This loaf has the flavors of a cinnamon roll, all wrapped up into a gut healthy sourdough loaf. Fluffy, sweet, and a little sour – this loaf is well rounded with flavor and special in texture.
❤️ Why You’ll Love Cinnamon Roll Sourdough Loaf
I love including flavors of my favorite dishes, and stuffing them into a sourdough loaf. It’s like the best of both worlds, and this loaf is no exception. It has all of the flavors of your favorite cinnamon roll with brown sugar, cinnamon and even the cream cheese – but surrounded by a fermented sourdough loaf.
🍲 Ingredients
Sourdough Starter – Every great loaf of sourdough bread, starts with a strong sourdough starter. This recipe calls for active, bubbly starter that’s been fed 4 – 8 hours prior.
Water – Filtered water is best.
Flour – The combination of all purpose flour and whole wheat four makes a delicious flavor combination.
Honey – Organic honey lends the perfect amount of sweetness that this dough needs.
Salt – We use pink Himalayan salt, but use whatever you have on hand.
Cinnamon Roll Filling – The classic cream cheese, brown sugar, cinnamon combination.
👩🍳 How to Make Cinnamon Roll Sourdough Loaf
- In the morning, feed your starter.
- In the afternoon, when your starter has peaked, assemble your dough.
- Whisk together your starter, water and honey until the starter has dissolved and a milky liquid forms. Add the flours, and salt and whisk together until a shaggy dough forms.
- Cover with a damp bowl cover or tea towel and let rest for 45 minutes – 1 hour.
- After resting, pull the sides of the dough up and towards the middle, rotating the bowl each time until a semi – smooth ball forms. Cover and let rest again for 1 hour.
- Perform 2 – 4 stretch and folds/ coil folds anywhere from 45 minutes – 1 hour apart. This develops the gluten, and builds strength in the dough. The dough will become smoother with every coil fold you do.
- After the stretch and folds, cover with a damp bowl cover and leave on the counter overnight to bulk ferment. (8-10 hours)
- In the morning, turn your dough over onto a clean, lightly floured work surface. Stretch the dough out into a rectangle.
- With a spoon, scoop one dollop of cream cheese and transfer it to the dough. 4 dollops of cream cheese down the length of the dough, 3 rows across, totaling 12 dollops of cream cheese.
- Mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon, and sprinkle 3/4 of the mixture over the surface of the dough.
- Fold one side of the dough up and towards the middle, repeating the same movement with the opposite side until the cream cheese and sugar are covered.
- Dollop a few more scoops of cream cheese, sprinkle the last of the mixture over the cream cheese and roll it up.
- Let the dough rest for 10 minutes.
- Cinnamon and brown sugar have a chemical that will break down the dough causing it to seem wet, and make it difficult to work with. It’s important not to work the dough to much or the dough will rip and the cinnamon sugar will leak out.
- Create tension in the dough by pushing it up your work surface with your hands, and pulling down. Careful to keep an eye on your dough and making sure it doesn’t tear and the cream cheese fall out.
- Line your banneton with a tea towel and transfer the dough into the banneton seam side up. Let rest for another 10 minutes.
- Stitch the dough up the middle by pinching the side towards the middle, making a stich and creating more tension. Again, the dough may seem wet but that’s okay.
- Cover your dough and place into the fridge for at least two hours.
- When you’re ready to bake, preheat your Dutch oven at 450 for 20 minutes. Turn your dough over onto a piece of parchment paper or bread mat. With a sharp razor, score the surface of your dough.
- Carefully transfer the dough into your hot Dutch oven. Bake with the lid on for 23 minutes, remove the lid and bake for an additional 23 – 25 minutes.
- Remove the bread from your Dutch oven, and place onto a cooling rack. Let your bread cool completely before slicing.
- Enjoy with a smear of cream cheese, cinnamon, and a drizzle of honey 🙂
🪄 Tips and Tricks
- During stretch and folds, wet your hands to keep your fingers from sticking to the dough.
- Cinnamon has a chemical in it that slows fermentation and breaks down gluten, making any bread with cinnamon can make the bread a little difficult to work with, but it’s not impossible! My biggest piece of advice is it stick with it, do your best to create tension in the dough without working it too much.
🗒 Bakers Schedule
9 am- feed your starter. I like a 1:3:3 ratio. (50g of starter, 150g of flour + 150g of water)
5:30pm – assemble your bread dough.
6:15pm – pull the sides of your dough towards the middle until a semi – smooth ball forms.
7pm – first set of stretch and folds.
7:45pm – second set of stretch and folds.
8:30pm – last set of stretch and folds.
The next morning, 7am – shape your dough and place it in your banneton and into the fridge until you’re ready to bake.
If we’re having a loaf bread for lunch, I’ll preheat the oven at 10am and start baking so that our bread is ready by noon. If we’re having the loaf for dinner, I’ll preheat the oven and start baking between 3 and 4pm.
