Sourdough Cinnamon Star Bread

Among all the holiday yeast-based baking goodies, the sourdough cinnamon star bread is definitely the best-looking one and will impress everyone at the table. Sure we have our cinnamon rolls and buns, but they don’t compare visually to this eye-pleasing pull-apart bread. Nevertheless, there is something so satisfying with sweet soft fluffy bread, especially when it is sourdough, making it so much easier on your stomach, not to mention the ability to always eat an additional piece.

Now, before you decide this looks way too complicated to make, scroll down and check out the step-by-step photos of the shaping process. You might make a different decision.

Baking Schedule

OK, so let’s talk about the baking schedule and how to make this little beauty. Since this is usually served at brunch, I always plan to make the dough in the late afternoon, shape it in the morning, and bake right at the time for brunch. That way, it is still warm and all nice and gooey on the bottom. Hard to resist, even if it wasn’t soo eye-catching.

You can adjust the schedule to your plans and needs. However, note that since you are dealing with wild yeast, the ambient and dough temperature plays a crucial factor in the recipe’s timings. So, please adjust your baking schedule accordingly.

Step-by-Step Guide to Shaping the Sourdough Cinnamon Star Bread

The process of shaping the sourdough cinnamon star bread might look a bit involved, but it is not that hard, and it is all done in about 15-20 minutes. So let’s start.

You will be working with the dough straight from the refrigerator, which is cold and compact, making it very easy to work with. The dough should have noticeably risen during the cold overnight fermentation. It should feel compact but sort of light filled with air pockets.

Dump the dough onto a clean, lightly dusted with flour, working surface. You should see numerous air pockets in the dough.

Divide the dough into four pieces.

Fold the pointy edges of the dough inwards and gently make a round ball. Don’t overwork the dough.

Here you are creating a close to perfect ball out of the cut dough so that once you roll the dough, it will closely resemble a circle. This step is essential if you want symmetrical star-shaped bread.

Roll out each of the four dough pieces into a circle. The thickness of the dough should be about 0.5cm/0.2in.

Place one rolled dough piece onto parchment paper, brush with 1/3 of the melted butter, and top with 1/3 of the cinnamon sugar mixture.

Repeat with the other two layers.

If you rolled out the perfect circles, more power to you, but if you are like me and there is some extra dough hanging on the sides, there is a simple way to fix this.

To make a perfect circle use the cake mold or a large plate and place it on top of the stacked dough. If using the cake mold (as depicted in the photo above), press it down to cut out the excess dough. If using the plate, make sure not to press it down, but gently cut the extra dough pieces with the knife going around the plate.

Remove the excess dough and brush the leftover cinnamon sugar from the parchment paper.

Place a small cap in the center of the circle and cut the dough into four pieces using a sharp knife.

Next, cut each quarter piece into halves. In total, you should have eight pieces.

Further cut each piece into half, resulting in 16 parts.

Now, take two pieces, one in each hand, and roll outwards for three revolutions. Pinch the edges to seal the braid.

Arrange the star bread so that there is space between each piece of the dough. Gently tug each part of the dough outwards to give it plenty of room to expand.

The Many Fillings of the Star Bread

There are numerous options for star bread fillings, with a crucial caveat – do not overdo the filling!

Since the bread is cut, the filling will spill all over the place if there is too much of it, as it proves and bakes. But not to worry, there is still plenty of flavor in the bread. Also, the dough itself is so wonderful on its own, so a moderate amount of filling goes a long way.

Based on your taste, you can consider the following options, among others:

• cinnamon, brown sugar, and butter
• chocolate and candied orange with a splash of Grand Marnier
• Nutella: you can add some chopped hazelnuts for additional crunch
• your favorite jam
• cream cheese, poppy seeds, and dried cranberries
• carob powder, cinnamon, and apple butter

You can also make savory star bread with flavors like pesto, sundried tomatoes, feta, cheese, garlic, herbs, etc.

Storing the Sourdough Cinnamon Star Bread

The sourdough cinnamon star bread is so popular in my family that I never had to worry about storing it. It is usually gone the day it is baked.

However, if you do happen to have any leftovers place them in the airtight container for several days. Then, you can reheat the bread in the microwave to make it all soft again or eat it as is.

Other Sourdough Recipes

If you are a sourdough aficionado, check out the sourdough page for more inspiration and recipes.

Updated: January 2024.

4.67 from 9 votes

Sourdough Cinnamon Snowflake Bread

Sourdough cinnamon star bread is soft, fluffy, and eye-pleasing comfort holiday food, which will surely impress and satisfy many at the table.

Prep Time1 hour hr

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Fermentation Time17 hours hrs

Total Time18 hours hrs 20 minutes mins

Servings 8

Calories: 277.2 kcal

Print Recipe Email Recipe

Equipment & Tools

• Stand mixer
• Baking sheet and parchment paper
• Kitchen scale
• Rolling Pin

INGREDIENTS

 

MetricUS Customary

 

1x2x3x

Dough

• 136 g whole milk (scalded and cooled to room temperature)
• 85 g eggs (2 small at room temperature)
• 1 tsp dark rum (high quality)
• 25 g granulated sugar
• 175 g sourdough starter (mature & fresh; 100% hydration)
• ¼ tsp cardamom (freshly ground)
• 350 g T00 flour (Mulino Marino)
• 7 g salt (Himalayan)
• 81 g butter (unsalted; room temperature)

Filling

• 55 g butter (unslated; room temperature)
• 80 g light brown sugar
• 1½ tbsp cinnamon (Ceylon)
• ⅛ tsp salt (Himalayan)

EGG WASH

• 1 egg
• ¼ tsp date syrup (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

• Gather all the ingredients.

