The Best Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls

These sourdough cinnamon rolls are the the perfect breakfast to welcome in the fall. Warm, fluffy, and soft, with a perfectly sweet cream cheese frosting. They’re truly the best!

There’s something about Saturday morning breakfast that’s always a little bit special. Whether you’re in school, at a job, or at home Monday-Friday, it always seems appropriate to celebrate the weekend a little bit!

Now, Cinnamon rolls are probably my favorite dessert, but the best thing about them is that they can pass for breakfast, too! What could possibly be more special than a warm, gooey cinnamon roll, fresh out of the oven?

Make sure to slow down every once in a while and truly appreciate a delicious, warm cinnamon roll with a hot cup of coffee. You won’t regret it.

Healthy Cinnamon Rolls?

I know… it doesn’t seem possible to put ‘healthy’, and ‘cinnamon rolls’ together in the same sentence. It just doesn’t work! Especially if you want good cinnamon rolls… right?

I propose to you that cinnamon rolls can actually be a quite nourishing and metabolically supportive breakfast! Given that you use quality ingredients, and pair that cinnamon roll with some pasture raised eggs for extra protein, you are truly providing yourself with a powerful breakfast!

The fermentation process works to help break down the gluten and pytic acid in the dough, which not only makes the bread easier to digest and gentler on your gut, but it also makes the nutrients in the bread easier to digest.

The grass-fed butter adds a bit of nutrient-rich saturated fats, and the pasture-raised egg, organic flour, organic sugar, and mineral rich sea salt give your body the fuel it needs to run smoothly.

Using cultured, probiotic-rich cream cheese is also a great way to get more gut-friendly foods into your breakfast!

So when you make these delicious sourdough cinnamon rolls, there’s no need to feel guilty about satisfying your cravings and filling your body with quality, energy-packed, nutrient-rich ingredients. Simply enjoy!

Can you make these with sourdough discard?

Generally speaking, yes you can. So long as you have a mature starter (one which has successfully risen bread in the past), you probably won’t have any issues with it.

Actually, I often make these cinnamon rolls with sourdough starter straight out of the refrigerator!

If you do use cold, unfed starter, it may take longer for the rolls to rise– especially if it’s cold in your house. Just make sure to give yourself a little extra time for fermentation.

Can you freeze sourdough cinnamon rolls?

To freeze these rolls already baked, allow the unfrosted rolls to cool completely. Cover the pan tightly with a layer of plastic wrap, and then layer of foil. Freeze rolls for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw overnight in the fridge or on your counter, and then finish warming them in the oven, microwave, or toaster oven.

Make the cream cheese frosting fresh, and spread on warm cinnamon rolls.

To freeze unbaked cinnamon rolls, prepare the cinnamon rolls up until the second rise. Tightly cover the un-risen rolls with plastic wrap, then with a layer of foil. Freeze the unbaked rolls for up to 3 months. When ready to bake, thaw cinnamon rolls in the refrigerator overnight, then place on the counter or in a warm place to finish rising until puffy. Bake according to regular baking instructions.

Make the cream cheese frosting fresh, and spread on warm cinnamon rolls.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

Dough:

375g. All-Purpose Flour

34g. Sugar

9g. Salt

240g. Sourdough Starter

55g. Salted Butter

78g. Water

1 Egg

Cinnamon Filling:

76g. Salted Butter

146g. Brown Sugar

12g. Cinnamon

Cream Cheese Frosting:

140g. Cream Cheese

187g. Powdered Sugar

30g. Heavy Cream

How to make sourdough cinnamon rolls

Beginning the morning before you want cinnamon rolls:

Mix the flour, salt, sugar, sourdough starter, and butter together in a mixing bowl or in the bowl of your stand mixer. Knead dough for 10 minutes. The dough should be firm and smooth.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp cloth, and allow the dough to ferment for 6-12 hours.

Once the dough has finished the bulk ferment, add the egg to the dough and mix it in thoroughly with your hands. Once the egg is completely combined, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning, preheat the oven to 375.

Roll out the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle, about 14×20.

In a small bowl, mix together the softened butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon.

Spread the cinnamon mixture over the dough, then roll up the cinnamon rolls. Cut rolls into 12 equal pieces, then place in a greased 9×13 baking dish. Cover lightly with a damp cloth, and allow to rise in a warm place until nearly doubled and puffy, about 1-3 hours.

Bake for 25-30 minutes. Or until nicely browned. Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before frosting.

To make the cream cheese frosting:

Beat the cream cheese in a bowl until smooth, then slowly add the powdered sugar. Lastly, mix in the heavy cream.

Spread over the warm cinnamon rolls and enjoy!

Notes

If you want to start the cinnamon rolls the night before and have them in the morning, simply mix the dough in the evening, then allow the dough to ferment overnight. In the morning, mix in the egg, then skip the refrigerator step and go straight into rolling out the dough. You may need to use a little more flour to roll out the dough.

Standard Measurments

Don’t have a kitchen scale? Not to worry!

Dough:

3 Cups All-Purpose Flour

3 Tbsp. Sugar

1.5 tsp. Salt

1 Cup. Sourdough Starter

1/4 Cup. Salted Butter

1/3 Cup. Water

1 Egg

Cinnamon Filling:

1/3 Cup. Salted Butter

2/3 Cup. Brown Sugar

1.5 Tbsp. Cinnamon

Cream Cheese Frosting:

5 oz. Cream Cheese

1.5 Cups. Powdered Sugar

2 Tbsp. Heavy Cream

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