Easy Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls Recipe (Soft and Fluffy)

An easy Sourdough Cinnamon rolls recipe is something that every sourdough baker needs! These ones are easy to make, taste delicious, have a soft and fluffy texture.

They fluffy sourdough cinnamon rolls look as irresistible as they taste!

In this post learn how to make these delicious sourdough cinnamon rolls with my Sourdough Sweet and Soft Bread Master Recipe that you can use for other creative sourdough bread recipes!

5 Reasons these are the easiest sourdough cinnamon rolls

1. These are easy to make because they start with a 100% hydration active sourdough starter which is the type of sourdough starter most sourdough bakers learn to use first! Rather than a stiff starter or sweet sourdough starter.
2. If you refresh your starter every day for the chance to bake something, you might be ready to make these now.
3. The ingredients are probably things you have on hand right now. You may even want to double it!
4. The process and timing is similar to other sourdough bread recipes, no extra long fermentation windows due to a high fat percentage brioche dough.
5. Even though they are easy to make, they taste fluffy and delicious!!

How to make Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls

The process of making this sourdough cinnamon roll recipe has the following steps: Ingredients, Starter preparation, Making the dough, Kneading, Bulk fermentation, Shaping, Proofing, Baking, Cooling, Topping. These are a perfect treat for a Christmas morning, special occasion, or just a peaceful weekend morning to enjoy with coffee.

Ingredients

As I mentioned, the base enriched dough is my Sourdough Sweet and Soft Bread Master Recipe so it is easy to make and very adaptable. Here’s a video about the master dough recipe:

Here are the ingredients you will need:

Starter Preparation for Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls

You will need a healthy, established sourdough starter for making this recipe. If you need to buy one or make one, here are my resources to get started!

With your sourdough starter, you can use active sourdough starter or sourdough starter discard, add one tablespoon to a container that is at least 1-pint in size. Then feed it with water and all-purpose flour. You can use bread flour instead, I use all-purpose flour because it is less expensive for this step.

Let the starter sit at room temperature for 6 to 12 hours until it is doubled in volume, full of large bubbles, and smells fragrant like ripe fruit.

The time range will depend on the room temperature in your kitchen, starting temperature of ingredients, and weather.

Learn more about sourdough starters in these posts:

• What is a sourdough starter?
• How to Know When your Sourdough Starter is Ready (8 signs)

Making the Sourdough Cinnamon Roll Dough

Provided that your starter is active and ready, the first step to prepare the dough is scalding the milk. This neutralizes proteins in the milk that can conflict with good fermentation.

Add more whole milk than the recipe calls for to allow for evaporation. Heat the milk over medium to medium-high heat until it is steaming and proteins begin to stick to the pot. Temperature will be 130 to 140 degrees F. Don’t let it foam.

Transfer the 40 g water and 100g of your scalded milk to the bowl of a stand mixer, large bowl, or a separate glass carafe to cool down to 90-100 degrees F.

While it’s cooling, use a separate large bowl to mix together the flour and salt.

Once your milk is cooled and in the bowl of a stand mixer or large mixing bowl, add the sugar, 100g of the active sourdough starter, and flour mixture. Stir with a dough hook attachment about 4 times around the bowl or with a large spoon if you are mixing by hand for 1 to 2 minutes until ingredients are beginning to combine and it looks like a shaggy dough mixture. Add the vanilla and egg. Continue mixing the dough until it becomes completely combined and soft.

Kneading the Sourdough Cinnamon Roll Dough

Once all the ingredients except the softened unsalted butter are added, it is time to knead your dough into a smooth, soft ball.

When using a stand mixer, use low to medium-low speed (I recommend the lowest 2-3 speeds) to knead your dough. It will take 5 to 8 minutes to get combined and soft until it pulls away cleanly from the sides of the bowl. Kneading by hand will take 8 to 12 minutes.

Now, it is time to knead in the softened unsalted butter. Add it one tablespoon at a time with kneading in between each addition.

Continue kneading until the butter is completely incorporated into your dough and it pulls away cleanly from the sides of the bowl or kneading surface and is a soft smooth ball.

