Easy, fluffy sourdough pumpkin cinnamon rolls… topped with a vanilla icing and a swirl of cinnamon. These tasty rolls will make an ordinary day feel like a holiday. Made with freshly milled or unbleached flour and filled with just a bit of sugar and pumpkin pie spice these rolls taste decadent without feeling like you have over indulged. That’s my kind of roll.
Growing up cinnamon rolls were strictly holiday treats. My dad would make a master batch of dough for Thanksgiving and transform it into hot rolls, cinnamon rolls, and bread. Cinnamon rolls were always saved for after decorating the Christmas tree while sipping hot apple cider.
I love those special memories, but sometimes a gal needs cinnamon rolls in her life more often than once a year. Several years ago I feel in love with sourdough baking but it was only in recent years that I have almost stopped making bread from dry yeast and converted many of my recipes to sourdough. The beauty of sourdough it that it transforms gluten baked treats that can be irritating to some stomaches into an easily digestible bread that most people can enjoy.
Sourdough Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls: Fluffy, delicious, and not too sweet
From scratch cinnamon rolls seem like they should be daunting, but they really aren’t. The hardest part is waiting, sourdough rising much slower than yeasted bread that we are accustomed to. The end results are worth it for taste, texture, and nutrition.
These homemade sourdough cinnamon rolls deserve a place in your kitchen for a few reasons…
- Treat that you can feel good about giving to your family
- Not hard to make
- Soft and fluffy
- All around delicious
These pumpkin rolls are can be made with homemade pumpkin puree or canned puree. I personally use my own pumpkin pie spice blend but your favorite blend from the store will do just fine. They are delightful on their own right out of the oven or slathered with homemade vanilla spice frosting. I don’t know about you but I am always forgetting to buy powdered sugar, if you are like me you can whip up a batch in your blender! You will also note the use of Ceylon cinnamon in this recipe, it is has a lighter and sweeter flavor, it’s easy to swap it with the cinnamon you find at the store.
How to make the best sourdough cinnamon rolls
- Let the dough rest. Yes, there are two rises, but allowing the dough to rest, or autolyse will help the dough to not become to improve it’s texture.
- Add the butter slowly. I think that this is a game changer for the recipe. Adding room temperature butter to a dough, slowly as it mixes has greatly improved my baking game.
Sourdough Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls: Questions & Subsitutions
Do I have to use freshly ground flour?
No, you don’t have to use freshly ground flour, but if you are going to be baking with whole grains very often, I 100% recommend invested in a grain mill. If you are able to it’s worth the cost. Some are just about $250.
Freshly ground wheat flour is amazing. It is light, though not as light as white flour. It has a slightly sweet and nutty taste. Once you’ve started milling your own flour it’s hard to go back.
You can use whole wheat flour from the store or unbleached white flour. Freshly milled flour is lighter than flour from the store that has had time to settle. It’s best to use a scant cup of flour instead of a full cup. Wheat flour from their store has had time to sit around so it has become more dense. you might also notice a bitter taste, that comes from the oils in the bran that have oxidized.
What can I use instead of sucanat?
Sucanat (SUgarCANeNATural) is dehydrated cane juice that hasn’t had its molasses removed. It is similar in taste to brown sugar. Feel free to swap it for coconut sugar, unrefined sugar, or whatever other sugar you have on hand. For that brown sugar taste add a teaspoon of molasses to unrefined sugar for a DIY “brown sugar”.
Can I freeze these sourdough cinnamon rolls?
Yes. You can freeze these cinnamon rolls baked or unbaked. I suggest freezing them once you have assembled the rolls before the last rise. Cover them with parchement paper and then a couple layers of plastic warp. When you are ready to bake them simply pull them out of the freezer and allow them to rise as they defrost. Then bake as you normally would.
What should I bake them in?
I generally bake this is a glass baking dish lined with parchment paper. You can also bake these in a 15-inch cast iron skillet or a spring form pan.
Can these pumpkins cinnamon rolls overproof?
