Soft, pillowy sourdough discard cinnamon rolls with a gooey brown sugar filling and a generous pour of buttercream glaze. Made with the sourdough discard already in your fridge. Simple enough for a slow Saturday morning. Special enough for Christmas.
New to sourdough? Start Here! How To Feed Sourdough Starter Beginners Guide Easy Sourdough Bread Recipe for Beginners (Artisan Loaf)
In our house, cinnamon rolls mean something. They show up on Christmas morning, on birthdays, and on a random just because Saturday. When breakfast needs to be special cinnamon rolls are going to be on the table. Sourdough discard adds just enough tang and complexity that people take a bite and ask what you did differently.
The answer is: not that much. The discard has been in your fridge all week. The dough comes together in ten minutes and I have a genius trick to rolling my rolls up fast! The rest is just waiting. Active dry yeast keeps the rise reliable and same-day.
If you love this recipe, also try my Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls for a longer overnight ferment, or my Sourdough Discard Sticky Buns for when you want the full pecan-and-caramel sticky sauce situation. And of course there is the real OG – Better than Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls! (I’ve been making that one more than 25 years!)
Why These Sourdough Discard Cinnamon Rolls Work
- Same-day and reliable. Active dry yeast does the rising. Your discard contributes flavor without adding any timing stress or unpredictability.
- That subtle tang. It doesn’t make these sour. It makes them interesting — a complexity in the background that balances the sweetness of the filling.
- Generous buttercream glaze. Not a drizzle. A real pour of buttercream glaze that soaks into warm rolls and keeps them moist the next day too. Think thinned down buttercream frosting slathering the rolls…
- The strip shaping method. Easier than rolling a log, cleaner cuts, beautiful swirls every time. More on this below.
- Overnight option built in. Shape the rolls the night before and bake fresh in the morning. Christmas breakfast sorted.
Timing at a Glance
- Make the dough: 10 minutes
- First rise: 60–90 minutes (up to 2 hours in a cold kitchen)
- Make the filling: 5 minutes
- Shape and cut: 20 minutes (here is where they can go in the fridge overnight if you want)
- Second rise: 30 minutes
- Bake: 20–25 minutes
- Cool before frosting: 25–30 minutes
Classic Saturday schedule: Mix dough at 9am → first rise done by 10:30am → shaped and in the pan by 11am → on the table by noon. Cinnamon rolls for lunch is a completely valid life choice.
The Three Rules for Perfect Sourdough Discard Cinnamon Rolls
There are three things worth understanding before you start. None of them are complicated, but each one affects the outcome.
1. Use all-purpose flour. Enriched doughs — doughs loaded with butter and sugar — don’t need high-protein flour. They need flour that works with all that fat rather than against it. Bread flour’s higher protein content builds a tight gluten web that gives you a chewier roll that cools down bready. All-purpose keeps things tender and pillowy. This is non-negotiable for the texture you want.
2. This is a yeasted discard recipe. That means the active dry yeast handles the rise while the sourdough discard contributes flavor. You don’t need to feed your starter first. Pull the discard straight from the fridge, let it come to room temperature, and use it. That’s it.
3. Soft butter in the filling, not melted. Soft butter and brown sugar stir together into a thick paste that stays right where you spread it. Melted butter is liquid — it runs when you roll the dough, the layers slip, and instead of getting filling in every bite you get filling pooled at the bottom. Soft butter makes the roll. Don’t let it melt.
Tools That Make This Easier
- Stand mixer — Ten minutes of hands-off kneading. A dough hook and a little time is all you need. (Choosing a mixer? See my Bosch vs. KitchenAid comparison.)
- Dough mat — A lightly sprayed silicone mat with measurement guides makes rolling that 12”×18” rectangle easy and cleanup painless.
- Offset spatula — Spreads the filling evenly to the edges without tearing the dough.
- Pizza cutter — Essential for the strip method. The rolling blade glides through dough with zero downward pressure.
- Unflavored dental floss — Great backup if you don’t have a pizza cutter. See the notes in the recipe card for how to use it.
- 9”×13” metal baking pan — Metal conducts heat evenly and gives you a consistent bake across all twelve rolls. Glass pans run hotter and slower and don’t give the same result.
How to Make Sourdough Discard Cinnamon Rolls
The Dough
The dough comes together fast. Add your discard, warm water, yeast, melted butter, brown sugar, and salt to the stand mixer and combine. Add flour, knead on medium for five minutes until the dough is smooth and satiny — it should feel like soft play-dough. That texture tells you the gluten is developed and you’re on your way to pillowy rolls. (Making this by hand? See the note in the recipe card.)
Cover and let rise in a warm spot until doubled, about 60–90 minutes. I use the proofing setting on my oven at 90–95°F — it’s reliably warm and speeds things up predictably.
The Filling
While the dough rises, stir together the very soft butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon into a thick paste. Have it ready to go when the dough is done.
