Keeping with Christmas Tradition, I made cinnamon swirls. This time, I went with some of the apple jam that I made earlier this autumn and they turned out great. Cross between a slice of apple pie and a cinnamon roll. Warmed up just a little, they are great for breakfast!
Ingredients
for the dough
3 1/2 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
for the filling
1 1/2 cup apple jam (I used some of my own from earlier this year)
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon corn starch mixed
2 teaspoons lemon juice
for decorating
powdered sugar or pearl sugar (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 as it must be cold when assembling the log. In a sauté pan over medium heat, combine jam, brown sugar, salt, corn starch and bring to a low simmer. Remove from the heat and let cool completely, and it thicken up some.
Spray square/rectangular baking dish with baking spray.
Once the dough has risen, turn out from the bowl and divide in half. Roll the first half out on a lightly floured surface to a 10 x 18-inch rectangle. It should be relatively thin. Fill with the apple mixture and spread out evenly. It should be a thin coating. Roll up into a log from the wide side — there should be a lot of swirls here — so at the end, you have an 18 inch log. Pinch together and set aside, seam side down so it won’t unroll. Using a serrated knife, cut the dough into slices, about 1 1/2 inches thick and space the slices out on the prepared baking pan. Ideally, you will have 12-14 swirls. Cover loosely with a clean dish towel and let rise for an additional 20-30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400F. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Let cool for 20-30 minutes before sprinkling with powdered sugar (optional). Best if eaten warmish.