This is a great bread to have as a special treat on a wintry morning--or any other morning, for that matter. The bread is crunchy on top and soft and squishy on the inside. It's also full of tangy dried cranberries that highlight the flavor of the sourdough starter. A brown sugar, cinnamon, and almond streusel twirls through the interior of the bread for extra appeal. I love the bread because it's easy. Just mix up the dough, let it park overnight or for about 12 hours, add more ingredients, and then let it rise again before you bake it. The length of the second rise depends on the temperature of your kitchen, but, for me, the second rise generally takes 8-10 hours. The long rise times mean that I don't need to wait around on the bread. My usual practice is to mix the dough in the evening, let it rise overnight, mix in the other ingredients and shape the bread in the morning, then let the dough rise all day while I'm out. I bake the bread when I get home, usually in the air fryer, because the air fryer produces a slightly crustier, browner result in less time than a conventional oven. With minimum hassle, I get two beautiful, tasty sourdough loaves--plenty to serve warm for dinner and extra for breakfast during the week.
Sourdough Cinnamon Twirl Bread -- Makes 2 Round Loaves
1 cup sourdough starter/discard
1 cup water
1/4 cup canola oil
1/3 cup of sugar
1 1/2 cups of white whole-wheat flour
2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
1/2 cup of dried cranberries
Streusel
1/3 cup of all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons of dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons of butter
2 teaspoons of grated orange zest
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1/2 cup of slice almonds
In a large bowl combine the discard, water, canola oil, sugar, white whole-wheat flour, 1 cup of all purpose flour, salt, and dried cranberries. Stir the spongy mixture well and cover it loosely with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise for 10-12 hours or until about doubled. Stir in the remaining 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour, and when the dough becomes too difficult to stir, knead it with your hands for 3-5 minutes or until all the flour is incorporated and the dough is stretchy. Pat the dough into a 12 x 12-inch square. For the streusel, mix the flour, brown sugar, butter, orange zest, and cinnamon together until crumbly. Sprinkle the streusel over the top of the dough and then sprinkle on the almonds. Roll the dough up from one end, like a jellyroll. Cut the roll in half to form two rolls. Take one of the rolls and join the ends to form a ring or roundish shape, then do the same with the other roll. If you'd like, you can coat two 6- or 7-inch round pans with non-stick cooking spray and put each dough round into one of the pans. Spritz the top of the dough rounds with non-stick cooking spray, cover the dough rounds loosely with plastic wrap, and let the rounds rise for 8-10 hours or until about doubled. Alternatively, just form round shapes and let them rise on a piece of parchment, lightly covered with plastic wrap. If you'd like, dust the top of the risen dough rounds lightly with sugar (about a teaspoon for each loaf). Bake the dough rounds, one-at-a-time, in a preheated air fryer at 360 degrees for about 30 minutes. Or, alternatively, bake the dough rings in a conventional oven at 375 degrees for 35-45 minutes.
Bread baked in a 6-inch round pan without sugar on top.