Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls

4.67 from 6 ratings

These sourdough cinnamon rolls are soft, tender, cinnamon sugar perfection. Look no further for the actual best cinnamon rolls of your life, where each bite is like the center roll!

Prep Time30

Cook Time18

Proof50

Total Time1 38

Course: Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine: American, Swedish

Servings: rolls

Author: Chef Lindsey

Ingredients

For the Dough:

½ cup warm milk a little warmer than body temperature. 105°F if you want a number
1 ¼ teaspoon dry active yeast see Notes for substitutions
1 egg
½ stick unsalted butter softened
1 ⅔ cups all purpose flour
⅓ cup 100% hydration starter fed 12 hours prior, not discard
½ teaspoon kosher salt
3 ½ tablespoons sugar

For the Cinnamon Sugar Filling:

1 stick unsalted butter so soft that it is almost melted and will spread easily with a spatula
¾ cup dark brown sugar PACKED
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 ½ tablespoons heavy cream reserve for right before baking

For the Icing:

2 cups confectioner’s sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk or more as needed to thin it out

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Make the Dough:

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the warm milk, then sprinkle the yeast over the surface. Whisk to break up any clumps. Allow to bloom (sit unperturbed) for 10 minutes or until the mixture is bubbly.
Add the remaining ingredients for the dough to the bowl. All at once! Just dump it in there!
Fit the mixer with the paddle attachment and mix until all the flour is incorporated and no lumps remain.
Switch to the dough hook attachment. Mix on medium speed for 3-4 minutes. The dough will not pull away from the sides of the bowl or climb the hook. It is a wet dough, and this is not in its nature. That is OK!

Bulk Fermentation:

Turn out into a large bowl sprayed with cooking spray, cover with plastic wrap, and bulk proof in a warm spot for 30-45 minutes. When it has doubled, it is done!

Make the Filling:

While the dough proofs, make the filling. In a bowl, mix the soft butter, sugar, and cinnamon. Mix until a paste forms. Set aside.

Assemble and second proof:

Generously cover your work surface with flour and turn out your dough onto the counter. A bowl scraper or rubber spatula helps here because the dough is sticky. Sprinkle a generous amount of flour on top of the dough and flour a rolling pin.
Roll the dough out into a 12-inch-long by 10-inch-high rectangle. (Try to keep those sharp corners! It’s harder than it looks, but it’s good to have goals, right?)
Once you have your rectangle, spread your filling with an offset spatula. Sometimes it is necessary to let your fingers join the party to help spread/hold the dough. I purposefully keep a border on the top and the bottom edge.
Starting at the bottom edge (12 inches across), start to roll away from you. Seal the top edge. Cut approximately 2 ½ inch pieces with a sharp knife (or your bench scraper). This makes 8 rolls.
Spray a 9“x 11” baking dish with cooking spray, and then place the cinnamon rolls about 2 inches apart. I offset them so I have a row with two, followed by one in the center, and then another row of two, and so on. This gives them space to proof and grow without crowding.
Cover with plastic wrap and return to your warm spot to proof for an additional 20-40 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350°F

Baking:

Right before baking, remove the plastic wrap and pour the heavy cream over the tops of the rolls.
Bake at 350°F for approximately 15-20 minutes. Mine baked 18. They will be golden brown around the edges and a bit on top, and the centers will no longer look or feel doughy.

Make the Icing:

Allow to cool before icing.
Whisk all the ingredients for the icing together. I kept mine a bit thicker so that I could spread it on the still-warm cinnamon rolls from the oven. A little bit of heaven on earth to be sure!

Video

Notes

Yield – 8 Cinnamon Rolls

Presentation – Let the rolls cool for 10 minutes before spreading the icing on top. This will allow the icing to stay on top of the rolls instead of melting between the rolls. And the thicker the icing, the more it will remain on top.

Flavor Tips – Don’t skip the heavy cream! This is a little trick I learned from my ladies at Taste of Lizzy. I don’t use as much as they do, but I agree that a little bit keeps the filling smooth and the bottoms of the rolls soft and moist.

Technique – If you plan to use sourdough discard, avoid using a discard that has been sitting in the back of your refrigerator for months. Feed the starter before you expect it to leaven bread. My sourdough pizza dough recipe uses sourdough starter discard, but then it sits for 2-3 days before baking.

Storage – Cinnamon rolls are best stored tightly wrapped at room temperature; however, they can also be refrigerated. They are best the day they are baked.

Nutrition