Light, pillowy sourdough cinnamon buns filled with a buttery cinnamon sugar filling and finished with a silky cream cheese icing. Perfect for weekend mornings, holidays, or whenever you're craving the coziest bake imaginable.
Course Breakfast, Dessert
Keyword cinnamon buns, sourdough
Servings 9cinnamon buns
Author eastongilowski
Ingredients
Sourdough Starter Feed
25gramsstarter
100gramsbread flour
100gramsfiltered water
Main Dough
200gramsactive sourdough starter
400gramsbread flour
150gramswarm whole milk
50gramsbrown sugar
75gramssoftened butter
1medium egg
6grams sea salt
5gramscinnamon
Cinnamon Sugar Paste
100gramssoftened butter
100gramsbrown sugar
1tbspcinnamon
pinchsea salt
Cream Cheese Icing
113grams cream cheese - soft, room temp½ cup
57gramsbutter - softened ¼ cup
2cupspowdered sugarsifted
2tspvanilla
¼tspsea salt
Instructions
Choose your timing schedule: see timing note under the heading "Making the Sourdough Cinnamon Buns"
STARTER FEEDING
Feed your sourdough starter by combining 25g starter, 100g water, and 100g bread flour. Cover and allow to rise until peaked, about 6–8 hours in summer or 8–12 hours in cooler months.
MAIN DOUGH & BULK RISE
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine warm milk, active sourdough starter, butter, brown sugar, egg, and salt. Give it a mix.
Add the bread flour and cinnamon. Mix until a shaggy dough forms. Knead using a dough hook for 6–8 minutes on medium-low speed until smooth and elastic. Alternatively, knead by hand for 8–10 minutes. Transfer the dough to a oiled bowl, cover, and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 4–8 hours.
CINNAMON SUGAR PASTE & SHAPING
Make the cinnamon sugar filling by mixing together the softened butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and sea salt until smooth.
Roll the dough into an 18 x 12-inch rectangle and spread the filling evenly over the surface. Cut into 9, 2" strips and roll each strip individually to form cinnamon buns.
Place the rolls into a greased 9x9 baking dish. Cover and proof for 4–8 hours, or overnight according to your preferred baking schedule.
BAKING
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake for approximately 35 minutes, or until lightly just golden brown. *DON'T OVER BAKE
CREAM CHEESE ICING & SERVING
In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened cream cheese and butter together for 2–3 minutes until completely smooth, light, and fluffy. Add the sifted powdered sugar one cup at a time, mixing on low speed between each addition. Add the vanilla extract and sea salt, then increase the speed to medium-high and beat for another 1–2 minutes until silky, creamy, and spreadable. If desired, add 1–2 tablespoons of milk for a thinner consistency.
Allow the cinnamon buns to cool for 10–15 minutes before generously spreading the cream cheese icing over top. Serve warm and enjoy. 🤍