Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls — Delectably Mine

I was invited over to my brother and sister-in-laws for Christmas day brunch this year. A casual gathering of her family and my family. It was a lovely time. Relaxing, doing a whole lot of nothing, and eating some good food. I wanted to make something special that I won’t make on a regular basis, but save for special occasions and celebrations. For brunch I always think of cinnamon rolls, they are my favorite! I had been eyeing this sourdough version for a bit now and thought this would be the perfect time to try them out.

I had a lot of fun with this recipe. I don’t make brioche often, and it always surprises me how much butter you can add to a dough! Wow! The dough turned out silky and smooth and butter (obviously! :) ) It rolled out super easily. I ended up shaping the rolls on Christmas Eve and baking Christmas morning. Didn’t seem to be a problem at all. They ended up baking quite a bit shorter time than the recipe called for. I baked for 38 minutes and they could have possibly gone a minute or two less. Start checking at 30 minutes.

I topped these with a random assortment of leftovers! I had some mascarpone glaze that I beat some leftover cream cheese into and it was very tasty. I think a cream cheese frosting is a great idea for these.

They turned out dense and rich as brioche should. Very yummy. I think on a day-to-day basis I prefer a lighter, fluffier cinnamon roll, but these were wonderful and fun and perfect for Christmas!

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Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls
From The Perfect Loaf

Brown Sugar Cinnamon Spread

215g light brown sugar
40g all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

Mix or whisk everything together in a bowl so there are few clumps remaining. Keep covered until needed.

Sourdough Briocher Dough:
Total dough weight: 1250g
Yield: 12-15 rolls

477 grams all-purpose or bread flour
133 grams cold milk
191 grams large eggs (About 4)
191 grams butter
48 grams white sugar
11 grams salt
200 grams mature, 100% hydration liquid sourdough starter

Directions:
First, take out butter and cut into 1/4” to 1/2” squares, let sit in a bowl for 30 minutes to warm to room temperature while gathering and mixing other ingredients.

Initial Incorporation:
In a medium bowl add the cold eggs, cold whole milk, sugar, and mature sourdough starter. Whisk together until incorporated.

Add the flour and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the hook attachment. Set the mixer to low (level “1” on my machine) and slowly start to pour the liquid into the mixer bowl. Add a little at a time over the course of 3 minutes. Once finished the dough will look very wet and have clumps, let it rest for 10 minutes before further strengthening.

Strengthen Dough:
After the 10 minute rest turn the mixer to medium speed (number “4” on my machine) and mix for about 5-6 minutes until the dough starts to come together and all clumps have disappeared. The dough should start to pull from the sides of the bowl but it will not completely remove from the bottom. If the dough just doesn’t want to come together and it’s overly wet add a little flour, a tablespoon at a time until it comes together.

Incorporate Butter:
Add the butter to the dough one square at a time, waiting until the previous block is absorbed before adding the next. It incorporates easiest if placed right where the hook meets the dough. Continue until all the butter is added and there are no butter patches visible, this could take 8-10 minutes at low/medium mix speed.

Bulk Fermentation
Transfer the mixed dough to a bulk container and let ferment for 2 hours at 75ºF. Do 3 to 4 sets of stretch and folds during bulk spaced out by 30 minutes. If the dough is very strong after the third set, skip the last set but let the dough rest for a full 2 hours.

Chill Dough
Place the covered bulk container into the fridge for at least 2 hours (I like 3-4 hours), or overnight. The timing here is very flexible, I’ve done overnight batches that turn out fantastic. This way the rolls could be prepared the day before, shaped and proofed first thing the morning, and then baked so they’re fresh for breakfast (or late breakfast, depending on when you get up). The dough does need to be completely cold and firm to the touch before rolling out, do not shortcut this step.

Shape Rolls
Before rolling out the dough make the Brown Sugar Cinnamon mixture

Flour your work surface. Then, remove the chilled dough from the fridge and turn it out to the floured surface. Flour the top of the dough and the rolling pin and begin rolling the dough. Roll it out to an 11” x 21” rectangle. Sprinkle the dry Brown Sugar Cinnamon mixture evenly over the dough.

Starting at the long end nearest you, roll up the dough and cinnamon/sugar filling into a log. Cut the log into even slices (12 to 15 total). Transfer the cut discs to a baking pan with some space around each one.

Proof:
Place the baking pan with cut dough somewhere warm, around 77ºF, to let proof for 2 hours. During proof, the rolls will relax out and start to puff up, eventually, they may touch each other but it depends on how much space you have between rolls.

Bake:
Preheat oven to 350ºF during the last 30 minutes of proof. Place the baking pan in the oven and bake for 40-50 minutes until the rolls look well colored. Top with glaze or frosting once cooled.