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.
Have you tried making Zucchini Bread with sourdough starter? If so I would like the recipe.
I have not.
I made these yesterday and they were so good! The initial dough didn’t rise too much and I let it sit out 5 hrs. But in the oven they rose nicely. I ate the leftovers this morning and I swear they were as good or better than when they came out of the oven! Thanks so much for this delicious recipe!
Do you think it would work if you put the shaped rolls overnight (maybe after letting them rise for a couple of hours) and then brought them to room temp and baked in the morning?
I tried that method and while it technically worked, they didn’t rise as high as I would have liked. But to answer your question, yes, it is possible to do that. 🙂
These turned out to be the BEST cinnamon rolls I’ve eaten – EVER. I’m obsessed with the depth added by the sourdough. I want to play with longer fermentation times to add even more sourdoughy goodness. Making the rolls vegan was simple and successful with a few swaps for vegan alternatives (soy milk, vegan butter, vegan cream cheese).
Hi, thanks so much for sharing this recipe – I am really excited to use it! I was just wondering if I could use sourdough starter discard in it? Or does it have to be active starter?
Thank you!
Hi, Amanda! I work with iambaker and am happy to help with questions. You can use either the sourdough starter discard or active starter for this recipe. I hope you love them! Have a great day!
My dough already rose in an hour and a half over the top of my bowl, should I still wait the full three hours rise time?
Nope! Best advice I ever received about baking bread (doughs) was to watch the dough, not the clock. If your is active and ready, bake away! 🙂
if I wanted to double this recipe would I need to double the sourdough starter as well. I have looked at different recipes and some which make 15-16 rolls use the same amount of starter as these call for. I love this recipe, I made it the other day and they were so so good that I don’t want to mess it up. but we need more!
You can always feed your discard to ensure you have enough! 🙂
Hi,
I’m a beginner to baking, but discovered sourdough and was looking for discard recipes. I tried your recipe, but the dough was so sticky it would not roll. Also it stuck to the silicone that I tried to roll on, even though it was well floured. Should I just try more flour? I did add a good 1/4 cup more that the recipe, as suggested.
Hi John! Your thought process was correct. I would add enough flour to make sure the dough is not sticky. Sourdough starters can vary in hydration, so you may have needed a bit more flour to get the drier consistency. It’s worth trying again if you have more starter available. 🙂
TOTAL DISASTER !! IT was like pancake batter !
I scooped into small muffin tins .. we’ll see what happens when I bake . did not rise at all the second time !
have had perfect success with baking loaves .
That may be because of the hydration level of your starter. If you run into an issue with your dough not having enough firmness, you can always add more flour. Every kitchen in every state is different and it can be helpful to choose to acclimate to your climate and circumstances.
Have you made these with raisins and what would the amount be ?
Hi, Heather! I work with iambaker and am happy to help with questions. No, we have not added raisins to this recipe, so I can’t say the exact amount you would need to add.