You guys, this is a masterpiece!!  Amish Sourdough Cinnamon Swirl Bread with Cream Cheese Glaze is the result of lots of hours stuck at home, thinking about food!  And I have to say is it’s one of the best breads to ever come out of my oven…and I may like it even better the next morning, toasted and slathered in butter! 

I’ve always wanted to try making sourdough breads, but with the scarcity of flour on the shelves right now it didn’t feel like the right time to feed a sourdough starter cups of flour every day.  So I was curious when I recently read The Amish Cook at Home cookbook and the author (Lovina Eicher) talked about sourdough baking using a starter made only of yeast and water that rests in the fridge for 3-5 days.  That’s a sourdough starter I can get behind – way easier and less wasteful!

If you’ve ever wanted to venture into the world of sourdough baking, this is your chance.  I’m assuming you have a little time to sit and wait for the starter to ripen and I promise it’s worth your time!  This recipe makes 2 loaves, so you can easily tuck one away in the freezer for a later time.  And like I said…it tastes so good as toast!  If you have a very favorite white bread recipe already, you can also adapt it and use this cinnamon sugar swirl inside.  So many possibilities!

Let’s get started!!

Sourdough Starter

Usually sourdough starters are made by combining water and flour, and continuing to feed the starter once or twice a day for 14 days.  At that point you keep the starter in the fridge, feeding it weekly.  This sourdough starter is MUCH easier!  It’s 3-5 days untouched in the fridge, followed by an overnight rise on the counter.

To begin the sourdough starter, combine 3 packages of active dry yeast (6 3/4 teaspoons) and 1 cup of warm water.

Mix until combined.

Cover with plastic wrap and let sit in the fridge for 3-5 days.  This is what my starter looked like after a 5 day rest in the fridge.

It doesn’t look a whole lot different, but a lot of magic has happened.

The Day Before You Want To Bake

The day before you want to bake your bread, remove the starter from the fridge and feed your starter with 3/4 cup granulated sugar, 3 tablespoons of instant potatoes, and 1 cup of warm water.

Cover and let sit on the counter for 6-12 hours.  It will foam and grow a lot while it sits on the counter.

Stir the mixture and remove 1 cup of starter for baking the bread (place remainder of starter in the fridge for another time).

Combine the 1 cup of starter with flour, more warm water, oil, sugar, and salt and knead until it forms a smooth dough (I wish I had a picture of this part, but I was so excited I forgot to take a picture – ha!).  Cover and let rise on the counter overnight and this is what you will wake up to!

Punch down and divide the dough into 2 equal pieces, it’s time to form the bread!

Grease a standard loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Cinnamon Swirl Filling

When making cinnamon rolls, I like to brush the dough with butter and then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.  With this bread, however, I like to brush the dough with an egg wash and then sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the top.  The egg acts as a binder and keeps the cinnamon sugar in the dough, instead of oozing out the edges while baking.

Forming the Bread Loaves

Roll each piece of dough out so that it’s roughly the width of the bread pan.

Brush the dough with the egg and water mixture…

Sprinkle with the cinnamon and sugar mixture….

And roll the dough, starting with the bottom….

Pinch the ends closed….

And place the loaf into the prepared pan….

Reapeat with the other piece of dough and cover both loaves loosely with well greased plastic wrap .

Let rise on the counter for about 3-4 hours, until the dough is about 1″ over the rim of the pan.

Bake at 350 F for about 40 minutes, until golden on top and cooked through.

Brush the loaves with butter immediately after removing from the oven.

And remove from pans.

Cream Cheese Glaze

While the bread cools, make the cream cheese glaze.  The glaze is “optional,” but glaze to me is never optional – haha!  In fact, you can see that I was so excited to eat this glaze that I wasn’t patient enough to let the cream cheese come completely to room temperature and the glaze wasn’t totally smooth because of it.  Don’t be like me!  But either way, it will taste soooo good!

This bread is so, so good!!

And I haven’t even talked yet about how amazing this bread is as buttered toast the next morning!

This was my first attempt at making sourdough bread, and I guarantee it won’t be the last!  I will keep sharing recipes with all of you using this starter, so stay tuned!

Amish Sourdough Cinnamon Swirl Bread with Cream Cheese Glaze

Sourdough Starter:

3 packages active dry yeast (6 3/4 teaspoons)
1 cup warm water (115 F, bath water temperature)

Starter Feed:

3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons instant potatoes
1 cup warm water (115 F, bath water temperature)

Bread Dough:

1 cup sourdough starter
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water
1/2 c vegetable or canola oil
6 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon table salt

Cinnamon Sugar Filling:

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tablespoon all purpose flour
2 large eggs, beaten with 2 tablespoons of water

Cream Cheese Glaze:

4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons whole milk
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions

To make the starter:

Combine water and yeast together, cover and refrigerate for 3-5 days.

To feed the starter:

The day before you would like to bake bread, remove the starter from the fridge and add the sugar, instant potatoes, and additional water to the starter. Mix and store covered on counter for 6-12 hours until the mixture is foamy and has increased in volume. Stir mixture and remove 1 cup of the starter for making bread. Store the rest of the starter, covered in the refrigerator, for another 3-5 days. At that point, you can remove it from the fridge, feed it, and bake something else.

To make the bread:

Combine 1 cup of sourdough starter with the sugar, oil, water, bread flour, and salt. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, 3-5 minutes. Cover and let sit on counter, covered, overnight.

Combine the eggs and water in one bowl and the cinnamon and sugar in another bowl.

Divide the dough in half and brush each piece of dough with egg wash and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the top. You probably won’t use all of the egg wash, but will want to use all of the cinnamon sugar. Roll the dough up, pinch the edges, and place in a greased loaf pan. (See the pictures for detailed instructions)

Let rise 4-5 hours on the counter, until the bread rises 1″ over the edge of the pan.

Bake at 350 F for 40-45 minutes (covering the loaves with an aluminum foil tent the last 10 minutes of baking, if the bread browns too quickly. (The bread should be cooked to 190 F on an instant read thermometer, if you want to get super specific.)

Remove the loaves from the oven and immediately brush with butter. Remove the bread from the pans and let cool on a wire rack while you make the cream cheese glaze.

To make the cream cheese glaze:

Combine all ingredients to make a thin glaze, adding more milk if necessary. Drizzle over slightly cooled bread.