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Cinnamon roll covered in icing on a China plate.

Okay, so here is my first recipe with my sourdough starter that isn’t a loaf of bread. Everyone in my house likes cinnamon rolls, except Luke. He just doesn’t like cinnamon at all. And that is very hard for me to accept because cinnamon might just be my ALL TIME favorite seasoning/spice! I have tried multiple ways for him to just “give it a try.” But I’ve had no success! He did decide to taste these delicious cinnamon rolls with sourdough starter and they passed the test, barely!

It’s not because they aren’t delicious. It’s just because he really is THAT picky! As far as the rest of the crew, these cinnamon rolls were on point.

cinnamon rolls with sourdough starter are huge and fluffy,

Which is very different from the cinnamon rolls that you buy in the cold section of the grocery store. Those cinnamon rolls taste good but they are very small and compact. One of these cinnamon rolls is sure to FILL YOU UP!

I also made the powdered sugar glaze and my people were disappointed. Powdered sugar glaze has its place. Donuts is one of the many foods that are excellent with that glaze. It’s also good on sugar cookies. But my crew was looking for the cream cheese icing. And I would have to agree with them. These cinnamon rolls needed that thick, creamy, cream cheese icing slathered on top of them. The glaze was just too delicate and there wasn’t enough of it for such big cinnamon rolls.

I have provided the recipe for both the cream cheese icing and the glaze so that you can choose to try whichever one you like best. That gives you another option in case you don’t like cream cheese.

There is a HUGE mistake in the video of me making these rolls. I melted my butter for the filling instead of just allowing it to come to room temperature and be soft. It was a DISASTER! But I made the mistake so that YOU DON’T HAVE TO! Watch and learn from me, what NOT to do! LOL

helpful hints:

Don’t MELT the butter for the filling. Just let it be soft and come to room temperature.
Use unflavored dental floss to cut your rolls. This will keep them from being squished.
I keep my sourdough starter in the fridge. Every Friday morning, before work, I take it out of the fridge and feed it. I then let it sit on the counter all day long. When I come home that evening from work, my sourdough starter is bubbly and ready for me to make something with it. I usually need to let it rise overnight. That is why I feed it early Friday morning, make my dough Friday evening, and let it rise overnight. By Saturday, I am ready to complete my sourdough recipe and bake it!

cinnamon rolls with sourdough starter recipe

Pantry items needed:

4 cups all purpose flour (I use bread flour)
1/2 cup melted coconut oil
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup honey
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup brown sugar

Fridge Ingredients:

1/2 cup water (I keep mine in a filter in the fridge)
1/2 cup fed sourdough starter (I also keep mine in the fridge)
2 eggs
1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Seasonings/Spices:

2 tablespoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt

Cream Cheese Icing:

6 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup honey
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Simple Powdered Sugar Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 tablespoons of milk

cinnamon rolls with sourdough starter instructions

First, in a bowl, mix sourdough starter, flour, honey, water, and coconut oil.
Second, place the dough in a greased bowl and cover the dough with plastic wrap.

Cinnamon roll dough made of sourdough starter in a greased bowl.

Third, let the dough rest overnight. (24 hours)
The next day, add eggs, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and mix on medium speed for about 5 minutes.
Then, in a separate bowl, combine butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon.
Next, dust your table/counter top with flour and roll out the dough to about 1/4 in thickness.
Spread cinnamon, sugar, butter mixture onto the dough evenly.

Cinnamon roll dough made of sourdough starter with cinnamon, sugar, and butter spread on it.

Roll up the dough tightly.
Then, slice the roll to make 12 sourdough cinnamon rolls.

A woman slicing simple cinnamon rolls with sourdough starter with a cerrated knife and placing in a cast iron skillet.

Next, place rolls into a baking dish or cast iron skillet.
Pour 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream on top of the sourdough cinnamon rolls.

Simple cinnamon rolls with sourdough starter covered in heavy cream in a cast iron skillet.

Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes.
Finally, pour cream cheese icing over rolls or powdered sugar glaze and serve!

This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure here.

giving credit where it’s due!

As far as my sourdough journey is concerned, I’ve found inspiration and recipes from a fellow blogger. Farmhouse on Boone is such a great resource and she has so many helpful hints for beginners. I haven’t built up my confidence with sourdough yet, but I’m working on it slowly.

Personally, I have always used packages of yeast and I LOVE yeast breads. I decided to try the sourdough route because of the difficulties during the pandemic of getting bread and other baked goods. Even yeast packets could be taken away and so I wanted to try and have something on hand that I could make bread with and not have to rely on a store bought package of yeast for fluffy and delicious bread and rolls.

Farmhouse on Boone Cinnamon Rolls

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