Cardamon Sourdough Sticky Rolls

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Since it is Christmas I decided to try baking sticky rolls for the first time having never attempted cinnamon buns in either yeasted or sourdough form ever before.  I was particularly interested in this recipe because he uses a Yudane.  This is similar to a Tangzhong except that the flour isn’t cooked with a liquid.  Instead boiling water is added to the flour and then mixed until it has gelatinzed.  This is a simpler process than a Tangzhong and I think I’ll apply it to sandwich bread in the near future.

Maurizio recently posted his recipe for these sweet roll on theperfectloaf.com website.  I will repost the recipe here.

Total Dough Formula

Desired dough temperature: 76°F (24°C).

1 large egg is about 50 g 

Cardamom Rolls Filling

Make this filling when your dough is chilling in the fridge. Be sure to give it enough time to let the melted butter slightly cool.

Total yield: 157g.

Cardamom Simple Syrup

Instead of topping these sourdough cardamom rolls with icing (which you totally could, if you wanted), I opt for a cardamom-infused simple syrup.

Cardamom Rolls Method

1. Pre-cook Flour (Yudane) – 8:00 a.m.

Be sure to make this yudane ahead of time to give it time to cool before mixing. The texture of the mixture seems to improve if left to rest for at least one hour.

 Do ahead:  Alternatively, you could make the yudane the night before, let it cool, then cover and place it in the fridge. The next morning, let it warm to room temperature before mixing it into your dough.

Yudane

Boil the water and pour it over the flour in a small heat-proof mixing bowl. Stir with spatula (not a whisk as the Yudane will get stuck in the tines) until the mixture tightens up and all dry bits are incorporated. Let the pre-gelatinized flour cool on the counter until you mix the main dough.  I prepared the Yudane when the 2nd stage of levain was built.

2. Mix – 9:00 a.m.

Because I used a KitchenAid stand mixer to quickly and efficiently mix, and because I'm not looking for added extensibility, I decided against using an autolyse for this enriched dough.

Dough mix.

First, take out your butter and cut it into 1/2″ pats. Set the butter on a plate to warm to room temperature and reserve until the end of mixing.

To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, add the milk, flour, sourdough starter, eggs, sugar, yudane, cardamom, and salt. Mix on speed 1 (STIR on a KitchenAid) for 1 to 2 minutes until the ingredients come together. Increase the mixer speed to speed 2 (2 on a KitchenAid) and mix for 6 to 7 minutes until the dough starts to strengthen and clump around the dough hook.

This dough doesn't need to be fully developed in the mixer, but it's better to mix longer than shorter—you want a strong dough before adding the butter. It won’t completely remove from the bottom of the bowl, and it will still be shaggy, but the majority of the dough should clump up around the dough hook.

Let the dough rest in the mixing bowl for 10 minutes.

Your butter should now be at room temperature; a finger will easily slide in and leave an impression. Turn the mixer on to speed 1 (I mixed on speed 2) and add the butter, one pat at a time, waiting to add each pat until the previous one is fully absorbed. Adding all the butter could take around 5 to 8 minutes.

The sourdough cardamom rolls dough is soft but mostly smooth and holding its shape at the end of mixing. The dough will be further strengthened through stretch and folds during bulk fermentation. Transfer your dough to a bulk fermentation container and cover.

3. Bulk Fermentation – 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

At warm room temperature, around 76°F (24°C), bulk should take about 3 hours. If your kitchen is cooler, place the pan to rise in a small dough proofer, or extend bulk fermentation as necessary.

Give this dough three sets of stretch and folds during bulk fermentation at 30-minute intervals. The first set starts after 30 minutes from the start of bulk fermentation. For each set, wet your hands, grab one side and stretch it up and over the dough to the other side. Rotate the bowl 180° and perform another stretch and fold (this forms a long rectangle in the bowl). Then, rotate the bowl 90° and do another stretch and fold. Finally, turn the bowl 180° and do one last stretch and fold. You should have the dough neatly folded up in the bowl.

