These sweet cinnamon rolls, made with the beneficial bacteria of sourdough and fantastic fiber rich whole grains, are delightfully delicious.
Sourdough Book
When I first started my sourdough journey many years ago, I was so grateful for any information I could find. Now, there are so many tried and true recipes with sourdough that I couldn’t ever manage to get through them all. Thirteen years ago the online sourdough community was very small.
The book “The Art of Baking with Natural Yeast” was a lifesaver. Caleb Warnock and Melissa Richardson, friends that met in a writing class, went on to teach sourdough classes together and then to write this book. It is full of helpful information, tips and recipes.
A Healthier But Just As Delicious Cinnamon Roll
For years I used a very beloved, famous cinnamon roll recipe that I received from my friends mom. It is amazing and so delicious but I needed a healthier version that my kids could tolerate.
Enter “The Art of Baking with Natural Yeast”. In it was a cinnamon roll recipe that claimed to be amazing.
Her recipe uses 100% whole wheat. I wasn’t that brave and so I started with just part whole grain flour. It is a cinnamon roll after all. (I have since made the recipe with 100% whole grain flour – it still is yummy but if you are looking for soft, fluffy cinnamon rolls using part all-purpose flour gives you better results.)
Making Adjustments
The dough is soft and silky and I was impressed with how good the baked cinnamon rolls turn out. I have modified the recipe to fit our needs and I think with the modification it turns out even better.
Even if I don’t need the dough to be dairy free I still use the full fat coconut milk. I personally like the results with the coconut milk better than the buttermilk that the recipe originally called for.
I have made these so many times over the years. They are made for every sourdough class I teach and even made 200 of them for a father’s day gathering. They were a hit! I hope you love them as much as we do!!
Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls
Dough:
1 medium potato – peeled, boiled and mashed
OR you can substitute
¾ cup potato flakes (make sure the ingredient list only has potatoes) and 1¼ cup boiling water
½ cup butter (for dairy free, I use Miyoko’s)
¾ cup canned coconut milk
½ cup coconut sugar (can use honey)
3 eggs
½ – 1 cup active bubbly sourdough starter
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups whole grain flour
2-3 cups all-purpose flour
Filling:
4 tablespoons melted butter (for dairy free, I use Miyoko’s)
1 1/4 cup brown sugar (see note)
1 – 1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon
Frosting:
½ cup softened butter (for dairy free, I use Miyoko’s)
2 cups powdered sugar (see note)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-2 tablespoons milk (almond milk or water works great for dairy free), as needed for right consistency
Directions
In the bowl of mixer fitted with the dough hook, I use a Bosch, add the mashed potato or potato flakes and boiling water. If using the potato flakes, run the mixer to mix together the flakes and water. Cut your butter into 1 tablespoon chunks and add them to the potato. The heat from your potato should melt the butter. If your potato is not warm, melt the butter before adding it.
Once the butter is melted, add the milk, coconut sugar, eggs, starter, salt and whole grain flour. Run the mixer for one minute until everything is well incorporated. Add 2 cups all-purpose flour and run the mixer again. Add more flour until the dough clears the sides of the bowl. Let it knead for 4-6 minutes. This dough is soft and smooth. You should be able to press your finger into the dough without much dough sticking to your finger. If you can’t do that, add a little more flour and mix until all the flour is incorporated.
Once the dough has been kneaded, place it in a large container where there is room for it to double. Cover. Let it sit for 8-10 hours until the dough has doubled. It may vary depending on the warmth of your kitchen and the strength of your starter.
Once the dough has doubled, put a small amount of oil on your counter and spread it out. Dump the dough onto the oil. It is helpful but not necessary to form the dough into a rectangle before you start rolling it out. Roll the dough into a large rectangle no less than 1/4 of an inch thick.
Pour the melted butter on to the flattened dough. Spread it out evenly. Sprinkle and spread the brown sugar over the butter and then sprinkle the cinnamon on top of that. From the side closest to you start rolling the dough onto itself, forming a long tube. Cut the dough into 1 1/2-2 inch rolls. Place the rolls onto a greased cookie sheet. Cover the rolls with plastic wrap. Let the rolls sit until they have doubled – about 2 hours.
While they double you can prepare the frosting. Place the softened butter, powdered sugar vanilla and one tablespoon of milk into a bowl. Using a hand held blender or a whisk, mix together the ingredients until smooth. If it is too thick, add more milk to desired consistency. This always makes more frosting than I use on our cinnamon rolls. We just like a little bit but some people like lots. Do it how you love it!
Once the rolls are doubled, bake them in a 350 degree preheated oven. Bake for approximately 20 minutes until the tops have just started to turn golden brown and the center is cooked through. Remove from the oven and let cool for 3-4 minutes. Top with desired amount of frosting and serve warm. So yummy!
Tweak It Notes
- DAIRY FREE – Be sure to use a dairy free substitute where indicated in the recipe. I tried using oil in the dough, it works ok but if I have it on hand, I prefer the Miyoko’s butter.
- REFINED SUGAR FREE FILLING- I have made these with coconut sugar in the filling, they are more dry. You could add a tablespoon of molasses to your coconut sugar to make it more moist…it might help. I haven’t tried it but if I do I will update here. I have also tried honey in the filling. It just runs out all over. I even tried blending the honey and butter and cinnamon and spreading that on the dough. Still pretty runny. Maple sugar might work but I imagine it will be dry like the coconut sugar.
- REFINED SUGAR FREE FROSTING – I love to powder maple sugar for frostings. It powders well in a blender and it works very similarly to regular powder sugar. I actually really love the subtle maple flavor it adds to these rolls.
- EGG FREE – I have made these successfully with aquafaba to replace the eggs. Flax meal+water would probably also work.
- 100% WHOLE GRAIN – These can definitely be made with all whole grain flour. They are a little more dense and take a little longer to rise. They are still yummy.
- NOT ENOUGH TIME – If you are short on time. You can add 1/2 teaspoon of regular yeast and it will shorten your rise time by about half.
