Sourdough Apple Cinnamon Rolls (Overnight Recipe)

Classic sourdough cinnamon rolls are great, but Sourdough Apple Cinnamon Rolls take things up a notch with soft spiced apples tucked into every swirl. This overnight recipe lets the dough slowly ferment for maximum flavour and fluffiness, so all that's left to do in the morning is bake and enjoy. Perfect for lazy weekends or an impressive brunch without the morning fuss.

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Special Autumn Sourdough Treat

There's nothing quite like the cosy aroma of apples and cinnamon wafting through the kitchen - especially during the fall season. The classic combo shines in these Sourdough Apple Cinnamon Rolls, just as it does in our Apple Crumble Cheesecake, Apple Crumble Tart and Apple Crumble Traybake.

What's more, apples add just the right amount of moisture, keeping the buns soft and fresh for longer. 

Love cinnamon-flavoured bakes? You're in the right place! We use cinnamon in so many of our sourdough adventures, try our Sourdough Cinnamon Babka, Cinnamon Swirl Sourdough Bread or Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls next! Or go all autumnal with our Cinnamon Apple Sourdough Focaccia!

Ingredient Notes

Here's everything you will need for these delicious Sourdough Apple Cinnamon Rolls. 

Dough Ingredients

• active sourdough starter: 100% hydration. Really active and low in acidity for best results. The wild yeast is the only leavening agent in this recipe. 
• milk: use lukewarm milk to kickstart the bulk fermentation process. 
• plain flour: also known as all-purpose flour. You may also use strong bread flour. 
• eggs: used large eggs, 2 tablespoons of which are set aside for brushing the tops of the rolls. 
• caster sugar: also known as superfine sugar. You may use granulated sugar. 
• unsalted butter: melted and slightly cooled. 
• salt. 

Filling Ingredients

• apple: you will need 1 large or 2 small apples. 
• brown sugar: light or dark.  
• ground cinnamon: you may mix it with a pinch of nutmeg or cloves as well.  

Icing Ingredients

• icing sugar: also known as powdered sugar, or confectioner's sugar. 
• unsalted butter. 
• vanilla bean paste: or vanilla extract. 
• milk.
• a pinch of salt.

Step-By-Step Method

This recipe is a little bit upside-down from my usual process. On Day 1, I do everything from feeding sourdough starter, mixing the dough, bulk fermenting and shaping. This is so that I can bake these Apple Cinnamon Sourdough Rolls earlier in the morning the next day. 

Day 1

Feeding Sourdough Starter

In the morning, feed your sourdough starter. You will need an active starter that's doubled in size after feeding. I mix 40g of starter with 40ml of water and 40g of flour and leave at 21-25°C for 4-5 hours to double in size. This produces 120g of starter (I use 115g in this recipe), 5g of which will probably stick to the jar and spoon 🙂 

Mixing The Enriched Dough

1. When your starter reaches its peak, in a bowl of a stand mixer, combine starter, milk and half of the flour into a shaggy dough. Cover and set aside for 1 hour. This is the kind of enriched fermentolyse process (autolyse with sourdough starter). 

2. Lightly whisk a large egg in a small bowl. Take out about 2 tablespoons of it and reserve for later. Add the sugar, melted butter, salt and the beaten egg to the fermentolysed mixture of flour.

Using a dough hook attachment, run the mixer on low speed, adding 1 tablespoon of the remaining flour at a time. Once all the flour is incorporated, carry on mixing for another 5 minutes.

Coil Folds and Bulk Fermentation

1. In the meantime, lightly grease a shallow dish (or a large bowl). Tip the dough into the bowl and turn once to cover the dough in oil. Cover with a damp towel or cling film (plastic wrap) and let the dough rise in a warm spot for 30 minutes. 

2. Over the next 3 hours, perform a set of coil folds (or stretch and folds) every 30 minutes. After 6 sets of folds, let the dough rest for another 1-2 hours. It should be lively and bubbly by now.

Shaping and Cold Final Proof

1. Generously grease an ovenproof dish with butter (I used an 18cm (7in) cake tin, to get more of a tear & share bread effect, but you can use a bigger tin for the rolls that are just touching).

2. Prepare your apple and cinnamon sugar filling. Peel, core and chop a large apple into small cubes. Squeeze half a lemon over the apple cubes and mix to coat. In a small bowl, mix cinnamon and brown sugar.

