Sourdough Cinnamon Buns
- Fanny Khan
- Feb 6, 2021
- 3 min read
Updated: Apr 6, 2023

Ingredients:
For the Dough:
1 cup (227g) sourdough starter
3/4 cup (175g) lukewarm milk
1 large egg
4 tbsp (56g) melted butter
3 1/4 cups (480g) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (50g) sugar
1/4 cup (40g) raisins, optional
1 tsp (6g) salt
1/2 tsp instant yeast, optional*
For the Filling:
3/4 cup (159g) packed brown sugar
1/4 cup (28g) all-purpose flour
1 tbsp (8g) ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
1 tbsp (14g) melted butter
For the Icing:
1 1/2 cups (170g) confectioners sugar
1 1/2 tbsp (21g) melted butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp (28g) milk
a pinch of salt, optional
In the bowl of a stand mixer, add flour and sugar, stir to combine. In a bowl with a spout or a 4-cup measuring cup, add milk and tear the sourdough starter and add to the milk. Stir to incorporate. Add egg and melted butter. Stir.
Slowly add the milk mixture to the flour and process on low speed for about 3 minutes with the dough hook attachment, or until a cohesive, sticky dough forms.
Add the salt and yeast on top of the dough, cover let the dough rest for about 20 to 30 minutes. After resting, incorporate the salt and yeast on low speed about 1 to 2 minutes. Increase speed of mixer to medium low and process the dough until smooth, but still somewhat soft and tacky; about 3 minutes.
Place the dough in an greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, if using yeast; or 4 hours if not using yeast. To develop strength in the dough during the rest period, stretch and fold it in the bowl 3 to 4 times during the rest period. You can be flexible in your timing.
As the dough is nearing the end of the rest period, make the filling by combining sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt. Incorporate the melted butter. The mixture should look like damp sand.
Gently deflate the dough and turn onto a floured surface. Pat or roll dough into a 14" x 20" rectangle. Spread the filling evenly on the surface of the dough, leaving a 1/2" space along one short edge of the dough. If using raisins, sprinkle the raisins over the filling.
Form the dough into a log by rolling the dough from the filling-coated short edge. The log should be about 18" long.
Place a piece of parchment on a 9" x 13" baking pan and lightly grease the parchment. Cut the log into 1 1/2" slices for a total of 12 buns. Place slices on the baking pan. Cover lightly with grease plastic wrap and let buns rise for 2 to 3 hours, until puffy.
While the buns are nearing the end of the proofing period, heat oven to 400°F (375°F convection).
Bake the buns in the pre-heated oven for 15 to 18 minutes. A digital thermometer inserted into the center of the middle bun should read 190°F.
As the buns are baking, make the icing. Melt the butter in a small pot. Remove from heat and stir in milk and vanilla. Add sugar and salt and whisk until smooth.
Once buns are done baking, allow to cool for 10 to 15 minutes before icing.
Serve with tea or coffee.
Yields: 12 buns
Notes&Tips:
The starter I used was from Peter Reinhart's cookbook "Artisan Breads Everyday". You can get lots of starters online and everyone swears by theirs. But you can't go wrong if you follow the recipe; and know that sometimes even when you follow the recipe, things may not go well. Here's a link for a sourdough starter: https://breadtopia.com/make-your-own-sourdough-starter/
Since deciding to invest time into making and using sourdough culture, I have been baking like crazy. I have made quite a bit of sourdough breads, pretzels, rolls, hamburger buns, and flatbreads.
Cinnamon Buns is not my favorite sweet pastry, but it is everyone else's in my family. Although I have made it over the years, it still never became my favorite. I make it because of the people I care about. That is, until I made this Sourdough Cinnamon Buns. They have the perfect amount of sweetness and the dough is soft - practically melting in your mouth. Also, since I'm not a big fan of too much cinnamon, this has the right amount that does not overwhelm
These Sourdough Cinnamon Buns are better, in my opinion, than most bakery bought buns; which are either too sweet or too dry or too cinnamon-y.
If you notice, in the ingredients list, I have 1/2 tsp yeast as an optional ingredient. If you're not too confident about your starter and you want a fail-safe option, or you'd like a quicker rising time, you can add in some yeast (up to 1 tsp) otherwise, just your starter should give you a good rise. Please take note that using just your starter requires a longer resting period for the dough to rise.
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