After the third set, let the dough rest, covered, for the remainder of bulk fermentation.

4. Chill Dough – 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.

At this point, your dough should have risen in your bulk container, be puffy to the touch, and have smoothed out. If the dough still feels dense and tight, give it another 15 minutes and check again.

Place your covered bulk fermentation container in the refrigerator for at least one hour to fully chill the dough.

5. Roll and Shape – 1:30 p.m.

Before removing your dough from the refrigerator, make the filling. In a small mixing bowl, combine the following. It may seem like it's not enough filling to cover the entire surface of the dough—spread it thin.

Next time consider not using melted butter for filling, only the dry ingredients.

Then brush melted butter on the dough then applying the dry filling might be easier because it was hard to spread the filling on the dough which was sticky and clumped because of the melted butter in the filling. The dough should be cold and firm to the touch; give it more time to chill if necessary.

Next, butter your baking pan (even if it’s nonstick) to ensure the rolls remove cleanly after baking. My 8 x 8-inch nonstick pan has never had issues, but I still lightly butter the pan just in case.

This dough is very soft. Act quickly to roll, spread the filling, and cut before the dough warms and softens further. If it begins to soften, place it in the fridge to firm.

Remove your bulk fermentation container from the fridge, lightly flour your work surface in a large rectangle shape, and the top of the dough in the bowl. Then, gently scrape out the dough to the center of your floured rectangle. Lightly dust the top of the dough with flour, and using a rolling pin, roll the dough out to a 15″ x 15″ square. use a small offset spatula or your hands to spread on the cardamom and cinnamon filling evenly. It may look and feel like not enough filling, but there's plenty when the dough is rolled up.

Starting at one of the long sides of the rectangle in front of you, begin rolling up the dough as you move across. Be sure to tightly roll the dough by gently tugging on the dough as you roll.

Once finished rolling up the dough, divide it into nine 1 1/2″ pieces using a sharp knife. Transfer the pieces to the prepared baking pan and cover with a large, reusable bag.

6. Cold Proof – 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. (Overnight) As you can see above, the nine cut pieces are placed into the square pan, ready for their overnight proof in the refrigerator. Also noticeable is how soft the dough is—it's ok if they're not neatly placed into the pan. As they rise, they'll fill the nooks and crannies.

Place the covered pan into the refrigerator and proof overnight.

7. Warm Proof – 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. (next morning)

In the morning, take the pan out of the refrigerator about three to four hours before you want to bake the rolls, depending on the temperature in your kitchen.

Be sure to start preheating your oven about 30 minutes before you feel the rolls will be fully proofed. For me, the final warm proof time was about 3 hours in my 77°F (25°C) proofer, so I started preheating around 9:30 a.m.

8. Bake – 10:00 a.m.

Preheat your oven, with a rack in the middle, to 400°F (200°C). After the warm proof, uncover your dough and gently press the tops of a few rolls. As you can see above, the fully proofed cardamom rolls will look very soft. The texture of the dough will be almost like a whipped mousse. Be sure to give them extra time in warm proof if necessary. If the dough needs more time to proof, cover the pan and give the dough another 15 to 30 minutes at a warm temperature and check again.

Once your oven is preheated, remove your pan from its bag, slide it into the oven, and bake for 30 to 35 minutes.

While your rolls are baking, prepare the simple syrup. Combine the following in a saucepan and heat until boiling. Remove from the heat and let cool until ready to use. You will have some leftover syrup.

Cardamom-infused simple syrup.

The rolls are finished baking when the tops are well-colored and the internal temperature is around 195°F (90°C). Remove the rolls from the oven and brush on the cardamom-infused simple syrup. Let the rolls cool for 5 to 10 minutes in the pan, then serve.

These are best the day they're made, and certainly fresh from the oven, but can be reheated in a warm oven a day or two after.