Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls

These sourdough cinnamon rolls are hands down the best cinnamon buns I have ever eaten. Light and fluffy cinnamon rolls that use a sourdough starter. Perfect recipe for breakfast or hosting a brunch on Christmas morning!

 

Listen I’ve had a few cinnamon rolls in my day. I’ve made them, bought them, devoured. But I might just declare these sourdough cinnamon rolls are the best I’ve ever had. 

They are sourdough cinnamon rolls so they do take some time and a nice bubbly active sourdough starter. But in the end every minute you spend making these will be SO worth it. Seriously. Light, fluffy, Cinnamony (not a word but it’s cool). Finger licking. Save the last one for yourself and don’t feel guilty kind of amazing.

You’ll see. Trust me…

What Is Sourdough? 

Ok let’s back things up a bit! Sourdough is basically an ancient way of making bread. Sourdough doesn’t rely on commercial yeast, but on wild yeast. By simply combining flour and water, you create a live fermented culture from the wild yeast found on the grains of the wheat that the flour is made from. The more it is “fed”, meaning fresh flour and water, allows the wild yeast to multiply.

Because sourdough relies on wild yeast, the process can take much longer than commercial yeast bread recipes. But the complex flavor and texture is far superior of any other bread you will ever eat. 

For more Sourdough 101: What Is Sourdough?<– click here.

Is Sourdough Bread Better For You?

Yes. 1000% yes. Sure at first glance, the nutrition label might look the same to conventional bread. But the long fermentation process is what has sourdough sailing past the conventional bread loaves by a mile for its health benefits.

• No weird stuff! Sourdough bread of any kind is made with just a few simple ingredients compared to store-bought bread that has added chemicals and preservatives. 
• More nutrients unlocked. Whole grains, in general, that bread is made with can contain lots of great minerals. But the body can have a hard time absorbing those minerals due to phytic acid that is present in grains. But the lactic acid created from the fermentation process helps to break down the phytic acid allow your body to be able to absorb more of those minerals than you would be able to with bread made from commercial yeast. 
• More easily digested. Also, sourdough bread can be much more easily digested and enjoyed, especially those with a gluten sensitivity. The long fermentation process helps to already start the process of breaking down the gluten in the bread making it much easier to digest.

So more vitamins, minerals, and it’s easier to digest. Basically, sourdough is awesome. 

Make Your Sourdough Starter…

If you haven’t gotten around yet to making your sourdough starter then let’s get going! What are you waiting for?  It will take about 5 days to make your starter before you can attempt this bread. But it will be worth it.  Here is the full guide on How To Make Sourdough Starter From Scratch.

Once you have your starter raring to go then you will need to feed and mantain your starter. 

Ingredients Needed

This sourdough recipe uses the sweet dough recipe from Clever Carrot‘s cookbook, Artisan Sourdough Made Simple.

For the dough:

• Your bubbly, active starter – you’ve got that ready to go right? 🙂 Good. 
• All Purpose Flour – my preference is King Arthur Flour, organic if you can. 
• Egg – One large, room temperature egg. Place your egg in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes.
• Sugar – I used granulated white sugar, this will help sweeten the dough.
• Milk – I like to use full fat milk, but I think a lower fat milk would be fine. I haven’t tried this with alternative milks.
• Warm water – Warm is best to keep that yeast alive and happy. 
• Salt – Salt is very important when making bread. It helps to strengthen the dough. You can read more here about the role of salt in baking.
• Unsalted Butter – I always recommend using unsalted butter vs. salted butter. Different brands of butter will add varying amounts of salt, so it’s better to use unsalted butter and add the salt yourself. If you only have salted butter then be sure to reduce the salt in the recipe. You can read more here about Unsalted Butter Vs. Salted Butter In Baking.

For the filling:

• Softened, unsalted butter – You want to use very soft butter so it spread easily on the dough and doesn’t tear the dough.
• Light brown sugar – Of course this adds flavor and sweetness. You can also make your own homemade brown sugar. 
• Cinnamon – Of course a cinnamon roll wouldn’t be one without cinnamon.

For the glaze:

• Confectioner Sugar – this is an easy simple powdered sugar glaze.
• Butter – A little melted butter adds richness and flavor.
• Vanilla extract – Of course pure vanilla is best and adds great flavor!
• Milk – This will help thin out the glaze and make it the perfect consistency to spread on top of your warm rolls. 

