With rich cream cheese icing and a cinnamon-sugar filling, these fluffy sourdough cinnamon rolls deliver tangy flavor, a tender texture, and warm, gooey sweetness.
These sourdough cinnamon rolls start with healthy, fermented grains for increased digestibility, incredible texture, and extra flavor. Lightly sweetened sourdough wraps up ribbons of cinnamon sugar filling, adding the warmly spiced flavors to each bite. Baked until golden, each roll is topped with cream cheese icing, which is technically optional but highly encouraged. We enjoy this silky frosting over other sourdough recipes, like sourdough coffee cake, sourdough bread pudding, or sourdough lemon pound cake.
By mixing and fermenting most of the ingredients overnight, this recipe comes together quickly the following morning with basic pantry staples.
These easy sourdough cinnamon rolls serve well for a slow Saturday breakfast or a busy Christmas morning. Make these ahead of time, if needed! Ferment and assemble, then pop them in the refrigerator (up to 12 hours) or freezer (they’ll last months this way) to bake when you need them. Simply thaw, rise, and bake for perfectly fresh rolls!
If you are new to sourdough but enjoy the health benefits and tangy taste, make sure to check out all my sourdough recipes, including how to make your own starter.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Tender and sweet – These sourdough cinnamon rolls are soft and fluffy, with layers of brown sugar and cinnamon butter generously spread between the dough.
Long-fermented goodness – The overnight fermentation makes these rolls more digestible and nutritious, not to mention tender and tangy.
Perfect for special occasions – Warm, gooey cinnamon rolls with a decadent cinnamon roll icing elevate any occasion! Plus, they can be started the day before, then baked the day of.
Ingredients
Active sourdough starter – This is a sourdough starter that has been fed 4-12 hours before starting the recipe and is nice and bubbly.
All-purpose flour – I use freshly-milled hard wheat or unbleached all-purpose flour. If you’re interested in working with whole grains, I have lots of information on the blog on milling your own flour at home.
Butter – Use very soft butter for the filling. If it’s too firm, it won’t spread well; if it’s melted, it will seep into the dough.
Oil – Use a neutral oil like avocado oil or melted coconut oil.
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Tools You May Need
Stand mixer with dough hook attachment
How to Make Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls
Step 1: Add active sourdough starter, water, flour, oil, honey, and eggs into the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment. Mix until the dough forms a ball, then knead for a few minutes on medium speed until smooth and glossy. A pinch of the dough should pass the windowpane test.
Step 2: Place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl and cover tightly. Ferment in a warm place for 8-12 hours or overnight. Note: I ferment dough with raw eggs for my sourdough brioche all the time without an issue. If this makes you uncomfortable, you can ferment the dough for four hours at room temperature and then refrigerate it overnight.
Step 3: The next day, preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Add baking soda, baking powder, and salt to the dough. Knead in the stand mixer or on a floured work surface for approximately five minutes until all the ingredients are well incorporated.
Step 4: Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface and use a rolling pin to roll it into a roughly 12×15-inch rectangle. It should be about 1/4-inch thick. You want the dough to be rolled evenly so that it bakes evenly.
Step 5: In a separate bowl, combine softened butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Stir until smooth. Spread the softened butter mixture evenly over the dough.
Step 6: Roll the dough up as tightly as you can, starting at the long end. When you get to the end, pinch the edge into the main roll to prevent leaking. Slice the rolls with a sharp knife, bench scraper, or thread. Alternatively, you can slice the rectangle of dough into 12 equal strips, then roll them up individually.
Step 7: Place the unbaked rolls into a greased 9×13 baking dish. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the rolls are lightly browned and the dough is cooked through. Allow them to cool a bit before applying the icing.
Step 8: While the rolls bake, prepare the cream cheese icing. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, add 6 ounces of cream cheese, 1/2 cup of heavy cream, 1/2 cup of maple syrup or honey, and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract. Stir well. I use an immersion blender to get the icing really smooth. Pour over the warm cinnamon rolls and enjoy!
Tips
- Start the night (or up to 24 hours ahead) before you want to bake these sourdough cinnamon rolls, so the dough has a chance to ferment and build more flavor.
- The temperature of your kitchen will affect the fermentation. Find a warm place, such as inside the oven with the light on (heat off), on top of your fridge, or near some mild heat source.
- If you’re avoiding unfermented grains, use einkorn flour to dust the surface of the counter when rolling out the dough.
- I find that string or unflavored dental floss works best for slicing the cinnamon roll dough. A sharp knife also works, but is more likely to smush the rolls and lose some of the shape.
- Grease your baking dish generously or use parchment paper for no sticking.
- Keep the rolls spaced a bit apart so they have room to expand.
- This recipe has been edited to reflect changes made over the years of making this recipe. Some people had issues incorporating the eggs on the second day, so I changed this and started mixing them into the dough the night before. This works very well.