Bulk Fermentation for Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls

Place your cinnamon roll dough into an airtight container or use a large clean bowl covered with plastic wrap. I like to use a 4-qt Cambro container like this one for bulk fermentation because it is easy to use and see the dough rise and gauge when the dough has doubled in volume.

Keep your dough at room temperature for 4 to 8 hours for the bulk fermentation or first rise until it doubles. For clarity on when this stage is done, see this post.

Time Planning Help for Sourdough Baking

The #1 need for sourdough bakers is help with time planning, so I created a resource for you.

Sourdough Time Planning Workbook: Perfect for new or experienced bakers, this workbook includes 8 templates ready to fill in and a baking journal. The templates cover 4 different ways to make classic sourdough country breads, 3 time planning worksheets for enriched sourdough bread depending on serving time target, and a blank template. The baking journal goes over baker’s percentages and how to take notes on your sourdough bakes.

Get a free sample of the workbook: Use this sourdough time planning worksheet sample to simplify your baking.

Shaping Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls

Mix the cinnamon filling

The first step of shaping is preparing the buttery cinnamon filling.

Beat the softened 100g of unsalted butter with the 80g brown sugar until creamy. Add the cinnamon. I use a paddle attachment in the stand mixer for this, a hand mixer with beaters would work well too. Scrape the sides of the bowl and the paddle attachment(s) with a spatula and set aside.

For cinnamon, I recommend Vietnamese cinnamon which has more oil content for a stronger flavor.

Roll out the dough

Prepare a baking dish like a casserole dish or a rimmed baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper.

Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and use a rolling pin to roll the dough into rectangle that is is 8 inches by 12 inches wide.

Spread the filling onto the center of the dough leaving 1 inch along the 12-inch edges bare. Roll up the dough from one 12-inch edge to the other. Pinch the seam together to form a tight seal.

Then cut the roll into six 2-inch pieces. I recommend using a serrated bread knife to more easily cut through the rolled dough without smashing it.

Place the rolls inside side up (the cut side facing up) on the prepared baking dish equally spread apart in 2 rows of 3 rolls. Cover the cinnamon rolls with plastic wrap.

Note: I use a French Rolling Pin from USA based company Earlywood Designs. It is my favorite one and does a great job on rolling the edges of dough. You can check it out in several colors here: French rolling pin

Proofing Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls

Baking Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls

Cooling Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls

Topping Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls

Whisk icing ingredients well. The consistency should easily run off the whisk and when you drizzle it in a figure 8 it should leave a defined shape. Add milk slowly 1 t. at a time to achieve the correct consistency.

7 tips for the best Cinnamon Rolls

1. This recipe uses a 100% hydration starter. This style of starter is familiar to most sourdough bakers making it easier to attempt this recipe.
2. *You may have noticed I used all-purpose flour in this recipe, not bread flour. All-purpose flour makes these sourdough cinnamon rolls softer and less chewy than bread flour. It also allows the filling to break through the walls of the dough more to infuse the rolls with that incredible flavor and buttery goodness!
3. Timing in sourdough is key. See this post on time planning or check out my Sourdough Time Planning Workbook & Baking Journal.
4. The fresher your spices, the better your cinnamon flavor will come through in your sweet bread. Here’s my favorite source for fresh and organic spices: Starwest. When using ground spices like ground cinnamon, those spices degrade in flavor and potency much faster than whole spices so make sure you replace them every 1-2 years.
5. Dough that has perfectly fermented, should not be sticky after the bulk ferment. Only a very light amount of dusting flour should be needed during shaping.
6. Don’t overbake these cinnamon rolls! If you want to test doneness, use a food thermometer and reference the notes in the Baking section above. If they bake too long, they will lose too much moisture.
7. Toppings for this bread can be adjusted to your preferences. I love a complete covering with a simple glaze icing with vanilla extract. If you prefer, you could use a tangy cream cheese frosting (this one from Sugar Spun Run is my favorite)

Benefits and Differences of Sourdough in Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls

The sourdough version of this cinnamon roll recipe creates incredible flavor and texture, which makes it a treat for knowledgable foodies. Additionally, sourdough recipes and the long fermentation creates more digestible cinnamon rolls

There are some major differences you will see between these sourdough cinnamon rolls and traditional cinnamon rolls made with conventional yeast. The biggest difference is the timing. The timing with using natural yeast from sourdough is about 3 times longer.

