Sourdough cinnamon rolls

Ingredients

• 315 g all purpose flour (plain flour, 2 1/4 cups)
• 105 g sourdough starter (fed, approx 1/2 cup (see notes))
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 180 ml milk (3/4 cup, lukewarm)
• 42 g unsalted butter (3 tbsp)
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp salt
• 42 g butter (3 tbsp)
• 40 g brown sugar (1/4 cup)
• 2 tbsp sugar ((relatively fine - use caster sugar in UK/Aus))
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 30 g cream cheese (1 oz, softened)
• 14 g butter (1 tbsp, softened)
• 70 g confectioners sugar ( icing sugar, 1/2 cup)
• 1 tbsp milk

Instructions

1. 1

   Put the flour, sourdough starter, sugar, lukewarm milk, egg and butter in a large bowl and mix. Cover and leave 20 minutes then add the salt and mix in.

2. 2

   Turn the mixture out onto a floured surface and knead for around 3 - 5 min, adding a little flour if needed. You want to stretch out the gluten and get it so it's no longer really sticky, but it will be a softer and stickier dough than you may be used to.

3. 3

   Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl (I generally wash out and oil the one I used for mixing), cover and leave to rise for approx 4 hours until it has roughly doubled in size, giving the dough a stretch roughly every hour. To do this, pull on one side and pull it up as far as it will go, fold it over the dough then turn the bowl round about 90 degrees. Pull on the side again and fold. Make around 3 to 4 folds each hour.

4. 4

   As it's almost ready, make the filling by melting the butter and mixing in the sugars, cinnamon and nutmeg. Butter a baking dish (around 9x9in, 23x23cm or similar, rounded, as I used here) - you can also use a cake pan.

5. 5

   Turn out the dough onto a floured surface. Flour a rolling pin and roll out the dough to roughly 10x15in (25x38cm) although if it won't quite roll that big, that's fine. It will be soft, and may resist rolling but it will roll out.

6. 6

   Spread the filling evenly over the dough leaving a slight gap (around 1/2in/1cm) along one shorter edge.

7. 7

   Carefully roll the dough relatively tightly from the short edge with filling on towards the one with the gap. Roll onto the edge with no filling and smooth it to seal.

8. 8

   With a serrated knife (or at least a sharp one), carefully slice the dough into slices, cleaning the knife between slices to save getting the filling over all the dough. You can make the slices as thick as you like, but I made around 9 slices. Place the slices into the buttered dish as you cut them with a slight gap between the slices. Note - you can also cut the roll with dental floss.

9. 9

   Once you have cut all of the dough, cover the dish with the rolls. If baking there and then, leave them to rise around 2 hours. If baking the next day, leave out around 1 hour then refrigerate overnight. The next day, take out at least 30 minutes before baking but ideally nearer an hour. As you near the end of the time, preheat the oven to 355F/180C.

10. 10

    Bake for approx 25-30 min until the rolls are just browning. Remove and allow to cool slightly.

11. 11

    Blend together the cream cheese and butter, then add the milk and sugar for the frosting (alternatively, you can make a simple glaze from milk and confectioners sugar). Drizzle or spread it over the top. Best enjoyed warm but they will keep a couple days in an airtight container - if using after the first day, they are best gently warmed before eating.