Sourdough discard cinnamon bread completes a delicious breakfast and is also wonderful served to guests with a cup of coffee. With options for a quick or long-fermented loaf, you’ll enjoy tangy notes in each bite of this cinnamon-flavored sweet bread.
This is a bread that I love to start the day with. The delicious aroma of cinnamon, butter, and vanilla drifts from the kitchen and warms up the whole house. Everyone wakes up and gets started much more quickly with a slice of sourdough cinnamon bread in mind.
Serving this bread to my family easily allows for a long-fermented option since I can make the batter the night before and ferment it overnight.
Add a few ingredients, give it a quick stir, then pop it in the oven. The longer ferment increases the sour flavor and is a great way to boost the nutrition of an already delicious recipe.
On the other hand, this is a great recipe if you need a quick treat for a friend who’s popping in. There’s no rise time needed or floured surface to scrape clean – just minimal dishes you can stack in the sink while you visit. It’s quick and always a hit.
Our favorite way to eat this bread is to spread butter on top of a slice while it’s still a little bit warm. You can also toast a slice of it if you’ve let the bread cool. It’s wonderful either way!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Quick – Between mixing up the ingredients and bake time, this bread is ready in just over an hour. Let it cool for 20 minutes or so, drizzle with the glaze, and slice. It’s easily made the same morning, afternoon, or evening that you need it!
Easy – No stand mixer, kneading, rolling out, or even apron required. Just some mixing bowls and my favorite wooden spoon. Although, I would recommend a stand mixer if you are going to long ferment the dough.
Discard – This is a great way to use a lot of discard. I love the added flavor and that I’m not wasting any starter.
Delicious – A sweet, tender crumb with a cinnamon swirl center, it’s like sourdough cinnamon rolls in loaf form – does it get much better than that?
Tips
- If using the optional glaze, try adding it when the bread is still a touch warm. It soaks into the bread and is so tasty!
- Plan ahead for a longer fermentation if you want a tangier flavor to your bread. That is the best version, in my opinion.
- Mix until just combined, being careful not to overmix. We want to keep it tender and light!
- Lining the loaf pan with parchment paper helps remove the whole loaf to slice or give away.
- If your loaf has not finished baking but is browning too much on top, cover it with a sheet of aluminum foil or parchment paper for the remainder.
- For a richer treat, use my cream cheese frosting recipe on top.
- My kids actually preferred splitting the cinnamon sugar 50/50 rather than a 75/25. Either works. 75/25 gives that true swirl.
Ingredients
Flour – All-purpose flour, unbleached.
Salt – Sea salt.
Baking powder & baking soda – Leavening agents to give the dough rise.
Cinnamon – Warm, spicy flavor and a lovely fragrance.
Butter – Melted, slightly cooled.
Sugar – White, granulated sugar.
Eggs – Farm fresh or store-bought.
Sourdough discard – Discard is great, it does not need to be active sourdough starter. Active will also work.
Cinnamon Swirl
Brown sugar – A deep, rich molasses flavor that pairs perfectly with cinnamon.
Cinnamon – Mixed with brown sugar and swirled through the center of the loaf.
Glaze (Optional)
Powdered sugar – This keeps the texture of the glaze perfectly smooth.
Water – You could also use milk.
Vanilla extract – homemade or store-bought
How to Make Sourdough Discard Cinnamon Bread
Quick version
Go ahead and preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Melt the butter, then let it cool until warm, but not hot.
Prepare your loaf pan by brushing with butter or coconut oil, or line with parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk the melted butter, sugar, vanilla, eggs, and starter.
In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, salt, cinnamon, baking powder, and baking soda.
In a small bowl, mix the cinnamon and brown sugar for the middle swirl, then set to the side.
Gradually add the bowl of dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
Mix until it’s just combined. We don’t want to over-mix and cause our loaf to fall.
Add half of the dough into the loaf pan, then sprinkle 3/4 of the cinnamon sugar mixture over the top.
Add the remaining batter, followed by the rest of the cinnamon sugar.
Using a knife, make swirls through the batter to spread the cinnamon sugar throughout, then smooth over the top.
Bake at 350 for 60-70 minutes until golden brown. Check if it’s baked through by pricking it with a sharp knife or toothpick. If it comes out clean, the loaf is done.
Cool for 20 minutes or so.
For the optional glaze, whisk together the powdered sugar, water, and vanilla until smooth.
Drizzle over the loaf and enjoy!
Long-fermented version
Melt the butter and allow to cool.
In a large mixing bowl or a bowl of a stand mixer (a stand mixer can be helpful for mixing the next day, but not required), whisk the melted butter, flour, and sourdough starter. Cover with plastic wrap, a lid, or a tea towel, and allow to ferment on the counter for 8-24 hours. I think the longer the better.
The next day, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare your loaf pan by brushing with butter or coconut oil, or line with parchment paper.
Add sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, eggs, baking soda, baking powder, ad to the fermented dough.
Mix well enough to combine the ingredients without large lumps, then stop. We want to avoid over-mixing.
In a small bowl, mix the cinnamon and brown sugar for the middle swirl, then set to the side.
Add half of the dough into the loaf pan, then sprinkle 3/4 of the cinnamon sugar mixture over the top.
Add the remaining batter, followed by the rest of the cinnamon sugar on top of the dough.
Using a knife, make swirls through the batter to spread the cinnamon sugar throughout, then smooth over the top.
Bake at 350 for 60-70 minutes until golden. To be sure it’s done, prick with a sharp knife or toothpick – if it comes out clean, the loaf is baked through.
