Fluffy Sourdough Discard Cinnamon Rolls

Sourdough Discard Cinnamon Rolls are are a delicious way to repurpose the sourdough discard you have in your fridge! Topped with a homemade cream cheese frosting, these cinnamon rolls are perfect for breakfast, brunch, or a holiday breakfast!

Cinnamon rolls are a special breakfast that everyone loves! You can make cinnamon rolls with self rising flour or even cinnamon rolls with Bisquick, but if you have some sourdough discard in your fridge, make these fluffy cinnamon buns!

Not only are these sourdough cinnamon rolls a fantastic way to use your sourdough discard, but they also make for a perfect treat to share with family and friends. You can make so many sourdough recipes with your sourdough discard! I love making sourdough discard brownies and even sourdough discard bread.

What is Sourdough Discard?

In sourdough, the word sourdough discard is thrown around a lot, but what is sourdough discard? Sourdough bread is a bread made from natural yeast, flour, water, and salt. There is no commercial yeast, only naturally occurring yeast from the environment. Sourdough bread requires a "starter" to rise the bread.

An active sourdough starter is filled with good bacteria and wild yeast that gives the bread that traditional sour taste. You can make so many different recipes with sourdough discard. I've put together a fantastic list of sourdough discard recipes for you!

You can't feed your entire starter, as it doubles and sometimes triples in size, and that's a lot of sourdough starter discard to have on hand! Keep the excess starter in a mason jar right in your refrigerator and make Sourdough Discard Carrot Cake with it. If you are new to sourdough, be sure to check out this post all about how to feed and maintain a sourdough starter.

Ingredients to Gather

You only need a few simple ingredients to make this cinnamon roll recipe!

• Sourdough Discard. If you have an active sourdough starter, every time you feed it you'll have a little discard leftover. You can make your own sourdough starter, get one from a friend, or buy one. The starter should be unfed, meaning right out of the refrigerate, not bubbly and active.
• Yeast. It might seem strange to add yeast to the cinnamon roll dough, but we aren't using baking powder or baking soda and the sourdough starter is inactive, so the yeast gives the cinnamon rolls a really nice rise. This helps make the cinnamon rolls fluffy and light.
• Milk. Whole milk has the fat that this cinnamon rolls recipe needs. You can use your favorite nondairy milk too, or a 2% milk. I would stay away from skim milk as it won't help the rolls stay fluffy.
• Butter. There is butter in the cinnamon roll dough, the cream cheese icing, and the filling.
• Sugar. Both granulated sugar and brown sugar will be used. Brown sugar will be used in the cinnamon sugar filling and white sugar adds some sweetness to the dough.

See printable recipe card for full recipe information on ingredients and quantities.

Substitutions and Variations

• Change the flour! You can use bread flour or all purpose flour. There's a few signature differences in bread flour vs all purpose flour, but both would work in this recipe. You can also add in a little whole wheat flour for more nuttiness and some added fiber.
• Add some mix ins! Feel free to roll some chopped walnuts, chopped pecans, or raisins to the cinnamon sugar mixture before rolling the dough into a log.
• Add spices! Zest some orange peel, sprinkle in some pumpkin pie spice, or add a sprinkle of cocoa powder to the dough as well as the filling for some extra flavor. Just like red velvet cinnamon rolls, there are so many options for changing the flavor of cinnamon buns!
• Change the pan! I like using a 9x13 inch baking dish to bake these cinnamon rolls, but you can use your favorite cast iron skillet. Add the buns to a buttered cast iron skillet and bake as normal.

How To Make Sourdough Discard Cinnamon Rolls

Step 1: In a small saucepan, melt together the milk and butter. As soon as they melt together, turn off the heat and set that aside. Add the milk mixture and yeast to the bowl of a stand mixer. Let it sit for 5 minutes.

Step 2: Add the sugar, eggs, flour, salt, and sourdough discard into the bowl of the stand mixer. Turn the mixer on low speed and mix for 5 minutes. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for 1-2 hours until it has doubled in size.

Step 3: Once the dough has doubled in size, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface.

Step 4: Roll the dough into a 12 inch by 18 inch rectangle. Spread the softened butter over the dough, leaving a one inch border around the edge of the dough.

Step 5: Mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Sprinkle the mixture over the dough. Starting with the edge closest to you, roll the dough forward until a log forms. Butter a 9x13 inch pan well.

Step 6: Cut the log into 12 equal sized pieces and place them in the prepared baking dish. Let them rise for 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Remove the plastic wrap and place the baking dish in the preheated oven. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Tips and Tricks

• To get even cinnamon rolls, use a sharp serrated knife or unflavored dental floss to cut the log of cinnamon roll dough. This will ensure the cinnamon rolls all rise at the same time and more importantly, bake evenly.
• If you don't have a stand mixer, you can still make these cinnamon rolls. The dough is quite stiff, but there is no reason you can't mix them by hand and then let them rise.
• Keep an eye on the oven as they bake. The tops of the cinnamon rolls should be evenly golden brown. If the tops start browning too quickly, tent the top of the baking dish with aluminum foil.
• Allow the rolls to cool slightly before adding the icing. Otherwise, the icing will completely melt into the cinnamon rolls. Don't wait too long though, otherwise you'll have to ice them yourself completely.

Storage Tips

You can make these easy sourdough cinnamon rolls ahead of time, cut the cinnamon rolls and place them in the greased baking dish. Cover the baking dish with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. When you are ready to bake the buns, take the plastic wrap off the baking dish and bake for 30-35 minutes.

You can even freeze these cinnamon rolls! After they are baked, let them cool to room temperature and then cover them with aluminum foil or plastic wrap. Place them in the freezer for up to 3 months. When you are ready to serve them, defrost them on the counter and pour the cream cheese icing on top.

Keep leftovers in an airtight container on the counter. Do not place them in the refrigerator as they will get stale quickly.

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