Name: Brioche Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 d 13 h 5 min
Yield: 12
Cuisine: American, New Zealand
Ingredients: 30g starter; 60g flour; 30g water; 550g strong all-purpose flour with around 11% protein; 50g granulated sugar; 4 large eggs; 125g milk; All the stiff starter; 8g salt; 180g unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into cubes; 75g unsalted butter, softened; 100g soft brown sugar; 2 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon; 60g cream cheese, at room temperature; 150g powdered sugar; 2 Tbsp milk at room temperature; ½ tsp vanilla extract

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These brioche sourdough cinnamon rolls are super soft and fluffy, filled with sweet cinnamon sugar, and topped with a cream cheese glaze. They’re made with a buttery and soft sourdough brioche dough that becomes so fluffy and tender.

a sourdough cinnamon roll with brioche dough

Brioche dough is extra enriched with a lot of eggs and butter. It’s a decadent dough that makes such delicious sourdough cinnamon buns. The brioche dough used in this recipe is based on my sourdough brioche bread, with a tweak in the timings.

I use a stiff starter in this recipe, but you can use a 100% hydration starter if you prefer.

Ingredients

The ingredient amounts for these sourdough brioche cinnamon rolls are listed in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post. Here is just a rundown of what you will need.

All-purpose flour or bread flour – This recipe works well with a strong all-purpose flour with around 11% protein.
Active sourdough starter
Granulated and soft brown sugar (for the dough and the filling).
Large eggs
Whole milk
Vanilla extract and cinnamon
Butter – this can be salted or unsalted butter. It’s used in the filling and the dough
Salt

Equipment

A stand mixer fitted with a dough hook will provide the easiest results.
A 22.5 x 33cm / 9×13-inch baking tray to bake the sourdough cinnamon rolls.

Sourdough brioche dough

This dough is best mixed using a stand mixer as it can be quite tricky to work by hand. The dough is high in hydration and it’s sticky for a very long time until the gluten is developed enough. Therefore it needs a long period of kneading.

That being said, it’s absolutely possible to make it by hand as long as you’re not intimidated by wet dough, you can work the dough in fast movements and you have patience.

My brioche bread recipe has a video of the dough being worked by hand.

Baker’s schedule

Here is a rough outline of the baker’s schedule to get an idea of the timings.

The night before – Feed your starter
9 am – Mix the dough
9:30 am – Let it rise in a warm spot until it has bulked out by half (approximately 4-6 hours, depending on the temperature)
1:30 pm – Refrigerate the dough overnight.
After the cold rest – Shape the dough and let it rise a second time, around 2-3 hours. Then bake.

Method

The evening before

Mix together 30g starter with 60g flour and 30g water. Knead it for a minute or two into a stiff dough ball.
Place this into a lightly oiled jar. Brush the top of the ball dough with a little water (so it doesn’t dry out too much overnight). Loosely cover with a lid and leave it to rise for 8-12 hours until more than doubled and domed on top.

In the morning, add the starter, flour, sugar, salt, eggs and milk to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. Turn the mixer on low and combine until it forms a thick and shaggy dough.

Mix this dough on medium-low speed for around 5 minutes to begin developing the gluten.
Add the softened butter to the bowl of your stand mixer, a little bit at a time.

Turn the mixer on medium speed and keep it mixing for around 15 minutes until the sticky and soft dough strengthens, comes together, and pulls away cleanly from the sides of the bowl.

Once finished mixing, leave the dough to rest for a few minutes, then grab a piece and see if you can stretch it out thin so it’s almost see-through, without tearing. This is called the ‘windowpane’ effect and shows proper gluten development.

Once the dough is kneaded, shape it into a smooth ball and place it into a large greased bowl.

Bulk fermentation

Cover with a damp tea towel, compostable plastic wrap, or lid. Place the dough in a warm place, ideally around 25°C / 76°F, and let it rise.

It won’t fully double in this first rise but should bulk out by at least 60%. This will take around 4-6 hours, but the rise time will change depending on the temperature. You can create a warm and humid proofing spot by placing a large mug of boiled water in a turned-off oven and putting the dough in there. Replace the water with freshly boiled water if it cools down.

Once risen, place the dough in the fridge for at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours.

Shaping

After the refrigerator proof, deflate and pull the cold dough from the bowl onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough out into a 30x45cm (12×18 inch) rectangle.
Spread softened butter over the dough. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar over the butter. Tightly roll up the dough to form a 45cm/18-inch long log. Slice the log into 12 even-sized pieces. The unraveling end parts of each roll can be tucked under to keep them tight.

Proofing

Grease a baking tray, place in the rolls, and cover them with a lightly damped tea towel to stop the tops from drying out too much. Let them rise in a warm spot until they double in size.

Once risen, bake the rolls.

The cream cheese frosting

Beat the cream cheese in a mixer until smooth and creamy. Add the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, and milk. Beat it together until creamy.
Spread the icing over the still-warm cinnamon rolls and serve immediately.

cream cheese icing poured on sourdough cinnamon rolls

cream cheese icing spread on cinnamon rolls

Storing

Leftover sourdough cinnamon rolls can be covered and stored at room temperature for up to 3 days. On the following days, they can be rewarmed and softened in the microwave.

Looking to make these without sourdough? Here is a brioche cinnamon roll recipe for that!