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Okay... I know some of you have been waiting for this. I'm sorry it took me so long to share my sourdough cinnamon roll recipe but I promise the wait was worth it!
Originally, I was so intimidated by enriched doughs - ESPECIALLY those made with sourdough instead of instant yeast. My lovely friend Abdur (@briansbaking on Instagram) shared with me a while ago his sourdough doughnut recipe and since frying is not exactly my favorite past time, I wanted to attempt to use that dough recipe for cinnamon rolls... and that is how this adventure began! I'll admit... the first time, I did things all wrong. The dough didn't get to the correct texture and since I was such an enriched dough noob I didn't know what it was supposed to look and feel like. The final product came out a bit dense and crumbly as opposed to that luxurious texture we aim for in cinnamon rolls/brioche/enriched breads. I did it a few more times, this time after extensive research on the process of proper enriched doughs, and eventually I nailed that recipe. After this, I began some tweaking. The original recipe I practiced with was great, don't get me wrong! But I feel is was meant more to be a doughnut (DUH, since it is a doughnut recipe) rather than a cinnamon roll. I started altering some amounts of this and that, added a little more this and took a bit of that out, swap it for this and that and BOOM (wow, awesome explanation Allison you did great) - this beautiful love child was delivered to this universe. You're SO welcome.
These rolls are incredible for so many reasons. Lets talk about the things that make them worth it:
1) LOTS OF BUTTER. Like, on a Paula-Dean-would-be-SO-proud-of-you level. I know your arteries will hate you for it, but your mouth will be ecstatic.
2) Applying the butter, cinnamon and sugar separately in the filling rather than mixing them into a cohesive butter/sugar paste - There is a reason for this!!! It helps to develop that insanely amazing chewy caramel bottom that is a trademark of this recipe!
3) Waiting. I know its SO tempting to just say "screw it" and bake them before they're ready, but please please PLEASE wait accordingly! It makes the final product that much better. Also, I have aligned the waiting time to fall at the exact time you'll be sleeping/doing other things... because if i'm sleeping it makes the waiting THAT much more tolerable.
4) Castle Valley Mill's Bolted Hard Wheat Flour - This stuff is fantastic. If you follow me on Instagram, i'm sure you've seen me post about them a few million times. It's for good reason though! Their flours are milled using antique stone mills which provides a unique flavor along with a slice of history. In this recipe, I call for "strong flour" - specifically for this recipe I recommend using half of CVM's flour and half of some sort of high-gluten flour (I use this one). You can also use any sort of bread flour, whatever you have on hand works just fine!
5) Icing TOO?! YES! Of course! When you think of your all time favorite cinnamon roll, does it have icing? Mine sure as hell does! This one just rocks the best of both worlds *cue Hannah Montana* - A rich sweet icing on top, and a soft, chewy caramel layer on the bottom... A dream.
*NOTE*: There are two ways to do this recipe -
1) Letting the dough rest overnight in the fridge after it has been mixed together and doubled in size (This means you will shape cinnamon rolls in the morning and let the proof all day, thus baking at night) or
2) Letting the dough rest for at least 1 hour in the fridge after the dough has been mixed and doubled in size (This means you will shape at night and they will proof overnight, thus baking in the morning).
It honestly doesn't matter which you choose; just depends if you want cinnamon rolls fresh out of the oven for breakfast (in which case, choose option 2) or if you want them for dessert (choose option 1).
This recipe will take about 2 days, so PLAN ACCORDINGLY!
One more warning - I know I go back and forth using weighted measurements and measuring cups/spoons... I'M SORRY I'm an American baker which means I use both and i'm not sorry about it (I kinda am because i'm always sorry about everything but lets pretend i'm not sorry for the context of this sentence).
Now that we've gotten through the deets - here's the recipe!
Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls
Recipe makes 12 rolls
For dough:
550 g Strong flour (I use half CVM's Bolted Hard Wheat Flour and half High Gluten Flour, but a standard bread flour will work fine!)
80 g Sugar
80 g Active sourdough starter
140 g Milk (personally I use almond milk but any milk will work)
2 Whole eggs
2 Egg yolks
8 g Salt
226 g Softened butter (two sticks)
6 g Active dry yeast (optional) (I use this one)
For filling:
1 cup Brown sugar (This is approximate, I typically sprinkle it over the top of the butter during the filling process until it looks sufficient so if this doesn't seem like enough, add more. If it seems like too much, add less. But I vote more 😉)
1-2 tbsp Cinnamon (Again, this is approximate. Just sprinkle it on top so that it looks good to you)
113 g (1 stick) softened butter
For icing:
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tbsp melted butter
2 tsp vanilla
4 tbsp milk
1) IN THE MORNING: Add all ingredients (except butter) to bowl of stand mixer with hook attachment. Mix until combined.
2) With mixer running at medium speed, slowly add butter tbsp by tbsp, adding next one after previous has been thoroughly mixed in.
3) Once all butter is added in, continue mixing at medium/high speed for 10-20 minutes, taking a small pause in the middle if mixer begins to overheat (mine did). Dough is done mixing once it is silky and smooth but not too sticky, pulling away from sides of bowl and passes windowpane test. Here is an image (courtesy of Google) of what the windowpane test should look like:
4) Let dough rise until doubled in size. Time will vary, so keep an eye on it after the 2 hour mark. If using additional yeast, this should take much less time; if using exclusively sourdough starter, I wouldn't be surprised if it took around 8 hours. Keep an eye on it and use your instincts!
5) IN EVENING: once dough is doubled in size, put into the fridge overnight, or you can leave for at least 1 hour for dough to set up. (See *Note* above)
6) NEXT MORNING (or same evening if leaving dough for 1 hour): Butter a 9x13 pan and line with parchment paper. You could just use one or the other, but I recommend both for easy removal later on.
7) Roll dough out to 24x12 in., with the longer edge facing you.
8) Spread softened butter onto dough, leaving about half an inch along the bottom (the long end) without filling on it to help seal dough when you roll it.
9) Sprinkle brown sugar over the top of the butter, and then the cinnamon (Remember, use your judgement as my measurements are approximate). TIGHTLY roll the dough with filling towards you. Make sure it is tight, as this will make more of a defined spiral.
10) Once you have a 24 in long log, take a ruler and make a mark along the dough every 2 inches to create evenly sized rolls.
11) With a very sharp knife, slice rolls in a gentle sawing motion along the marks you made. Do not use floss or cut straight down, as this will ruin the spirals. As you slice, place the rolls into the lined baking pan. When it’s all sliced you’ll have 12 two inch thick rolls. They should look something like this:
12) Once all rolls are cut and in pan, we will let them proof. If you left your dough in the fridge overnight after doubling, you will let them proof all day until they are puffy. If you left the dough in fridge for 1 hour, you will let them proof overnight.
13) Once rolls are puffy (either in the evening if you let dough rest in fridge for 1 hour, or in the morning if they proofed in the fridge overnight), preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. They are ready to bake if they look something like this:
14) When oven is preheated, bake rolls for 35-40 minutes, or until golden brown.
15) Once they are done baking, you’ll let them cool and in the meantime you’ll prepare your icing.
16) Whisk together the powdered sugar, melted butter and vanilla. Add the milk in one TBSP at a time into a smooth icing (should be slightly thick but still easily spreadable), then spread over the top of cinnamon rolls.
17) Let cool slightly (if you can wait that long) and enjoy!
If you try this recipe, let me know! Leave me a comment down below, or tag me on Instagram @allisonbread
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