Delightfully soft and pillowy, these sourdough cinnamon rolls topped with a cream cheese frosting will melt in your mouth. Enjoy for breakfast, dessert and a simple treat any time of the year.
This is my favorite go-to sourdough cinnamon roll recipe. We make these sourdough cinnamon rolls at least least once a month (otherwise we are making this sourdough cinnamon pull apart bread).
The sourdough within this recipe gives the cinnamon roll a natural rise, without the use of yeast. It creates the softest, pillow-like rolls. And the cinnamon – butter swirl lends to the classic cinnamon roll flavor which satisfies a sweet tooth every time.
Firstly, the sourdough cinnamon roll dough is a combination of active sourdough starter, honey and flour. These ingredients lend to the light and airy texture. This ensures they are crispy on the outside and delightfully soft on the inside. Though this recipe has sourdough starter within it, it is not sour.
Secondly, the filling is a combination of three ingredients: butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. This combination melts throughout the rolls and creates a delicious, warm aroma in every bite.
Finally, the star of the show is a cream cheese frosting. This frosting is inspired by the Nothing Bundt Cakes cream cheese frosting (if you know, you know). We also use this frosting on sourdough fruit pizza, sourdough sour cream cookies, and chocolate sourdough french toast.
The irresistible cream cheese frosting comes together with minimal ingredients: cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. We may lick the cream cheese frosting straight off the beaters.
Because cream cheese is slightly tangy, it compliments the sweet cinnamon roll. And the best part is, the amount of cream cheese frosting is customizable. You can add as much or as little cream cheese frosting on top of the cinnamon rolls as you would like.
Timing is important for these sourdough cinnamon rolls. From prep to plate, it takes around 24 – 36 hours, depending on how long they are fermented for.
Why you will love these sourdough cinnamon rolls
Kitchen Essentials
There are a variety of items we regularly use within our kitchen daily. Some of our favorite items we use to create this recipe include:
- Kitchenmaid stand mixer (cinnamon roll dough)
- Hand mixer (cream cheese frosting)
- Rolling pin
- Baking pan
- Pastry Cutter
Ingredients for Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls
There are a few basic ingredients in sourdough cinnamon rolls:
Sourdough Cinnamon Roll Dough
- Sourdough Discard
- We have made this recipe with active sourdough starter and sourdough discard. Because the recipe has baking soda and baking powder, it does not need to be active for the final cinnamon rolls to rise.
- Flour
- All purpose flour, whole wheat flour, spelt flour work best
- Salt
- Honey
- Sugar, maple syrup, agave syrup are alternatives. If using sugar, the cinnamon rolls may not be as moist.
- Coconut Oil
- The combination of coconut oil and butter makes the softest cinnamon rolls
- Butter
- Water
- Egg
- Baking Soda – Optional
- If using active sourdough discard the use of an additional leavening agent is not required
- Baking Powder Optional
- If using active sourdough discard the use of an additional leavening agent is not required
- Milk or Heavy Cream – Optional
- This can make the cinnamon rolls soft and fluffy. It provides additional moisture and is added on at the end of the baking period
Cinnamon Filling
- Cinnamon
- Brown Sugar
- Butter
- Flour
- To ensure the cinnamon filling does not spread when baked, flour can be added. Gluten free flour works well here if sensitive to gluten as this filling does not ferment.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Cream Cheese
- Unsalted Butter
- Unsalted butter preferred to ensure frosting is not overly salted
- Salt
- Powdered Sugar
- Water or Milk
- To thin as needed
Making the Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls on a Baker’s Schedule
This timeline is highly variable based on temperature of the home and how long one would like for the dough to ferment. Adjust accordingly to personal preferences and notes below.
Sourdough starter can be active starter or sourdough discard. The main difference is if you would like to rely on the use of wild fermentation yeast (sourdough) or a leavening agent (baking soda and baking powder) for rise.
The other factor is time. Active sourdough starter will provide enough rise within the recipe, though this recipe must have a secondary rise to provide the fluffiest cinnamon rolls.
Whether you use sourdough discard from the fridge or recently fed active starter, this is up to you as well. The sourdough discard may need more time to bulk ferment and the final product may need use of a leavening agent for rise. We will explore this more later in the recipe.
We keep our sourdough relatively small. A approximately 3 ounces of all purpose flour or bread flour and 3 ounces of water to our starter is have enough active starter for this recipe. I can teach you how to begin and maintain a sourdough starter.
- 8:00 PM (Day prior to bake)
- Prepare sourdough cinnamon roll dough base in a large bowl. Mix together sourdough discard, water, butter, eggs, coconut oil, honey (or other sweetener), salt and flour together by hand.
- Allow to sit in a warm place covered with a damp towel (or plastic wrap). Allow to ferment until doubled in size. During the winter, we make our sourdough cinnamon roll dough at night and allow it to have rise overnight.
- 8:00 – 9:00 AM (Day of Bake)
- Mix remaining dough ingredients (baking soda and baking powder) in the bowl of a stand mixer using the dough hook attachment.
- Allow the dough to come together. The dough will change from being incorporated to sticky dough and then to a soft and pliable dough. When stretched it will form a windowpane.
- This kneading process will take about 10-15 minutes by stand mixer or 25-30 minutes by hand.
- In a mixing bowl, prepare cinnamon roll filling (cinnamon, brown sugar and butter).
