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–+ servings
Bread

Walnut Cinnamon Swirl Sourdough Bread

This cinnamon sugar swirl sourdough bread is filled with layers of brown sugar, cinnamon, and walnuts! Learn how to make this sourdough bread recipe at home so that your sourdough has a golden crust, soft crumb, and a rich, caramelized swirl that's perfect for breakfast.
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Prep Time35 minutes
Cook Time1 hour
Total Time1 day 1 hour 35 minutes
Yield2 loaves

Equipment

INGREDIENTS

Leaven
  • 30 g sourdough starter (active, bubbly)
  • 110 g whole wheat flour (I use King Arthur's brand)
  • 110 g water (room temperature)
Sourdough
  • 250 g leaven (from the previous step)
  • 800 g white bread flour (I use Gold Medal brand)
  • 200 g whole wheat flour
  • 20 g salt
  • 780 g water (room temperature)
Walnuts
  • 1 c walnuts (roughly chopped, sifted of dust)
Cinnamon Sugar Swirl
  • 1 c brown sugar (light)
  • 1/4 c cinnamon

INSTRUCTIONS

Leaven: The Night Before
  • Add all of the Leaven ingredients to a glass jar or medium glass bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise overnight, 8-12 hours. The leaven should be active at this point, with lots of bubbles visible through the glass jar.
Sourdough: Day One
  • Add the Leaven to a large mixing bowl.
  • Add the water, and whisk until the Leaven is fully dissolved in the water.
  • Add the flour and the salt to the bowl, and use a spoon to lightly mix everything together until a shaggy dough forms. The dough will be sticky and not very pretty. That's ok.
  • Rest the dough for 30 minutes at room temperature so the flour can fully hydrate, making the next step much easier.
Add the Walnuts, and Begin the Stretch and Folds
  • After 30 minutes, perform the first series of stretch-and-folds to build the structure of the dough. This is essential to strengthen the gluten and achieve a good rise.
  • Simply grab a corner of the dough, stretch it up and away from the bowl, and fold it across to the other side. Turn the bowl 90 degrees, and repeat the stretch-and-fold a total of four times, turning the bowl each time. The dough will become stronger and less stretchy the more you fold it.
  • Add the chopped walnuts into the dough during this first set of stretch and folds. I find that sprinkling a handful of walnuts on top of the dough before each fold is a great way to get the walnuts fully incorporated into the dough, and they will disperse even more as you do more of these stretch and folds throughout the day.
  • Cover the bowl and rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Stretch and Folds x6
  • Repeat the stretch and folds process every 30 minutes, for a total of six times. Yes, it is quite an involved process…See the blog post above to get an idea of what timing looks like for this.
Bulk Fermentation
  • After the sixth stretch and fold, cover the bowl and rest the dough for about 4 hours at room temperature. If you use a glass bowl for this, you can see when the dough has doubled in size, and that there are lots of gas bubbles visible along the sides of the dough.
    My dough took about 4 hours to reach this stage, but that's because it was pretty cold in my kitchen. This process may take as little as 2 hours or as long as 12 depending on the temperature of your kitchen and the strength of your sourdough starter. Go off of how the dough looks, not particular timing.
Divide the Dough
  • After the bulk fermentation step, dump the dough upside down onto an unfloured countertop, and use a bench scraper or sharp knife to cut the dough in half.
  • If the dough spreads out too much, you an loosely gather up the sides to shape it into a loose ball, just to keep the dough together.
  • Cover both dough balls with a towel, and rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.
Cinnamon Sugar Swirl
  • Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, mix all of the ingredients together for the Cinnamon Sugar Swirl.
  • Divide the Cinnamon Sugar Swirl into two separate bowls, as we'll be using them for both loaves.
Shape The Dough
  • Dust the insides of two large glass bowls with flour. These will be used to proof the doughs in the fridge for the final time.
  • After the dough has rested for 30 minutes, move one of the dough balls out of the way. We are going to work on them one at a time.
  • Pat one dough ball into a rough rectangle with your hands. There’s no need to use a rolling pin or to measure it, but the rectangle may be roughly 12”x10”, with the short side facing you. Again, it does not need to be perfect. The dough should be relatively thin, but be careful not to tear the dough as you stretch it.
  • Sprinkle some of the cinnamon sugar on top of the dough, leaving a 1” margin around the edges. Pat the cinnamon sugar mixture into the dough.
  • Lift the right side of the rectangle and fold it over about 3/4 of the way to overlap the top of the dough. Sprinkle more cinnamon sugar on top of this clean side, patting it in again, but leaving a border along the edges (check out the photos in the blog post for a visual aid).
  • Repeat with the left side of the dough, lifting it up and folding it over on top of the right side of the dough, covering it completely.
    You will have a very long rectangle in front of you.
  • Sprinkle this new top side with the remainder of the cinnamon sugar mixture, patting it in again, but leaving a clean border.
Roll the Dough
  • Lift the short side of the rectangle that is closest to you, and carefully roll the dough into a tight ball like you’re rolling a blanket or a towel, ending with the seam side down. It’s ok if it starts to unravel a little bit, but it shouldn’t be too tight or too loose.
Place the Dough in a Bowl
  • Lift the dough and place it upside down in the lightly floured bowl, so that the seam is facing up. It won’t look pretty.
  • Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and repeat this process with the second ball of dough.
Overnight Proof
  • Place both bowls in the fridge and proof the dough overnight, about 12 hours. The dough will have risen, and lots of syrup may be leaking out of the dough–that’s ok! Even if your dough is sitting in a pool of syrup, it will still turn out fine when you bake it.
Sourdough: Day Two
  • When you’re ready to bake your bread, place a Dutch oven, with the lid on, inside of the oven and preheat for one hour at 500 F.
Score
  • Tear a large sheet of parchment paper and place it on top of the counter. Take one of the dough balls out of the fridge and turn it upside down on top of the parchment paper, seam side down.
    See Notes section below for instructions on baking two loaves at once.
  • Score the top of the dough however you like with a bread lame or a sharp knife.
Bake
  • Carefully remove the hot Dutch oven, and take off the lid. Lift up the parchment paper with the dough on it, and place the whole thing in the Dutch oven. Cover with the lid, and return the Dutch oven to the oven.
  • Immediately turn the heat down to 450 F, and bake for 20 minutes.
  • After 20 minutes, remove the lid and bake for 35 minutes more, until the top is golden and beautiful.
    If you use an internal thermometer, the internal temperature should read at least 205 - 210 F.
  • Repeat with the second dough, bringing the oven back to 500 F with the Dutch oven lid on.
Rest
  • Cool both sourdough breads completely for at least 2 hours before slicing and enjoying!
  • Homemade sourdough is best enjoyed within 1-2 days. Store leftovers in an airtight bag or container at room temperature, or freeze slices of bread for longer term storage.

Notes

For efficiency, you can bake both loaves both at once, depending on your equipment and the size of your oven. You can use two Dutch ovens, as long as they fit side-by-side in your oven. If you don’t have a Dutch oven, you can also bake the bread in a stainless steel pot (with an accompanying lid), or even a cast iron skillet. Just make sure whatever pot or pan you use is oven safe to 500 F, and has a lid to go with it. Baking two loaves at once may take a few minutes longer, but only by 5-10 minutes. Check the internal temperature with a thermometer to be sure!
 
Adapted from The Perfect Loaf