PREPARE THE DOUGH

• Mix well all the ingredients in a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, except for the flour and butter.

  Add flour and mix on low speed until there are no dry bits of flour in the dough – Note 1.

  Cover and leave to rest for 30 minutes.
• Mix on low to medium speed for 10 minutes or until the sides and the bottom of the bowl are clean and the dough is clinging onto the hook.
• Start adding the butter incrementally, about 1 tablespoon at a time, and mix for another 5 minutes or until the bowl is clean and the dough is shiny, smooth, and passing the window-pane test – Note 2 (DDT 25°C/77°F)

BULK FERMENTATION

• Transfer the dough to a clean lightly buttered bowl. Fold the dough couple of times using the coil method to form a ball.
• Rest for one hour after which another coil fold should be done. The desired dough temperature should be 25.5°C (78°F).
• Rest for another hour after which do one more coil fold. The desired dough temperature should be 25.5°C (78°F).
• Leave the dough to ferment for another hour and a half, after which place the dough in the fridge for cold fermentation overnight.

PREPARE THE FILLING

• Melt the butter on low heat in a small saucepan. Set aside.
• Add all the filling ingredients, except the butter, to a small food processor and process until all the sugar chunks are broken down and the mixture is uniform and almost powder-like. Set aside.

SHAPE THE BREAD – next day

• Dust the clean working surface with some flour. Take the dough from the fridge, scrape it from the bowl, and place it top-down on the working surface. 
• Using a sharp knife cut the dough into 4 pieces. 
• Fold the pointy edges of the dough inwards and gently make a round ball. Don't overwork the dough.
• Roll each dough piece into a round circle with about 5mm (⅕ in) thickness – Note 3.
• Take one piece of the rolled out dough and place it on the prepared baking sheet lined with the parchment paper.
• Remove the excess flour from the dough and the work surface using a brush.

  Brush with ⅓ of the melted and cooled butter and sprinkle ⅓ of the filling – Note 4.

  Place the second rolled-out dough on top aligning the edges. Brush with ⅓ of the melted and cooled butter and sprinkle ⅓ of the filling.

  Repeat the process with the third rolled dough.

  Place the final fourth rolled out dough on top. Align the edges – Note 5.
• Measure where the middle of the circle of the dough is and place a small cap in the middle.
• Using a very sharp knife cut the dough to obtain 16 elongated pieces. Each cut should start from the edge of the small cup in the middle.

  Step 1: Cut the dough into quarters.

  Step 2: Cut each quarter in half.

  Step 3: Cut each half in half.
• Take two cut pieces by their edge and twist 3 times outward from each piece.

  Pinch them together along the cut edge.

  Push the pinched part down and tug underneath the dough. This forms one edge of a snowflake.

  Repeat for the other 7 pairs.
• Adjust each of the edges of the snowflake so that the twisted parts are aligned.

  Cover and place in the turned-off oven with the light on. Prove for 2 hours.

  Take the dough from the oven and place it on the kitchen counter. Preheat the oven to 220ºC (430ºF) – see Note 6 about oven temperature.

BAKING & SERVING

• Make the egg wasg by whisking the egg and the date syrup, if using – Note 7.

  Brush the snowflake with the egg wash.
• Place the star bread in the preheated oven and immediately lower the oven temp to 180ºC/356º. Bake for about 20 minutes or until it starts to lightly take on the color – Note 6 & 8. Place on the cooling rack to cool to room temperature before serving.
• Sprinkle with icing sugar and serve.
• The snowflake is best on the day it is baked – Note 9.

NOTES

1. After the initial mix of the ingredients the dough should be on a softer side and a bit sticky. Due to the differences in flour (and its absorption abilities) and also the weight of the eggs, the dough consistency can deviate a bit and be a bit too dry. If this happens add some more milk. I suggest you start adding 5 grams of milk and only after this additional milk is mixed into the dough you should add more if needed. Note that once the dough has relaxed and the butter is added in the second stage the dough will be softer. So please take care not to add too much additional liquid.
2. As you add the butter the dough will noticeably soften and start spreading a bit. However, as you continue to mix, the dough will form back into a coherent mass, but still a bit soft and slightly sticky.
3. If it is too warm in your kitchen wrap two dough pieces and place them in the fridge while you are rolling the first two. The colder the dough is after applying the filling the easier it will be to fold the dough into a snowflake.
4. Make sure the filling is uniformly sprinkled as any gaps will be visible in the final product.
5. If the dough does not resemble a circle but rather an ellipse the final snowflake shape will be distorted. Try tugging on the dough gently, but note that tugging can only fix a very minor problem in shape. If you want a perfect circle you can use the aluminum cake form, adjust the size desired, and simply cut the dough. The leftover dough can be placed in small ramekins, proofed, and baked separately. It tastes amazing as well. On the other hand, you can also leave the dough as is, if the distorted shape doesn’t bother you in the final product.
6. Note that ovens run differently i.e. some are stronger than others, so please adjust the temperature accordingly. The goal is to bake the star bread “fast” to achieve nice and fluffy texture with slight thin crust on the outside. Baking it for a longer period of time will dry out the star bread considerably since the bread is quite flat and not thick.
7. The date syrup will give that golden color without the need to overbake.
8. Make sure not to overbake as it will dry out the dough.
9. Keep it in an airtight container for several days. You can preheat it in the microwave or in a bamboo steamer for the best results. The oven tends to dry it out.

Did you make this recipe? I would love to see!Tag @itacdonev and hashtag #aifoodieland on instagram!