestors but we also enjoy the benefits of their ancient wisdom. 

But back to the delicious, no sugar added cinnamon rolls! I have taken the basic sourdough and transformed it into a sweet treat that I don't feel guilty about! 

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Easy Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls

Bread:
1 1/2 Cup Flour
1 1/2 Cup Whole Wheat Flour (I used sprouted flour here)
1 Cup starter
1/4 Cup Melted Butter
7/8 Cup Half and Half
1 tsp Salt
1/4 Cup Honey

Filling:
1/2 Cup Butter
1/2 Cup Honey or Date Syrup
3 Tablespoons Cinnamon

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Add your starter and flours to the mixing bowl and beat until incorporated. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Once melted, add butter, half and half salt and honey and mix again. 

Once well mixed, set a towel over the bowl and let sit for thirty minutes. After the rest, flour the work surface and knead the bread until well incorporated and not tacky. When your bread reaches a nice pliable and not overly sticky texture roll it out with rolling pin until its about 1/3 inch thick. 

Mix the filling ingredients together. I used date syrup for this recipe. I prefer the vanilla undertones the date syrup adds to the filling but honey tastes just as good here too. Once the filling is mixed up spread it over the dough generously. 

Now the fun part! Roll the dough up and cut into equal sized pieces with a very sharp knife so you avoid smooshing the roll and having "ugly" rolls. I speak from expereince here! Luckily ugly still tastes good. To get equal pieces I like to cut the log in half, then cut  the halves in half. From that point it is much easier to judge equal thirds by eyeballing it. 

I brush the rolls with butter, usually there's enough residual butter in the saucepan to do this. Then I cover them and stick them in the fridge for the morning. This overnight fermentation process is where the magic happens. The longer the ferment the better! 

Wake up the next morning, preheat the oven to 400 degrees and pop these beauties in the oven for thirty minutes. Make a cup of joe and smell the cinnamon fill the house. The farm kids usually wake up and they know by their nose that there is a breakfast treat for them. I don't frost these guys because frankly it doesn't need it! They are perfect right out of the oven. 

I hope you will find these sourdough cinnamon rolls as delicious as we do. This is one of my favorite breakfast treats to serve in the morning with some scrambled eggs and bacon. Share your experience in the comments!