Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls
Sourdough cinnamon rolls are a step up from yeasted cinnamon rolls! They are soft and fluffy and have an incredible depth of flavor!
How to Make Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls
I developed my sourdough cinnamon roll recipe based on my famous yeasted overnight cinnamon rolls. I have made them for years to rave reviews and decided I wanted to make a version using sourdough starter. These are now my favorite!
Make the Dough
The dough is a standard enriched dough and it comes together quickly by cominbing all of the ingredients together into one bowl. The order in which everything is combined doesn’t make a difference. Just weigh everything in the bowl and mix with a spoon, your hands, or in a stand mixer until everything starts to come together.
The dough can then be kneaded by hand or in a stand mixer with the dough hook. Knead for 8-10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.
Bulk Ferment
This dough takes quite some time to bulk ferment (go through the first rise). Typically about 8-10 hours based on the temperature of your kitchen and how powerful your sourdough starter is. I suggest not rushing this process by using a proofer because this is the point where all of the flavor will build in your dough.
In the written recipe I include several example timelines for you to play out your dough schedule. I typically plan it so that my dough will bulk ferment overnight and I will shape and bake in the morning.
Shape
After the dough has gained in volume by at least 50%, you can roll the dough out and fill it with butter and cinnamon sugar. I find that using brown sugar and a high ratio of cinnamon makes the absolutely best sourdough cinnamon rolls! I also like to mix a bit of flour into the filling which prevents the filling from leaking out too much.
Proof
Once the rolls are shaped they need to rise for a second time (proof) before baking. This will take about 1-2 hours depending again on the room temperature of your kitchen and how powerful your starter is.
Wait until the rolls are puffy and have increased in size by about 50% before baking.
Bake and Frost
Cinnamon rolls are always best served fresh and I recommend trying to bake them right before serving. I love to top them with a cream cheese frosting that I add while the rolls are still fairly warm so it melts a bit and seeps down into the dough. I think that the tanginess of the cream cheese pairs so well with the slight taniginess of the dough. You can also use a vanilla glaze if you prefer.
Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls
Sourdough cinnamon rolls are a step up from yeasted cinnamon rolls! They are soft and fluffy and have an incredible depth of flavor!
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 152 grams (⅔ cup) whole milk (lower fat or non-dairy can be substituted), warmed to about 85°F/29°C
- 100 grams (½ cup) granulated sugar
- 75 grams (⅓ cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt or fine sea salt
- 510 grams (4 ¼ cups) all-purpose flour, unbleached
- 150 grams sourdough starter, fed and active
For the Filling
- 75 grams (⅓ cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 36 grams (3 tablespoons) ground cinnamon
- 200 grams (1 cup) brown sugar, preferably dark brown
For the Frosting
- 113 grams (4 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature
- 56 grams (¼ cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 180 grams (1 ½ cups) powdered sugar
Instructions
*See note section for example timelines
Make the dough:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large mixing bowl, combine all of the dough ingredients together including the warmed whole milk (152 grams/ ⅔ cup), granulated sugar (100 grams/ ½ cup), butter (75 grams/ ⅓ cup), eggs (2 large), salt (1 teaspoon), all-purpose flour (510 grams/ 4 ¼ cups), and sourdough starter (150 grams). The order in which they go into the bowl does not make a difference.
- Use a rubber spatula or a clean hand to begin mixing the ingredients together until most of the flour is absorbed.
- Knead the dough either with the dough hook on your stand mixer on medium speed, or by hand, for 8-10 minutes until the dough is very smooth and elastic. The dough should feel tacky. Avoid adding too much extra flour as the dough will become less sticky the more you knead it.
- Place the dough in an oiled bowl to rise for 8-10 hours, until rounding in the bowl and full of air. It should increase in size by at least 50% and if you poke a floured finger into the dough the indentation should remain.
- Roll the dough out on a lightly floured work surface to about an 18 by 14-inch (46 by 36-cm) rectangle.
Add the Filling:
- Brush the dough with the softened butter (75 grams (⅓ cup) until covering all of the dough, leaving about a 1-inch (2.5-cm) border along one long side.
- Combine the cinnamon (36 grams/ 3 tablespoons) and brown sugar (200 grams/ 1 cup) for the filling. Spread evenly over the dough avoiding the unbuttered border.
- Starting on the long end that is covered in filling, tightly roll the dough up into a log until you reach the end that doesn't have any butter or filling. Pinch the clean end of dough to the log to seal closed.
- Cut the dough into 12 roughly equal pieces using a serrated knife.
- Grease a 9 by 13-inch (23 by 33-cm) pan with oil or butter. Place the rolls in the pan and cover with plastic wrap to proof until increased in size by at least 50%, about 1-2 hours. Alternatively, you can let the rolls rise partially (about 45 minutes to 1 hour), and then refrigerate overnight to finish rising and bake in the morning.
Bake and Frost:
- While the rolls are rising, preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C.
- Bake the rolls for 30-35 minutes until lightly browned on top and cooked through in the center.
- To make the frosting, cream the cream cheese (113 grams/ 4 ounces) and butter (56 grams (¼ cup) in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract (1 teaspoon) and powdered sugar (180 grams/ 1 ½ cups) mix until completely combined.
- Frost the rolls while still warm and serve immediately.
- Store unbaked rolls at room temperature covered in foil for 24 hours.
Notes
Example Timeline 1:
Feed Starter: 2:00 pm Day 1
Mix Dough: 9:00 pm Day 1
Shape Dough: 6:00 or 7:00 am Day 2
Bake Rolls: 7:00/7:30 or 8:00/8:30 Day 2
Example Timeline 2:
Feed Starter: 7:00 am Day 1
Mix Dough: 1:00 pm Day 1
Shape Dough: 8:00 pm Day 1
Refrigerate Dough: 9:00 pm Day 1
Bake Rolls: whenever you are ready on Day 2 before 10:00 am (rolls should be able to go straight from fridge to oven unless they look like they have not risen enough)
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34 Comments on “Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls”
Hello! How much flour do you add to the filling?
