Infused with cinnamon, orange, and almond, this sourdough cinnamon roll star bread is the perfect Christmas morning treat. Not only is this recipe delicious but it is also a show stopper!
A couple of years ago I began seeing different recipes for how to make star bread, also known as flower bread or snowflake bread. I was in awe of its beauty, complexity, and straight up deliciousness.
Therefore, this year I set out to make my own recipe. I knew I wanted to incorporate sourdough to help with digestion as well as some nice aromatics such as orange, cinnamon, and almond. I absolutely love this recipe as it is warm with cinnamon and clove and infused with sweet notes of orange zest and almond extract, and filled with a nutty browned butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar filling. This recipe is a favorite of mine and one that I know you will love as well!
What Is Star Bread?
Essentially star bread is a big, flattened-out cinnamon roll, a type of pull-apart bread. All you need to do is make the layers of a traditional cinnamon roll, make slices in the dough, twist it, and et voila, you have yourself a beautiful cinnamon roll star bread! It’s super easy to make and is guaranteed to be the “star” of the show (no pun intended)!
Can I Change the Filling In My Star Bread?
Not a fan of cinnamon sugar? No problem! Feel free to swap the filling out with whatever you fancy. You can opt for a sweet alternative like Nutella, jam, pumpkin butter, apple butter, or a cream cheese filling. Alternatively, you can go for a savory option by using a rosemary garlic butter filling. All of these choices would work wonderfully!
NOTE: If you do choose to go savory, I would recommend omitting the sweet ingredients such as orange, cinnamon, almond, and vanilla extracts. Instead, add a little bit of garlic powder and rosemary to the dough to add a more savory aspect to your pull-apart star bread.
Why Is My Star Bread So Dense?
The density of your bread is significantly influenced by the amount of flour used and the duration of kneading. If you notice that your dough is excessively dense, it may be a result of using too much flour during the dough-making process. Another factor could be insufficient kneading, leading to an incomplete development of gluten in the bread. The goal is to have the bread become sticky and elastic and begin to pull away from the bowl as you knead it.
Do I Need a Stand Mixer To Make Star Bread?
A stand mixer is not necessary for making star bread, you can make it all by hand; however, a stand mixer is nice to help expedite the process and fully incorporate the flour into the dough.
How to Make Star Bread:
Over medium heat add 1 cup of milk and two cinnamon sticks into a small sauce pan. Keep an eye on the milk and stir continuously to make sure that it does not curdle.
Once the milk becomes frothy on the top, remove from the heat and strain out the cinnamon sticks from the milk. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer add 2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour, 1/2 tsp. baking soda, 1 tsp. baking powder, 1/2 tsp. nutmeg, and 1 tsp. salt.
Grate 1/2 cup of butter into the flour mixture and mix on low speed using the dough hook of your stand mixer. It should resemble a crumbly flour mixture once butter is incorporated.
Add in cinnamon-infused milk, 1/2 cup sourdough discard, 2 Tbsp. raw honey, 1 tsp. vanilla extract, 1/2 tsp. almond extract, and the zest of one orange.
Turn the mixer to low speed and incorporate all the ingredients together, about 30-60 seconds.
Once incorporated, turn the mixer up to medium speed and knead for an additional 2-3 minutes until the dough forms a ball and begins pulling away from the sides of the bowl.
Cover the bowl with a plate or damp towel and allow it to rise for 4 hours.
Note: If your house is cold, I recommend heating your oven to 170° F. then turning it off and and placing the dough in the oven. The heat will help develop the wild yeast, allowing the dough the necessary heat that is required to rise.
For additional fermentation, after 4 hours on the countertop, place the dough in the refrigerator to ferment overnight.
To make the filling for your bread, melt and brown 1/2 cup of butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Keep an eye on the butter as it is quick to burn.
Once melted and browned, remove the butter from the heat and add in 1 cup of brown sugar, 2 tsp. of cinnamon, and 1/2 tsp. of cloves. Combine.
After the dough has completed its rise, flour the workspace and place the dough into the workspace.
Using a knife or bench scraper, cut the dough into 4 even sections.
Using a rolling pin, roll out each layer into a thin circular shape about 10-12 inches in diameter. If it is not a perfect circle, that’s okay. We’ll fix it later on.
Once all 4 dough sections are rolled out, take the first section and using an icing spatula or silicone spatula, begin spreading out 1/3 of the sugar-butter mixture all over the dough. Repeat this step for the first three layers.
