The Best Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls

Have you ever made something so incredibly good that you wanted to share it with everyone? This recipe is like that for me. I wish everyone could taste how good these sourdough cinnamon rolls are!

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Are your in-laws coming into town? Is it a special someone’s birthday? Make anyone these sourdough cinnamon rolls and I’m pretty sure you’ll have them convinced you should open a restaurant. They are THAT GOOD.

I couldn’t believe it myself when my worst food critic (my husband) took the first bite when I first made this recipe. Sunday’s are usually “cinnamon roll day” in our house, so I had previously made quite a few cinnamon rolls by this point. But the first time I made these particular sourdough cinnamon rolls, my husband’s first words were “these are better than any cinnamon roll I’ve ever had”.

Well, that’s a pretty big compliment if I’ve ever heard one and he’s not one to quickly compliment my food. His tastebuds are too tough to please 😂.

So if you’re looking to impress someone, I’m telling you this recipe is the ticket. Plus, it’s honestly pretty simple so that’s a bonus too!

Sample Schedule for Baking

This recipe calls for sourdough starter discard so let’s go through a typical timeline for making these sourdough cinnamon rolls.

Day 1: Feeding the Starter (the day before you cook)

• 8 AM: Feed the starter the day before you want to cook the sourdough cinnamon rolls
  • Option 1: Remove half of the starter from the container (this is the discard). If you’re ready to bake now, use this! Otherwise, feed the starter equal parts flour and water.
    • Weigh the starter after you have discarded to see how much leftover starter you have (make sure to subtract the weight of the container).
    • Once you have your current weight, subtract that number from 227g to get the amount of flour and water you need to add.
    • For example: I have a 1/2 cup or 113g of leftover starter in my container. If I want to always retain a 1/2 cup of starter, I will add 113g of flour and 113g of water to my leftover starter.
  • Option 2: If you use the scrapings method for your starter, you don’t need to discard. Feed the starter 120g of flour and 120g of water so that you have a little bit of extra starter just in case.
• 8 PM: (Optional) Feed the starter again if you want to strengthen it further.

Day 2: Using the Starter (the day of cooking)

• 8 AM: Check to be sure that your starter rose. Collect the discard and use it in the recipe or store the discard in the fridge if you’re not using it immediately.

The Main Ingredients

For these cinnamon rolls, you really don’t need too much. The big thing is just ensuring you have enough sourdough discard. But fun fact I did not have enough discard the last time I made this and they were still delicious.

• Flour: for this recipe we’re using old faithful, all-purpose flour.
• All the Add-Ins: Baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
• Sourdough Discard: The main event (aka ingredient) for this recipe so don’t forget it!
• Melted Butter: I’m always forgetting to read the recipe ahead of time and melt the dang butter. I’ll do my best to make it obvious in the recipe card but yes, MELT THAT BUTTER Y’ALL.
• Sugar or Honey: I always have sugar in the house and I sometimes have honey. Pick your fave and go for it.

FOR THE FILLING:

• Butter: Make sure it’s softened. I also forget to leave the butter out so I put the entire stick in the microwave on power 5, for 25 seconds. Then with the same power level, I flip the stick onto another side and microwave for 10 seconds. If I need any additional time, I flip the stick one more time and microwave for 10 seconds.
• Brown Sugar: Light or dark, I don’t think it really matters. I know some recipes are specific but is there really that big of a difference between the two?
• Cinnamon: Such a delicious spice.

FOR THE ICING:

• Butter: There’s a theme going on here. Soften this butter too.
• Powdered Sugar: The key ingredient for tasty icing.
• Cream Cheese: Make sure it’s softened as well. Or be like me and don’t. If you don’t soften it, the icing will just look a little chunky. Chunky is fine for my crew. Maybe not fine if I was serving the president…
• Milk: You’ll only need a splash to get the consistency how you like it.

How to Make Cream Cheese Icing

I love this icing because it’s simple, it makes a ton (so cut it in half if you don’t want leftovers) and I personally think it has the best taste. All you need to do is take a 1/4 cup of softened butter (half of a stick), 3 cups of powdered sugar, 4 ounces of softened cream cheese and about 2 tablespoons of milk and stir it all together until it’s smooth!

Don’t worry if the cream cheese isn’t fully softened. You’ll see a few small chunks in the icing but those kind of melt away when you place the icing on the warm cinnamon rolls.

How to Make Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls

Here we go! Before we get started, I just want you to know that this recipe is pretty fool proof. Don’t worry about messing it up because you pretty much just dump the ingredients together and ta da! I’ve also already made most of the mistakes for you and the cinnamon rolls were still delicious. So don’t stress. Enjoy!

Step 1: Preheat the oven 375° F and butter or oil your cast iron skillet. Feel free to use a 9×13 baking dish if you prefer!

Step 2: Melt a stick of butter (1/2 cup) and set aside for later. Also go ahead and take out another stick of butter (1/2 cup) and 4 ounces of cream cheese (if you haven’t already) so they can soften a bit.

Step 3: In a mixing bowl, add 4 cups of all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, 2 teaspoons of baking powder, 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1 teaspoon of salt. Turn the mixing bowl on low to combine the ingredients. Make sure you are using the dough hook attachment (not mixed here because I made that mistake 🙂 ).

