Sourdough Orange Rolls

Two posts in a row who am I? I’ve definitely learned to take advantage of babies napping and try to do as much as I can while they are sleeping… so here we are! I’ve had a lot of requests to start sharing my sourdough discard recipes and I figured I might as well start making a recipe section here so they can all be filed in one place. So… if recipes aren’t your thing – feel free to skip over this post and wait for our next adventure blog!

One thing I really wanted to learn how to do last year was make really good sourdough bread. It was something that took a lot of work, and took a lot of experimenting with to figure out! While I was baking bread practically every week, with an active sourdough starter I was looking for recipes to use with my sourdough discard on the days I didn’t bake bread. I tried a lot, and this one is a repeat recipe in our house and an all time favorite! It’s sweet, but not too sweet like a lot of the sweet roll recipes are. So we love it!

Baking has been so fun for me to do this with my toddler. He LOVES when I bring out my Kitchen Aid (mostly because I let him lick the frosting off the beater) but it’s been an activity that has kept him entertained indoors which we have had more of since having our littlest one last summer. While I never considered myself much of a homemaker growing up – Baking is something I’ve found value in over the last few years, and pouring this form of love into my home has brought me so much joy. It’s been something that I have enjoyed sharing with others and encouraging them to do the same.

One thing I have found easiest for me in baking breads and pastries- is that I love overnight recipes where the dough can rise in the fridge. Having young kids doesn’t leave me with a lot of time in one sitting throughout the day. So these recipes have been perfect for me to start one day, and finish the next!

Fluffy Sourdough Orange Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting!

**RECIPE **

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: approx 14 hours

Yields: 12 rolls

Ingredients for the rolls:

170 grams Sourdough Starter Discard (about 2/3 cup)

60 grams whole milk (1/4 cup)

75 grams Sugar (1/4 cup)

270 grams flour (about 2 cups with an extra 1/3 cup to mix in later)

2 eggs

1 tsp Sea Salt

**For the filling:

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1/2 cup sugar

Zest of one large orange

**For the icing:

1/4 cup unsalted butter

4 oz Cream Cheese

1 tsp Milk

1/2 tsp Vanilla

2 tsp freshly squeezed orange juice

( *OPTIONAL* I also add in 3 drops of Orange Essential Oil. One thing I’ve found in flavoring my deserts and icings is that when I want more flavor – adding in extra juice usually changes the texture and consistency of what I’m making. Adding in the drops of oil packs in so much flavor without changing the texture!)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1- heat the milk, sugar, butter in a small pot over the stove to warm and melt the butter. Then let it cool before using so it’s just barely warm to the touch, you don’t want it to be too hot that it kills the yeast in your starter.

2- Place mixture in a stand mixer, add in your sourdough starter, eggs, salt and flour.

3- Mix on low with your dough hook for five minutes.

4- Turn off mixer and let it rest for five minutes.

5- Add in an additional 1/3 cup flour and mix on low-medium speed for an additional five minutes until your dough forms into a sticky ball.

6-Cover the dough with a damp towel and let rise for 30 minutes in the bowl.

7- After the 30 minutes gently pull and strech each side of the dough, and fold it over onto itself. This distributes the yeast one more time before the first ferment/rise.

8- Lightly cover the dough with olive oil and place back in the bowl, cover and place in the fridge to rise overnight (or at least 12 hours)

9- The next morning pull the dough out of the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

10- Gently remove the dough from the bowl onto a lightly floured surface. Roll out the dough into a rectangle that is about 14 inches by 18 inches and 1/4 inch thick.

11- Mix your filling and spread it evenly over the entire surface of the rolled out dough.

12- Roll the dough up against itself so that it is into one long dough log.

13- With a serrated knife or dough scraper cut your log into 12 even sections about 1 1/2″ long.

14- Place them flat side down evenly into a spring form pan. (I’ve found using this pan helps the rolls puff up more than just a regular glass one.)

15- Cover and let rise a final time for 1 – 2 hours on the counter.

16- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Bake your rolls for 25- 30 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.

17- While the rolls are cooking, prepare your icing. When the rolls are done cooking allow to cool for five minutes and spread the icing over the warm rolls. Serve warm.