Recipe FAQs
Unfrosted cinnamon rolls can be covered and kept at room temperature for 2-3 days or frozen for several months. Store frosted cinnamon rolls in the refrigerator for up to four days. Let frozen rolls thaw and rise before baking.
Yes. Prepare the dough according to the directions. Form the rolls and place in a baking dish, wrap with plastic wrap, and place in the fridge for up to 12 hours or in the freezer for several months. You don’t want to leave the rolls in the fridge too long, or they may overproof. Allow to rest on the counter for two hours before baking if refrigerated, and overnight if baking them from frozen. Bake according to directions.
If you want to skip the long fermentation process, just use sourdough discard that has been fed recently in place of the active starter. Add all the dough ingredients and knead the dough until it becomes smooth, glossy, and passes the windowpane test. Follow the recipe from Step 4 on.
Yes. If allowed to rise too long, they will overproof and won’t hold their shape.
When making cinnamon rolls, avoid adding too much flour, overproofing the dough, using melted butter for the filling, overfilling the dough, and overbaking the rolls.
Baker’s Timeline:
You can make these or start them at any time. I like to start doughs at night time so they can rise all night. In the morning, they are ready to shape, boil, and bake.
Feed sourdough starter with flour and water.
Add all the ingredients to a stand mixer (minus the baking soda, baking powder, and salt) and knead until smooth and glossy. Cover tightly and ferment overnight.
Add baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Knead well until the dough is no longer sticky. Roll out the dough, prepare the filling, and spread. Form rolls, then bake for 20-25 minutes. Prepare and apply icing.
More Sourdough Recipes from the Farmhouse
- Long Fermented Biscuits
- Sourdough Peach Cobbler Recipe
- How To Make Sourdough Waffles
- Sourdough Chocolate Rolls
- Cinnamon Raisin Sourdough Bread
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love it if you could come back and give it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone.
Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup sourdough starter, bubbly and active 113 grams
- 1/2 cup water, 118 grams
- 4 cups all-purpose flour, 560 grams
- 1/2 cup neutral oil, 113 grams
- 1/2 cup honey, 168 grams
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Cinnamon Sugar Filling
- 1/2 cup softened butter, 114 grams
- 1 cup brown sugar, 200 grams
- 2 tablespoons cinnamon, 16 grams
Cream Cheese Topping:
- 6 ounces cream cheese
- 1/2 cup heavy cream, 120 grams
- 1/2 cup maple syrup or honey, 168 grams
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 10 grams
Instructions
- Add active sourdough starter, water, flour, oil, honey, and eggs into the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment. Mix until the dough forms a ball, then knead for a few minutes on medium-low speed until smooth and glossy.
- Place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl and cover tightly. Ferment in a warm place for 8-12 hours or overnight.
- The next day, preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Add baking soda, baking powder, and salt to the dough. Knead in the stand mixer or on a floured work surface for approximately five minutes until all the ingredients are well incorporated.
- Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface and roll it into a roughly 12×15-inch rectangle. It should be about 1/4-inch thick.
- In a separate bowl, combine softened butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Stir until smooth. Spread the softened butter mixture evenly over the dough.
- Roll the dough up as tightly as you can. When you get to the end, pinch the edge into the main roll to prevent leaking. Slice the rolls with a sharp knife, bench scraper, or thread. Alternatively, you can slice the dough into 12 equal strips, then roll them up individually.
- Place the unbaked rolls into a greased 9×13 baking dish. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the rolls are lightly browned and the dough is cooked through. Allow them to cool a bit before frosting.
- While the rolls bake, prepare the cream cheese icing. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, add cream cheese, heavy cream, maple syrup or honey, and vanilla extract. Stir well. Pour over the cinnamon rolls and enjoy!
Notes
- The temperature of your kitchen will affect the fermentation. Colder is slower; warmer speeds things up. Find a warm place, such as inside the oven with the light on (heat off), on top of your fridge, or near some mild heat source.
- If you’re avoiding unfermented grains, use einkorn flour to dust the surface of the counter when rolling out the dough.
- I find that string or unflavored dental floss works best for slicing the cinnamon roll dough. A sharp knife also works, but is more likely to smush the rolls and lose some of the shape.
- Grease your baking dish generously or use parchment paper for no sticking.
- Keep the rolls spaced a bit apart so they have room to expand.
- This recipe has been edited to reflect changes made over the years of making this recipe. Some people had issues incorporating the eggs on the second day, so I changed this and started mixing them into the dough the night before. This works very well.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I’ve made this recipe, with the 4 cups of flour, and my dough Does not look right. I then watched your video and it said to use 2 cups of flour. I am fearing that I have ruined this. Is the 4 cups of flour a typo?
It’s four cups. The video was a mistake.
Just made these for the first time and they turned out delicious! Like some of the previous commenters, I needed to bake longer than 15 minutes to get the rolls in the middle of the skillet baked through (about 25 minutes). That may also be because I’m baking at altitude in Colorado.
