Sourdough Discard Cinnamon Roll Recipe

The sourdough discard cinnamon rolls are in a blue baking dish with glass bottles in the background.

5 from 7 votes

Sourdough Discard Cinnamon Roll Recipe

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!

Prep Time2

Cook Time35

Total Time2 35

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Servings: Buns

Calories: 475kcal

Author: Lynn Polito

Equipment

Ingredients

1 cup Whole Milk
4 tablespoon Butter
2 teaspoons Active Dry Yeast 1 packet
⅓ cup Sugar
2 Eggs
¾ cup Sourdough Discard Inactive, not fed
4 cups All Purpose Flour
½ teaspoon Salt

For the filling

6 tablespoon Butter softened
½ cup Brown Sugar
1 tablespoon Cinnamon

For the Icing

4 tablespoon Butter Softened
4 tablespoon Cream Cheese Full fat, softened
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 ½ cups Powdered Sugar
2 tablespoon Milk

Instructions

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.
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.
Once the dough has doubled in size, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface.
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.
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.
Cut the log into 12 equal sized pieces and place them in the prepared baking dish. Cover the baking dish with plastic wrap and let it rest for another 1 hour. At this point, you can place it in the refrigerator until you are ready to bake them.
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.
While the cinnamon rolls bake, mix together the butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, and milk until smooth. For a thinner consistency, add more milk.
Remove the cinnamon buns from the oven and pour the icing over the top. Serve immediately.

Notes

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.

Nutrition