Sourdough brioche cinnamon rolls are the best of two worlds. My favorite brioche recipe is merged with my favorite cinnamon roll recipe, yielding incredibly buttery, fluffy rolls filled with cinnamon sugar and topped with a silky sweet layer of homemade cream cheese frosting.
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I’m so excited to share this recipe! Sourdough cinnamon rolls are already incredible. The fermented dough adds nutritional value, moisture, and classic sourdough flavor, and everyone loves swirls of warm cinnamon and cream cheese frosting.
But have you tried sourdough brioche? It’s different from regular sourdough bread (there’s a sourdough for everything, isn’t it amazing?) because brioche is enriched. The dough is made with eggs, butter, and milk; rich and wholesome ingredients that provide rich flavor and a soft, decadent texture.
Combining these two recipes produced dreamy sourdough cinnamon rolls that we can’t get enough of.
Why You Will Love Sourdough Brioche Cinnamon Rolls
Brioche – Brioche dough is enriched with eggs, butter, and milk, adding rich, buttery flavor and cloud-like fluffiness to these cinnamon rolls.
Cream cheese frosting – Who doesn’t love gooey cream cheese frosting? Cream cheese adds a tangy flavor that works wonderfully in a sweet frosting. It’s drizzled generously over sweet cinnamon rolls so you’ll have some in every bite. Try making homemade cream cheese to use in this recipe! It’s unbelievably simple and delicious!
Long-fermented – This sourdough is long-fermented, making the rolls more easily digested, while also boasting that classic, tangy flavor!
Ingredients
Sourdough starter: We’re using an active starter for this recipe, so feed yours the night before so it’s bubbly and ready to go. If you are new to sourdough, check out how to make your own sourdough starter.
Bread flour: While you can use straight all-purpose flour in this recipe, I prefer the mixture of flours for a softer roll and a better rise.
Eggs: Four eggs add loads of rich flavor and texture to this recipe.
Cream cheese: A full-fat cream cheese overall lends a better flavor and texture to the frosting. If you’ve got milk to use up, make homemade cream cheese at home with only three ingredients!
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Tools You May Need
Stand mixer with dough hook attachment
Immersion blender (optional)
How to Make Sourdough Brioche Cinnamon Rolls
Step 1: Begin with an active, bubbly starter. It should be recently fed and at or near its peak. Add your sourdough starter, bread flour, all-purpose flour, sugar, eggs, salt, milk, and butter to the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment. Knead until smooth and glossy. It’s a very wet dough and may take 10-15 minutes to come together in the stand mixer. Don’t add more flour.
Step 2: Cover the dough with plastic wrap, a damp towel, or a tight-fitting lid and place in a warm place for 6 to 8 hours or until doubled.
Step 3: In a separate bowl, combine softened butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Stir until smooth.
Step 4: Lightly dust a work surface with flour, then roll out the dough into a large rectangle that is roughly 1/4 inch thick.
Step 5: Spread the filling evenly over the top of the dough. Roll the dough up tightly, beginning at one of the long sides. When you get to the end, pinch the edge to create a seam.
Step 6: Slice to make 12 even rolls. A bench scraper or unflavored dental floss is handy. Place the rolls into a well-seasoned 14″ cast iron skillet or baking dish. Cover and allow to rise until doubled, around 2-6 hours. Enriched doughs tend to take longer to rise compared to regular bread doughs.
Step 7: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the rolls are lightly browned and the dough is cooked through. Allow them to cool a bit before frosting.
Step 8: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add cream cheese, heavy cream, maple syrup or honey, and vanilla extract. Stir to combine. Use an immersion blender for an extra smooth consistency, if desired. Drizzle the frosting over the warm cinnamon rolls and enjoy!
Tips
- This dough is wet. Don’t add more flour. Let the kneading continue, and the dough will become manageable. Too much flour can give brioche a tougher texture.
- If you don’t have bread flour, you can use all-purpose. It will not be quite as soft as using the mix of the two flours, but it will still be yummy. Bread flour also helps the dough rise more.
- The rise time will fluctuate with the temperature. The warmer the spot, the quicker the rise.
- Enriched doughs tend to take a lot longer to rise compared to regular doughs.
Baker’s Timeline:
This can be started or made at any time. I like to start doughs at night time so they can rise all night. In the morning, shape, rise and bake.
Feed your sourdough starter. (You could also feed the night before, then start the dough first thing in the morning.)
Once the starter is mature and bubbly (usually takes 4-12 hours), mix the dough ingredients, kneading until smooth and glossy. Cover and ferment until doubled.
Roll out, brush with cinnamon filling, and shape into cinnamon rolls. Cover and allow to rise until doubled (or overnight in the fridge)
Bake, then prepare and apply frosting.
Recipe FAQs
Without frosting, cinnamon rolls can be covered and kept at room temperature for 2-3 days. If frosted, store cinnamon rolls in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Brioche is an enriched dough with butter and milk, rather than oil and water. A brioche dough often includes more eggs and bakes up with a tender, fluffy, tighter crumb.
Be patient! It looks sloppy and wet, and you will struggle if you try to handle it because of how sticky it is, but keep on kneading. This is why a stand mixer is so great. It just keeps going, and this dough needed every bit of 10-15 minutes for kneading before finally coming together.
