Rolling Along!

Last Wednesday when I was in Bed, Bath, and Beyond looking for a wedding present, my phone rang. It was my Sunday School teacher. She said, "Claire, I need to ask a favor. You know how you sometimes bring yummy things for us to eat at Sunday School? Could you bring something on Sunday? I'm trying to do a little change from do-nuts." What do I say? Sure!!! So then I go through the whole thought process of what I should make. Do I make sweet or savory? Well, I would have done a breakfast casserole, but that would require going to the grocery store. Hmmm....Ah ha! I have to make bread anyway, so I'll use 2/3 of the dough to make cinnamon rolls and only make one loaf of bread! I have everything else needed on hand! Problem solved!

So, if you haven't figured out already, the yummy breakfast treat that you can make with the sourdough starter is cinnamon rolls! Just make the dough as directed in the bread instructions, but instead of making loaves:

Roll dough thinly on a FLOURED surface. Flouring the surface is VERY important. I forgot to do this with the first portion I rolled and I was really stick, resulting in malformed rolls! After you roll the dough out, spread 2T softened margarine over the top. I have used melted in the past but have found that softened is MUCH better. Sprinkle brown sugar over the margarine. I didn't measure this; I just did it until it looked right. You don't need too much, though, or it will fall out after you roll it.

Mix some granulated sugar and cinnamon together. Once again, I didn't measure because I know what I like my cinnamon-sugar mixtures to look like. I always want more cinnamon that directions call for! Sorry! Sprinkle half of this over the brown sugar. If desired, add chopped pecans. Roll jelly roll fashion. Cut with a serrated knife OR a piece of thread or unflavored dental floss! It is more fun to cut with floss/thread, but I don't have any unflavored floss or thread, so I used the knife.

Place the rolls on a pan. Cover and let rise until rolls have doubled in size. You can use a cake pan, cookie pan, or cookie stone...HOWEVER, if you use the stone DON'T put too many on there as I did! When they rose, the pan was VERY full (as you can see, some are already "falling off." Then when I cooked them, some of the rolls on the edge were basically falling off the stone! Oops, I had to pull those off...thus, the open spaces in the picture! Cook in 350 degree F oven for 12-15 minutes.

Let cool slightly. While the rolls are cooling, make a not too thick, not too thin icing (I feel like I live with the Three Bears!), but just right! Once again...I KNOW, I'm bad, I didn't measure anything. I rarely measure for icings, I just put confectioner's sugar in a bowl and add some water. Then stir. If it's not enough liquid, add more. If you've put too much, add sugar. It is easier to add a LITTLE more water (yes, you can use milk if you prefer) than a LOT more sugar, so go under on the liquid to start with. Once the rolls have cooled, drizzle icing on top! Repeat the above procedure for the remaining dough.* Serve warm and enjoy!

Even though these are whole wheat cinnomon rolls, they are still delicious! SO, from one starter you can have a multitude of products. Bread, cinnamon rolls, even dinner rolls! Whole wheat or white! Maybe you can even do rye. My dad wants to try that...I may be coming back with part 4 of sourdough! We'll see!

*These instructions were done for a total of 2/3 of the dough.