My soft sourdough discard rolls is probably one of my most popular recipes – and for good reason! They’re soft, easy to make, and use up a lot of sourdough discard. A few months ago, however, one of my readers asked if it was possible to turn my rolls into something a little sweeter: Sourdough Discard Cinnamon Rolls.

I haven’t made cinnamon rolls in years, so I thought it would be a fun way to get back into making them. And now I’m grateful for the suggestion.

Thanks to readers like you, I’m not making cinnamon rolls for my family on a regular basis using my KitchenAid mixer*. They’re perfect for desserts, and sometimes I make them for Christmas or birthday breakfasts.

Delicious Rolls for Everyone

These sourdough discard cinnamon rolls are light, fluffy, and soft, just like my original sourdough roll recipe. Better still, the sourdough starter adds a barely-there tang that meshes beautifully with the cinnamon and sugar and cream cheese frosting.

This recipe (and the rolls themselves) is fairly large. It’s perfect if you want to make a lot of sourdough discard cinnamon rolls for friends and family. But if you’re making rolls for a smaller crowd, you could cut the recipe in half and still have plenty of cinnamon rolls to share with guests.

Still too many rolls to eat at once? I’ve made a small-batch skillet version of this same recipe.

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Sourdough Discard Cinnamon Rolls

Light, fluffy, and perfectly sweet, these cinnamon rolls are a great way to use up your sourdough discard and impress your friends and family.
Course Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
Cuisine American
Keyword Sourdough, Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls, Sourdough Discard, Sourdough Discard Cinnamon Rolls
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 18 minutes
Rise Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 18 minutes
Servings 24 Rolls
Calories 395kcal

Ingredients

Dough

  • 600 Grams Water, Warm (2 1/2 Cups)
  • 18.6 Grams Dry Active Yeast (2 Tablespoons)
  • 226 Grams Sourdough Discard, Fed, Unfed, or Discard (1 Cup)
  • 1020 Grams All-Purpose Flour (8 1/2 Cups)
  • 75 Grams White Granulated Sugar (1/4 Cup and 2 Tablespoons)
  • 12 Grams Salt (2 Teaspoons)
  • 54.5 Grams Vegetable Oil (1/4 Cup)

Cinnamon Filling

  • 300 Grams White Granulated Sugar (1 1/2 Cup)
  • 15 Grams Ground Cinnamon (2 Tablespoons)
  • 56 Grams Butter, Melted (1/4 Cup)

Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 226 Grams Cream Cheese, Softened (8 Oz. Block)
  • 113 Grams Butter, Softened (1 Stick)
  • 520 Grams Powdered Confectioner's Sugar (4 Cups)
  • 4.34 Grams Vanilla Extract (1 Teaspoon)
  • 1.5 Grams Salt (1/4 Teaspoon)
  • 60 Grams Milk, to taste (2 Tablespoons to 1/4 Cup)

Instructions

Make the Dough

  • In the bowl of a standing mixer, combine the warm water and the yeast. Stir and then let the yeast sit for 10 minutes to proof.
  • Add the sourdough starter and stir until well incorporated.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt.
  • Add the flour mixture to the yeast mixture and the vegetable oil to the standing mixer bowl.
  • On a low setting, use the dough hook of the standing mixer to knead everything together. Continue to mix until the dough pulls away from and cleans the sides of the bowl.
  • Turn out the dough onto a lightly greased surface and shape into a round.
  • Place round in a lightly greased container with a lid. Let dough rest until double in size, about 45 minutes to 1 hour depending on kitchen temperature.

Make the Filling and Shape

  • In a small container, combine the cinnamon and sugar. Mix well and set aside.
  • In a small container, melt the butter and set aside.
  • Turn out the dough onto a lightly greased surface. Divide into four sections.
  • Roll out one section into a rectangle. Brush one quarter of the butter onto the rectangle. Sprinkle one quarter of the cinnamon sugar over the dough.
  • Starting at the longest edge of the dough roll toward the opposite side (so resulting dough is wider than it is long).
  • Use unflavored waxed floss or kitchen scissors to cut the dough into 6 pieces. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet.
  • Repeat with the remaining dough, butter, and cinnamon sugar to make a total of 24 cinnamon rolls.
  • Cover the rolls and let rise for 30 minutes to 45 minutes until puffy.

Bake and Frost

  • Preheat the oven to 400° Fahrenheit (204° Celsius).
  • Bake the rolls for 16 to 18 minutes.
  • In a mixing bowl, use an electric hand mixer to combine the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla extract.
  • Mix in the powdered sugar and salt.
  • A tablespoon at a time, slowly mix in the milk, until the frosting achieves your desired consistency.
  • Frost the cinnamon rolls with the cream cheese frosting and enjoy!