I’m curious, though… are the baking soda + baking powder necessary? Since the dough contains natural yeast for leavening, I’m wondering if those additional ingredients add much.
Also, I saw some of the commenters above who said the dough turned into an “eggy mess” after adding the eggs. I was worried at first too, because my dough didn’t come together quickly. I had to mix it for a while before it came together… probably about 15 minutes of kneading and squeezing before the dough looked and felt right. Patience! 🙂
I am a fairly new follower but I cannot speak highly enough of your recipes. You have been my inspiration from the beginning, I used your starter instructions to begin my starter and now that it is thriving I am obsessed with making all things fermented. I have tried several of your recipes (the crackers, English muffins, wheat bread etc) and they were all so amazing. But without a doubt the best recipe I have tried from you is this Cinnamon Roll recipe. I think they were the best cinnamon rolls I have ever tasted. I cannot praise you enough for your blog, your super accessible recipes, how much time, care, and love you have put into your cooking, and most of all for sharing that with people like me. I was always scared to have a starter because it seemed so daunting, but you made it seem fun, easy, and SOOOOO TASTY. I could go on and on but I’ll just say thank you again. You have truly enriched my cooking and consequently my life is better because of your blog.
I am a fairly new follower but I cannot speak highly enough of your recipes. You have been my inspiration from the beginning, I used your starter instructions to begin my starter and now that it is thriving I am obsessed with making all things fermented. I have tried several of your recipes (the crackers, English muffins, wheat bread etc) and they were all so amazing. But without a doubt the best recipe I have tried from you is this Cinnamon Roll recipe. I think they were the best cinnamon rolls I have ever tasted. I cannot praise you enough for your blog, your super accessible recipes, how much time, care, and love you have put into your cooking, and most of all for sharing that with people like me. I was always scared to have a starter because it seemed so daunting, but you made it seem fun, easy, and SOOOOO TASTY. I could go on and on but I’ll just say thank you again. You have truly enriched my cooking and consequently my life is better because of your blog.
If I am going to roll the cinnamon Rolls out this morning and refrigerate until tomorrow morning to bake should I pour the whipping cream over them today or tomorrow morning right before I bake them?
I’ve made this twice and it’s delicious! Thank you!! However, the dough mixture (with starter, flour, honey and melted coconut oil) didn’t rise at all after 20+ hours both time. In the video, yours seemed to rise some. I was wondering if coconut oil is heavy so it limits the rise during dough fermentation? A friend used butter instead of coconut oil and her dough had some expansion. What’s your thought on this?
Hi Lily! I know it’s two years later but I thought better late than never haha. My dough did not rise at all either. My mind thought the coconut oil was the culprit as well. My theory is that my coconut oil was too hot after melting and that it killed my starter when I added it in. Next time I’m going to let it cool a little and see if that helps.
Is all of the whipping cream supposed to be absorbed in the 30-60 minutes? What is there’s leftover cream? Do you try to remove it or just cook them with it in there?
It mostly absorbs while cooking!
I made them and the concensus was that they are THE BEST cinnamon rolls ever! Thank you for figuring out this amazing recipe!
Hi! I am excited to try this recipe! Do you have any tips for putting these together the night before? Or should I just go ahead and bake them the day before and then reheat them in the morning? I would love these for Easter morning but I don’t want to be dealing with assembling the rolls before church. Thanks!
You can go through the fermenting process tonight, and then tomorrow roll them up with the cinnamon filling and put them in the fridge until Sunday morning.
If I am going to roll the up and refrigerate until tomorrow morning when should I pour the whipping cream over them?
Made these this weekend. Used a KitchenAid mixer. I would not attempt this by hand. I did not quite get to window pane level and I added about 1/4 flour with the eggs because it was too loose.
IMPORTANT: I used the standard bake setting on my oven! If you use convection setting it is probably not going to bake through to middle in cast iron. I see that Lisa’s oven is a refurbished antique so she isn’t using a convection setting.
Anyway I used full fat coconut milk over the top. Worked just fine. I regret melting my “butter.” Definitely let your butter set out over night.
This recipe probably would benefit from weight measurements based on the major variations in the final outcome. However I’m pretty sure oven setting has a significant part to play. Also I got 9 large rolls in my 14 inch cast iron pan. I don’t know how long I baked them for because I messed up my timer and just kept checking very 10 minutes after I realized that. I think probably it was 20-30 minutes.
I don’t know what I wasn’t expecting but these rolls were fluffy, delicious, awesome. I used AP flour with my AP flour starter as well as subbing in vegetable oil since that’s what I had. Takes time but the flavors and texture were beautiful!
I followed the written directions and got my dough soaking overnight. In the morning I noticed that the dough didn’t seem to double so I decided to watch the video to make sure mine looked the same at that stage. Well in the video she used 2c of flour not 4c! So I assume the correct amount is 2 cups of flour 😪
The video says 2 cups of flour but the printable directions say 4, which one is it?
It’s 4. I made a mistake there.