3. Scoop the dough out onto a well-floured work surface, taking care not to knock too much air out. With a rolling pin, roll the

dough out into a large rectangle measuring approximately 40x25cm (16x10in). Brush the surface with the reserved egg.

4. Sprinkle the dough with cinnamon and sugar mixture and use your hands to press it in, so that it sticks to the surface. Then spread the apple cubes all over.

5. Working from the short side, tightly roll the dough into a log. Use a sharp knife to cut it into 8 equal pieces. Arrange them in the greased baking dish. If you use a smaller tin, they will rise upwards; if you use a large one, they will spread sideways as the dough rises. 

TIP: If you're using a springform cake tin, you may want to tightly wrap some foil around the bottom of your tin. Apples will release juices, and sugar will dissolve, creating a syrup at the base. Foil ensures the syrup cannot escape and make a mess in your fridge or oven.

6. Brush the top with 1 tablespoon of melted butter, cover with clingfilm and pop in the fridge to cold proof overnight.

Day 2

1. The next morning, take the rolls out of the fridge and place them in a warm place for 2 hours. They should increase in volume by about a third.

2. Preheat the oven to 190°C Fan. Brush the top of the rolls with some milk and bake for 25-30 minutes. Individual separate rolls will cook much quicker than rolls that are snugly arranged in a tin (like mine). They should be golden brown and smell incredible!

3. When cooked, leave them in the tin to cool down for 20 minutes before transferring them onto a cooling rack.

Make The Icing

1. In the meantime, prepare the icing by mixing melted butter, icing sugar, vanilla paste, a pinch of salt and milk together and stirring to a smooth paste.

2. Drizzle the rolls with the icing. We love them slightly warm! Alternatively, enjoy these with cream cheese frosting that we make for our Overnight Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls. 

Timeline

Below, I've written down my timeline on how I make them, but you can adjust timings to whatever works for you. 

Day 1

• 6:30 am I feed my starter and leave it to ferment and double in size in the warmest spot of the house, or an oven that's been preheated for a 1 minute on the lowest temperature and then turned off. It takes 4-6 hours.
• 11:30 am I mix the core ingredients and leave to autolyse
• 12:30 pm I mix and knead the dough 
• 12:45 - 17:00 pm The dough is resting, plus I perform 4 sets of coil folds.
• 5:15 pm Prepare the filling, roll out the dough and arrange the rolls in a tin. 
• 5:45 pm put the rolls in the fridge for a cold proof.

Day 2

• 6:30 am Take the rolls out of the fridge and leave them in a warm spot for 2 hours 
• 8:30 Bake the rolls; meanwhile, prepare the icing.
• 9:30 Take the rolls out of the tin and ice. 
• 10:00 Eat the rolls (even though I should wait until the icing sets, but I just love them whilst they're still a bit warm).

Recipe FAQs

Storage

Once baked and cooled, these Sourdough Apple Cinnamon Rolls can be kept at room temperature for 2-3 days. Store them in an airtight container to keep them soft and prevent them from drying out. For longer storage, you can freeze uniced rolls individually and reheat when needed.

More Sourdough Rolls and Buns

Looking to expand your sourdough recipes beyond traditional cinnamon rolls? Try our Sourdough Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls or zingy Sourdough Lemon Rolls next. For a fun, iced baked with a cherry on top, try our Sourdough Belgian Buns! If you don't have a sweet tooth, we have you covered! Cheesy Sourdough Garlic Rolls (Pull-Apart Bread) are ridiculously tasty!

Check out more of our favourite sourdough rolls and buns below!

Apple Cinnamon Sourdough Rolls

Classic sourdough cinnamon rolls are great, but Sourdough Apple Cinnamon Rolls take things up a notch with soft spiced apples tucked into every swirl. This overnight recipe lets the dough slowly ferment for maximum flavour and fluffiness, so all that's left to do in the morning is bake and enjoy. Perfect for lazy weekends or an impressive brunch without the morning fuss.

