Overnight Einkorn Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls in A Cast Iron Skillet

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Who can resist a good cinnamon roll? These are even more beautiful, made with the ancient grain einkorn and risen with sourdough starter. Our family’s favorite way to top them is with a generous spread of cream cheese frosting. These are perfect for wintertime weather!

Cinnamon rolls are a fun and special treat for a breakfast or dessert and when combined with the nutritious grain called Einkorn and the familiar tang of sourdough, these cinnamon rolls will be hard to beat! They can be prepped ahead of time and warmed up before serving (wait to frost them then), or can be enjoyed right from the hot oven on a cold winter day!

What is Einkorn?

Einkorn is a wonderful tasty ancient grain with many nutritional benefits and is quite different then modern wheat that most of us are most familiar with.

It is a form of wheat but in many ways, it’s so far from it. You see, einkorn is the mother of all modern wheat. ALL wheat hybrids have actually developed from the “mother” einkorn wheat. Einkorn is the form of wheat that has stayed the same for thousands of years. That’s hard to do in a gardening world. Here’s why. When a gardener plants two seeds of similar qualities, for example, a large bean and a small bean, they pollinate each other. The result is a new species of bean formed that season. This is called a hybrid. As all other wheat varieties are hybrids, Einkorn IS NOT.

This nutritious grain has been proven to help maintain blood sugar levels, and also assist in gut health. Using einkorn flour for sourdough based foods has also shown to be anti-inflammatory so this Einkorn cinnamon rolls recipe with sourdough is full of gut healing properties!

I cannot stress to you enough, that if you want to receive the nutritional benefits of this flour you MUST learn to mill the actual grain. In 2020 our family made the investment in a Mockmill 100. Our reasoning was that whole wheat berries were cheaper than purchasing all purpose Einkorn ( which is pretty spendy compared to conventional wheat).

We’ve found huge benefits for our immune and gut health while consistently incorporating fresh ground goodies made with the original wheat einkorn. So of which are less sickness, less snacking (yay!) and a healthier gut that helps keep people regular. Yes. That’s important.

Here, you can check out all you need to know about Einkorn and its health benefits.

Cast Iron Pan Cinnamon Rolls

I LOVE using cast iron to bake these cinnamon rolls because of the great heat conductivity of the pan. It results in the the butter and cinnamon streusel frying to the bottom of the rolls in a sticky sweet goo. I talk a little more about the iron pan in this post. Let’s compare and contrast the cake pan versus the iron pan and you can decide which you would best enjoy!

9 x 11 inch Pan

This creates softer rolls.

It has more room to grow.

Buns may spread wider than taller.

Cast Iron Pan

This creates sticky buns due to frying the streusel in between rolls.

An iron pan creates taller rolls as the rolls have less room to grow.

Rolls have crispier bottoms than when baked in a cake pan.

How to Make Einkorn Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls

Tools you’ll Need for this Recipe

Large mixing bowl

Measuring spoons and cups

Rolling pin

Mixer or hand mixer for the frosting

Cast iron pan or glass pan of choice

Floss, dough cutter or knife for cutting the dough

Cinnamon Roll Ingredients

• Einkorn flour
• Water
• Sourdough starter
• Pure cane sugar or sweetener of choice
• Butter
• Salt
• Powdered sugar
• Cream cheese
• Yeast, optional

Cinnamon Roll Recipe

For the dough:
4 Cups All Purpose Einkorn Flour
1 teaspoon Active Yeast (optional)
3/4 Cup Warm Water (100-115 degrees Fahrenheit)
1 Cup Sourdough Starter
3 Tablespoons Pure Cane Sugar ( or alternative sugar)
1 teaspoon Salt
1 Tablespoon Melted butter

For the filling:
2 Tablespoons Cinnamon
3/4 Cup Coconut Sugar (or 2/3 Cup brown Sugar)
6 Tablespoons Softened Butter

Cream cheese frosting:
8 oz. Cream Cheese, Softened
1 Cup Powdered Sugar

Directions

In a large mixing bowl combine sourdough starter with warm water, yeast, butter and sugar.

Add in flour and salt and mix until a sticky dough forms.

Let the dough sit for 15 minutes, then knead and fold for 3-5 minutes on a lightly floured surface.

Place back in bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place for 6-8 hours or overnight until it’s doubled.

When ready to work on the dough, bring it back to floured surface, fold a few more times and then roll out to 8 x 18 inch rectangle.

Mix together filling until creamy. Spread filling across top of dough.

Roll from one wide side to other wide side and smooth/ pinch edges to seal into log shape.

Using a dough scraper, knife or string, cut into eight equal sections. For extra large rolls, cut into six sections.

Place in a 10 inch greased iron pan or 9×11 inch baking dish.

Cover and let rise another 1-2 hours.

Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 22-25 minutes.

While baking, whip the frosting ingredients together until smooth. After taking the cinnamon rolls out of the oven, wait 15-20 minutes to let them cool before frosting them.

Do I have to use Yeast?

No. I often make these rolls using just sourdough starter to raise the dough. Because of my sensitivity to yeast, I reserve the use of commercial yeast for big holidays such as Christmas morning.

What kind of sourdough starter can I use?

You can use either active (fed) starter or discard starter. Active sourdough starter will give a faster rise with more sourdough “tang”. Discard is great for using up extra you have on hand! And you will still get the added health benefits of an active “fed” starter.

Do I Have to Make these Overnight?

No. Simply allow the dough to rise for for 7-9 hours before rolling and baking. Starting in the morning is a viable option too!

Find this Recipe in The Cookbook

You can find this and many other comfort food recipes made solely with einkorn flour in my book, Einkorn Recipes for a Cozy Winter.

Make recipes such as Biscuits, Pumpkin Rolls, Basic Einkorn Bread, Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie and more. I hope you enjoy this recipe and encourage you to share how it turns out.

From the Hilltop,

Krista