Fill your house with the smell of freshly baked Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls, full of lots of cinnamon flavor and topped with a homemade whipped cream cheese frosting. Made with my sourdough starter, these rolls will melt in your mouth and you will want to make another batch immediately! For another delicious breakfast (or anytime) roll, try my Raspberry Cream Cheese Sweet Rolls.
Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls
Cinnamon Rolls have to be one of my favorite sweet rolls of all time. With just the right amount of cinnamon flavor and the perfect amount of frosting, I can’t pass them up anytime they are around or at my local cafe. The rolls are the perfect lazy morning treat to have with your coffee or tea. Adding the sourdough starter to these cinnamon rolls gives each bite just a little extra ‘zip’, or tangy flavor that I love with sourdough bread.
Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls Dough
It all starts with the dough for these Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls. So, get out your stand mixer with the hook attachment, and mix all the dough ingredients together for about 5 minutes. Make sure the dough is moist and sticky, but not too sticky. You can always add a little flour to the dough, but you don’t want it to be dry. Place the dough into a greased medium-sized bowl, cover it with a towel, and let it sit in a warm spot for 3-5 hours.
After the 3 hours, place the dough onto a floured work surface. Flatten out the dough into a rectangle. (You shouldn’t even need a rolling pin for this step.) If you want 9 cinnamon rolls, roll the dough a little thinner. For thicker cinnamon rolls, keep the dough to about 1/2-inch thickness.
Can I Freeze Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls?
Yes! You can freeze them before they rise and bake by covering them with plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Just take them out of the freezer when you are ready to bake them and let them thaw and rise before completing the rest of the steps. You can also freeze them after baking the rolls, but before adding the frosting. In addition, you can freeze them with no problem after you have frosted the baked rolls. Again, cover them with plastic and aluminum foil. But, be sure to let them cool before freezing them.
Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
DOUGH
- ½ cup (123g) whole milk, room temperature
- 1¾ cup (219g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 cup sourdough starter, discard or fed
- 1 pinch salt
FILLING
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
- ⅓ cup (67g) brown sugar
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon
WHIPPED CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
- 3 ounces cream cheese, softened
- ¼ cup (57g or 1/2 stick) butter, softened
- 1½ cup (188g) confectioners' sugar, sifted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
DOUGH
- Add all the dough ingredients to stand mixer. Using the dough hook attachment, knead ingredients for about 5 minutes. The dough should be moist and sticky, not dry and in a ball. If it is too sticky, you can add up to 1/4 cup more flour so that you can easily move it to the bowl.
- After all the ingredients are incorporated and the dough is smooth, place into a medium-sized bowl that has been greased. Cover with a towel and place in a warm spot for about 3 hours. (Can sit for up to 5 hours.)
- After the dough has risen, prepare a solid surface countertop with a light dusting of flour.
- Pour dough out onto the counter and press it flat. This dough is so soft and pliable you should not even need a rolling pin. Press the dough out (being sure it is not sticking to the counter) into a rectangle shape. If you want 9 rolls, make the rectangle thinner and larger, if you want 6 rolls it can be a bit thicker, like 1/2 inch thick.
FILLING
- In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon with a fork.
- Pour 3 tablespoons butter over the dough so that it covers the entire surface.
- Spread brown sugar and spice mixture over dough making sure it covers the entire surface.
ROLLING & CUTTING
- Roll the dough up, pinching with your fingers to keep it tightly rolled. Press the seam to seal before positioning the log seam side down.
- Using a very sharp knife, cut the dough into 6 or 9 pieces (depending on the thickness of dough). Place in a greased 8×8-inch baking pan.
- Place the rolls in a warm dry space and allow them to rise for about 2 hours.
BAKING
- Bake at 350°F for about 25 minutes, or until lightly golden brown.
WHIPPED CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
- When rolls are almost done baking, put cream cheese, butter, confectioners sugar, vanilla, and salt in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
- Mix on low to just combine. Once ingredients are all incorporated turn mixer on high and leave it for 4-5 minutes. Frosting should be light and fluffy.
- Place cream cheese frosting on rolls right in the pan OR invert rolls onto serving plate and then top with frosting.
Did you make this recipe?
Thank you for making my recipe! You took pictures, right? Well go ahead and post them on Instagram! Be sure to mention me @iambaker and use the hashtag #YouAreBaker.
Need your recipe for sour dough starter please.
https://iamhomesteader.com/sourdough-starter/
Can I put these in the fridge overnight and bake in the morning?
I tried that method and while they were still delicious, they didn’t bake up as high. So yes, it works, but not quite as beautiful.
Amanda! Thank you for the sourdough starter recipe! I just made the Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls and they were the very best I’ve ever made! They were light as a feather! Unbelievably good! I did not actually follow the cinnamon roll recipe, rather just the sourdough starter, flour, water, pinch of salt and a little more honey! Once baked I lightly frosted them and the pan was really beautiful! They disappeared so fast I wasn’t able to get a picture!😉 I’m definitely making more rolls and plan to keep my starter going.
SO happy to hear it, Barbara!!
Nice recipe, but you failed to include the recipe for the sourdough starter!
I did not. I link to the post FIVE TIMES in the blog post. Here it is AGAIN https://iamhomesteader.com/sourdough-starter/
Hello from Manitoba Canada,
I took the discard and wanted to make cinnamon buns but it didn’t rise. What could I have done wrong?
Hello. I am excited but want to make these this weekend. I unfortunately cannot have milk. Can you substitute a dairy free milk or would i use water?
I also don’t have a stand mixer….is this a lost cause???
T.I.A
Hi, Amy! I work with iambaker and am happy to help with questions. We have not tried using dairy-free milk or water in this recipe, so I can’t say how the rolls would turn out. As for not having a stand mixer, it’s not a lost cause, but it will take a lot of elbow grease to prepare the dough. Have a great day!
I was looking for a recipe to use my sourdough discard and came across this and your Raspberry Sweet Roll recipe, which looks amazing! How would you recommend combining the two? To use sourdough and raspberries?
I would start here and then maybe omit the cinnamon and add the raspberries. 🙂
https://iambaker.net/sourdough-cinnamon-rolls/
Love your sourdough cinnamon rolls!. Next time my daughter wants me to add more cinnamon and toasted pecans. Love your recipes I’ve tried. Keep up the great work!
Thank you, Michele! So glad you enjoyed them and I love those adjustments!
Hi! I successfully followed your sourdough starter recipe to make sourdough, only thing was I had to use the King Authur site for the measurements in grams since I am an American living overseas. I guess I could say your video on sourdough inspired me! Could you please give me the measurements of the sourdough that go in your cinnamon roll and prezel recipe in grams? I absolutely love your recipes and videos! Keep up the good job! Thank you.
Hi Daniela – Here is a good conversion tool for you! https://www.thecalculatorsite.com/cooking/cooking-calculator.php
I printed your sourdough Banana Bread recipe but doesn’t say if sourdough needs to be active and bubbly?
It can be discard or fed.