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Home » Recipes » Breakfast

By Kaleigh McMordie - December 22, 2017, Updated February 11, 2024

Whole Wheat Sourdough Pecan Cinnamon Rolls

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pinterest image with text for overnight sourdough pecan cinnamon rolls.

Whole wheat sourdough cinnamon rolls made overnight and filled with a brown sugar and pecan filling, then topped with easy cream cheese frosting are the most delicious treat for using your sourdough starter! 

overnight sourdough cinnamon rolls with pecans and cream cheese frosting in a white round baking dish with a black knife with frosting on it laying on top of the dish.

Is there any scent more heavenly than that of cinnamon rolls baking on a weekend morning? (I can think of only one, and that is freshly brewed coffee when your spouse wakes up and makes it before you.)

While regular cinnamon rolls are wonderful (and slightly labor intensive) in their own right, sourdough cinnamon rolls are even more of a lesson in patience, that's richly rewarded with sweet, sticky, pillowy goodness and major feeling of accomplishment once all is said and done.

sourdough pecan cinnamon roll partly unraveled on a plate to show the filling inside.

Why You'll Love These Sourdough Pecan Cinnamon Rolls

The soft, lightly sweetened whole wheat dough for these cinnamon rolls is leavened only by the sourdough starter, resulting in a slightly tangy roll that's a little more dense, but richly flavored. The brown sugar filling is perfectly sweet and gooey, and studded with crunchy pecans. All topped with a simple cream cheese frosting, these cinnamon rolls are simply divine.

With two different options for making them overnight, these sourdough cinnamon rolls are as therapeutic to make as they are to enjoy!

How To Make Sourdough Pecan Cinnamon Rolls

four image collage with text showing steps to making sourdough cinnamon roll dough.
  1. Mix the dough by combining the flour, butter, starter, honey, milk, eggs and salt in a large bowl. You can use either a stand mixer or a bowl and spoon.
  2. Cover the dough with a clean dish towel and let it rest for 30 minutes. Then knead the dough for 1-2 minutes to form a smooth ball.
  3. Let the dough rise, covered, for 8-10 hours at room temperature. You can do an optional stretch and fold of the dough 30 minutes into this rise if you like, but it's completely optional. four image collage showing steps to filling cinnamon roll dough with pecan filing.
  4. After the bulk rise, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll it into a ¼ inch thick rectangle.
  5. Whisk the filling ingredients (minus the pecans) in a small bowl and spread evenly over the filling, leaving one long edge with about an inch of spce without filling.
  6. Sprinkle chopped pecans evenly over the filling.
  7. Roll the dough up into a log, starting at the long edge with filling spread all the way to the edge. Lightly press the seam to seal it.
  8. Use a sharp knife or unflavored dental floss to cut the dough into 6 even rolls.
  9. Place rolls in a 9-inch baking dish that has been greased or lined with parchment.
  10. Cover and let the rolls rise 1-2 hours at room temperature, or longer in the refrigerator (up to 8 hours).
  11. Bake the cinnamon rolls at 375 for 18-23 minutes from room temperature, or 25-30 minutes from refrigeration. side by side images of cream cheese frosting in a bowl and a hand icing cinnamon rolls with the frosting.
  12. While the rolls are baking, whisk the frosting ingredients until smooth.
  13. Frost warm cinnamon rolls and enjoy!

Sample Baking Schedule 1: Overnight Bulk Rise

With this option, you make the dough in the evening and the bulk rise is overnight. Then you fill, roll, and rise the dough for 1-2 hours in the morning. It will look something like this:

  • 9:00 pm: Mix the dough.
  • 9:30 pm: Knead. Cover and bulk rise at room temperature. (Optional stretch and fold at 10 pm.)
  • 7:00 am: Roll out the dough, fill, and form rolls.
  • 7:15 am: Place rolls in the dish, cover and rise at room temperature.
  • 8:45 am: Bake.

Baking Schedule 2: Overnight Second Rise

This option is for those who want the cinnamon rolls ready to bake first thing in the morning. You'll make the dough in the morning for a bulk rise during the day and the rolls will rise in the refrigerator overnight. It will something like this:

  • 11:00 am: Mix the dough.
  • 11:30 am: Knead. Cover and bulk rise at room temperature. (Optional stretch and fold at noon.)
  • 8:30 pm: Roll out the dough, fill, and form rolls.
  • 8:45 pm: Place rolls in the dish, cover and place in the refrigerator to rise.
  • 6:00 am: Bake.
sourdough pecan cinnamon roll on a small grey plate with a black fork next to it.

Tips For Making the Best Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls

  • Make sure your starter is active and bubbly when you mix the dough.
  • If the dough is a little bit hard to mix, finish bringing it together with your hands. You can also use a stand mixer.
  • Make sure the cream cheese and butter are nice and soft for the frosting so that you don't have lumps.
  • I love using whole wheat pastry flour, but white whole wheat flour is good, too. If you can't find white whole wheat, you can use a 50/50 mix of regular whole wheat and all purpose flours.
  • I love pecans in these cinnamon rolls, but leave them out if you prefer no nuts.
  • If you'd like, you can cut 9-12 smaller cinnamon rolls and decrease the baking time just a bit.
  • Store leftover cinnamon rolls in the refrigerator up to 3 days.

Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating in the comments!

Print

Whole Wheat Sourdough Pecan Cinnamon Rolls

cinnamon rolls with frosting in a round white baking dish lined with parmchment.
Print Recipe

Whole wheat sourdough cinnamon rolls made overnight and filled with a brown sugar and pecan filling, then topped with easy cream cheese frosting are the most delicious treat for using your sourdough starter! 

  • Author: Kaleigh
  • Prep Time: 30 minutes (active)
  • Cook Time: 25 minutes
  • Total Time: 12 hours
  • Yield: 6 big rolls 1x
  • Category: breakfast
  • Method: baked
  • Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Scale

For the dough:

  • 3 tbsp butter, melted
  • 3 cups white whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour
  • ½ cup active 100% hydration sourdough starter
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • ½ cup milk
  • 2 large eggs
  • ½ tsp fine sea salt

For the filling:

  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 2 tbsp butter, melted
  • ½ tsp vanilla
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • ½ cup finely chopped pecans (optional)

For the icing:

  • 4 oz cream cheese, softened
  • 1 tbsp butter, softened
  • 3 tbsp powdered sugar
  • ½ tsp vanilla
  • 1 tbsp milk

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, mix all of the dough ingredients together. If the dough is too stiff, you can use your hands to mix it. You can also use a stand mixer if you prefer.
  2. Cover the dough and let it rest 30 minutes. After resting, knead the dough 1-2 minutes to form a smooth ball.
  3. Place the dough in an oiled bowl and cover with a clean dish towel or bowl cover. Let rise at room temperature overnight, or 8-10 hours (this is the bulk rise). If you want, you can do an optional set of 'stretch and folds' after the first 30 minutes of the bulk rise by taking a piece of dough and folding it in toward the center, rotating the bowl 90 degrees, and repeating until you have completed four folds.  
  4. After the bulk rise, gently turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface or a sheet of parchment. Roll the dough out into a ¼ inch thick rectangle. 
  5. Mix the brown sugar, honey, butter, vanilla, and cinnamon for the filling in a small bowl. Spread the filling mixture evenly over the dough, leaving about an inch bare on one of the long edges. 
  6. Sprinkle the pecans evenly over the filling. 
  7. Roll the dough up starting on the long edge that has filling all the way to the edge. Use a bench scraper to help if the dough is sticking a little bit. 
  8. Cut the dough into 6 even rolls. Place them in a baking dish that has been greased or lined with parchment paper.  
  9. Cover the dish and let the rolls rise for 1-2 hours at room temperature, or transfer them to the refrigerator for an extended rise time (up to 8 hours).
  10. Heat the oven to 375°F. Uncover the rolls and bake 18-23 minutes from room temperature, or 25-30 minutes from the refrigerator.
  11. While rolls are baking, make the icing. Whisk softened cream cheese, butter and powdered sugar until no lumps remain. Add vanilla and milk and whisk until smooth.
  12. Remove rolls from the oven and frost while warm, or frost individually as you eat them if you plan to same some for later.

Notes

  • Make sure your starter is active and bubbly when you mix the dough.
  • If the dough is a little bit hard to mix, finish bringing it together with your hands. You can also use a stand mixer.
  • Make sure the cream cheese and butter are nice and soft for the frosting so that you don't have lumps.
  • I love using whole wheat pastry flour, but white whole wheat flour is good, too. If you can't find white whole wheat, you can use a 50/50 mix of regular whole wheat and all purpose flours.
  • I love pecans in these cinnamon rolls, but leave them out if you prefer no nuts.
  • If you'd like, you can cut 9-12 smaller cinnamon rolls and decrease the baking time just a bit.
  • Store leftover cinnamon rolls in the refrigerator up to 3 days. Reheat them in the microwave or oven, then frost with reserved frosting.

 

Keywords: whole wheat sourdough cinnamon rolls, overnight sourdough cinnamon rolls, sourdough pecan cinnamon rolls

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About Kaleigh McMordie

Kaleigh McMordie, MCN, RDN, LD, is a Registered Dietitian and Licensed Dietitian in Abilene, Texas, as well as a member of the Baby Led Weaning Dietitians Network. Kaleigh can be found at kaleighmcmordie.com.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kelsey Gabel says

    September 14, 2020 at 11:54 pm

    Are there any issues with letting the eggs and milk sit out overnight?

    Reply
    • Kaleigh says

      September 15, 2020 at 6:43 am

      Hi Kelsey,

      I haven't ever had any problems! I usually do the first rise during the day for 6 hours.

      Reply
  2. Jac says

    August 19, 2020 at 10:25 pm

    Hi, just wondering if anyone has ever made these with spelt flour instead of whole meal flour?

    Reply
    • Kaleigh says

      August 21, 2020 at 9:51 am

      I haven't personally tried it, but I have used a spelt started that worked fine. One thing to be aware of is that spelt flour is lower in protein so the dough may not be as strong. You may have better luck doing half spelt half bread flour or all purpose. Let me know if you try!

      Reply
  3. Kelsey Cheung says

    December 27, 2018 at 1:48 am

    I have made these rolls twice and have to say that the recipe is very easy to follow and the rolls are great. I like that these rolls are not too overly sweet. Excellent for sourdough discard.

    Reply
    • Kaleigh says

      December 27, 2018 at 4:58 pm

      I'm so glad you enjoyed them! Thanks for stopping by! 🙂

      Reply
  4. Jen says

    February 09, 2018 at 7:10 am

    Hi, my starter is not ready yet, any suggestions for making these with yeast? Thank you.

    Reply
  5. taramdeal says

    January 04, 2018 at 5:30 am

    We have homemade cinnamon rolls every Christmas morning...I absolutely need to start making a sourdough starter! We had one a couple of years ago, but neglected it for too long and it grew mold...oops!!! Thanks for sharing this fantastic looking recipe!

    Reply
    • Kaleigh says

      January 04, 2018 at 12:40 pm

      Love that tradition! Hope you get another one started, I love mine!

      Reply

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