Place the final layer on top of the previous three layers. You do not want any sugar on the top layer.
Using the bench scraper, begin forming the dough into a circular shape, it does not have to be perfect. If there is excessive dough, you can cut it off.
Next, place a small jar or glass in the center of the dough. This will be your guide for cutting the limbs of the star.
From here, using a knife, cut the dough into 16 sections.
Twist the sections away from each other 3 times to create the limbs of the star. Be careful not to do them too tight and rip away from the center.
Cover the star in an egg wash and cover in a light sprinkle of sugar. I like to use raw sugar.
Transfer the star to a cast iron pan. Baking in a cast iron pan will help the star keep a circular shape.
Bake at 350° F. for 30-35 minutes.
Remove the star bread from the oven and allow it to cool.
Once cooled top with powdered sugar.
My Favorite Sourdough Recipes:
- Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Sourdough Pumpkin Muffin
- Healthy Sourdough Pumpkin Bread
- Best Beginners Sourdough Bread
- How to Make Sourdough Starter
Note: This blog post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Sourdough Star Bread: Cinnamon Roll
Equipment
Ingredients
Dough Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup butter (cold)
- 2.5 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1/2 cup sourdough discard
- 2 Tbsp. raw honey
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp. almond extract
- 1 orange (zest)
- 1 egg (scrambled for egg wash)
- 1 tsp. granulated sugar
Filling Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. cloves
Topping Ingredients:
- 1 Tbsp. powdered sugar (optional)
Instructions
To Make the Dough:
- Over medium heat add 1 cup of milk and two cinnamon sticks into a small sauce pan. Keep an eye on the milk and stir continuously to make sure that it does not curdle.
- Once the milk becomes frothy, remove from the heat and strain out the cinnamon sticks from the milk. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer add flour, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt.
- Grate butter into the flour mixture. Mix the ingredients together on low speed using the dough hook of your stand mixer. It should resemble a crumbly, flour mixture once butter is incorporated.
- Add cinnamon-infused milk, sourdough discard, raw honey, vanilla extract, almond extract, and the zest of one orange.
- Turn the mixer to low speed and mix for 30-60 seconds until all the ingredients are incorporated.
- Once incorporated, turn the mixer up to medium speed and knead for an additional 2-3 minutes until the dough forms a ball and begins pulling away from the sides of the bowl.
- Cover the bowl with a plate or damp towel and allow it to rise for 4 hours. If your house is cold, I recommend heating your oven to 170° F. then turning it off and and placing the dough in the oven. The heat will help develop the wild yeast, allowing the dough the necessary heat that is required to rise.
- For additional fermentation, after 4 hours on the countertop, place the dough in the refrigerator to ferment overnight.
To Make the Filling:
- Melt and brown the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Keep an eye on the butter as it is quick to burn.
- Remove the butter from the heat.
- Add brown sugar, cinnamon, and cloves to the butter and mix to combine.
Assembly Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 350° F.
- After the dough has completed its rise, flour the workspace and place the dough into the workspace.
- Using a knife or bench scraper, slice the dough into 4 even sections.
- Using a rolling pin, roll out each layer into a thin circular shape about 10-12 inches in diameter. If it is not a perfect circle, that's okay. We'll fix it later on.
- Take the first section of the dough and using an icing spatula or silicone spatula, begin distributing out 1/3 of the sugar-butter mixture all over the dough. Repeat this step for the first three layers.
- Place the final layer on top of the previous three layers. You do not want any sugar on the top layer.
- Using the bench scraper, begin forming the dough into a circular shape. It does not have to be perfect. If there is excessive dough, you can cut it off.
- Next, place a small jar or glass in the center of the dough. This will be your guide for cutting the limbs of the star.
- Using a knife, cut the dough into 16 sections.
- Twist the sections away from each other 3 times to create the limbs of the star. Be careful not to do them too tight and rip away from the center.
- Cover the star in an egg wash and cover in a light sprinkle of sugar.
- Transfer the star to a cast iron pan. Baking in a cast iron pan will help the star keep a circular shape.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes.
- Remove the star bread from the oven and allow it to cool.
- Once cooled top with powdered sugar.
2 thoughts on “How To Make Sourdough Cinnamon Roll Star Bread: Sourdough Discard”
Great post.
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
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