Due to the shorter fermentation in conventional yeast recipes, those recipes add more sugar and sometimes butter/fat to create more flavor in the shorter timeframe. Sourdough recipes have the advantage of the long fermentation for incredible flavors to develop without loading our dough with sugar.

Here are the sourdough benefits listed for you:

• Sourdough breaks down the gluten proteins into smaller pieces during the long fermentation which means less stomach and digestive irritation. Learn more about sourdough here or get my free sourdough quick start guide.
• Sourdough breads begin with a starter or levain which is a mixture of flour, water, and sourdough starter that ferments for 6-12 hours on average to develop an incredible intense flavor that enhances every ingredient in the bread!
• Because sourdough breads ferment for a long time, flavor naturally develops as carbohydrates in the bread are broken down into simpler sugars. This means that less sugar is used in the dough formula.
• Sourdough timelines are more forgiving than conventional yeast timelines. Breads made with conventional yeast can overproof if a timeline is missed; which happens easily due to the high amount of yeast organisms and sugar that are added to the dough.

Savor and Share

Share this recipe with a friend! This sourdough recipe from my master recipe helps give sourdough bakers an advantage in the kitchen by making sourdough baking feel easier!

After you try it, send me a note, leave a review comment, or tag me on facebook or instagram @livingbreadbaker

I love seeing how people connect with people they love through bread.

More great recipes

Don’t forget that the base dough can be used for so much more! Check out the post on how to use this versatile dough here:

• Easy Sweet & Soft Sourdough Bread Master Recipe
• Easy & Soft Savory Sourdough Cheese Twist Rolls
• Skillet Sourdough Apple Cinnamon Swirl Bread Recipe

And here are some other special occasion recipes you might enjoy:

• Sourdough Cinnamon Twist Wreath Bread
• Sourdough Pan Dulce Conchas (Sweet Shell Bread)
• Sourdough Kanelbullar
• Sourdough Chai Spice Star Bread Recipe
• Fluffiest Sourdough Challah Bread
• Sourdough Jam-Filled Star Bread

Need more sourdough help?

Living Bread Baker posts mentioned

When is sourdough bulk fermentation finished?

When is sourdough finished proofing?

What is a sourdough starter?

Easy Sweet & Soft Sourdough Bread Master Recipe

Skillet Sourdough Apple Cinnamon Swirl Bread Recipe

Easy & Soft Savory Sourdough Cheese Twist Rolls

Sourdough Cinnamon Twist Wreath Bread

Pan Dulce Conchas with sourdough (Sweet Shell Bread)

Sourdough Chai Spice Star Bread Recipe

Kanelbullar made with sourdough

Fluffiest Sourdough Challah Bread

Sourdough Jam-Filled Star Bread

Christmas sourdough bread recipes

Shop this post

4-qt Cambro container

Earlywood Designs French rolling pin

Ground cinnamon, organic (Vietnamese with higher oil content for more intense flavor)

Food scale

Parchment baking sheets

FREE Sourdough Quick Start Guide

Sourdough Time Planning Workbook

My Intro. to Sourdough online course

My sourdough starter

Breadtopia live starter

Cultures for Health starter

Sourdough Time Planning Workbook & Baking Journal

This post contains affiliate links. Read my policy here.