You can freeze baked cinnamon rolls while still unfrosted, or you can freeze them before baking but after the first rise. Wrap them well with plastic wrap and place them in an airtight container in the freezer. For unbaked rolls, allow them to thaw and complete their second rise at room temperature before baking.
You can, but it takes a lot of kneading by hand! Knead until the dough becomes smooth and glossy. It will be wet and sticky for quite a while until the gluten develops.
More Sourdough Recipes from the Farmhouse
- Sourdough Discard English Muffins
- Sourdough Beignets
- Easy Sourdough Irish Soda Bread
- Sourdough Cornbread
- Soft Sourdough Discard Rolls
- Sourdough Granola
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love it if you could come back and give it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone.
Sourdough Brioche Cinnamon Rolls
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup sourdough starter, active and bubbly 227 g
- 3 cups bread flour, 420 g
- 1/2 cup unbleached all purpose flour, 70 g
- 1/4 cup sugar, 48 g
- 4 large eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, 8 g
- 1/2 cup milk, 122 g
- 2 sticks butter, room temp
Cinnamon Sugar Filling
- 1/2 cup softened butter , 114 grams
- 1 cup brown sugar , 200 grams
- 2 tablespoons cinnamon
Cream Cheese Icing:
- 6 ounces cream cheese
- 1/2 cup heavy cream , 120 grams
- 1/2 cup maple syrup or honey , 168 grams for honey
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Begin with an active, bubbly starter. It should be recently fed and at or near its peak.
- Add your sourdough starter, bread flour, all-purpose flour, sugar, eggs, salt, milk, and butter to the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment. Knead until smooth and glossy. It's a very wet dough and may take 10-15 minutes or longer to come together in the stand mixer. Don’t add more flour.
- Cover the dough with plastic wrap, a damp towel, or a tight-fitting lid and place in a warm place for 6 to 8 hours or until doubled.
- In a separate bowl, combine softened butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Stir until smooth.
- Lightly dust a work surface with flour, then roll out the dough into a large rectangle that is roughly 1/4 inch thick. Spread the filling evenly over the top of the dough.
- Roll the dough up tightly, beginning at one of the long sides. When you get to the end, pinch the edge to create a seam.
- Slice to make 12 even rolls. A bench scraper or unflavored dental floss is handy. Place the rolls into a well-seasoned 14″ cast iron skillet or baking dish.
- Cover and allow to rise until doubled, around 2-6 hours or overnight in the fridge. Enriched doughs tend to take longer to rise.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the rolls are lightly browned and the dough is cooked through. Allow them to cool a bit before frosting.
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add cream cheese, heavy cream, maple syrup or honey, and vanilla extract. Stir to combine.
- Use an immersion blender for an extra smooth consistency, if desired. Drizzle the frosting over the warm cinnamon rolls and enjoy!
Notes
- This dough is wet. Don’t add more flour. Let the kneading continue, and the dough will become manageable. Too much flour can give brioche a tougher texture.
- If you don’t have bread flour, you can use all-purpose. It will not be quite as soft as using the mix of the two flours, but it will still be yummy. Bread flour also helps the dough rise more.
- The rise time will fluctuate with the temperature. The warmer the spot, the quicker the rise.
- Enriched doughs tend to take a lot longer to rise compared to regular doughs.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hi Lisa. Unfortunately, I don’t have a mixer as an option. I assume it should work mixing by hand, only that it’ll take longer, right?
WOW WOW WOW. These are amazing!! I started these last night after supper and actually skipped the first ferment. I put the rolls all together in the pan and just let them ferment on the counter overnight. Popped them in the oven this morning, and they are sooo delicious. I didnt have bread flour, so I just used AP. The dough was wet, but I just kept kneading as Lisa had said, and it came together perfectly. Im glad I didnt add more flour because these rolls are so fluffy! The best Ive ever made by far! Thank you Lisa!
If I were to double these, do I also double the amount of starter? I’m new to sourdough.
You would double the entire recipe, so yes, double the starter.
Mat I use a sugar substitute for the filling
Yes, that should work.
These were great, but Lisa’s original sourdough cinnamon rolls are better overall. The dough was lighter and fluffier, but more sour for some reason. Maybe I did something wrong. After mixing on medium in a stand mixer for 20 minutes, I had to add more flour. The dough was way to watery without it and didn’t come together before I added more. Still it was less four to liquid ratio than normal cinnamon rolls. It was fun to try something new, but my family prefers the original. Thanks Lisa!
Tried to bake, but dough was tooooo wet. Now trying again with measuring with actual measuring cups. I think the flour grams are off. I got more than 500grams for 3 cups.
Hope I have better luck this time.
Did these as written. They came out SO good. Will be my default recipe when I’m craving cinnamon rolls and will try using other fillings and glazes! I also gave them to my dad and he said these were the best thing I have ever baked!
I have heard using powdered milk helps the dough be light and fluffy.
Have you ever tried doing that?
I’ve not!
Hey Carrie! I have heard of this too! Any idea How much powdered milk would be needed? Thanks!
Eileen
I had them in the refrigerator overnight. When I pull them out do I wait for them to double before baking?
Yes, wait for them to double on the counter before you bake!
Instead of baking after the second rise, could I freeze the raw rolls to bake later? Could I make the frosting and freeze as well?
Yes, you can. Just take them out of the freezer to let them thaw and rise again before baking.