My goal with 2020 was to never put my sourdough starter in the fridge. The goal was to better utilize the discard and stretch how long I could go without feeding my starter and not make it angry with me. I usually feed my starter at night so my brain was normally thinking about breakfast.

The thing I love about this is that you can use starter discard.

When I say “discard” I mean starter that you are just going to throw away to make room to feed your starter. This doesn’t have to be super happy starter either, this can be starter than has gone down since doubling in size and no longer at its peak of happiness.

 

Instructions:

1. The night before you want to make your cinnamon rolls in a medium bowl mix together 1 cup of sourdough starter, 1 cup of water, 4 tablespoons of melted butter, 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and 1/2 cup of rapadura (or sugar alternative or brown sugar). Then slowly stir in 3 cups of flour. Cover the dough and allow to sit in a warm place overnight so it doubles in size (also this will still turn out if it doesn’t double in size, I’ve found).

2. Preheat your oven to 175 F or to the Proof setting.

3. Remove the dough from the bowl onto a well floured surface. Give it a light kneed to bring the dough together. Then roll the dough out into a large rectangle.

4. Melt 3 tablespoons of butter and pour it over the dough, smooth it over the dough with the back of a spoon so the top of the entire dough is covered.

5. Sprinkle about 1/2 cup of Rapadura (or Brown Sugar) over the melted butter so the entire space is covered. Then sprinkle 2-3 teaspoons of cinnamon over the sugar.

6. Roll up the dough long ways, creating a long log.

7. Cut off the very ends of the dough where it isn’t very even. Then cut ten 2 ish inch sections from the dough.

8. Preheat a cast iron skillet (or 8×10 glass baking dish) with a tablespoon butter on bottom of the pan. Then add the 10 cinnamon rolls semi close together.

9. (optional to create a softer cinnamon roll) Drizzle 2-3 tablespoons of heavy cream or whole milk over the top of all of the rolls.

10. Place the rolls in the oven at 170 F for 20-30 minutes, or until they have increased about half of their size. Then increase the oven temperature to 350F for another 20-30 minutes (they will fully double in size at this higher temp).

11. Once the rolls are golden brown on the top remove from them from the oven.

12. Enjoy with powdered sugar or homemade icing!

Easy homemade icing can be made with 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and 3 tablespoons of heavy cream or milk.

 

So, this looks super complicated but it’s actually very easy once you do it a few times. It takes some trust in your starter, that it will actually double in size without any baking soda or powder. But if you have a healthy starter even the discard will make these cinnamon rolls tall and fluffy.

These are for sure a treat, and not a perfect food. But these are great for special occasions, even if that special occasion is a snow day. The kids love them and they are made with healthy fermented grains so I don’t feel too bad about giving the baby one every once and awhile.

I hope you give this a try.

Thank-you so much for taking time out of your day to hang out here!