Best Sourdough Discard Cinnamon Rolls You Need To Try

Sourdough discard cinnamon rolls are the biggest, fluffy, and tastiest Cinnamon rolls I’ve ever made. The cinnamon sugar coating swirling in the sweet and soft dough is mouthwatering and a hit at every family gathering!

Do you love cinnamon rolls and have sourdough discard in your fridge? You can make cinnamon rolls with sourdough discard, and you will never forget about this recipe. I’ve made homemade sourdough cinnamon rolls and Cinnabon my whole life and have been a big fan of them. I have often made these glorious buns since I was very young, and they improve each time.

It all starts with a Christmas dinner where I made the overnight sourdough discard cinnamon rolls a day before Christmas. Julia (my sister) was invited to that dinner; she was so surprised by the cinnamon rolls that she told me, “Jesus, these are the best cinnamon rolls I have ever had!”  She asked for the step-by-step recipe and motivated me to publish it on my website. I was like, “Not a bad idea”. I’ve tested the recipe many times with sourdough, and my family has approved it each time. So today, I finally gathered some courage to post the step-by-step recipe on my blog. 

Why Will You Love sourdough discard cinnamon rolls

• Classic and timeless choice for Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving occasions.
• A mouth-drooling breakfast. 
• The perfect swirl of cinnamon brown sugar in rolls is like a roller coaster of flavors.
• The taste is warm, comfortable, soft, fluffy, and flavorful.
• It’s a nice addition in the fall. 
• No yeast is needed; use discard sourdough in your fridge instead of using fresh sourdough.

Ingredients

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• Sourdough Discard: Take 150g of sourdough discard (100% hydration). I store it in the fridge for 3 days, and when I want to use it for baking, I let it sit at room temperature for 3 hours. 
• Cream Cheese: Plain cream cheese softens and moistens the dough. 
• Milk: For the dough, use 2% (reduced-fat milk) or whole milk. I use half a cup of whole milk for extra richness. 
• Bread Flour: Flour is the base of the dough, and bread flour is best for sourdough cinnamon rolls. All purposes also work well in making the base, but bread flour makes rolls gooey. The recipe will work fine with low-fat milk, but whole milk is the best for making the dough. 
• Sugar: This recipe requires brown and white sugar. White sugar adds sweetness to the dough, and brown sugar makes a brown-coloured cinnamon sugar filling. 
• Salt: To balance the flavor.
• Eggs: Two large eggs give structure and firmness to the dough. 
• Cinnamon Powder: sourdough cinnamon buns are incomplete with the cinnamon powder that gives it the signature taste. 
• Butter: Unsalted butter at room temperature is used to brush the dough before spreading the cinnamon sugar filling, as it helps the filling stick to the dough. The butter should not be too runny or too solid. Hard butter will not spread evenly on the dough, and melty butter will not stick to the dough and seep into it. 
• Heavy Cream: Heavy cream is poured over the cinnamon buns before baking to give them an extra moist and soft flavor.

Equipment

• Stand mixer with its bowl and dough hook
• Dental floss (sharp thread or knife can do the task as well)
• Rolling pin
• Baking pan of 38cmx28cm dimension

Instructions

1.Combine the Dough

Add the sourdough discard, plain cold cream cheese, whole milk, bread flour, white granulated sugar, and fine salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and knead it in a stand mixer. Gradually add the eggs while kneading the cinnamon roll dough with a dough hook. Knead for approximately 15 minutes.

2.Resting Time

Transfer the dough to a lightly greased container or bowl. Grease your hands with vegetable oil because the dough is still sticky. Air-fold the dough and shape it. The dough has not reached the gluten development; therefore, fold and stretch the dough several times to strengthen it. Cover and rest the dough for 1 hour at room temperature. After 1 hour, stretch and fold the dough with greased hands and rest it for 1 hour for the second time.

Repeat the fold and stretch for the third time. Fold the dough for the third time, then cover it and rest for 1 hour for the fourth time. Grease your hands and air-fold the dough for the fourth time. Cover and rest for 1 hour again. (You must rest the dough for approximately 5 hours, folding and stretching it between each hour with greased hands).

