Not by bread alone: absolutely, we do need and occasional sweet bun or a bread roll too.
Continuing the sourdough collections, here is a handful of recipes for sweet and savoury rolls and buns, all leavened with sourdough starter.
Unlike in bread, there is not a huge difference in texture or flavour when comparing yeast-risen sweet bakes with sourdough ones. But they do taste better and keep longer.
Honey buns, malted rolls, chocolate bread and walnut loaf – let’s put the sour starter to action!
My recipe for sourdough honey buns is adapted from Martha Stewart. These cinnamon honey buns are glazed with butter and honey, and stickily irresistible. Honey buns are also an unlikely but highly valued prison currency!
Savoury, with four different fillings, these pull-apart sourdough dinner rolls are the perfect party bread! Made with two kinds of dough, white and wholemeal, and stuffed with garlic, tomato, cheese and herbs fillings. They are baked together to tear and share.
Pull-apart sourdough rolls
RECIPE
Sourdough in an indulgent guise: sourdough brioche filled with a mix of white chocolate chips, glace cherries and almond flakes. It’s the best slightly warm, and the perfect weekend breakfast idea.
Nutty bread! A classic sourdough loaf with a lot for toasted walnut chunks folded in at the stretch-and-fold stage. Delicious just with butter, and even better toasted. For an extra treat, add a few raisins too.
Crusty and chewy dinner rolls, flavoursome with added malted wheat flakes. These French style dimple rolls are made on sourdough starter. Aren’t they cute, shaped like coffee beans?
Sweet sourdough buns filled with jam and rolled like Chelsea buns, they bake together and invite you to pull apart one or two. There’s nothing better for breakfast than a sweet bun, and sourdough leavening improves their flavour.
Finally, the king of sweet sourdough baking, traditional panettone. It’s made on sourdough starter known as lievito madre or pasta madre in Italian. My recipe included step-by-step instruction for classic panettone with a gorgeous sugar glaze.