🗒 Substitutions
- Substitute whole wheat flour for all purpose or bread flour.
- Substitute honey for granulated sugar.
- You can leave the cream cheese out entirely if you have an allergy or just want to make a cinnamon sugar loaf.
🗒 Best served with
- Breakfast
- A smear of cream cheese + drizzle of honey.
- After dinner treat.
👝 How to Store Leftovers
I encourage you to freeze the leftovers.
You can slice the loaf and place the slices into a Ziplock bag and into the freezer for up to three months. Or, what I like to do, is dice the leftover pieces and place them in the freezer to save for a French toast casserole!
🤔 Common Questions
Cinnamon has a chemical property that breaks down the dough. The most complicated part will be after adding the cinnamon, and during the shaping process. Be careful not to handle the dough to rough because it will tear. Let the dough rest in the banneton before putting it in the fridge so you can stitch it down the middle to create tension without making a mess.
Cinnamon Roll Sourdough Loaf
Equipment
- banneton basket
- bowl cover/ tea towel
- bread mat/ parchment paper
- bread lame/ sharp razor
Ingredients
Dough
- 75 grams bubbly, active starter
- 350 grams filtered water
- 20 grams honey
- 450 grams all-purpose flour
- 50 grams whole wheat flour
- 8 grams salt
Filling
- 4 oz cream cheese half a block
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 tbs cinnamon
Instructions
- In the morning, feed your starter.
- In the afternoon, when your starter has peaked, assemble your dough.
- Whisk together your starter, water and honey until the starter has dissolved and a milky liquid forms. Add the flours, and salt and whisk together until a shaggy dough forms.
- Cover with a damp bowl cover or tea towel and let rest for 45 minutes – 1 hour.
- After resting, pull the sides of the dough up and towards the middle, rotating the bowl each time until a semi – smooth ball forms. Cover and let rest again for 1 hour.
- Perform 2 – 4 stretch and folds/ coil folds anywhere from 45 minutes – 1 hour apart. This develops the gluten, and builds strength in the dough. The dough will become smoother with every coil fold you do.
- After the stretch and folds, cover with a damp bowl cover and leave on the counter overnight to bulk ferment. (8-10 hours)
- In the morning, turn your dough over onto a clean, lightly floured work surface. Stretch the dough out into a rectangle.
- With a spoon, scoop one dollop of cream cheese and transfer it to the dough. 4 dollops of cream cheese down the length of the dough, 3 rows across, totaling 12 dollops of cream cheese.
- Mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon, and sprinkle 3/4 of the mixture over the surface of the dough.
- Fold one side of the dough up and towards the middle, repeating the same movement with the opposite side until the cream cheese and sugar are covered.
- Dollop a few more scoops of cream cheese, sprinkle the last of the mixture over the cream cheese and roll it up.
- Let the dough rest for 10 minutes.
- Cinnamon and brown sugar have a chemical that will break down the dough causing it to seem wet, and make it difficult to work with. It's important not to work the dough to much or the dough will rip and the cinnamon sugar will leak out.
- Create tension in the dough by pushing it up your work surface with your hands, and pulling down. Careful to keep an eye on your dough and making sure it doesn't tear and the cream cheese fall out.
- Line your banneton with a tea towel and transfer the dough into the banneton seam side up. Let rest for another 10 minutes.
- Stitch the dough up the middle by pinching the side towards the middle, making a stich and creating more tension. Again, the dough may seem wet but that's okay.
- Cover your dough and place into the fridge for at least two hours.
- When you're ready to bake, preheat your Dutch oven at 450 for 20 minutes. Turn your dough over onto a piece of parchment paper or bread mat. With a sharp razor, score the surface of your dough.
- Carefully transfer the dough into your hot Dutch oven. Bake with the lid on for 23 minutes, remove the lid and bake for an additional 23 – 25 minutes.
- Remove the bread from your Dutch oven, and place onto a cooling rack. Let your bread cool completely before slicing.
- Enjoy with a smear of cream cheese, cinnamon, and a drizzle of honey 🙂
Awesome recipe!! I’ve tried it three times now and have found that for me, the listed cook time at that temp is way too long. I checked on it 5 min early the first time and it was already scorched. So, cook maybe 10 min for the lid-off time and check temp. Thanks for the fun recipe!!
Could I let it rest overnight (instead of 2 hours) and bake in the morning?
absolutely!
I want to make this tomorrow but dont have whole wheat flour on hand! Could I sub for all purpose or bread??
Absolutely!
This loaf tastes like a soft cinnamon bagel with cream cheese!! It is so, so good! I found the cooking times to be perfect as printed. I also left in fridge past the 2 hour suggested time(over night actually) and baked in the morning and it came out perfect!