How to make Sourdough Cinnamon Fruit Scrolls

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If you have ever had that Christmas classic, wreath bread, you might be able to imagine the delicious, rich, spicy, aromatic-ness of these delicious Sourdough Cinnamon Fruit Scrolls.  The fruit gets so plump and juicy and sweetens that cinnamon-y, spicy dough. This recipe is the easiest way to get your sourdough cinnamon scroll fix!

Ode to the Scroll:

I love how the construct of the scroll transforms ordinary bread into something soft, fluffy, sweet and decadent.  And you can make so many different flavoured scrolls, savoury AND sweet!  All with simple ingredients!

I wanted to jump aboard the Sourdough Train, and create a richly aromatic scroll recipe with all the added benefits of sourdough and overnight fermentation.

This Sourdough Cinnamon Scroll recipe is spicy and rich and sweet, exactly what a Scroll needs to be.  In saying that, this recipe is not highly involved nor does it have any of the usual ingredients that make for decadence. There is no butter, or sugar, or eggs.

So not only are there benefits from the fermented sourdough bread dough, but if you are lactose, egg and sugar intolerant, you can enjoy this recipe!

ANYONE can have their scroll fix!

How can a Vegan Scroll Dough achieve that buttery, briochey texture?

The answer to this is so simple, and so frugal, which is what I am ALL about.

Coconut Cream.

I guess you could say coconut cream provides the richness in this recipe.  I much prefer it to butter and eggs, because it achieves that fluffy texture in the easiest way.  No kneading cold butter into the dough, no creaming, not even melting!!

So how do you use it?

You pour it over the scrolls before you put it in the fridge for the overnight ferment.

Yep.

NO faffing.  Scrolls Recipes are ordinarily quite fiddly and intricate, what with kneading butter into an enriched bread dough. But, this recipe involves none of that!

Letting the dough sit in the sweetened and spiced coconut cream overnight allows it to absorb the sweetness and fat from the cream.  The dough will soak up all that deliciousness, and become the light and fluffy, slightly sweet, scroll you have been craving!

Plus, there is no prep you need to do the next day.  Simply remove the scrolls from the fridge an hour before baking, to allow it to come to room temperature.  Then, plop them in the oven.

The scrolls will magically absorb any coconut cream mixture it has not already, during the bake. They come out of the oven plump, sweet, and oh so light, buttery and fluffy.

Top Tip when making Scrolls:

To save time and effort (because it does take a couple of days, to feed the starter, soak the fruit, then make the dough and leave it in the fridge overnight), I would double the quantity of bread dough. 

You could either use 1 half to make a this Spiced Fruit Sourdough loaf, OR you could make a double batch of these Sourdough Cinnamon Scrolls.

That way, you have double the quantity, for the same amount of effort!

A note about the flavours:

These Sourdough Cinanmon Scrolls are also flavoured with raspberry and vanilla essence.  The raspberry essence is a nod to the New Zealand childhood classic, Raspberry Buns.

These buns were basically an ordinary bread roll, thickly iced with a sickly sweet Raspberry Icing.  I remember the icing getting all over my fingers and my clothes.

Adding raspberry essence just gives these scrolls a delightful childish magic.  The raspberry flavour is not domineering but it is definitely there, dancing a little jive on your tongue.

What Dried Fruit do the Sourdough Cinnamon Fruit Scrolls need?

This Cinnamon Fruit Scrolls recipe is an adaptation of my Christmas Spiced Fruit Sourdough Bread recipe.  It needs the Christmas Fruit mix.

Christmas fruit is the type of fruit mix that you would normally soak in brandy for months and then put into your Christmas cake.  It usually has sultanas, glace cherries and mixed peel. 

It is a lot sweeter than ordinary fruit mixes, and even than dates, which makes these scrolls sweet enough to be comfort food at its finest.

The Christmas Fruit Mix is irreplaceable!

Ingredients for Sourdough Cinnamon Fruit Scrolls:

For the Dough

100g Christmas Fruit

1 tablespoon mixed spice

1 tablespoon Almond or Raspberry Essence

280g water (I use whey)

100g Sourdough Starter

450 g Flour

10 g Salt.

For the Cinnamon-infused Coconut Cream

1 400ml Tin Coconut Cream

2 tablespoons Truvia

1 teaspoon Cinnamon

Timeline to make Sourdough Cinnamon Fruit Scrolls

The first part of making these scrolls is the same for making the Christmas Spiced Fruit Sourdough.  The change happens at the final shape, when it is changed into the scrolls.  Read on!

The Night Before:

Feed your starter.

Place Christmas fruit, essence, spice, and whey in a large mixing bowl.  Cover with a tea towel, and let it strain overnight.  The fruit will release a lovely sweetness into the liquid, which is why you will not need to add honey or sugar to this dough.

The Next Day:

Add sourdough starter and salt to the fruit-and-spice mixture. Mix thoroughly. Add flour and mix until a cohesive dough is formed.

Leave to rest for half an hour.

Stretch and Fold

For the next 2 hours, do 4 stretch and folds, 30 minutes apart.

Bulk Ferment

Cover with a tea towel and leave to rise for a minimum of 6 hrs (be careful not to over-prove at this stage, as it can really impact how the dough bakes).  If it is warm, leave for a maximum of 8 hrs, just to be safe.

Shape

Tip the dough out onto the bench.  With wet hands, stretch the dough out as far as it will go without tearing.  Then, bring each corner to the centre of the dough.  Flip it over cup your hands at the top of the dough and pull it across the bench towards you.  This should make the surface of the dough nice and taut.

Turn it back over and rest for 40 minutes on the bench.

Now it is time to make the Scrolls.

Stretch the dough into a large rectangle (as large as it can be.  If it tears, it will survive).

Make the coconut cream mixture by combining the coconut cream, truvia and cinnamon.

Spoon over the dough.  Mine was very runny, so don’t worry if some of it pools out when you roll it.

Roll into a log and cut into 6 scrolls.

Overnight Ferment

Place 6 scrolls in an oven-proof deep dish.  They should have enough room in the dish to rise.

Pour about ½ a cup of the coconut cream mixture over the top.  It should come halfway up the scrolls.

Leave overnight in the fridge.

Bake

Preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius. 

Bake for 30 minutes or until you receive the colouration you desire. 

Serve with a spoonful of the coconut cream mixture, if you have any remaining.

Notes

The coconut cream I used was quite runny, which worked well with this recipe.  Some coconut creams do come a little thicker and are solid at room temperature.

I have not tried this with a more solid coconut cream, but it would work better in terms of spreading on the raw dough before rolling.  However, when it comes to soaking overnight, it probably won’t absorb into the dough as well. 

However, it might still when it comes to baking, so I wouldn’t worry if that is all you’ve got (the temperature will loosen the cream and make it more absorbable).