Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

A sourdough cinnamon roll topped with vanilla cream cheese frosting sitting on a small white plate. There is a pale blue napkin the background of the photo.

Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

These sourdough cinnamon rolls are soft, fluffy, and swirled with gooey cinnamon-sugar filling, making them the ultimate comfort bake. Topped with creamy frosting, they’re perfect for a cozy weekend breakfast or a holiday morning treat.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword Sourdough Recipes

Prep Time 1

Cook Time 30

Fermentation Time 12

Total Time 13 25

Servings Rolls

Calories 493kcal

Author Kate Freebairn

Equipment

Stand Mixer (will work in KitchenAid, Ankarsrum, Thermomix)
Rolling Pin
Baking Pan (9" x 13")

Ingredients

Dough

500 g Bread Flour
100 g Sourdough Starter (active and bubbly)
200 g Milk (warm)
7 g Salt
1 Egg (large)
1 Egg Yolk
80 g Granulated Sugar
115 g Butter (softened at room temperature)
5 g Vanilla Paste (or extract)

Cinnamon Butter Filling

75 g Butter (melted)
100 g Brown Sugar
3 g Cinnamon (ground)

To Pour Over Before Baking

200 g Heavy Whipping Cream

Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting

125 g Cream Cheese (block - not spreadable)
25 g Butter
100 g Powdered Sugar
5 g Vanilla Paste (or extract)
1 pinch Salt

Instructions

Make The Dough

Add the warm milk, sugar, sourdough starter, egg + yolk, vanilla, salt, bread flour and butter to the bowl of your stand mixer and knead to a rough dough using the dough hook attachment. Leave the dough to rest for around 30 minutes.
Now knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic (speed 1-2 for around 2 to 3 minutes).
Cover the bowl and allow the dough to bulk ferment at room temperature. You want the dough to rise around 30% and feel soft to the touch.
Once the dough has finished bulk fermentation, you will need to fill and shape the sourdough cinnamon rolls.

Fill & Shape The Rolls

Mix together the melted butter, brown sugar and cinnamon until it resembles wet sand. Set this aside while you roll out the dough.
Turn the dough out onto the counter. Do not use flour when rolling out the dough, it shouldn’t be sticky.
Gently roll the dough out into a rectangle (approx. 20” x 12” or 50cm x 30cm). It should be around ¼" thick (½cm).
Spread the filling all over the dough, leaving a 2” (5cm) gap on one of the long edges. Once the filling is spread, roll the dough into a log, starting on the opposite long edge to the gap you've left. Roll the dough into a tight log, tucking the seam underneath.
Cut the log into approximately 12 even pieces (see notes on how I do this) and place them into a baking pan (I’ve used a 9” x 13” baking dish). Face all the seams inwards so that they don't unravel.

Second Rise

Cover the pan and allow the dough to rise. The dough is enriched, so it will take a little longer than normal (especially since we are dealing with sourdough). Once the dough is soft and puffy and the rolls are touching, it’s time to bake!

Baking

Preheat your oven to 180C/350F.
Pour the heavy whipping cream over the sourdough cinnamon rolls right before you place them in the oven (this is optional). Bake rolls for 30 minutes at 180C/350F. Once they're finished baking, leave them to cool in the pan for around 30 minutes before adding the frosting.

Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting

Add cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and salt to your stand mixer. Beat the frosting using the whisk attachment until it's thick and glossy.
Once the rolls have cooled a little (I leave it about 30 minutes) smother them in the vanilla cream cheese frosting. You can use a vanilla glaze or even just dust them in icing sugar if you prefer.

Video

Notes

Proofing - Ensure that the dough is puffy and full before baking - if it isn't, you'll get under proofed, gummy rolls. Proofing the rolls after shaping and before baking is crucial for success when making this sourdough cinnamon rolls recipe.

Cutting the Rolls - easiest way to cut even rolls is to cut the log in half (measure for accuracy), then cut each half in half again, so you'll have 4 pieces. Cut each piece into 3 even pieces, so you get 12 equally measured sourdough cinnamon rolls. They don't have to be exact, but I've found if you do try to get them as even as possible, they will rise more evenly and this will result in a more even bake.

Updated Recipe - This recipe was updated in September 2025 to include a softer, more buttery dough and gooeier (is that even a word?) filling, as well as a heavy cream topping. If you preferred the old dough (a few people have emailed me asking me for the original dough that they used for other things) you can find the original dough recipe is used in the sourdough strawberry rolls recipe (it is uses less butter and egg and handles the wetter strawberry filling better).

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