Pumpkin Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls

Make these sourdough pumpkin cinnamon rolls for the ultimate fall brunch or breakfast! The dough is so soft, has so much flavor from the sourdough + pumpkin puree, and the filling is loaded with warming fall spices.

Between these classic sourdough cinnamon rolls, these sourdough discard cinnamon rolls, and now these pumpkin cinnamon rolls, I am obviously a huge fan of sourdough cinnamon rolls.

I would actually go as far as to say that no cinnamon roll is better than a sourdough cinnamon roll. You can get a very, very soft dough by adding butter, milk, sugar, and egg, and the flavor the sourdough + slow rise add is UNMATCHED.

The contrast between the slight tang of sourdough and the sweetness of the cinnamon filling and icing is so magnificent. If you haven't used your sourdough starter to make cinnamon rolls yet, what are you waiting for??

These cinnamon rolls are quintessential fall with pumpkin in the dough and pumpkin spice and lots of cinnamon and brown sugar in the filling. I never want fall to end I love these so much!

The dough

This dough is really easy to make and easy to work with. It follows the same formula I use for almost all of my enriched doughs (like these dinner rolls).

First, you'll melt butter in a pan. Once it's melted, remove from the heat and add the milk to the pan. The cold milk will cool the butter, while the butter and warm pan will heat the milk, resulting in the perfect temperature liquid that you can add to your dough right away!

(Be sure to feel it before adding it just to be safe - it should feel like a good bathwater temperature.)

Then, mix the pumpkin puree, sourdough starter, sugar, and egg. Add in the warm milk mixture and mix to combine. Add the flour, salt, and nutmeg. Mix until dough comes together and no dry bits remain, then cover and let rest for 30 minutes.

After letting the dough rest, knead for about 8 minutes until the dough looks smooth. Shape it into a ball on a floured work surface, then place in an oiled bowl seam side down. Cover and let rise until it doubles in size. This takes anywhere from 8-12 hours for me depending on the temperature of my kitchen.

This is a fairly wet dough, but is also quite slick from the butter. This means it's not particularly sticky although it is quite wet. I prefer to use a stand mixer for this dough, but you can mix and knead by hand. Avoid adding more flour than is necessary to prevent sticking if you're kneading by hand!

The filling

My favorite way to do cinnamon roll filling is by melting a small amount of butter, then adding in the brown sugar, cinnamon, and in this case, nutmeg, allspice, ginger, and cloves.

It will be the texture of wet sand once it's all mixed.

Most cinnamon roll recipes have you brush the rolled out dough with melted butter, then sprinkle with sugar and spices, but I find this method easier and you can get more even coverage.

Plus, very little seeps out during the second rise and baking.

Shaping cinnamon rolls

Shaping cinnamon rolls is probably the most fun part of making them!

My main tip here is to generously flour your work surface before rolling your dough. This is a scenario where it's better to have too much flour than not enough, and it's a bummer to get to finally rolling the dough up only to find it sticking. So use a good amount of flour, and lift your dough off the counter every now and then between rolls to make sure it's not sticking anywhere. If it is, add more flour.

You're aiming for 12 (1 ½)-inch rolls, so you want to roll your dough into a 12 by 20-inch rectangle. I DID pull out a measuring tape to make sure my numbers were correct when testing this recipe, but don't feel like you need to do that. Use your best judgement!

You're going to be rolling the dough up from one long end to the other for a 20-inch long tube. But first, sprinkle your filling over the rolled out dough and spread across the whole surface using your fingers. Leave an inch of dough uncovered at one of the long ends. This will be the side along the outside of your roll - having it uncovered will allow you to pinch the dough together to seal, so your rolls don't come unrolled.

Once your filling is on the dough, start rolling it up from the long side that's covered with filling. Roll it as tightly as you can so there are no gaps. Pinch the edges to seal once you've reached the other side.

Using a bench scraper, a knife, or dental floss, cut the tube into 12 (1 ½-inch) rolls. Place them in a 9 by 13-inch baking dish lined with parchment paper, cover, and let rise until puffed up. This is 1-4 hours at room temperature, or up to 24 hours in the fridge.

TIP: It's important to line your baking dish with parchment paper for this recipe and it will keep the rolls super soft. To get the most flexibility out of your parchment paper, ball it up and unball it a few times before using.

The icing

This is a really basic icing that I love and use for all cinnamon rolls. It's simple and easy to adjust as needed. You want it to be thick but still pourable. If it's too thin for your liking, add more powdered sugar. If it's too thick, add a splash more milk.

My two main tips here are:

• Sift your powdered sugar. Never would I tell you to sift something if it weren't actually necessary. If you don't sift the powdered sugar, you will either have to whip the icing forever, or be okay with having clumps in it.
• Let the rolls cool slightly before icing. If you ice the rolls right when they come out of the oven, they will be too hot and the icing will melt right off of them. If you wait too long, the icing won't spread itself out. So you want them to be warm, but not too warm. Starting the icing right when the rolls come out of the oven seems to be just the right timing.

Making ahead

Mostly I make these for brunch, which means I start the dough at night, let it rise overnight, shape it in the morning and let it do its second rise through the mid morning.

If you want these for breakfast, you have two options:

• Bake rolls and reheat in the morning. Make the recipe as written through baking the rolls. Once the rolls are baked, let them cool, and cover them with foil. In the morning, reheat - still covered - in a 325 degree oven for 15-20 minutes, or until heated through. Ice.
• Shape rolls and do the second rise in the fridge. Make the recipe as written through shaping the rolls. Once shaped and in the pan, cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. You can bake them right from the fridge. The main downside with this method is some of the filling will liquefy and leak out. The longer they sit in the fridge, the more the filling will liquefy. If you're using parchment paper in the bottom of your pan, this is only a cosmetic problem.

The icing can also be made ahead and refrigerated. Just give it a quick whisk before pouring over the rolls.

If you can't get enough pumpkin, try this much-loved sourdough discard pumpkin bread!