Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls
These sourdough cinnamon rolls are absolutely to die for. I never thought there could be anything better than traditional cinnamon rolls, but the addition of sourdough starter takes the flavor and texture over the top. They are soft, rich, and fluffy with the most delicious sourdough tang.
Dough
- 227 grams sourdough starter (1 cup)
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1 stick butter melted or very softened
- 1/4 cup sugar or honey 50 grams
- 1 tsp salt 10 grams
- 1 egg
- 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour 420 grams
Filling
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 6 Tbsp softened butter
- 1 Tbsp cinnamon
- 3 Tbsp all purpose flour
Cream Cheese Glaze
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 4 Tbsp butter
- 1/3-1/2 cup powdered sugar or maple syrup (feel free to sweeten to your liking!)
- 1 Tbsp heavy cream, half and half, or milk
Make the dough
Combine melted butter with cold milk to cool it down.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment add your egg, starter, sugar or honey, milk, and butter. Mix until just combined.
Add flour and salt. Mix until flour is evenly moistened. Cover with a towel and let the dough rest 20-30 minutes.
Switch to a dough hook attachment if you have one. If you do not then you can knead the dough by hand. Knead 3-5 minutes on low/medium speed until the dough is smooth.
Cover the dough and let it rise until doubled in size. To develop more strength in the dough you can perform 3-4 stretch and folds during the first 4 hours of rise time. About one per hour is ideal. You do this by just grabbing a portion of the dough and pulling it upwards, then fold it over on itself to the other side of the bowl.
Shape and cut the rolls
After the dough has doubled in size turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough out into a rectangle about 16" by 20".
Make the filling by combining all filling ingredients into a small bowl. It should be a paste like consistency. Spread this evenly onto the rectangle of dough, be sure to leave 1/2" border on one of the long ends.
Starting with the filling coated long end, roll the dough up tightly. Cut into 12 even slices. I like to mark my dough lightly with a knife before cutting to plan for roughly even pieces.
Place into a greased 13"x9" and cover the pan. Let the cinnamon rolls rise until they are puffy, about 2 hours.
At this point you can bake them right away or you can place them in the refrigerator overnight and bake the next morning.
Position and oven rack in the bottom third of your oven and preheat to 350 degrees.
Bake 30-40 minutes until the tops are lightly golden brown. Set aside to cool.
Make your glaze
Combine all glaze ingredients in a medium bowl. I like to use a hand mixer for this step. Mix until smooth and completely combined.
After cinnamon rolls have cooled 5-10 minutes top them with the glaze and enjoy! These are best served fresh and warm.