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
- â…“ 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.
I should have read everyone’s comments before attempting these. I am an experienced baker and my dough came out too wet to handle. I added 1+ cup of flour just to be able to work with the dough. I also added 1 tsp yeast to be safe. We’ll see if they rise and come out. There’s too many problems with this recipe to try again.
You made the right choice in adding more flour based on the wetness of your starter. I would not have added yeast. Because of that addition, I can’t take responsibility for the “failure” of the recipe.
I tried this recipe on Saturday and they turned out absolutely perfect, so here I am making them again today… 4 days later! 😂
The icing is so delicious and they were just all around perfect!
So glad you like them Lana!
Hi,
This was a pretty simple recipe for a sourdough discard beginner. My cinnamon rolls turned out great. Question with the icing, how long can I keep it in the fridge for or am I able to freeze it?
I made these a couple weeks ago. They were perfect. The people I shared them with are still talking about them. I’ll be making more today. Thank you!!!!
Do they freeze well?
Thanks,
Marlene
Not very fond of this recipe. Dough was very sticky as others noted yet I added more flour and made it work. Not at all like a typical cinnamin roll dough; it rised and baked well, however there wasn’t enough filling. I opted to use a simplified icing as I didn’t have vegan cream cheese. Perhaps the recommended icing would have improved the flavor. Sadly I will move on and try another recipe. Thank you for your efforts–everyone’s tastes are simply different.
I’ve made these several times, I found the amount of flour to be too much so I went by the look and feel of the dough as described in the recipe~ they’re delicious!
These are so good! Baking is a a science and you need to understand that there are variables. Sourdough starter, humidity and flour varies, so be cognizant of that and make adjustments if needed and these will turn out delicious!
These are so good! Baking is a a science and you need to understand that there are variables. Sourdough starter, humidity and flour varies, so be cognizant of that and make adjustments if needed and these will turn out delicious!
Can I prepare the cinnamon rolls the day before I need them?
Trying your sourdough left over cinnamon rolls recipe today. Dough was way sticky so added quite a bit more flour. Also, got nervous so added a tablespoon of yeast as after more than two hours, no rising to speak of. On the second rise now. Hope they turn out as I have always wanted to try cinnamon rolls recipe. Also, ran out of brown sugar (my fault) so tried the substitute recipe of granulated sugar and molasses. We’ll see!