Notes

Keep in mind that you may need more or less flour depending on the consistency of your sourdough starter. I feed my starter a 1:1 ratio of whole wheat flour and water, and I needed more flour than when fed my starter 1:1 of all-purpose flour and water. 
If you have an all-purpose starter, I suggest starting with just 6 cups of flour and then slowly adding the remaining 2 1/2 cups until you achieve the consistency you want. You might not need all the flour. 
Depending on your ambient room temperature, you may need to lengthen or shorten your rise times. In the summer, my dough rose much faster and only needed to rise for about 30 minutes for the second rise. 
Note that you don’t have to divide the cinnamon roll dough and roll out it out separately in four sections. The first time I made these rolls, I did everything in one big batch. This made for some unevenly shaped rolls when I did it, but an expert hand could save time by rolling it out this way. Also, you don’t have to make 24 large rolls – 48 smaller rolls would also work just fine.
Not a fan of cream cheese? You can make buttercream frosting instead and swap out the cream cheese for more butter. You’ll need a total of 2 sticks butter instead of one. 

Did You Try It?

I love it when my readers try my recipes. If someone hadn’t commented on my sourdough discard post, I never would have had the inspiration to make cinnamon rolls. Your feedback and suggestions help me create great recipes, so feel free to give input in the comment section below.

*As an Amazon associate, I receive a small commission for purchases on affiliate links. However, I only recommend products that I use and enjoy. Your engagement helps keep my site running. Thank you.

Jennibee

View Comments

  • I’ve made your small batch cinnamon rolls and loved them. Are these the same as small batch only larger quantities? Also, can you freeze once baked, thaw, then frost?

    • This is the exact same recipe as the small-batch cinnamon rolls - only I make them in a pan in large quantities instead of in a cast-iron skillet. I have not tried freezing them after baking - but I have a hunch that they'd freeze pretty well since they're similar to my regular sourdough discard rolls.

      • Yes it can! Just freeze right after rolling and dividing the rolls. Then when you're ready to babe, let them thaw until puffy and you should be good to go.

        • @jennibee, are you saying let them do the final rise AFTER they thaw or should I let them do all rises and then freeze? I tried this method yesterday, putting on the pan immediately after cutting them and then freezing, and this morning but the tops got tougher than I’m used to and they seemed to be a bit doughy/undercooked on the bottom. Maybe I didn’t let them thaw long enough?

          • Hey Carla, I would do the final rise as they thaw. That way they have plenty of time to reach room temp all the way through without over proofing. As they thaw, make sure to cover them with plastic wrap so the tops don't dry out too.

        • Mine are in the oven as I type this message. I didn't read through the entire recipe. Not sure who all is going to benefit from 24 rolls. Can't wait to taste them. Always looking for great discard recipes. Thank you.

  • I love this recipe so much!! I make it all the time and it always turns out amazing. I do have a question. Because these take a while, can you make them at night and just bake them in the morning? Thank you!!

    • That is a good question. They have quite a bit of yeast, so they rise quickly. If you pop them in the fridge, the colder temperature will slow that rise time by a bit - but probably not enough to let them sit overnight. I suggest cutting the yeast so they rise much more slowly. I haven't actually tried this myself, but perhaps try only 1 tablespoon of yeast instead of two? Then in the morning, let the rolls come to room temperature before baking? Let me know how it goes!

  • I have tried a few different sourdough discard cinnamon rolls. This recipe is now my absolute favorite. It made the biggest fluffiest cinnamon rolls. I have a mature sourdough starter and I used it unfed in the recipe. The only change I made was the filling. I prefer to cream together the butter sugar and cinnamon for the filling.

    • Hey Lori - since these are a bread product, refrigeration might actually make the cinnamon rolls go stale faster. However, cream cheese frosting does require refrigeration. So, if you don't think you'll eat all these cinnamon rolls, I suggest only frosting the ones you're going to eat right away. Keep the rest of the rolls sealed in a bag (or a plastic container) at room temperature, and save the extra frosting in the fridge. Or, feel free to make a small-batch version of this recipe.

  • When you starter does this mean a freshly fed starter? or can I actually use discard that I've saved up over the week?

    • Hey Melinda, while you could use a freshly fed starter, this recipe is a great way to use up the extra discard you've been saving up for a while.

  • My first time to ever try cinnamon rolls and these are truly amazing. They are light and fluffy and delicious. They will be a constant around here now.

  • Made these for the 2nd time! Hubby and I had a small batch they were so delicious! We are having a small family gathering this weekend so I made a big batch for Saturday breakfast! We live cinnamon so I always add more but these are absolutely the best. Your instructions are clear which I love too.

  • I made tonight I had some issues with new yeast blooming. Shouldn’t sugar be added to yeast water to help this process? They didn’t seem to rise enough????

    • Hey there, new yeast should have no problem blooming without sugar. If your rolls didn't rise enough, multiple factors could contribute. It's possible the you happened to have a bad batch of yeast, or perhaps your kitchen temperature was too cold and it needed more time to rise.

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