It's October, so it's officially pumpkin season! To be fair, I would eat pumpkin all year round, but when the weather starts to turn, it's the first thing I want to cook with! And what could be more comforting for those Fall weekend mornings than Sourdough Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls?
If you have a sourdough starter, this is a great way to use up some of your sourdough discard. If you do not have a sourdough starter, don't sweat it! You can still make these cinnamon rolls with a few small tweaks.
Looking for other pumpkin-related recipes? Try my Pumpkin Chocolate Chunk Bread or these Pumpkin Sage Soft Pretzels. On a sourdough kick? These Sourdough Pretzel Buns are amazing for sandwiches, burgers or on their own, and this Sourdough Discard Naan is perfect for dipping in your favorite hummus or as a side with your main meal!
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As always, I do include a few affiliate links in this post for products I truly use and love. This just means that if you make a purchase after clicking one of those links, I'll earn a little money (at no cost to you) to keep the kitchen up and running, which I promise to use to create more fun content like this! One of those affiliates is with Amazon, which requires a very clear disclosure: as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. If you have any questions about affiliates, please reach out!
Ingredients
You only need a few things to bring these Sourdough Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls together.
- Dairy-free milk: I like to use almond milk, but any dairy-free milk will work well here. Also, if you're not dairy-free, you could use regular milk as well.
- Sourdough discard: you will need 1 cup of unfed sourdough discard, at room temperature. This recipe is designed for a 1:1 sourdough discard (1 part water, 1 part flour). If your sourdough discard is a different ratio, you may need to adjust some of the ingredients.
- Pumpkin purée: canned is great, but you can also make your own pumpkin purée if you have pumpkins to use up!
- Yeast: in addition to the sourdough discard, you'll use active yeast to help make these supremely fluffy.
- Bread flour: bread flour gives these cinnamon rolls an amazing texture, but you could use all-purpose flour if needed.
- Butter: just heaps of it. Just kidding! But also kind of not. Use vegan butter if needed.
- Dark brown sugar: this will be mixed with butter and walnuts to create the filling in the rolls.
- Walnuts: these are optional, but I highly recommend including!
- Confectioner's sugar: for the icing, you'll mix butter with confectioner's sugar with a bit of milk or yogurt (dairy-free, if needed).
See full recipe below for detailed instructions.
Instructions
Cinnamon rolls are infamous for being "hard to make," but really they're quite forgiving. Embrace some of the irregularities, and don't sweat it! Here is how to bring these Sourdough Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls together.
Combine your dough ingredients and let rise for 60-90 minutes.
Roll dough into a 9x14 inch rectangle.
Spread with softened butter and sprinkle with the brown sugar and walnuts.
Tightly roll the log along the long edge to the end. Try to press the long edge of the roll together to keep it tight.
Using unflavored dental floss, wrap around the log and pull through to pinch or cut your rolls. Cut the log into 9-12 rolls.
Place the rolls in a greased baking dish and let rise 30-45 minutes.
Once fluffy, bake for 25-30 minutes, let cool.
Spread with icing and enjoy!
Keep in mind that these don't have to be perfect! Consider the pan that you're using and the overall shape of your rolls. How many would reasonably fit in there? The biggest thing to keep in mind is that you want them to be the same thickness. If you have very thick or very thin rolls, they will bake at different times. So as long as they're all roughly the same thickness, you're in good shape!
Hint: Once you place the rolls in the dish for the second rise, they will expand! They should have a little room to grow in the pan, but don't worry if they're not touching at all - the rise (and then the bake) will fill in the gaps!
Working with Sourdough Discard
Make sure you're using sourdough discard that is unfed and at room temperature. The temperature will be important in making sure that your dough rises appropriately.
If I'm planning to bake with discard, I like to set out my sourdough starter in the morning for a few hours, then feed it, then use that discard in a recipe in the afternoon. That way, everything is nice and warm and already looking quite active.
If you're new to working with sourdough discard, check out these guides on how to feed sourdough starter and how to use sourdough discard.