5 from 18 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Fermenting, Resting & Proving 17 hours hrs

Total Time 18 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Course Baking, Breakfast, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American, British

Servings 8 rolls

Calories 269 kcal

Equipment

• Stand Mixer Fitted with A Dough Hook Attachment
• 18cm (7in) Cake Tin or other baking dish of similar size

Ingredients

  

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For the Dough:

• 115 g active sourdough starter 100% hydration
• 120 ml milk luke warm
• 280 g plain white flour all purpose flour
• 1 large egg 2 tablespoon of it set aside for brushing
• 40 g caster sugar
• 35 g butter
• ½ teaspoon salt

For the Filling:

• 1 large apple
• 60 g brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 2 tablespoon milk for brushing the top

For the Icing:

• 100 g icing sugar
• 15 g butter
• ½ teaspoon vanilla paste
• 3-4 tablespoon milk
• a pinch of salt

Instructions

 

Day 1

Feeding Sourdough Starter

• In the morning, feed your sourdough starter. You will need an active starter that's doubled in size after feeding. I mix 40g of starter with 40ml of water and 40g of flour and leave at 21-25°C for 4-5 hours to double in size. This produces 120g of starter (I use 115g in this recipe), 5g of which will probably stick to the jar and spoon 🙂

Mixing The Enriched Dough

• When your starter reaches its peak, in a bowl of a stand mixer, combine starter, milk and half of the flour into a shaggy dough. Cover and set aside for 1 hour. This is the kind of enriched fermentolyse process (autolyse with sourdough starter).
• Lightly whisk a large egg in a small bowl. Take out about 2 tablespoons of it and reserve for later. Add the sugar, melted butter, salt and the beaten egg to the fermentolysed flour mixture you made in the previsous step. Using a dough hook attachment, run the mixer on low speed, adding 1 tablespoon of the remaining flour at a time. Once all the flour is incorporated, carry on mixing for another 5 minutes.

Coil Folds and Bulk Fermentation

• In the meantime, lightly grease a shallow dish (or a large bowl). Tip the dough into the bowl and turn once to cover the dough in oil. Cover with a damp towel or cling film (plastic wrap) and let the dough rise in a warm spot for 30 minutes.
• Over the next 3 hours, perform a set of coil folds (or stretch and folds) every 30 minutes. After 6 sets of folds, let the dough rest for another 1-2 hours. It should be lively and bubbly by now.

Shaping and Cold Final Proof

• Generously grease an ovenproof dish with butter (I used an 18cm (7in) cake tin, to get more of a tear & share bread effect, but you can use a bigger tin for the rolls that are just touching).
• Prepare your apple and cinnamon sugar filling. Peel, core and chop a large apple into small cubes. Squeeze half a lemon over the apple cubes and mix to coat. In a small bowl, mix cinnamon and brown sugar.
• Scoop the dough out onto a well-floured work surface, taking care not to knock too much air out. With a rolling pin, roll the dough out into a large rectangle measuring approximately 40x25cm (16x10in). Brush the surface with the reserved egg.
• Sprinkle the dough with cinnamon and sugar mixture and use your hands to press it in, so that it sticks to the surface. Then spread the apple cubes all over.
• Working from the short side, tightly roll the dough into a log. Use a sharp knife to cut it into 8 equal pieces. Arrange them in the greased baking dish. If you use a smaller tin, they will rise upwards; if you use a large one, they will spread sideways as the dough rises.
• TIP: If you're using a springform cake tin, you may want to tightly wrap some foil around the bottom of your tin. Apples will release juices, and sugar will dissolve, creating a syrup at the base. Foil ensures the syrup cannot escape and make a mess in your fridge or oven.
• Brush the top with 1 tablespoon of melted butter, cover with clingfilm and pop in the fridge to cold proof overnight.

Day 2

• The next morning, take the rolls out of the fridge and place them in a warm place for 2 hours. They should increase in volume by about a third.
• Preheat the oven to 190°C Fan. Brush the top of the rolls with some milk and bake for 25-30 minutes. Individual separate rolls will cook much quicker than rolls that are snugly arranged in a tin (like mine). They should be golden brown and smell incredible!
• When cooked, leave them in the tin to cool down for 20 minutes before transferring them onto a cooling rack.

Make The Icing

• In the meantime, prepare the icing by mixing melted butter, icing sugar, vanilla paste, a pinch of salt and milk together and stirring to a smooth paste.
• Drizzle the rolls with the icing. We love them slightly warm.

Nutrition

Calories: 269kcalCarbohydrates: 47gProtein: 6gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 36mgSodium: 208mgPotassium: 119mgFiber: 2gSugar: 16gVitamin A: 226IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 57mgIron: 2mg

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