I created this recipe last year because I wanted to start a tradition of making sourdough sweet rolls for Christmas morning - well, to be honest, I took several other recipes and tweaked them until I found the flavor and texture I was going for. Does anyone really “create” recipes anymore? I guess that’s a topic for another day. I had sent this recipe out in my email newsletter last year and decided that it needed a permanent place on my Instagram this year, but the recipe is too long so here we are! My first blog post!
These gingerbread rolls are the perfect mix of sweet, spice and tang, and they’re a bit more festive than traditional cinnamon rolls. The recipe is fairly simple if you’re familiar with sourdough, but just like other sourdough recipes, you will need to plan ahead. Here is my timeline: feed your sourdough starter on Christmas Eve Eve, start your dough the next morning, shape and cut on Christmas Eve, proof overnight while visions of sugar plums dance in your head, and then bake and frost Christmas morning. You could start this 12 hours earlier so you’re baking them on Christmas Eve, but I like to have them hot with the frosting dripping off!
Ingredients for dough:
125 g whole milk
45 g molasses
3 eggs
200 g active sourdough starter
475 g all purpose or bread flour
10 g salt
175 g just melted (and slightly cooled) butter
2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp each allspice, nutmeg & clove
Ingredients for filling:
30 g melted butter
100 g coconut sugar
10 g gluten free flour like sorghum, cassava or any GF 1:1 flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp each allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon & clove
Ingredients for cream cheese drizzle:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
8 TB maple syrup (to taste)
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of each spice
Process:
Whisk together the milk, molasses, eggs and starter in a large bowl.
Add the flour and salt and mix in with a wooden spoon. Let dough sit for about 15-30 min while you melt the butter.
Add the melted butter and spices and mix together with hands for about 10 minutes until completely combined and smooth. This is a wet dough! Let sit for about 30 minutes and then do several stretch and folds (about 20). Cover and ferment on the countertop for about 6-8 hours, until puffy.
Bench rest on the countertop for about 30 minutes. Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough into a rectangle about 22" by 14"
In a small bowl, mix together the sugar, GF flour, salt and spices. Brush the melted butter over the dough and then sprinkle with the spiced sugar mixture.
Starting on the longer side, carefully roll up the dough and then slice it into 2-3" rolls (about 12). Place them in a 13x9" baking dish on parchment. Give them space so they have room to proof.
Proof overnight on the counter (64-66°) or proof on the countertop for several hours until puffy and then put in the refrigerator until you're ready to bake them. Preheat the oven to 450°. Put them in the oven and immediately turn the oven down to 350°. Bake for about 35-40 minutes. Let cool mostly.
Whip up the cream cheese drizzle and spoon it over the rolls.
Makes about 12.
Enjoy with a hot cup of creamy coffee and some eggs or bacon. Don’t forget to pair your carbs with some protein, and never drink coffee on an empty stomach! I’ll share in a future blog post why sourdough is so much better for us than unfermented doughs, but for now just know that these sourdough gingerbread rolls are a bit easier on the gut and blood sugar.
