Bake

Einkorn Cardamom Rolls

by:
January 14, 2020
5
1 Ratings
Einkorn Cardamom Rolls
Photo by Ngoc Minh Ngo
  • Makes 12 rolls
Author Notes

These soft, slightly sour breakfast rolls from my new book, Heirloom: Time-Honored Techniques, Nourishing Traditions, and Modern Recipes, are easily assembled and make a rustic but impressive presentation. If you prefer a less fermented flavor, prepare a sweeter leaven as described for the Sourdough Challah (page 157), using honey or sugar and placing your starter in a warm location while you perform frequent feedings. You may prepare this in a large cast-iron pan or place each individual roll in the depressions of a muffin pan for easily transportable snacks. They are amazing served warm from the oven after being iced!

From Heirloom by Sarah Owens © 2019 Sarah Owens. Photographs © 2019 by Ngoc Minh Ngo. Reprinted in arrangement with Roost Books, an imprint of Shambhala Publications, Inc. Boulder, CO.  
—Sarah Owens

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • Dough
  • 200 grams (1 cup) 100% hydration active sourdough starter, refreshed (fed)
  • 170 grams (2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon) whole milk, at room temperature
  • 1 large egg, at room temperature, beaten
  • 60 grams (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
  • 60 grams (2 1/2 tablespoons) sugar
  • 185 grams (1 1/3 cups plus 1 tablespoon) high-extraction bread flour, plus more for rolling
  • 200 grams (1 3/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon) whole einkorn flour
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 9 grams (scant 1 teaspoon) salt
  • Filling and glaze
  • 115 grams (1 stick or 8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for the pan
  • 130 grams (1/2 cup plus heaping 1 tablespoon) brown sugar or coconut sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 90 grams (6 tablespoons) brown butter
  • 170 grams (2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon) cream cheese
  • 125 grams (1 cup) confectioners' sugar
  • 15 to 45 grams (1 to 3 tablespoons) fresh lemon juice (optional)
  • 15 to 45 grams (1 to 3 tablespoons) strong coffee (optional)
Directions
  1. Make the dough: When your starter is bubbly and active, add the milk, egg, butter, and sugar to the bowl and stir to combine. Add the flours, cinnamon, cardamom, and salt and mix with your hand until well hydrated and no lumps remain. Cover with an inverted bowl or plastic wrap and allow to bulk ferment at room temperature for about 4 hours, turning and folding every hour.
  2. Make the filling and prepare the rolls: Grease a muffin pan well with butter. In a small bowl, stir together the softened butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and cardamom, until consistently combined.
  3. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and pat it into a flattened rectangular shape. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough to a 61/2 × 12-inch rectangle. Spread the butter mixture evenly over the dough. Using a dough scraper to assist, roll the dough lengthwise to create a long coil. Pinch the seam to seal and lightly roll to slightly elongate it. Place on a baking sheet and freeze for 30 minutes to harden, then remove from the freezer and unwrap. Cut into rounds about 1 inch thick. Twist two rounds around each other and press them into the muffin pan. Repeat with the remaining dough to fill the pan. Cover with a kitchen towel, then plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator overnight.
  4. To bake: Remove the rolls from the refrigerator about 1 hour before you are to bake them for a final proof and preheat the oven to 375°F. The rolls should feel puffy and soft when gently poked with your finger. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through, until the tops are oozing and golden brown. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 5 minutes, then remove the rolls to a wire rack.
  5. If you are making the glaze: Heat the butter in a small saucepan until melted. Turn off the heat and whisk in the cream cheese until no lumps remain. Sift in the powdered sugar a little at a time, alternating with the lemon juice and/or coffee if you wish the mixture to be more pourable. Run the glaze through a strainer to remove any lumps, add a dollop of glaze to the top of each roll, and glaze the sides generously.
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  • Bren Da
    Bren Da
  • Rebtile
    Rebtile
  • Sarah Owens
    Sarah Owens
  • katiemthom
    katiemthom
Sarah Owens

Recipe by: Sarah Owens

Sarah Owens is a New York City based cookbook author, baker, horticulturist, and instructor. She was awarded a James Beard for her first book Sourdough and released her second in August 2017 titled Toast & Jam with Roost Books. Sarah curates private dining events, cooks for public pop-up dinners, and teaches baking and preservation gobally. Her subscription and wholesale bakery BK17bakery.com is located seaside in Rockaway Beach where she also teaches the alchemy and digestive benefits of natural leavening.

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6 Reviews

Bren D.
Bren D. December 19, 2020
If I make a 12 inch log and wrap 2 one inch pieces around each other I get 6, not 12 rolls. Also they would be very thick. I have made these a few times and made a long 24 inch log and not put it in the freezer. I cut 2 inch pieces. The first time I made them in muffin tins the filling oozed out and ran over everything. So now I make them in a large glazed clay baking dish. It takes much longer, about 25 minutes to bake but seems to work. I worry about using cast iron given how runny the filling is when you take it out of the fridge. Won’t it rust? Last thing, today I used about 30 g less butter in the filling because I found this ratio very hard to spread. This way it was more like crumbs and a bit easier to distribute. Fingers crossed they will be just as delicious.
Tips on the filling would be welcome. A video would help. Thanks!
 
katiemthom
katiemthom May 23, 2020
Right now I have AP, whole wheat, and cake flour. Could I use some combination of those to substitute?
 
Birmingham M.
Birmingham M. February 2, 2020
Made them this morning and love them. It took a bit longer then 17 min to bake them to perfection.
 
Rebtile
Rebtile January 31, 2020
The filling vs the glaze is a bit confusing here--is the 115g butter for the filling and the 90g brown butter for the glaze? (Not clear which is for which in the instructions.) This looks great though. Always happy to find more ways to use my sourdough starter. I'm starting it today!
 
Sarah O.
Sarah O. January 31, 2020
Hi there, apologies for the confusion, as it looks like the Original recipe was consolidated for this format from the version published in my book. But you are correct, the brown butter is for the glaze. Enjoy!
 
Rebtile
Rebtile February 2, 2020
These came out excellent(!), aside from the usual tiny difficulties related to being an inexperienced baker (final shape of each roll was less roll-shaped and more ... folded in half). The cardamom is perfectly fragrant and not overwhelming. I baked these altogether in a cast iron, which added a few more minutes to the baking time.