Yes, these cinnamon rolls can rise too long or overproof. That will result in the dough falling a bit as it bakes, making for denser rolls. Even if they rise a bit too long, they’ll still be tasty.
Do I need to use Ceylon Cinnamon?
Ceylon cinnamon is considered the “true” cinnamon. It has a light and more delicate flavor. It makes you think of a cinnamon red hot candy. You can easily swap it for Cassia cinnamon which is what you typically find in the store.
From scratch cinnamon rolls seem like they should be daunting, but they really aren’t. The hardest part is the rising time, sourdough rises much slower than yeasted bread that we are accustomed to.
What are you waiting for? These sourdough pumpkin cinnamon rolls are waiting to make your weekend a reason to celebrate. Enjoy one hot and good from the oven which your hands wrapped a around a pumpkin spice latte or a creamy pumpkin spice hot cocoa. ‘Cause you can never have too much pumpkin right?
More Healthy Treats to Try:
- Double Chocolate Sourdough Muffins
- Soaked Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
- Baked Paleo Cake Doughnuts
Sourdough Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
Prep
Cook
Inactive
Total
Yield 12 cinnamon rolls
Easy, fluffy sourdough pumpkin cinnamon rolls... topped with a vanilla icing and a swirl of cinnamon. These tasty rolls will make an ordinary day feel like a holiday.
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 3 1/2- 4 cups flour (I prefer 1/2 freshly milled whole wheat or spelt and 1/2 unbleached all-purpose)
- 1/2 cup sourdough starter
- 1/2 cup milk
- 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 medium eggs
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons sucanat
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tablespoon Celyon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon unrefined salt
Filling
- 1/4 cup butter, softened
- 1/4 cup sucanat
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tablespoon Ceylon cinnmon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Frosting
- 1 stick ( 1/2 cup) butter, softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon Ceylon cinnamon
Instructions
- In large bowl (I use a stand mixer) add the sourdough starter, pumpkin puree, milk, and eggs. Mix on low until just mixed.
- In separate small bowl, mix the 3 1/2 cups flour, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon.
- Return the mixer to the lowest settling, slowly add the flour mixture, gradually adding up to 1/2 cup more if needed until just combined. Allow the dough to rest for about 20 minutes.
- After the dough has rested, add the butter about a teaspoon at a time mixing on low. Mix on high for about 10 minutes (or 10-15 minutes if you are needing by hand) or until the dough has passed the window pane test (see notes). This will be a sticky dough, do resite the urge to add additional flour.
- Put the dough in a large greased bowl and cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap. Leave it on the counter to rise until doubled in size. This can take 6-12 hours.
- Once the dough has doubled in size, sprinkle the counter with flour. Punch the dough down and turn the dough out onto the counter. Gently roll the dough out until it is about 1/4 inch thick, making a rectangle that is about 12 by 8 inches.
- Now make the filling, mix the soft butter, vanilla extract, sugar, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice. Spread evenly over the dough.
- Starting at the top of the dough, tightly roll towards the front of the counter. Gently mark the dough to make about 12-15 equal parts depending on what size cinnamon rolls you want. Cut the dough with a sharp knife.
- Grease or line a baking dish. I use a 9" by 13" glass baking dish. You can also use a large cast iron skillet or a half baking sheet. Place the rolls tightly together for pull apart rolls or space them further apart for stand alone rolls.
- Cover with the pan and allow to rise 2-3 hours on the counter or overnight in the fridge.
- When you are ready to bake preheat the oven to 350F. Once the oven has come to temperature place the rolls uncovered in the oven. Bake for 35 to 30 minutes. You want the internal temperature of the dough to be 190-200F.
- While the rolls are baking, if you are making frosting, add the softened butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and cinnamon to a medium bowl. Mix on high with a handheld mixer until fluffy. Set aside to frost the cinnamon rolls once cooled.
- Eat them hot out of the oven as is, make a drizzle, or allow to cool and whip up a simple vanilla icing to top the rolls with.
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