How to make these sourdough cinnamon rolls

Make the dough:

1. We want to start by making our sweet dough. You want to warm the milk and butter in a small saucepan (or microwave). Be sure to let it cool slightly before using. 
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, you want to combine the starter, egg, and sugar. Mix this using your paddle attachment. And then add the milk mixture.
3. Then add your flour and salt. You want to let the dough rest for about 30 minutes.
4. Ad this point, switch to your dough hook attachment, and knead the dough for about 6 to 8 minutes.

Bulk Rise:

1. At this point you want to move the dough to an oiled bowl and cover with a damp towel and let the dough rise, at room temperature for 8 to 10 hours. 
2. The dough should double in size. 

Rolling and filling the rolls:

Now that the dough has risen it’s time roll out the dough and add the filling. I adjusted the amount of filling from my 1 Hour Cinnamon Rolls and used a little less since this only made 8 cinnamon buns.

I like to use a pastry mat to roll out my dough.

1. You want to lightly flour your surface and roll out the dough using a lightly floured rolling pin to a 12 by 12 inch square. 
2. Then spread the softened butter.
3. In a small bowl stir together the brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle on the cinnamon sugar mixture.
4. And then roll up the dough into a tight log.

Shaping Rolls:

Now that our dough is filled and rolled it’s time to cut into rolls. This recipe makes 8 perfect rolls. Here is how I accomplish perfectly shaped cinnamon rolls. My secret…

Dental Floss!!! Just make sure it’s not MINT flavored! Or you can use thread. This ensures you don’t squish the dough as you cut through it. You can also use a sharp knife and cut the rolls if you don’t have any string or floss. I find a serrated bread knife is best so it doesn’t tear the dough.

1. To cut the rolls, start in the middle of the log. Place the floss underneath the log of dough going perpendicular, then criss cross the floss.  
2. Pull the floss so it cuts through the dough revealing the beautiful spiral inside! Repeat this to make 8 even sized cinnamon rolls.

Final Rise:

1. You want to place the rolls in your pan. I used a 9-inch round cake pan, lined with parchment paper.
2. Then cover with a towel and let the rolls rise for another 1- 2 hours until almost doubled in size and puffy.

Bake And Glaze:

1. Then it’s time to bake!!! (Yes all those exclamations are necessary.) It will take about 40-45 minutes in a 350°F oven. You want to bake the rolls until golden brown and the internal temperature of the rolls should be 190^oF.  
2. And then once baked, time to glaze! I like to glaze them while they are still warm. 

Seriously, are you drooling on your computer screen yet? 

Heather’s Best Baking Tips

• Make sure your starter is active before you start. Drop a small piece in a bowl of water to see if it floats. It it does, then it’s ready! If not, then it may need 1-2 more feedings. The starter should be at it’s peak point (aka doubled in size from when you first fed it – usually within 4 hours).
• Measure Your Flour Using A Kitchen Scale . You can use measuring cups but for best accuracy it’s better use a kitchen scale and weigh out your flour. This ensures you don’t overmeasure, which can result in dense rolls. You can read my post on How To Measure Flour here. Or you can read this post on How To Measure Ingredients (with a video!).
• Damp Towel!! When you let the dough rise overnight, be sure to use a damp towel to cover it so it doesn’t dry out and not rise properly.
• Use Floss (Or Thread). If you use a knife, you risk squishing the dough and not getting a clean cut and neat spiral. Just make sure your floss isn’t mint flavored. Place the floss underneath and then bring it up on either side, criss cross it, and then pull the thread through the dough. 

Storage Instructions

Sourdough rolls will be fine at room temperature for 4 to 5 days. I think they are best, however, if eaten within the first two days. Once the rolls has cooled completely be sure to cover and store the rolls well. I like to keep them in an airtight container or wrap in plastic wrap. 

You can also freeze these cinnamon rolls. I just let them cool completely before freezing. If you have the icing on them, you may want to freeze them first, uncovered, until they are frozen solid and then transfer them to a sealable plastic bag. These should freeze well for up to 3 months. I would then thaw at room temperature uncovered. You can always reheat in the microwave for 10-15 seconds until warmed through.

Recipe Variations

• Use my cream cheese frosting for a thicker frosting to ice the rolls with. Or try my cinnamon cream cheese frosting.
• Add a little maple syrup to the glaze for a little extra flavor!
• Pour 1/3 cup of warmed heavy cream over the top before baking for added richness.

Recipe FAQ’s

More Recipes To Try

If you are craving more cinnamon rolls, try my one hour cinnamon rolls with an easy cinnamon roll icing! If you need just a few, make my small batch cinnamon rolls.

Or try my apple cinnamon rolls in the Fall, or banana bread cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning!