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Sourdough apple cinnamon rolls are perfect for a warm breakfast during the fall season when apples are ripening and the weather is turning chilly. Naturally ferment these cinnamon rolls with sourdough starter for optiomal health and delicious flavor. You can adjust the apple and sugar content to suit your tastes. Roll them up, pop them in the fridge, and bake in the morning!

More Sourdough Recipes for Later:

Long Ferment Blueberry Muffins

Sourdough Apple Challah

Long Ferment Discard Sourdough Banana Bread

Apples for Cinnamon Rolls

Most recipes for apple baked goods call for green, tart apples like Granny Smith. Those work well in certain recipes, but for these sourdough apple cinnamon rolls, I like sweet apples like Jonagold and even Black Twig or Arkansas Black.

Basically, pick your favorite flavor and don’t worry about water content or texture. We’ll deal with those aspects during the course of the recipe.

If you want to have the ultimate control over the quality of your apples, plant your own apple trees on the homestead! Learn how to plant a fruit tree guild with apples at the center.

Sourdough Apple Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

We’ve included a glaze with this sourdough apple cinnamon roll recipe, but if you’re trying to cut down on sugar, these rolls are delicious by themselves or topped with melted butter.

There isn’t a lot of added sugar in this recipe simply because my family doesn’t enjoy super sugary baked goods for breakfast. Plus, who needs more sugar?!

To keep track of your sourdough recipes, as well as ferment times and baking details, please join our newsletter family and receive our super simple Sourdough Worksheets!

Sourdough Apple Cinnamon Rolls

Homestead Lady Tessa Zundel

Make these delicious but simple long-ferment, apple sourdough cinnamon rolls for a hearty fall breakfast.

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Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Servings Rolls

Equipment

1 8 1/2" x 11" baking dish

Ingredients

Cinnamon Roll Dough

2 Cups Organic White Flour
1 Cup Einkorn Flour Can substitute whole wheat or white flour.
1 tsp. Sea Salt
1 1/4 Cup Filtered Water If not using Einkorn, use 1 1/2 cups water.
1/2 Cup Sourdough Starter
1/2 Cup Melted Butter
1/2 Cup Softened Butter for Rolling & Shaping
1/4-1/2 Cup Coconut Sugar Optional

Apple Mixture

1-2 Cups Shredded Apples Adjust to taste.
1/2 Cup Raw Sugar Can substitute other granulated sugar like coconut.
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1/2 tsp. Each Nutmeg and Allspice

Apple Cinnamon Roll Glaze

1/2 Cup Butter
1 Cup Raw or Coconut Sugar
1/4 Cup Cream
Reserved Apple Water Optional

Instructions

Make Cinnamon Roll Dough

In a medium sized bowl, mix 2 cups of white flour and 1 cup of Einkorn flour (or wheat or white flour). Add 1 tsp. of sea salt and mix them both together.
Melt 1/2 cup of butter and set aside to cool for a few minutes.
In another bowl, mix 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 cup of water and 1/2 cup of starter. Add to the flour mixture.
Add the melted butter to the mix and stir until full incorporated. I prefer to mix with my hands, but you can also use a stand mixer until the dough clears the sides of the bowl.
Knead for ten minutes by hand or perform 3 stretch and folds every 30 minutes. Cover and allow to ferment in a warm place for at least 6 hours.

Make the Apple Mixture

Grate 1-2 cups of your favorite apple. Cover the apple with 1/2 cup of sugar and mix thoroughly.
Set aside for at least twenty minutes for the sugar to draw out as much water from the apples as possible.
When ready to spread on the dough, use a slotted spoon or a fine mesh sieve to separate the shredded apple from the sugar water. Reserve the water to use in anothe recipe or the glaze for this recipe.
To the sweetened, shredded apples add 1 tsp. of cinnamon and 1/2 tsp. of nutmeg and allspice. Mix well.

Roll and Shape the Cinnamon Rolls

Once fermented, remove the dough from the bowl and roll out into a rectangle with about 1/4" thickness.
Spread 1/2 cup of softened butter with your hands over the rectangle of dough. Use finesse, not force and spread it as evenly as possible.
If you want a little extra sweetness, sprinkle 1/2 cup of coconut sugar over the buttered dough. This will give the rolls a slightly caramel flavor.
Spread the spiced, shredded apples over the rectangle of buttered and sugared dough as evenly as possible.
Roll up the cinnamon rolls from the horizontally, creaing a long log. Tuck the ends to keep the apples inside the roll. Use scissors or dental floss to cut the rolls into 8 equal portions.*
Remove each cinnamon roll to a parchment lined rimmed baking sheet (jelly roll plan). Cover with parchment paper and a thin kitchen towel to allow to rise until doubled in size.
Bake at 350°F/176°C for 30-40 minutes or until browned and you can smell the rolls. Serve hot topped with butter or make the glaze and top with that.

Apple Cinnamon Roll Glaze

Add 1/2 cup butter, 1 cup of sugar, and reserved apple water (if using) in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Stir gently until sugar is dissolved.
Add 1/4 cream and stir the mixture consistently until it thickens to where you'd like it. Cook for 5-10 minutes.
Drizzle over the hot cinnamon rolls.

Notes

*To cut the cinnamon rolls relatively equally, I use scissors and make the first cut in the center of the log. Then I cut each half in half, and each of those halves in half until I've used up the dough.

If you're not sure what a stretch and fold is, please see the body of the post.

Keyword apple, cinnamon rolls, sourdough

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Sourdough Apple Cinnamon Rolls Notes

When you allow the apples and sugar to sit, the sugar draws (or “sweats”) the excess water out. Save this delicious apple sugar water to use in the caramel glaze or to use in other recipes like our Apple Cider Marshmallows.

Once the apples are ready, it’s time to spread the butter, sugar, and apple preparation. You can double the amount of apple, FYI.

To cut the cinnamon rolls relatively equally, I use scissors and make the first cut in the center of the log. Then I cut each half in half, and each of those halves in half until I’ve used up the dough.

Allow the sourdough apple cinnamon rolls to gently rise in a warm place covered by parchment paper and a light kitchen towl to keep the bugs out and to keep them from drying out.

To learn what a stretch and fold is, please visit this article for an explanation: Sourdough Beginner Bread Recipe. Instructions are in the recipe or you can scroll further down for a few more words and some pictures.

If you still have extra apples left, try any of these ideas: 5 Things to Do with Extra Apples.