3.Cinnamon Sugar Filling

Mix the brown sugar, cinnamon powder, and salt. 

4.Flatten the Dough to Rectangular Shape

Remove the dough from the container and place it on your work surface, which is dusted with flour. Gently flatten the dough with a rolling pin until it is large and rectangular. Be gentle while rolling because you want the dough to still have some fluff. The rectangle should be 36 cmx48 cm and ¼ inches thick.

5.Assemble the Filling

Brush the dough with melted butter at room temperature on the flattened dough. Brush the edges as well. Sprinkle the sugar cinnamon filling on the entire dough and spread evenly. Lightly pat the filling on the dough to let the filling stick to the dough.

6.Roll the Dough with Hands

Roll the dough downwards toward the long log (48cm). Pull the dough slightly as you roll to create tighter and thinner layers, resulting in rolling with more coils. Make sure to roll the cinnamon tightly and seal the seam. 

7.Cut the Cinnamon Roll

Cut the dough into 4 cm (1.5 inch) parts. I marked the sections to make equal parts. Now, use clean dental floss to cut the cinnamon rolls. You can also cut them with a sharp knife. 

8.Arrange the Cinnamon Roll Pieces

Place the rolls into the lined pan so that the cut surface faces up (spiral cinnamon roll section is up). Leave space around each of them because they become fluff and occupy extra space when baking. I am taking a pan of 38cmx28cm. Cover the pan with plastic wraps and place the pan in the fridge for 8 hours for a better flavor. After that, take the cinnamon rolls tray out of the fridge (don’t be stressed when you see the sugary liquid leaking out of the rolls at the bottom. It’s totally normal, yeah).  Let the cinnamon rolls ferment for 3 hours at 25-27°C until the roll’s size doubles.

9.Bake the Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls

Preheat the oven to 200°C (392°F). Once the dough is ready to bake, pour lukewarm 60g heavy cream over the cinnamon rolls. Place the baking pan in the bottom third of the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes. Once they are done, remove them from the oven and frost while warm or frost individually as you eat them if you plan to save them later. 

For Frosting

If you want to make the frosting, make the vanilla frosting with 1/2 cup of icing sugar mixed with four tablespoons of milk and a teaspoon of vanilla extract. Let it cool for a bit before frosting, and if you plan to store it in the fridge, store it without frosting.

Check out my cinnamon mug cake that can be prepared in less than 5 minutes.

Expert Tips for discard cinnamon rolls

• Resting time (see Step 2) is the key to success. Make sourdough cinnamon buns a day or night before serving them at the main event. 
• Leave the space between the individual cinnamon rolls because they will rise during baking. 
• If you flatten the dough more thinly, it will result in more swirls. However, do not flatten too thin, as it will not give the dough a nice soft texture. 
• Use a silicone scraper while rolling the dough if it sticks to the work surface.
• The larger pieces of the sourdough cinnamon roll will take more baking time than the smaller ones. I prefer to cut the rolls into equal 4cm pieces. However, check the oven often and get them out once they are nice, fluffy and brown. 
• The dough is sticky, so I recommend using cooking oil to stretch and fold. 
• The recipe is so perfect that it tastes heavenly, even without the frosting. Make the vanilla frosting with 1/2 cup of icing sugar mixed with 4 tablespoons of milk and a teaspoon of vanilla extract. Spread it over the baked sourdough cinnamon rolls, and it will absorb into the rolls, making a heavenly combination that compliments well. 
• You can also use the active starter. I have not tested the recipe with this, but I am sure it will be delicious. 

Make This Recipe Ahead of Time

You can place them on your kitchen shelf, slightly covered, at room temperature for 3 days. Another option is to store the cinnamon rolls in freezer-safe bags or wrap them in aluminium foil and then put them in an air-sealed container and freeze them. Freezing is recommended for storing the sourdough cinnamon rolls without the frosting. When you are ready to serve, thaw and reheat in the oven at 400F for 15 minutes or until warm. 

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