Look no further! These warm, fluffy sourdough cinnamon rolls are long-fermented and topped with the most delicious cream cheese frosting. These will be the perfect addition to your Christmas morning or just any other day of the week.
Last week I made sourdough sticky buns for you that were packed full of apple pie filling covered in delicious maple syrup. They were amazing! But ever since then I have not been able to get sourdough cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting off my mind.
Cinnamon rolls are my go to special breakfast. If there is a birthday or holiday, you can bet your bottom dollar that there will be sourdough cinnamon rolls on the table in the morning. The key to making cinnamon rolls really special is the rich cream cheese frosting.
This sweet dough recipe is one of my favourite ways to use up my sourdough starter. You can spread just about any topping on it, roll it into a log, cut and bake it and I can guarantee you that it will be delicious. Due to the long fermentation process, it always has just the right balance between sweet and tangy.
So let’s make some cinnamon rolls!
These sourdough cinnamon rolls are long-fermented so you will need to plan ahead. I prefer to start mine before bed and leave them to ferment overnight. You will also need an active sourdough starter, which means that your starter will need to have been fed earlier that day and given enough time to get nice and bubbly!
How to Prepare the Dough
To prepare your dough, you will follow the exact same method as preparing the dough for my Apple Pie Sticky Buns. This walkthrough also assumes that you will be starting yours at night.
Before heading to bed, warm your milk and melt your butter together in a saucepan or by using a microwave. Set those aside and give them a minute or two to cool down before adding them to the other ingredients.
Grab a separate bowl and begin to whisk together your sourdough starter, eggs and honey.
Finish by adding in your warm milk, melted butter, flour and salt. Don’t be afraid to finish combining your ingredients together using your hands. Your dough will be slightly sticky but should pull away from the sides of the bowl with ease.
Cover with a dish towel and set the bowl aside for 30 minutes. This will give you just enough time to feed your sourdough starter and tidy up any extra dishes.
When the timer is up, you can uncover your dough and begin the kneading process. On a lightly floured surface, gently remove the dough from the bowl and knead for 5-7 minutes.
Shape it into a ball and place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with a dish towel and let rest overnight at room temperature for 10 to 15 hours.
How to Prepare the Filling
Preheat your oven to 400°F.
Just before the rising time is up, it is time to prepare the cinnamon filling. This is done by mixing together ½ cup of lightly packed brown sugar, 2 tbsp of melted butter and a tablespoon of cinnamon. You can also add in a pinch of kosher salt.
When the dough has finished rising, roll it out on a lightly floured surface into a large rectangle. Evenly spread your filling across the rectangle.
Now roll your dough into a log shape. Using a knife or dough cutter, cut your log into 1”-2” sections, creating your rolls.
Arrange the rolls into a cast iron skillet and place inside the oven for 30 to 35 minutes.
How to Prepare the Frosting
While your cinnamon rolls are finishing up in the oven we can begin to prepare possibly the best cream cheese frosting that you will ever taste.
Your ingredients will need to be at room temperature so it would be best to pull them out of the fridge before preparing the filling.
Using a hand whisk, beat together the cream cheese, butter, vanilla extract and icing sugar in a medium sized bowl until all the ingredients are combined, creating a heavy frosting.
When it is time to remove your cinnamon rolls from the oven, top them with the frosting immediately and serve them hot!
Really the best way to eat a cinnamon roll is while it’s hot, gooey and the frosting is melting all over the bun. This frosting recipe should yield a bit extra so feel free to add as much extra as you desire!
Sourdough CInnamon Rolls
Waiting for these long-fermented sourdough cinnamon rolls to be ready will be the hardest part of this recipe!
Ingredients
- FOR THE DOUGH
- 1/2 cup active sourdough starter
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2/3 cup warm milk
- 3 tbsp melted butter
- 1 egg
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- FOR THE FILLING
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 2 tbsp melted butter
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- FOR THE ICING
- 1 cup room temperature butter
- 1/2 cup room temperature cream cheese
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup icing sugar
Instructions
- Warm the milk and melt the butter in a small saucepan or in a microwave using a microwave safe container.
- In a bowl or stand mixer, begin to mix together the egg, salt, sourdough starter and honey.
- Slowly mix in your warmed milk and butter.
- Add in the flour and continue mixing until a rough dough has formed.
- Cover your bowl with a dish towel and let rest for 30 minutes.
- When the dough has finished resting, knead for 5-7 minutes on a lightly floured surface.
- Transfer the dough to a gently greased bowl, cover and let rise at room temperature overnight or for 10 to 15 hours.
- Preheat your oven to 400°F.
- When the dough has doubled in size gently remove the dough from the bowl onto a lightly floured surface.
- Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough into a large rectangle.
- Create the filling by mixing together the melted butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt.
- Spread the filling evenly across the rectangle.
- Starting with the end closest to you, begin to roll the dough into a log.
- Using a dough cutter, cut your log into 1-2" sections.
- Arrange your rolls into a cast iron skillet.
- Place your skillet into the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes.
- While your rolls are baking, begin to prepare your frosting.
- Using a hand mixer or whisk, whisk together your room temperature butter, cream cheese, vanilla and icing sugar.
- When your rolls are finishing baking, remove them from oven and spread your icing across the tops of them.
- Serve hot and enjoy!
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