Discard cinnamon rolls
Soft, sticky and raised entirely by the discard - no packet yeast anywhere. Almost all of the time is the dough sitting quietly without you.
Uses discardCollected
This one is slower than it looks
Without packet yeast, the discard has to do all the lifting, and cold discard is not in a hurry. Budget 6 to 10 hours for the first rise and another 2 to 4 after shaping. Start it the evening before you want them.
Dough
| Ingredient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Sourdough discard, unfed | 120 g |
| Whole milk, warm | 120 g |
| Egg, large | 1 |
| Butter, melted | 57 g |
| Caster or granulated sugar | 50 g |
| Plain flour | 500 g |
| Fine salt | 6 g |
Filling
| Ingredient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Butter, soft | 113 g |
| Soft brown sugar | 150 g |
| Ground cinnamon | 2 tbsp |
| Salt | a pinch |
Icing
| Ingredient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Cream cheese, soft | 113 g |
| Butter, soft | 57 g |
| Icing sugar | 120 g |
| Vanilla extract | 1 tsp |
| Milk, to loosen | 1-2 tbsp |
Method
Whisk the discard, warm milk, egg, melted butter and sugar together until smooth. Add the flour and salt and mix to a shaggy dough, then knead for 8 to 10 minutes by hand or in a mixer until it is soft and only slightly tacky.
Very runny discard may need an extra tablespoon or two of flour.
Put it in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and leave somewhere warm (24-27 °C) until doubled. Expect 6 to 10 hours. Overnight on the counter is the easy way.
Knock the dough back and roll it into a rectangle roughly 40 × 30 cm on a lightly floured counter.
Spread the soft butter right to the edges. Mix the brown sugar, cinnamon and salt and scatter it evenly over the top.
Roll up tightly from the long side and cut into 12 rolls. Sit them in a greased dish about 23 × 33 cm.
A length of sewing thread slid under the log and pulled crossways cuts cleaner rolls than any knife.
Cover and leave until visibly puffy: grown by three quarters or so, touching each other, and slow to spring back when gently poked.
Bake at 175 °C / 350 °F for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden and set in the middle. Cool for 10 minutes.
Beat the icing ingredients smooth, adding milk a spoonful at a time, and spread it over the rolls while they are still warm.
Two ways to shift the timing
- Bake later: after shaping, cover and refrigerate overnight. Bring back to room temperature and let them rise 1-2 hours before baking.
- Hurry it up: if your discard has sat untouched for a week or more, refresh it first - 60 g discard, 60 g flour, 60 g water, left 4 to 8 hours until bubbly - and use 120 g of that instead. It rises much faster.
Cool kitchen?
Put the covered bowl in the oven with only the light on. That is usually about 26 °C and draught-free, which is close to perfect.
Collected, not yet baked by me
This one came from a baker I trust and is rewritten here in metric and plain language, but it is still on my own to-bake list. The method is sound; the exact timings are the bit I have not personally checked. Watch the dough rather than the clock, and tell me how it went so I can correct it.