These ooey-gooey sourdough cinnamon rolls are extra soft and stretchy due to their generous size and many many layers of buttery cinnamon sugar filling!
I set out to create the perfect sourdough cinnamon roll. One that wasn’t cloyingly sweet or made with questionable ingredients. One that had the tender doughiness of an authentic rich dough. One made with real butter, milk, and eggs. One that was naturally fermented and easy to digest! I’m happy to report that I achieved all that and more in this wholesome recipe that feels like an extravagant cheat, but isn’t!
Take a peek at this perfection!
Looks good, right?
If you love cinnamon like I do, you might also want to try my Cinnamon Sourdough Honey Buns and my Cinnamon Raisin Sourdough Bread!
Real Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting
Let’s start from the top down, shall we? See all those black specks in the frosting? That’s real vanilla caviar! The actual seeds of a vanilla bean. Those tiny seeds infuse the cream cheese with the delicate floral flavor of vanilla!
You can order fresh vanilla beans at Mountain Rose Herbs. Or, join me on Facebook at Indri’s Vanilla Bean Group for opportunities to order vanilla beans in bulk!
The smooth whipped texture of this frosting is achieved by beating soft room-temperature butter and soft cream cheese with the perfect amount of pure maple syrup. The result is a fluffy light frosting that melts slightly into the warm cinnamon roll crevices!
Slowly Fermented Rich Dough
This silky dough is probably the best part of the recipe. After a long overnight ferment it rolls out evenly and easily!
The Spicy Buttery Filling
These cinnamon rolls get a sticky filling worthy of a special occasion! Softened butter is mixed with coconut sugar, maple syrup, and extra cinnamon to make a filling that spreads easily over the entire dough.
Cutting and Proofing the Rolls
Once the dough is filled and rolled it can be cut and placed in a pan for the second rise. Make sure to leave extra room around each roll. These giant cinnamon rolls live up to their name!
Once the cinnamon rolls have doubled they are ready to be baked. After proofing they should look like this.
Baking the Rolls
Get ready to fall in love with the smell coming from your oven. These cinnamon rolls smell heavenly while baking and will set the stage for the perfect day! They will puff up even further in the oven and should rise to their full potential. The sugary edges get crisp and browned, but inside the dough will be tender and sticky with sweet cinnamon.
Frost While Warm!
Let the cinnamon rolls cool after baking, but not for too long! You want to frost them with the cream cheese while there is still enough heat to melt the frosting down between the layers.
These generous sourdough cinnamon rolls are soft, gooey, buttery, and perfectly sweetened with low-glycemic coconut sugar. The frosting is thick and creamy, flavored with real vanilla, and sweetened with pure maple syrup. Trust me when I say these cinnamon rolls are to die for! I use a sifted whole wheat flour as my primary flour now and it works great in this recipe. You can use all-purpose, bread, whole wheat, or a combo of the three. If you'd like to experiment with more exotic flour (like spelt, einkorn, emmer, or Kamut) start by adding up to 25% of the total flour and check results before adding more. Vanilla caviar is the tiny seeds inside a fresh cured vanilla bean. To remove the caviar from the bean first split it lengthwise with a paring knife. Place the bean cut side up on a smooth surface like a cutting board. Using the back of the knife start at one end of the bean and scrape the seeds down the length of the bean. The seeds will build up on the knife blade and you will be able to carefully transfer them to your recipe. As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Giant Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls With Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
The Dough
The Filling
The Frosting
Instructions
The Night Before
The Next Morning
Make the Filling
Roll, Fill, Cut, and Proof the Dough
Baking the Rolls
Make the Cream Cheese Frosting and Frost the Rolls
Notes
Flour Types
Using Vanilla Caviar
Recommended Products
AJ
Sunday 7th of August 2022
Could you use an alternative milk or heavy cream? I don’t buy cow’s milk, but I do use heavy cream. Wondering if I could sub almond milk. These sound delish!
Butter For All
Thursday 11th of August 2022
Hi AJ,
Yes, absolutely! You can sub heavy cream. You could even water it down a bit with almond milk or water. I'm sure it will be great! Can't go wrong with cream :)
Amber Armstrong
Saturday 25th of June 2022
Hi there! I have used white flour in this recipe, and as a few others have noted, it takes a lot more flour than stated, hopefully I have added enough, as i didn't want to keep kneading it for too long, but its rising over night and hopefully it will work. Could you add a note in the recipe that points out that whole meal and whole wheat absorb much more liquid than white? Thank you!
Butter For All
Wednesday 29th of June 2022
Hi Amber,
Glad you were able to use your intuition and adjust as needed!
Hope they were a "GIANT" success!
Olivia
Saturday 4th of June 2022
just wondering if these can be put in the fridge immediately after being cut to slowly rise overnight? and then baked in the morning.. if i adjusted the timeline to mix the dough in the morning, let ferment on the counter during the day, then roll out and cut and put in the pan in the evening, and place in the fridge overnight.. i’ve loved all of your other recipes i’ve tried, and am looking forward to this one too!
Butter For All
Sunday 12th of June 2022
Hi Olivia!
Absolutely! That sounds like a great timeline. Refrigerator proofing works especially well if your starter is adapted to the cooler temperatures!
Let me know how they turn out!
Courtney
Rachel
Sunday 8th of May 2022
These tasted good but were hideous. They kind of fell apart after the rolling step. Any advice on how to get them as beautiful as yours?
Butter For All
Monday 9th of May 2022
Hi Rachel!
Hmmm, was the dough chilled or room temp? Chilled dough can be easier to roll and cut. I will admit that this dough is very tender and may require a little more babying than a yeast risen cinnamon roll dough. Hopefully the taste and texture was worth trying them again! I would suggest chilling the dough and making sure the roll is seam side down before cutting. if the dough still seems soft, use a straight edge knife and cut straight down through the roll in one shot. Try not to saw at the dough. I really hope this helps!
Courtney
Julia
Tuesday 1st of March 2022
These look great, can’t wait to try them!
Would you be interested in developing a sourdough waffle cone recipe? After your website, I never want to go back to unfermented flour!
Butter For All
Thursday 3rd of March 2022
Hi Julia!
Great idea. I always love a good sourdough challenge! Make sure to get on my email list, that's where you would see any new recipes as soon as they get published. I'll start playing around with this idea soon.
Best,
Courtney