Shaping: The Strip Method
Roll the dough into a 12”×18” rectangle and spread the filling evenly with an offset spatula, leaving a ½” gap along one long edge. Then use a pizza cutter to slice the dough into twelve strips. Roll each strip up individually into a round roll and place them in your greased pan in a 3×4 pattern.
No log wrestling. No squished layers. Each roll is uniform, the filling stays put, and the whole process takes about twenty minutes.
The Second Rise and Baking
Cover the pan and let the rolls rise for about 30 minutes until noticeably puffy and just starting to grow into each other. After 20 minutes, go ahead and preheat the oven — the rolls will finish their rise while it heats up.
Bake at 350°F for 20–25 minutes until golden. To check doneness, gently lift the center layers of a roll in the middle of the pan with a fork — no raw dough should be visible. If it’s still gooey, add five minutes.
Let the rolls cool 25–30 minutes before frosting. Frost them too early and the buttercream will separate slightly — still delicious, just less pretty.
Serving and Storage
Serve warm with coffee, milk, or nothing at all. Leftovers keep covered at room temperature for up to 3 days. Reheat individual rolls in the microwave for about 30 seconds — the glaze softens right back up.
Overnight option: After shaping and placing the rolls in the pan, cover and refrigerate overnight. Pull them out 30–60 minutes before baking to take the chill off. Bake as directed. This is how I handle Christmas morning — everything is ready the night before and the oven does the work while the kids open stockings.
Tips for Success
- Discard at room temperature rises more reliably. If yours is straight from the fridge, let it sit out 30 minutes or use slightly warmer water.
- Trust the dough, not the clock. First rise is done when the dough has doubled and looks puffy — a warm kitchen moves faster, a cool one slower.
- Metal pan, always.
More Sourdough Discard Recipes You’ll Love
- Sourdough Discard Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Sourdough Discard Brownies
- Sourdough Discard Blueberry Muffins
- Sourdough Discard Waffles
Sourdough Discard Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
The Dough
- 500 g sourdough discard unfed — about 2 cups (room temperature; see note)
- 56 g warm water about 110°F — about ¼ cup
- 1 Tablespoon active dry yeast
- 4 Tablespoons salted butter melted
- ½ cup light brown sugar packed
- 1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
- 365 g all-purpose flour about 3 cups; see note on measuring
The Cinnamon Filling
- ½ cup salted butter very soft but not melted
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1½ Tablespoons ground cinnamon
The Buttercream Glaze
- ½ cup salted butter room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 Tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Mix the Dough
- Add the discard, warm water, yeast, melted butter, brown sugar, and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Mix on low until combined.
- Add the flour and mix in on low. Increase to medium and knead for about 5 minutes until the dough is smooth, soft, and satiny — like play-dough. (Making this by hand? See the note below.)
- Form the dough into a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm place until doubled, about 60–90 minutes. (Proofing setting in your oven at 90–95°F works great.)
Make the Filling
- In a medium bowl, stir together the very soft butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon until combined into a thick paste. Set aside.
Shape the Cinnamon Rolls
- Lightly spray your counter or dough mat with nonstick cooking spray.
- Roll the dough out into a 12”×18” rectangle.
- Use an offset spatula to spread the filling evenly across the dough, leaving a ½” gap along one of the 18” edges.
- Use a pizza cutter to slice the dough into 12 even strips (each about 1½” wide), cutting parallel to the short edge.
- Roll each strip up individually into a round roll, sealing the bare edge against the dough.
- Place the rolls into a greased 9”×13” pan in a 3×4 pattern, spacing them evenly.
- Cover the pan with plastic wrap and set in a warm place to rise for 30 minutes. After 20 minutes, preheat the oven — the rolls will finish their rise while the oven heats. After a good second rise the rolls should look noticeably puffy and have grown into each other slightly.
Bake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Remove the plastic wrap from the rolls.
- Bake for 20–25 minutes until the tops are golden brown and the dough is cooked through. To check doneness, use a fork to gently lift the center layers of a roll in the middle of the pan — no raw dough should be visible. If it looks gooey, bake 5 more minutes.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for 25–30 minutes before frosting. The rolls are still warm enough to be delicious but cool enough that the glaze won’t separate. If you frost them earlier the glaze will still taste great but may separate and look a little oily — totally great, just less pretty.
Make the Buttercream Glaze and Frost
- Beat the butter until smooth. Add powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy. If the glaze is too thick, add milk one teaspoon at a time.
- Spread generously over the warm rolls. Serve immediately.
Helpful Recipe Notes
Your Rating Matters
When you leave a comment or star rating, it means more than you might think. It helps me understand what you’re enjoying, builds trust for other readers, and supports real, tested cooking content. If you have a moment, I’d truly appreciate you sharing your experience. – Mirlandra
Nutrition Estimate
A Note on Nutrition
Nutritional info is an imperfect estimate. Please take it with a grain of salt.
New to sourdough? Start Here! How To Feed Sourdough Starter Beginners Guide Easy Sourdough Bread Recipe for Beginners (Artisan Loaf)
Leave a Reply