Step 4: Add 1 cup (227g) of sourdough discard, 1 cup (236g) of water and the 1/2 cup of melted butter into the bowl of dry ingredients. Mix everything together into a ball begins to form. This took my mixer about 5-7 minutes.

Step 5: On a lightly floured surface, put your dough ball down and use a rolling pin to roll it into a rectangular shape. You want the dough to be about a 1/4 inch thick. As you can see in the picture, this was as thin as I could get my dough to go.

Step 6: In another bowl, combine the 1/2 cup of softened butter (1 stick), 1 cup of brown sugar and 2 tablespoons of cinnamon until it all blends into one. I recommend using a bowl a little bit bigger than the one pictured because the mixture moves around a lot in the beginning.

Step 7: Using a spatula or the back of a spoon, spread the filling evenly (as best you can) over the dough.

Step 8: Roll the dough up tightly, using the long edge of the rectangle as the starting point.

Step 9: Using a sharp knife, slice the log into 12 rolls. I ended up with leftovers but maybe you can roll better and get 12 total. Place the sliced cinnamon rolls into the skillet or baking dish. If you want crispy edges, keep the rolls from touching. If you like softer rolls, have the rolls touch.

Step 10: Bake the cinnamon rolls in the oven at 375° F for 25-30 minutes or until the tops of the cinnamon rolls start looking a little golden brown. Double check that the dough isn’t still raw in the middle before pulling them out of the oven.

Step 11: While the cinnamon rolls are making, make our favorite cream cheese icing by combining all icing ingredients and blending until the icing is at the consistency you like. Or use whatever recipe you like!

Step 11: If you want maximum icing on top, allow the cinnamon rolls to cool for a bit before adding the cream cheese icing on top. Once you get them frosted, enjoy your creation!

Cooking Essentials

Frequently Asked Questions

can i make this with active starter instead of discard?

Absolutely! The main thing you will notice when using active starter vs discard in a recipe is the flavor. Discard tends to have a little bit stronger flavor since it has been fermenting longer but both are still tangy. Sourdough discard is also less active and bubbly so it’s not strong enough to help a recipe that needs to rise. That’s why this recipe includes baking soda and baking powder. If you’re using an active starter I would reduce the amount of baking soda slightly to 3/4 teaspoon.

Can I make this recipe without a cast iron skillet?

Sure! If you don’t have a cast iron skillet handy, you can use a glass 9×13 baking dish.

my dough won’t spread out. What do I do?

If you can’t get your dough to shape into a thin rectangle form, then try kneading it again. Put the dough back into the mixer with the dough hook attachment and let it mix for another 3-5 minutes. Or if you want to knead it by hand, knead the dough for 5-7 minutes. After kneading, try rolling the dough out again. It should give you a little push back but overall you should be able to get it into a rectangular shape.

What If I Don’t Have enough starter discard?

I wouldn’t sweat it too much. The recipe calls for 1 cup or 227g of discard and I’ve made this same recipe with only 175g of discard and it was still absolutely delicious. If you have less than 175g of discard, I would suggest cutting the recipe in half.

Can I make these ahead of time?

Yes! Here’s a few ways to do that:

• In the Freezer: If you aren’t planning to cook these for awhile then after cutting the rolls, place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and freeze until firm. Transfer to a freezer-safe bag or container. The day before you’re ready to eat them, let the rolls thaw in the fridge overnight and get to room temperature before baking as usual.
• In the Fridge: If you want to go ahead and do all the prep work 1-2 days prior to eating, stop at Step 8 and do not cut the log into 12 slices. Instead, wrap the log tightly in plastic wrap and place it in the fridge. Take the log out an hour or two before baking and let it get to room temperature. Then proceed with Step 9 and slice the log into 12 rolls and continue on with the recipe.

What Goes Well With It?

For breakfast, my goal is to try and make it to lunch without getting hungry. Usually that means making sure I get a good bit of protein so I’d probably do a little mix and match from the list below:

• Bacon or Sausage: I say choose both if that’s what your heart wants!
• Scrambled Eggs or an Omelet: Obviously I just feel like eggs, cooked any way, would be a good pairing with the sweetness of the sourdough cinnamon rolls.
• Fresh Fruit: I’m not sure why but I’m most likely to eat fruit in the morning. Is that something scientific or just my tastebuds?
• All the Drinks: It’s fun to offer a breakfast bar of drinks to company. Offering coffee or tea options, along with some smoothie combos is a relatively easy way to do less but make it feel like you went all out.

Storing & Reheating Tips

Storing:

• Room Temp (1-2 days): Store rolls in an airtight container or tightly wrapped in plastic wrap to keep them soft. Keep them at room temperature for up to 2 days.
• In the Fridge (3-5 days): Wrap tightly and refrigerate if you need to store them longer, but this may dry them out slightly.
• In the Freezer (after baking): Allow the rolls to cool completely, then wrap each roll individually in plastic wrap or foil and place them in a freezer-safe bag. You can freeze for up to 3 months.

Reheating:

• From Frozen (Baked):
  • Microwave: Wrap a roll in a damp paper towel and heat for 20-30 seconds for a quick, soft reheat.
  • Oven: Preheat to 350°F (175°C), place rolls in a baking dish covered with foil, and heat for 10-15 minutes. Add a small dish of water to the oven for extra moisture.
• From Refrigerated: Reheat in the oven or microwave as above.