Cool for 20 minutes or so.
For the optional glaze, whisk together the powdered sugar, water, and vanilla until smooth.
Drizzle over the loaf and enjoy!
How to Store
Store in an airtight container or bag at room temperature for 3-4 days.
For longer storage, cool the loaf completely and then wrap in plastic wrap and place in a freezer bag. Freeze for several months.
FAQ
As far as flavor goes, discard and starter will add complexity and tanginess to a recipe. The difference is in the fermentation period.
Discard recipes are great for reducing waste and adding some flavor, but they typically include a leavening agent and a much quicker turnaround. But fermenting the dough with discard will provide the dough the same benefits as active starter.
On the counter, your discard will begin to show signs of neglect within a few days. You’ll want to use it up before then.
If refrigerated, discard can keep for many weeks, though it will need fed every week or so. Discard becomes more and more sour over time.
Cinnamon does inhibit yeast growth, but for a quick bread like this one, we use leavening agents for the rise. For a longer fermentation recipe, cinnamon is added just before baking.
Self-Paced Online Course
Simple Sourdough
What’s in this course?
- Make your own robust starter
- Bake your first loaves of sourdough bread
- Understand sourdough better
- Expand your sourdough bread repertoire
- Download my Complete Recipe Book
More delicious sourdough recipes from the farmhouse:
- Double Chocolate Sweet Rolls
- Brioche Donuts with Vanilla Custard Filling
- Sourdough Pastry Braid
- Sourdough Cinnamon Raisin Bread
- Peanut Butter Cookies
- Sourdough Banana Muffins
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love if you could come back and give it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone
Sourdough Cinnamon Swirl Quick Bread
Equipment
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Wet Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons butter melted
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup sourdough discard
Cinnamon Swirl
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
Glaze (optional)
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1/8 tsp vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Melt the butter, then let it cool until warm, but not hot.
- Prepare your loaf pan by brushing with butter or coconut oil, or line with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the melted butter, sugar, vanilla, eggs, and starter.
- In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, salt, cinnamon, baking powder, and baking soda.
- Gradually add the bowl of dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, then mix until it's just combined.
- In a small bowl create the cinnamon swirl by mixing the cinnamon and brown sugar, then set to the side.
- Add half of the dough into the loaf pan, then sprinkle 3/4 of the cinnamon sugar mixture over the top.
- Add the remaining batter, followed by the rest of the cinnamon sugar.
- Using a knife, make swirls through the batter to spread the cinnamon sugar throughout, then smooth over the top.
- Bake at 350 for 60-70 minutes until golden brown. Check if it’s baked through by pricking it with a sharp knife or toothpick. If it comes out clean, the loaf is done.
- Cool for 20 minutes or so.
- For the optional glaze, whisk together the powdered sugar, water, and vanilla until smooth.
- Drizzle over the loaf and enjoy!
Notes
- If using the optional glaze, try adding it when the bread is still a touch warm. It soaks into the bread and is so tasty!
- Plan ahead for a longer fermentation if you want a tangier flavor to your bread. That is the best version, in my opinion. Directions in the post.
- Mix until just combined, being careful not to overmix. We want to keep it tender and light!
- If your loaf has not finished baking but is browning too much on top, cover it with a sheet of aluminum foil or parchment paper for the remainder.
- My kids actually preferred splitting the cinnamon sugar 50/50 rather than a 75/25. Either works. 75/25 gives that true swirl.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
All my mixing bowls are metal. Are they ok for the starter blend or do I need to buy a glass bowl for that?
It’s totally fine. I use metal bowls all the time.
What kind of wheat do you use for this recipe? And your sandwich bread recipe? I have started grinding my own flour and not sure what to use
I usually use all-purpose flour. But if you are grinding your own wheat I would suggest soft white wheat for muffins and quick breads and hard white wheat for regular breads.
I just started the long ferment and I mixed the flour butter and starter (my starter is 100 percent hydration like normal) and it is a super thick dough! Like I could make it into a ball and pick it up. Is that right??
It is on the thicker side but it should be that thick.
Delicious, I make this on repeat now as my friends can’t seem to get enough. I never have enough actual discard to make this recipe, so thank you Lisa for providing your conversion chart for active starter, much appreciated!! The overnight ferment is the way to go for flavor, fantastic recipe, thanks for sharing 😀
When do I add the salt with the long ferment? It’s left out of the instructions.
Oops. You can add it with the baking soda and baking powder.
Curious as to what size loaf pon to use.
Here’s the exact loaf pans I use.
I got up early this morning and made this bread. I’ve been making sourdough bread since the 1980s a kind lady at church gave me some of her starter but I never made a quick bread like this with it this was really good and fast and my family really enjoyed it.
Baked this in a 9″ round pan and it was a perfect coffee cake! Thanks!
I made this for a family vacation. I made it and froze it about 3 weeks ahead. I transported it frozen in a cooler and left it on the counter overnight at the rental house. In the morning, my adult children devoured it with their coffee. It was really good!!! Next time I will make 2 loaves at a time since it was so good thawed.
I was wondering if one could make muffins instead of sourdough quick breads?
That should be fine!
This loaf was eaten in just a short amount of time! It’s really good! I did it the long fermented way. Gonna mix up some more today.
I see in the notes you mention being able to long ferment this but I don’t see anywhere in the recipe at what stage you would do this?
The long fermentation directions are in the post!
I think the long ferment directions are missing the salt.
Oops. Add it with the baking soda and baking powder.