Equipment
There are only a few things you'll need to bring this recipe together. I use a KitchenAid 5-Quart Stand Mixer to make my dough, but you don't have to. A mixing bowl and wooden spoon will work just fine.
You'll need unflavored dental floss to cut the rolls (make sure it is unflavored! If you use minty floss, you'll taste that in the rolls), but you can also do this with a sharp knife. I don't like to use kitchen twine as it tends to be too thick and tears through the rolls rather than pinching a nice clean cut.
An 8x11 inch baking dish is perfect for these (I like to use the larger of the two Staub baking dishes in this set), but if you have a slightly different shape or size, that will be fine. Just keep in mind how much surface area you have when you're cutting your rolls.
As always, a few spatulas, kitchen towels, and plastic wrap are also good to have on hand.
Storage
These are best fresh! There is nothing better than a cinnamon roll that is still slightly warm and the frosting is a little melty... the best! If you do have leftovers, wrap the dish in plastic wrap and store at room temperature for up to 3 days. Reheat them in the microwave for 15-30 seconds to make them soft and warm again.
Top tip
Patience is key! The two rises are essential to getting big, fluffy cinnamon rolls. Dough rising is just not something that you can rush, no matter how much you may want to.
But as long as you're ok with that, these are a great afternoon treat, housewarming or hostess gift, or afternoon brunch item!
FAQ
No. If you're not dairy-free, you can follow this recipe and use regular dairy products.
This recipe is designed to be made with sourdough discard. Without it, you would need to make adjustments to several of the ingredients.
If you want to make a sourdough starter for future recipes (it won't be ready right away), I use this sourdough starter recipe. You can also buy a pre-made sourdough starter.
No. I like to use mine because it's convenient, but you could also use a large mixing bowl and wooden spoon to mix the dough.
Sourdough Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
For the Rolls
- ¼ cup dairy-free milk warmed (not boiling)
- 1 ¼ teaspoon active yeast
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg at room temperature
- 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 1 cup sourdough discard unfed, at room temperature
- ¾ cup pumpkin purée
- 2 ¾ cup bread flour
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 Tablespoons pumpkin pie spice
For the Filling
- ½ cup dark brown sugar
- ¼ cup unsalted butter softened
- ¼ cup walnuts (optional)
For the Frosting
- 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- 1 ½ cups confectioner's sugar
- 1-2 Tablespoons dairy-free milk
Instructions
- Warm the milk (should not be boiling) and add to the bowl of a stand mixer. Sprinkle with yeast and let sit for 5 minutes or until foamy. If the yeast does not foam, the yeast is dead and you will need to start over with a fresh batch of yeast.
- Add granulated sugar, egg, melted butter, sourdough discard and pumpkin purée and stir to combine. Add flour, salt and pumpkin pie spice and stir until a smooth dough ball forms. Transfer to a large, greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 60-90 minutes, or until doubled in size.
- After the first rise, transfer the dough to a floured surface. Roll the dough into a 9x14 inch rectangle. Spread with the softened butter, the sprinkle with brown sugar and walnuts, leaving ¼ inch on the short end without any toppings (for sealing).
- From the short end of the rectangle, roll the dough into a log. Press the end seam into the dough to seal shut. Using a sharp knife or dental floss, cut the dough into 9-10 (I make 10, but see notes) rolls. If using floss, wrap the string around the log, then pull tight to pinch and cut the dough.
- Transfer the rolls to a greased 8x11 inch pan, face up. There should be some room for the rolls to expand within the dish. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise 30-45 minutes until they have expanded to fill the dish.
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Bake the rolls uncovered for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown.
- While the rolls cool, make the frosting. In a large bowl, whip the softened butter until light and fluffy, then add vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. With the mixer on low, add the confectioner's sugar and 1 Tablespoon dairy-free milk and combine. Add additional milk to reach your desired consistency. Smooth the frosting on the rolls and serve immediately.
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