Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls [No Knead]

These sourdough discard (or active sourdough starter) cinnamon rolls are perfectly simple to make with this no-knead recipe. The dough is mixed one day, long-fermented, and the next day, baked to a delightful tenderness. Doused in a perfect balance of sweet (using sweetener alternatives), tangy, and buttery, right in a cast iron skillet (or any pan of your choice). These warm gooey little cinnamon buns will become a family tradition.

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Below is the printable version of this recipe. If you would like a deeper dive into this sourdough cinnamon roll recipe and the sugar alternatives that I have chosen, scroll down!

What’s the difference between sourdough starter and discard?

Sourdough discard is a sourdough starter that has not been fed in over 24 hours. When a sourdough starter is fed, it’s nice and bubbly and doubled in size. Once the starter has fed off of the flour and water, the bubbles of the active starter will release and come back down. This would be considered an unfed sourdough starter. So you can either feed it, discard it, or use what you would’ve discarded in a recipe. It adds a tanginess in flavor.

Sourdough starter is freshly fed within 4-24 hours, bubbly, and active, ready to give rise to a dough.

Is Sucanat better than sugar?

Sucanat also can be found under the name Rapadura; is the juice of sugar cane, dehydrated. By keeping the sugar cane intact, we reap the benefits of the molasses and the vitamins and minerals naturally found in the sugar cane juice. Regular old sugar is refined and devitalized containing no vitamins or minerals, and is particularly damaging to the overworked adrenal glands that are trying to balance the spikes in blood sugar levels. Too much sugar in general is not good. When we do choose to indulge ourselves, which we should, it’s better to choose a whole food, nutrient-dense version of sugar that doesn’t leave us feeling depleted at the end. My family seems to thrive on these sugar alternatives, with fewer crashes and cranky attitudes!

Sucanat also gives a depth of flavor to your food; it gives a caramelized, molasses taste that makes it superior to conventional sugars.

Tools you may need to make these sourdough cinnamon rolls:

• Bowl with a lid or plastic wrap or tea towel
• Rubber Spatula
• Kitchen Scale
• Measuring Cups and Spoons
• Rolling Pin
• Bench Scraper
• Floss
• 9″ Cast Iron Skillet
• Pastry Brush

Ingredients you will need:

Dough:

• 2 1/2 Cups/300 g. of Flour– King Arthurs unbleached, all-purpose
• 1 tbsp./25 g. of Honey, Raw
• 3/4 tsp./ 4 g. of Salt, I like to use Himalayan salt or Celtic Sea salt
• 8 tbsp./115 g. of Butter, grated
• 1 Cup/240 g. of Milk– We like to use raw milk in our family, but you can use what you have!
• 1/2 cup/100 g. of sourdough discard– or active sourdough starter works too (you will omit the baking powder and baking soda.
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda

Filling:

• 3/4 Cup of Sucanat
• 1 tbsp. of ground Cinnamon– I prefer Ceylon
• 5 tbsp. of butter or ghee, melted- I like the Vermont Creamery brand.

Glaze: optional

• 1 Cup of Powered Sugar– I make my own from coconut sugar
• 1 tbsp. of Butter
• 1 tbsp. of Vanilla
• 2-5 tbsp. of Milk, adding each tbsp. one at a time.
• 1/2 Cup of Walnuts, chopped- optional

How to make the perfect sourdough cinnamon roll:

Step One: Weigh and Mix your dough

Grate one stick of butter into your mixing bowl. Afterward, weigh and cut in the flour until it is fully incorporated and there are tiny little balls of butter throughout the flour. I use a fork to mix the butter into the flour. Next, add the sourdough starter, honey, milk, and salt. Mix with a spatula or your hands. Form into a ball. Place a tea towel or lid over your bowl and let it sit on the counter for 12-24 hours.

Step Two: Mix sourdough cinnamon roll filling

The next day, in a small bowl, mix up filling ingredients.

Step Three: Add the last two ingredients (if using discard) to the dough and roll out:

Afterward, turn the dough ball onto a lightly floured surface. Sprinkle baking soda and baking powder evenly over the top of the dough. With your hands begin kneading the dough to mix the baking soda and baking powder into the dough.

When it feels like the baking soda and powder are well incorporated into the dough, flour your work surface again, and place the dough onto the surface.

Next, roll your dough out into a 12 x 16 rectangle. Brush any flour off the top of the rectangle with a pastry brush.

Step Four: Add filling and roll-up

Take the filling and with the pastry brush, spread evenly over the dough rectangle.

Then start to roll the dough tightly upwards. Pinch off the seams.

Step Five: Cut out rolls (this is the really fun part!)

Take floss and work underneath the dough pulling each end of the floss over itself and cutting through the dough. First cut off the ragged edges, and then cut 1″ rolls.

Lay on a nicely seasoned cast iron pan. If you used active sourdough starter cover them and let them do a second rise for 1-1/2 hours.

Step Six: Bake!

Bake for 35 minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Step Seven: Mix up the Glaze

In a small bowl mix up all ingredients. Add one tablespoon of milk at a time until you get the consistency that you want. I like it to be able to drizzle nicely out of the bowl on the cinnamon rolls.

Step Eight: Glaze your Hot Buns

When the cinnamon rolls are perfectly golden brown, take them out of the oven.

Drizzle glaze evenly over the top. ENJOY!

Thanks for joining me. If you LOVE these sourdough cinnamon rolls leave a five-star review and a comment, it helps other people to find this recipe!

Other delicious and sweet sourdough recipes:

• Easy Old Fashioned Sourdough Apple Cake
• Sourdough Upside Down Cake