Decades ago I was given a gift of Amish Friendship Dough. I managed to use it and keep it alive and active for some time before the demands of life and school led to a neglected fermenting, odourous blob that I was forced to throw out.
Skip forward 30+ years and again I was gifted with some sourdough starter from a Brooklin neighbour/patient/friend. This most recent sourdough came into my life about 6 weeks ago. While definitely on a learning curve, I’m achieving some success with cinnamon rolls/knots, banana bread and getting very exciting and reproducible results with crepes and pancakes. I’m currently awaiting recipes from friends for bread and bagels.
Unglazed cinnamon rolls are a favourite of mine so I’m most motivated to perfect that recipe. With some early but random successes, I’ve discovered several key elements to making a great tasting and NOT stone-weight roll that is appropriately cooked and doesn’t taste like it was created by sugar addicted elves working in a candy factory. Now, just to manage all the elements in the same endeavour… Needless to say, we’ve been eating a fair amount of cinnamon rolls lately. As impatient as I am to get this recipe right, it turns out to be a blessing for both myself and Alain that I can only attempt this once per week. Luckily, cinnamon rolls freeze well.