Sourdough Chocolate Spezialbrote

Often lately I've found that I'm having a rough time coming up with things for breakfast that I can make that aren't too boring, or too homey. I've made more coffee cakes than I can count and muffins and rolls galore, but more often than not breakfast in my house on the weekends is sunny side up eggs, sourdough pancakes and bacon. On occasion I do make a quiche or breakfast casserole,  and I do experiment quite regularly but its not often that I expect the family to welcome these foods on weekends. Everyone seems to love my coffee time breads and sweet yeasted treats but around my home my oldest has nut allergies and my husband despises raisins, cranberries and a slew of other things. So when making my breakfast bread creations I often feel quite restricted and limited to only a certain few things like cinnamon rolls and  fruit muffins. Over the years I think they've grown tired of all the new foods and just want the tried and true goodies or as Stephen says "PLAIN muffins with no "stuff" ...just fruit".

So keeping the classics in mind I got to thinking of things I favored as a child. Things such as kringles, traditionally Scandinavian pastries, or strudels that are traditionally German and Austrian. Although both are equally wonderful they're quite different. What I ended up making was a combination, maybe a little of both but not necessarily true to either. Kringles are typically a yeasted buttery dough thats flaky and similar to a puff pastry with standard fillings being sweetened cheese and fruits such as blueberries or cherries. Strudels are typically flaky and made with phyllo dough having fillings like apples, nuts and raisins. Although both pastries I have seen with plain yeasted dough variations I will qualify this as is "spezialbrote" which is German for specialty breads. In traditional German baking this category is typically things that are more labor intensive, lavishly filled or made in some unique manner.  This recipe is not difficult to prepare but it is absolutely quite special.  I used a home made hot fudge sauce for the filling with lady finger crumbs, and of course the best soft sourdough.  Its definitely a new classic in my home and I hope to make another variation soon. Its so wonderfully decadent and rich, yet slightly savory. Its just sweet enough to hit the spot, served with extra fudge and a dollop of whipped cream this could even be a wonderful dessert!

Butter enriched Sourdough Recipe: 

This dough is what I use for strudels and breakfast breads such as cinnamon rolls, its also what I often use for dinner rolls and sandwich buns. If you do not have a sourdough starter you can use this same recipe but without the starter. (You may have to add a bit more flour as needed.) If you desire a somewhat sour flavor you can substitute room temperature buttermilk. This general rule applies to any sourdough recipe.

1 tablespoon yeast

1/4 cup sugar

4 tablespoons melted butter

1 cup warm water (up to 110 degrees)

1 cup sourdough starter

1 cup instant potato flakes

2 cups all purpose un-bleached flour

2 teaspoons salt (sea salt or kosher)

In a large bowl combine yeast, sugar, butter, water and sourdough starter. (feed your starter afterwards and allow it to rest before storing it again) Allow this mixture to rest at room temperature for 10 minutes. Combine potato flakes, flour and salt. Add the flour only as you need it. You'll want a smooth mixture. Place this mixture on a lightly floured surface you may have to use up to 1/2 cup of additional flour while kneading. Knead about 10 minutes or until the ball is smooth and springs back to the touch. Place in a lightly sprayed or oiled bowl or air tight container with a vent. Place in the refrigerator overnight or up to 4 or so days.

Chocolate Spezialbrote:
1 pound of butter enriched sourdough
1 cup chocolate fudge sauce (2 ounces reserved for serving)
1 sleeve vanilla lady finger cookies ground fine (about 1 cup ground you could also use shortbread cookies,or  any vanilla cookie)

Remove 1 pound of dough from the refrigerator, on a liberally floured surface. I rolled my dough out directly on my silicone baking mat, if you don't have one you could use parchment or use the backside of a cookie sheet, something that does not have a ridge that would prevent your rolling pin from being flat. Roll the dough out to be about 10 inches by 12-13 inches. Smear four ounces of chocolate fudge sauce onto the rectangle leaving at least 1/2 inch around the edge. Sprinkle the cookie crumbs on top and wrap the side edges up and pinch shut slightly. Carefully roll lengthwise, you'll want to work somewhat quickly otherwise you will have a big mess. Pinch the dough together and roll it so that its seam side down.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Allow the bread to proof and puff back up, this will take about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Using a sharp knife, a bakers lame or a razor blade make 1/4" slashes in the top of the dough. I lightly brushed my dough with milk, you could use heavy cream or an egg wash either an egg white, egg yolk or whole egg wash with a few drops of water.

Bake 15-22 minutes. It may take more or less time according to your oven, it should be golden brown. Allow to rest at least 20 minutes before slicing. You want the fudge to harden back up slightly. Serve over top reserved fudge sauce.