Cinnamon Orange Sourdough Star Bread- THM E

This loaf of Cinnamon Orange Sourdough Star Bread is a beautiful and delicious addition to any Christmas morning breakfast or brunch!

If you are looking for a fun and delicious dish to serve for your Christmas morning brunch look no further! Needless to say, a loaf of star bread is a beautiful way to point back to Jesus, the true reason for the season, during Christmas morning festivities. This is a memorable and visual reminder for young children and adults alike of the bright light in the darkness which proclaimed the birth of God’s son. The star symbolized that the Light of the World had come to shine into the dark places of this world.

What a profoundly beautiful and exciting truth to be reminded of during this joyous Christmas season!

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

John 1:5

Sourdough Star Bread

I choose to make this bread into a sourdough loaf for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it makes morning food preparation much quicker and easier if you can have your dough waiting to be baked right away. In our home, Christmas mornings are always a little bit chaotic and any little bit of preparation beforehand helps. Secondly, sourdough breads are much more nutrient dense and easier for our bodies to digest. Making this bread with wholewheat sourdough makes this a THM E and compatible with a traditional foods diet.

How to make Cinnamon Orange Sourdough Star Bread

Once broken down into manageable steps, this recipe is relatively simple to put together!

Mixing the Sourdough

• The night before you plan on serving your star bread, mix together all of your sourdough ingredients in a large bowl. A rough dough ball will form, and you can transition from the spoon to your hands to incorporate the ingredients well. Knead the dough for 10 minutes or until it becomes smooth and elastic.
• Place the dough back into the bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel. Leave the dough to rise overnight or for 8-10 hours.

Preparations

• The next morning, turn your dough out onto a lightly floured countertop and divide into four equal pieces. Place the balls of dough back into the bowl, separating with a sheet of plastic wrap. Chill the dough in the refrigerator until the oven is preheated and you are ready to shape the dough. This step makes the dough less sticky and easier to work with.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Shaping the Dough

• Once the oven is preheated, remove the dough from the refrigerator. One ball at a time, work 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda into the piece of dough really well. On a floured surface, roll out the dough into a 10″ circle. Transfer the dough to the baking sheet. Brush the dough with egg wash and sprinkle 1/4 cup cinnamon orange sweetener mixture over the dough.
• Repeat this process with the other three balls of dough, layering them on top of the first piece. Do not top the final piece of dough with the cinnamon mixture.
• Place a 2-3″ biscuit or cookie cutter in the center of the stacks of dough. Using a sharp knife, slice the dough in four equal slices. Slice each of those pieces in half and then in half once more. You should end up with 16 equal slices.
• Take two pieces next to each other and carefully twist them away from each other twice. (Watching the video above may help you visualize this.)

Baking

• Brush the top of the bread with the egg wash and bake for 20-25 minutes.
• Allow the bread to cool for 5-10 minutes before enjoying.

12 Days of Healthy Holiday Recipes Posts

This Cinnamon Orange Sourdough Star Bread is the day 10 recipe in my 12 Days of Healthy Holiday Recipes series. From the very beginning I knew I wanted to include this recipe! I feature these recipes on my Instagram page and include a short video of me making each of them.

1. Salty and Sweet Holiday Fudge
2. Peppermint Mocha Coffee Creamer
3. Cranberry Orange Turkey Salad
4. Simple Old-Fashioned Eggnog
5. Snickerdoodle Cheesecake
6. Holiday Spice Iced Tea
7. Pumpkin Streusel Bars
8. Eggnog Scones
9. Gingerbread Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

Trim Healthy Mama E

If you use Gentle Sweet, this is a Trim Healthy Mama E recipe which means it is low glycemic, full of healthy carbs, and low in fats. However, you can read below for my crossover (xo) suggestions for this recipe. If you are serving this for breakfast, you will need to add a protein source to your meal as this bread alone is not a complete protein source.

In this recipe I use the Trim Healthy Mama Brand Xylitol-Free Gentle Sweet Blend. I use their products on a daily basis and would highly recommend them. You can find their ingredients here.

Making this Meal a Crossover

This star bread makes a wonderful addition to breakfast or brunch for everyone. However, if you are serving these to growing children or those who are wanting to maintain their weight you may want to make their meal into a “crossover”. This simply means adding a mix of healthy carbs to the fats to their meal. You can do this by serving them whole eggs or another dish that includes healthy fats. You could also substitute coconut sugar or another whole food sweetener for some or all of the Gentle Sweet in this recipe. Depending on the sweetener you choose you may need to adjust the amounts.

Questions

Do I have to use Gentle Sweet in this recipe?

No, you do not have to use THM’s Gentle Sweet in this bread. However, just keep in mind that using a sweetener that is not compatible with a THM E will cause this to no longer be an E fuel. Alternative sweeteners that would keep this in an E setting would be erythritol, monkfruit, or xylitol. I personally chose to not use xylitol due to its side effects.

Why should I weigh my sourdough ingredients?

Especially when using whole wheat flour, I like to weigh my sourdough ingredients to maintain consistent and successful results. I have done a lot of sourdough experiments through the years and this method of measuring has definitely been a game changer for me. For a long time, I ignored those claiming that weighing was the way to go. I figured, what difference does it really make? Well, I am here to tell you that I was wrong; it makes a huge difference especially when you are seeking consistency in your bread!

When you are scooping your flour in a measuring cup you are sometimes going to have it packed in looser and other times tighter. Even if you think you are adding one cup of flour into two identical batches of bread your measurements are not going to be exactly the same. This can cause your liquid absorption rate to differ which can lead to dough that is either too dry or too wet.

Why does my sourdough starter need to be active?

If you use inactive sourdough starter or discard your dough will not rise to its fullest potential. This can lead to tough, flat, and even overly sour loaves of sourdough bread. Feeding your sourdough starter 4-6 hours before you plan on baking should be enough time for it to become active and bubbly. A bubbly starter equals a happy starter!