Make holiday mornings even yummier with these vegan sourdough cinnamon rolls doused in gobs of vegan cream cheese icing. They are soft, tender and fluffy with the irresistible aroma of cinnamon and tang of sourdough, and they rise a mile high with your recently fed sourdough starter.
Vegan sourdough cinnamon rolls
These vegan sourdough cinnamon rolls are just the sort of cozy brunch I love to gather around with friends and family. They are delicious, and they are leavened only with sourdough starter, which also stirs in a dash of healthfulness. And all they need to go from your dreams to the table is a few minutes of work and an overnight proof.
The rolls have a deep, rich, golden color because of the sourdough, and a slightly crusty crust, but they are soft and melt-in-the-mouth tender on the inside. The sourdough also adds a wonderful depth of flavor, developed during the overnight rise.
I usually serve these sourdough cinnamon rolls for brunch because they do need to proof three hours after shaping. If you want to serve them earlier, for breakfast, you can either wake up early or do the second proof the night before and refrigerate the risen rolls overnight before baking in the morning (see sample schedules below!)
So your cinnamon rolls have the perfect texture, use an active sourdough starter. This means the starter should have been fed no more than a few hours before making the dough and should have doubled during this time. Using an active starter will ensure your rolls rise beautifully in the absence of added yeast.
This recipe makes 12 rolls, which is perfect for a large gathering, or they can be stored in the fridge so you can indulge over a few days. They are soy-free and nut-free and although the cream cheese frosting is scrumptious, you can skip it and eat these with just a dusting of sugar.
Sample schedule for bakers
Breakfast:
2 p.m.: (the day before): Make the dough and proof six hours until doubled.
8 p.m.: Roll and form the cinnamon buns and let them rise two hours in a warm spot.
7 a.m.: (next morning): Remove from fridge and let them rise an hour longer in a warm spot.
8 a.m.: Bake, cool 15 minutes and frost.
Brunch:
8 p.m.: (the night before): Make the dough and proof overnight.
7 a.m.: (next morning): Shape and form the rolls and proof three hours in a warm spot.
10.15 a.m.: Bake, cool 15 minutes and frost.
You might also enjoy these recipes for vegan sourdough sticky buns, vegan cinnamon rolls, vegan orange rolls and vegan lemon rolls.
Recipe card
Vegan Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
For the sourdough cinnamon rolls
- 1 cup active sourdough starter
- ¾ cup soy milk (or any non-dairy milk of choice, lukewarm)
- 4 tablespoons vegan butter (soft, at room temperature)
- ½ cup whole wheat flour
- 2½ cups unbleached all purpose flour
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
For cinnamon sugar filling
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon vegan butter (melted)
- 2 tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour
For the cream cheese icing
- 4 tablespoons vegan butter (soft, at room temperature)
- 7 ounces vegan cream cheese (soft, at room temperature)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1½ cups powdered sugar
Instructions
Make the dough
- Place the sourdough starter, milk and softened vegan butter in a bowl. Add the whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour and sugar and mix in a stand mixer or in a bowl until a shaggy dough forms. Sprinkle the salt over the dough and set it aside for 30 minutes.
- Knead the dough for five minutes by hand or on medium speed in the stand mixer until it is very soft, smooth and supple.
- Shape the dough into a ball and place in an oiled bowl, making sure the top of the dough is coated with oil. Cover with a lid or cling wrap and set aside for six hours or overnight.
- After six hours or next morning the dough should have doubled.
Make the cinnamon sugar filling
- Mix the sugar, cinnamon, melted butter and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
Form the rolls
- Lightly grease a 9 X 13 inch baking pan.
- Knead the risen dough briefly to deflate it, then roll it into a rectangle roughly 16 inches by 12 inches. Spread the cinnamon sugar evenly over the surface, leaving a one-inch border along one short edge.
- Roll the dough into a cylinder beginning with the shorter edge coated with the filling. Roll it as tightly as possible and place seam side down. Use a knife to cut the cylinder into 12 equal sized pieces.
- Place the rolls in the prepared baking dish, leaving a little room between each. Cover with a kitchen towel and set the rolls aside to rise for three hours.
Bake cinnamon rolls
- After three hours the rolls should be very puffy and should have doubled. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit/205 degrees Celsius.
- Bake the rolls for 24 minutes until golden. Remove the rolls to a rack and let them cool for at least 15 minutes before icing.
Make the icing
- Mix the softened vegan cream cheese and butter in a bowl. Add the vanilla extract and ½ cup sugar. Beat the sugar, ½ cup at a time, into the cream cheese and butter mixture to make the icing.
Ice the cinnamon rolls
- Spread the icing over the cinnamon rolls before serving. This recipe makes lots of icing so you can save some for serving at the table with the cinnamon rolls.
Notes
Nutrition Information
To print recipe card without images, uncheck "instruction images" after clicking the "print recipe" button.
Vegan Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls FAQs
Not significantly. The sourdough adds wonderful flavor to the rolls, but these taste every bit as rich, delicious and scrumptious as your favorite cinnamon rolls.
You can make these faster by adding yeast to the dough. Add 1 ½ teaspoons of active dry yeast or instant yeast and let the dough proof two hours and the shaped cinnamon buns proof one to two hours or until they have doubled. This way you will get the flavor of the sourdough but you won't have to wait through an overnight proof.
Yes, you can follow my baker's schedule above to shape the rolls the night before and bake the morning you eat them. You can also make these rolls, proof them for two hours, then wrap in two layers of freezer wrap and freeze for up to a month. Thaw completely and let stand an additional hour before baking the rolls.
This can happen if you used a starter that is not active. Make sure the starter is fed and has doubled within four to five hours of making the dough.
Yes! Try the cashew glaze I use in my regular vegan cinnamon rolls recipe, which is much healthier and just as yummy.
Jinge says
How do I make an active sourdough starter, please?
Vaishali Honawar says
Hi, I've linked to my sourdough starter recipe in the post above and in the recipe card. Please follow the instructions!