Chocolate Sourdough cherry rolls with rum glaze

Today is Doomsday. Little Man told me yesterday that today was the day. I think it had something to do with the fact that summer vacation ended today and he had to go back to school. Face has no idea what Doomsday is ( we call it the Second Coming). As a matter of fact, when Little man said "tomorrow is Doomsday", Face starting running around the house in a very gleeful way waving his arms around and squealing "Yipeee! Tomorrow is Doomsday! I love Doomsday!" Now, this could also be due to the fact that I tell my kids it will great when the Savior comes as long as they live good lives and follow God. However, this may not include eating evil food like these rolls. So plan on repenting really quick. In light of the recent comments about sourdough in general, I found it very fitting to fall on this day. Very fitting indeed...(evil grin).

You will need:
One recipe of the Chocolate Sourdough Bread mixed and raised overnight.

1/2 cup cherry jam
1T quality cinnamon
2T sugar

Rum glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1T hot water
1/4 tsp rum extract
Let the Doomsday festivities begin. Lets see. Sprinkle the counter top with flour, all over. Roll the dough out in a rectangle. This one is 24 inches by 16 inches (approx). About 1/2 inch thick.
Now lightly spread the jam onto the rectangle, leaving about 1 inch around the edges. That inch is important. It makes it possible to seal the rolls.

Combine the cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle over the jam. This is still much lower in calories than if you used butter. Just a thought, since there has to be something redeeming about these little devilish things.

Tightly roll into a long log. I couldn't fit the whole thing in a picture frame. Sorry.

One of the secrets of getting nice round rolls, is making sure that you make the roll very tight, and you pinch the heck out of that dough to seal the edges. Stink bug...I didn't get a picture of sealing the seam. Can you all just imagine in your wonderful minds how it would look if I took my strong baker's hands and pinched the dough together? I hope I have not failed you miserably.
Now get a really nice sharp knife. The ones you never let your kids play with unsupervised. I prefer the serrated one I use for slicing bread. It gets a nice clean cut. This next picture almost made me cry it was so pretty...

Choirs of angels singing yet? Oh please! Sing ladies and Gents. This makes a dozen rolls. Cut into 12 pieces. My mathematical genius self is really shining through here isn't it?

I once again must tout the benefits of baking on a stoneware pan. Mine is seasoned really well so it looks rustic and artsy. Love it. But if you don't have one, a regular sheet pan would work.

Place them about 2 inches apart. Don't worry, they will grow together in love and harmony.

See...Peace In The Valley.
This world peace took about 2 1/2 hours. But, my house was really warm. It's summer in Arizona. It's warm. Yours may take closer to 3 if your house is cool. This is why I do pictures, so everyone can see what they should look like.

Bake 350 degrees 25-30 minutes.

Unglazed they look like this. To make the glaze, mix the powdered sugar, water and flavoring.

Drizzle on the love baby. Enjoy.

There you go. Make these on Doomsday or Tuesday...whichever comes first.

Chocolate Sourdough Bread

In light of recent highly controversial and possible cataclysmic events...I am now adding the most deadly of all sourdough recipes to my blog. In case the ensuing ripple of carnage and outright panic clamoring that will inevitably result from this recipe being introduced to your home, may I suggest putting a tin foil cone on your head right away? If you are totally confused, please refer to the historical document: Random thoughts...Sourdough.

This is one I have been holding in reserve. Why? Well I wanted to have something in my arsenal in case we really got serious around here. This is one of my favorite breads of all time. Chocolate Sourdough. It's a low fat whole grain yeast raised bread that makes the most amazing toast and sweet sandwiches ever. Stuffed French toast will never be the same. Oh dear heart. The advantage of the sourdough with the chocolate is the powerful reaction of the starter with the already evil and hypnotic effects of the cocoa bean. It may be one of life's most ridiculously insane flavors for all the right reasons.

You will need:

3 cups bread flour (whole wheat works wonderfully)

1/2 cup dark quality cocoa powder

1/2 cup sourdough starter (sourdough starter )

1/4 tsp yeast

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup water

1 tsp salt

2T oil

1/4 cup chopped quality chocolate (I use 85% cocoa), this stuff is powerful.

Combine the first 8 ingredients and knead 5-7 minutes until a supple dough forms. You may need to add more or less flour depending on how dry the flour is. Form into a rounded ball and put in a covered large bowl 8-10 hours. Yea, I make the dough at night, and when I wake up, it has reached perfection.

Knead the evil chopped chocolate by hand into the already amazing dough.

Form into a rounded loaf and place on a baking stone. I lightly sprinkle mine with Anise seed. Totally optional. Leave uncovered. This gives it a nice crusty crusty crust.

Allow to raise until doubled, about 3 hours. The dough is at 80 degrees or so. If you house is cooler, it may take longer to raise.

Lightly coat with flour and cut with a sharp knife, ever so slightly (about 1/4 inch into the crust).

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake 30-35 minutes, until meat thermometer registers 165 degrees or higher internal temperature.

There you go. Don't tell Ace I shared this recipe. The conspiracy theories will start to fly.