- Next, roll the sourdough cinnamon roll dough on a countertop into a rectangular shape. If sticky, you can add flour, wax paper, parchment paper or butter to the surface.
- Spread the cinnamon roll filling across the dough. Roll dough laterally into a log shape for most amount of highest amount of swirls in dough.
- Cut cinnamon rolls into 12 pieces with the use of a pastry cutter, knife or unflavored thread / floss.
- Place the cinnamon rolls in a well oiled pan.
- 9:00 – 11:00 AM (Day of Bake):
- Brush with 1 Tablespoon of milk or cream on top of every cinnamon roll.
- Place cinnamon rolls in pan and allow to complete a secondary rise. This process can take 30 minutes to 2 hours. The cinnamon rolls will become puffy and double in size. They will not be sticky when touched.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Option to cook in a cast iron skillet, two pie / cake pans, two 8×8 glass pans or one 9×13 glass pan. Bake cinnamon rolls until they are golden brown in color – about 25-30 minutes depending on the baking container.
- While the sourdough cinnamon rolls are baking, make the cream cheese frosting.
- 10:30 AM (Day of Bake):
- Remove cinnamon rolls from oven and allow to cool on the countertop. Cool completely to ensure frosting does not run or frost within 5-10 minutes after they are out of oven for it to melt into cinnamon rolls.
How to store sourdough cinnamon rolls
The sourdough cinnamon rolls can store on the countertop for up to one week either covered in plastic wrap, aluminum foil, beeswax wrap or within an airtight container with a lid.
We do prefer to store ours within the refrigerator after 1 day because of the dairy products, though let’s be honest, we rarely have leftover cinnamon rolls!
Frequently Asked Questions
Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls
Equipment
- 1 kitchenmaid mixer
- 1 handheld mixer
- 1 pastry blender
- 1 Rolling Pin
- baking vessel (2 glass pie / cake pans, (2) 8×8 pans or (1)- 9×13 pan
Ingredients
Sourdough Cinnamon Roll Dough
- 4 cups All Purpose Flour
- 1/2 cup Honey
- 1/4 cup Coconut Oil
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/2 TSP Sea Salt
- 1/3 Cup Water
- 3/4 Cup Sourdough Discard Can use active sourdough or sourdough discard
- 2 Eggs
- 1 TSP Baking Soda
- 1 TSP Baking Powder
- 1/4 cup Heavy Whipping Cream Can substitute whole milk, half and half or coconut cream
Cinnamon Roll Filling
- 1 stick Unsalted Butter
- 1 cup Brown Sugar
- 2 TBS Ground Cinnamon
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1 block Cream Cheese (8 ounces)
- 1 stick Unsalted Butter (4 ounces) If using salted butter, leave out additional salt
- 2-1/2 Cups Powdered Sugar Can reduce by 1/2 – 1 cup if less-sweet frosting is desired. Note this will cause frosting to be runnier in texture.
- 1 TBS Vanilla Extract Can use 2 TSP Vanilla Bean Extract
- 1 Pinch Salt Leave out if using salted butter
Instructions
Prepare dough + Fermentation
- In a large bowl, combine softened coconut oil, butter, honey eggs, all purpose flour, salt, sourdough starter and water together to form a shaggy bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap or a beeswax wrap. Allow the dough to sit on the countertop for up to 12 hours.
- Place in the refrigerator for a bulk fermentation period – up to 3 days.
Cinnamon Sugar Mixture + Assembling Cinnamon Rolls
- After the dough has fermented add in the baking soda and baking powder. Mix either within a stand mixer or by hand. If using a stand mixer, utilize the dough hook attachment and allow the dough to come together for 10-15 minutes. When stretched, the dough should have a window pane like consistency. By hand this process could could take 25-30 minutes to kneed.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the cinnamon sugar filling. Mix the filling ingredients (butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and flour) together until combined.
- Next on a smooth surface, roll the cinnamon roll dough into a rectangle shape of 1/4 inch thickness.
- Once the dough is rolled thin, spread the cinnamon sugar mixture across the dough. Slice the dough into 16 slices using a pastry blender (bench scraper). Roll each individual cinnamon roll before placing in a well oiled pan.You can also roll the dough into a tight log and slice using a pastry cutter, sharp knife, plain dental floss or twine.
- Once cut, place the rolls into preferred baking vessel. You want there to be enough room for the cinnamon rolls to bake, but not enough for the filling to seep out. We recommend two cake / pie pans, two 8×8 pans or one 9×13 pan.Allow the rolls to rise on the countertop for 1-2 hours before placing in the oven. Before placing in the oven, it is optional to pour 1 TBS of cream over each cinnamon roll.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the tops are firm to the touch. They will be lightly brown in color.
Cream cheese frosting + Cinnamon roll assembly
- While the cinnamon rolls are in the oven, begin preparing the cream cheese frosting. Whip the butter until light and airy. It will turn yellow in color to white. Add in powdered sugar, one cup at a time. Then add vanilla and salt. It will be a thick, play dough like consistency. Finally, add in the cream cheese frosting, being careful not to over whip. Add milk to thin, as preferred.
- Once the cinnamon rolls are removed removed from the oven, allow them to cool for a few minutes before adding cream cheese frosting. Wait until cooled completely if you do not want the frosting to melt into the cinnamon rolls.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried making sourdough cinnamon rolls before? If you make this recipe, comment below and let us know your thoughts!
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