Hi! I do not add flour to the filling.
It says in the description that you add “a bit” of flour to the filling so it doesn’t get too runny and seep out. I would imagine Maybe a tablespoon or two. These look awesome!
Hello Bettie,
In your introduction you did say that: “I also like to mix a bit of flour into the filling which prevents the filling from leaking out too much.”
I also would like to know how much flour we could add to the filling – two teaspoons, less?
While I love cinnamon rolls, my husband recently developed an intolerance/allergy to cinnamon.
As both of us eat (lots of) chocolate, I thought that you probably know a chocolate cream or any misture with chocolate that I could use instead of the cinnamon filling in this recipe.
I have found your site last year and have been testing many of your receipts. A couple of decades ago, in my native country, I also used to make sourdough bread, as a relaxing activity in a very stressful life.
I am delighted to get back to it using ingredients I find here in the US.
Thank you very much.
I saw a recipe that used dehydrated strawberry powder mixed with sugar once and that looked awesome!
That sounds great!
Can you freeze the cinnamon rolls after slicing into pieces and bake later? Thank you!
Absolutely! I do that often. Go ahead and place your slices into a pan and then you can freeze the entire pan.
I just finished the cinnamon rolls and they are perfect! yumm yumm, thank you!!
You’re welcome!
How long can you freeze them? And do you defrost in fridge overnight before baking?
You can freeze unbaked rolls for up to 2 months. When ready to bake, move them to your refrigerator and let thaw overnight. About 2 hours before baking, take the rolls out of the refrigerator and let come to room temperature and rise. You can place the pan next to a heating oven to speed up the process. When the rolls are doubled in size, remove the plastic wrap and bake.
Hi Bettie, I want to make your sourdough cinnamon rolls. Can I freeze them unbaked, after shaping into rolls?
These are delicious. I mixed the dough in kitchen aid mixer, let rest in oiled bowl for couple of hours then refrigerated it overnight. Next morning finished proofing in oven with lights on., then made the rolls…added pecans and raisins. I did not add any flour to the filling. Let rolls rise then baked. They turned out great.
Can this dough proof in the refrigerator for 8 hrs before rolling out the dough ?
I also experienced almost no rising action. Or at least EXtremely slow. Gave the dough ten hous and it was only slightly puffy. Made the buns anyway and after rising all night on the counter they were barely 50% bigger. They are in the oven now. Not hiding out much hope for an edible product. Bettie what ratio starter were you using. I used a one to one. Straight from my jar. It was bubbly and floated in the milk.
I have tried this recipe twice now and both times my dough doesn’t rise. I used the same starter to make your honey wheat sourdough sandwich bread and it came out great. What am I doing wrong?
I suspect that your yeast may have died. Did you proof it before using to see if it was active?
I just made these with the same results. It was like there was no leavening of any kind in the dough- even though my starter was very active when I used it. Very strange. Maybe it was my error (though I have no idea what it may have been), but I’m going to try a different recipe next time that doesn’t use eggs and that uses more traditional sourdough method of dough preparation. I sliced these up and made them into cereal so they don’t go to waste.
Too much cinnamon in this recipe. I will half the cinnamon next time. But the cinnamon rolls are soft and yummy.
hello!! I’m currently trying this recipe and it doesn’t clarify if they rise on the counter, or in the fridge. which one should I do? Thank you!
Thank you so much for the sourdough cinnamon rolls recipe! Hands down the most amazing cinnamon rolls I have ever had. It came out so fluffy, tender, moist and melts in your mouth yummy! I will definitely make this over and over again!
So glad you like them! They’re my favorite too 😉
Can you freeze unbaked rolls? I’d like to make a batch or two to be able to pull out and bake small amounts
Absolutely! Freeze the rolls after they’ve been shaped.
I am making this today for the third time. They have been fabulous each time! Today I let them rise in the counter and usually I do in the fridge for like5-8 hours. They did not rise quite as much after two hours on the counter, but I just put them in the oven while it preheated and they were where I wanted them by the time it was at 350°
Awesome! Glad you’re enjoying the recipe!
Hi, I mixed up the dough last night according to the instructions, left it to rise overnight and it didn’t not raise at all, my starter was active
This is my first time making cinnamon rolls. The only thing I can think is they didn’t rise enough because after I baked them, frosted them (delicious frosting) they weren’t bread like but a cookie texture. My starter was rocking’ prior to incorporating into dough. Any ideas? It’s mid-March and my house isn’t warm. About 66 degrees F.
This was my first time making cinnamon rolls and they turned out perfect! I followed your example timeline 1. I used cold milk and eggs in the dough I also had to use salted butter so I omitted the salt. Dough still turned out great! I would recommend mixing the frosting for 7-8 minutes to make sure it’s not grainy.
Hi. So I did the mixed the dough and let it proof. At the end i had no time to shape the dough so i had to stick it into the fridge overnight. Before i put them into the fridge they were doubled in size. But in the morning they deflated. Shall i throw it out and start a new one or do you think it will still work?
Thanks
Were they shaped into rolls before you put in the fridge? You can take the dough out the fridge, shape them into rolls, and then proof before baking.
This is my favorite recipe as I use this for my small business and the only one I use.
I do want to ask do you have the nutrition information with the calories and all. Would love to know to make sure the information I have is correct for my packaging.
Hi, I don’t but you can plug in the amounts into an online calculator.