I’ve called these Milleswirli — a play on millefiori or a “thousand flowers” in art or jewelry — not because I think that my food is artworthy, but because I rolled up the layers in these cinnamon swirls really tightly after rolling out the dough as thin as I could. This gives the “standard old cinnamon swirls” a “thousand layers” kind of look. It’s actually just my usual sourdough swirl recipe, but I think the detailed swirls makes them a little special looking. There is actually quite a bit less filling (just a bit of melted butter and cinnamon sugar) but I think that makes them all the more delicious too.
Ingredients
for the dough
4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup (160 grams) ripe sourdough starter
1 1/4 cup milk, warmed to between 100-110F
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 egg, lightly beaten
for the filling
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
for baking and decorating
powdered sugar for decorating (optional)
Directions
Combine flour, salt and sugar in a mixing bowl. Make a well in the middle. Heat milk and butter, combine with your sourdough starter, and pour into the well. Add egg and mix until fully combined. Turn out onto a well-floured counter and knead until you have cohesive dough. It should be fairly soft and supple. Set aside in a warm, draft free place for a couple of hours in a greased bowl until it has doubled in size.
In the meantime, make the filling. Combine sugar and spices in a small bowl. Melt the butter. Spray a pie dish or square/rectangular baking dish with baking spray.
Once the dough has risen, turn out from the bowl and divide in half. Roll first half out on a lightly floured surface to a 8 x 14 inch rectangle. It should be very thin. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar and spice mixture. Don’t go overboard; it should just be a coating. Roll up into a log from the short side — there should be a lot of swirls here — so at the end, you have an 8 inch log. Pinch together and set aside, seam side down so it won’t unroll. Repeat with second half of the dough. Using a serrated knife, cut the dough into slices, about 2 inches thick and space the slices out on the prepared baking pan, approximately 1 inch apart. Ideally, you will have 8 or 9 swirls. Cover loosely with a clean dishtowel and let rise for an additional 20-30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400F.
Using a pastry brush, brush each swirl with the egg wash. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Let cool for 20-30 minutes before sprinkling with powdered sugar (optional). Best if eaten warmish.