Print Recipe

Easy Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls Recipe (Soft and Fluffy)

Servings: 6 large cinnamon rolls

Author: Jenny Prior

Ingredients

Starter preparation

• 15-20 g 1 T. sourdough starter
• 60 grams 7 tablespoons all-purpose or bread flour
• 60 grams 1⁄4 cup water

Dough ingredients

• 100 g whole milk warmed (see step 2)
• 40 g water
• 30 g sugar
• 100 g active sourdough starter
• 375 g all purpose flour. see Tips section below*
• 4 g 1 t. vanillla
• 7 g 1 t. salt
• 1 egg
• 45 g 3 T. unsalted butter, softened

Filling ingredients

• 100 g unsalted butter
• 80 g brown sugar
• 1 T. 8g cinnamon

Vanilla Glaze Icing

• 130 g powdered sugar
• 1/2 t. vanilla extract
• 2-6 t. whole milk

Instructions

Starter Prep

• Put one tablespoon of sourdough starter into a clean container or pint size jar. Feed it with 60g water and 60g white flour. Stir until no dry flour is left. Let it sit at room temp 6-12 hours until active (doubled in volume, full of large bubbles, and smells fragrant like ripe fruit)

Making the Sourdough Cinnamon Roll Dough

• Scald the milk: Add more whole milk than the recipe calls for to allow for evaporation. Heat the milk over medium to medium-high heat until it is steaming and proteins begin to stick to the pot. Temperature will be 130 to 140 degrees F. Don't let it foam. Transfer 100g of your scalded milk to the bowl of a stand mixer, large bowl, or a separate glass carafe to cool down to 90-100 degrees F.
• Once your milk is cooled, add it to the bowl of a stand mixer or large mixing bowl, add the sugar, 100g of the active sourdough starter, and flour mixture. Stir with a dough hook attachment about 4 times around the bowl or with a large spoon if you are mixing by hand for 1 to 2 minutes until ingredients are beginning to combine and it looks like a shaggy dough mixture. Add the vanilla and egg. Continue mixing the dough until it becomes completely combined and soft.

Kneading the Sourdough Cinnamon Roll Dough

• Knead your dough into a smooth, soft ball. It will take 5 to 8 minutes to get combined and soft until it pulls away cleanly from the sides of the bowl. Kneading by hand will take 8 to 12 minutes.
• Now, it is time to knead in the softened unsalted butter. Add it one tablespoon at a time with kneading in between each addition. Continue kneading until the butter is completely incorporated into your dough and it pulls away cleanly from the sides of the bowl or kneading surface and is a soft smooth ball.

Bulk Fermentation for Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls

• Place your cinnamon roll dough into an airtight container or use a large clean bowl covered with plastic wrap. Keep your dough at room temperature for 4 to 8 hours for the bulk fermentation or first rise until it doubles.

Shaping Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls

• Mix the cinnamon filling: Beat the softened 100g of unsalted butter with the 80g brown sugar until creamy. Add the cinnamon. I use a paddle attachment in the stand mixer for this, a hand mixer with beaters would work well too. Scrape the sides of the bowl and the paddle attachment(s) with a spatula and set aside.
• Prepare a baking dish like a casserole dish or a rimmed baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper.
• Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and use a rolling pin to roll the dough into rectangle that is is 8 inches by 12 inches wide.
• Spread the filling onto the center of the dough leaving 1 inch along the 12-inch edges bare. Roll up the dough from one 12-inch edge to the other. Pinch the seam together to form a tight seal. Then cut the roll into six 2-inch pieces. I recommend using a serrated bread knife to more easily cut through the rolled dough without smashing it. Place the rolls inside side up (the cut side facing up) on the prepared baking dish equally spread apart in 2 rows of 3 rolls. Cover the cinnamon rolls with plastic wrap.

Proofing Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls

• Let the covered dough sit at room temperature for the proof or second rise for 2 to 4 hours. The rolls should rise and spread until 1.5 to 2 times larger. The dough should feel soft to touch.

Baking Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 16 to 20 minutes until outside is golden brown just on edges. To test doneness inside the rolls, use a cooking thermometer inserted into the center of the bread. Enriched bread that is baked through should be 190 to 195 degrees F.

Cooling Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls

• Cool cinnamon rolls in the original baking dish or baking sheet while you mix the icing for at least 10 minutes.

Topping Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls

• Whisk icing ingredients well. The consistency should easily run off the whisk and when you drizzle it in a figure 8 it should leave a defined shape. Add milk slowly 1 t. at a time to achieve the correct consistency. Pour icing over the center of each roll, rotating outward in a circle to get even coverage over the whole roll. Then enjoy!