Sourdough Discard Cinnamon Bread
Warm, sweet, and perfectly spiced, this sourdough discard cinnamon bread is everything you love in an easy-to-make loaf. Brown butter brings incredible depth of flavor, while the quick bread method means you get all that deliciousness without any of the fuss.
You'll also love: sourdough discard banana bread and sourdough discard scones.
Craving The Recipe Details?
What it is: A soft, tender cinnamon swirl loaf made with sourdough discard and brown butter, layered with cinnamon sugar.
Why you'll love it: This is a sweet quick bread, not a long-fermented sourdough loaf. It’s the perfect way to use unfed starter without waiting hours for rise time.
How to make it: Brown butter, then combine dry ingredients with wet ingredients, layer the batter with cinnamon sugar in a loaf pan and bake.
I was staring down a couple of jars of sourdough discard in my fridge, you know the ones, tucked behind the half sour pickles and patiently waiting for their time to shine, when I had a thought: could I turn my classic Amish Friendship Bread into a sourdough discard recipe?
I've already transformed my discard into everything from sourdough discard pasta to sourdough discard brownies, to sourdough discard peanut butter cookies, so this felt like the next delicious challenge.
Spoiler: it turned out even better than I hoped.
This sourdough discard cinnamon bread recipe is dedicated to challenges.
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Key Ingredients
Cinnamon: This spice helps to give the bread its signature flavor. I prefer Saigon cinnamon to Ceylon cinnamon for this recipe. It's more affordable, easily accessible, and has a rich, spicy flavor that can stand up to the sourdough discard.
Brown Butter: There is something magical about cooking butter until the milk solids brown and take on a sweet, nutty fragrance and amber color. You're going to be making a bit more browned butter than required for the recipe because the rendering process can be a bit unpredictable based on your butter, but don't despair, you can use the leftovers on your toasted cinnamon raisin sourdough bread!
Sourdough Discard: Use room temperature discard in this recipe. I prefer to use a fresh sourdough discard – discarded within the last few days – in this recipe, too much sour in a sweet recipe can be off-putting!
Variations + Substitutions
- Don’t feel like browning the butter? Swap it for melted butter instead.
- Want to make this and don’t have enough discard? You can use active sourdough starter, just stir well to knock down the bubbles before measuring!
How To Make Sourdough Discard Cinnamon Bread
Brown The Butter:
- Step 1: In a medium-sized sauce pan, over medium-low heat, melt 1 1/2 cup unsalted butter and simmer stirring regularly, until it takes on an amber color, the milk solids have browned, and it smells nutty. The butter will foam up two distinct times, and it’s ready shortly after the second foam. It usually takes 5-10 minutes
- Step 2: Transfer the browned butter to a heat proof container and place in the fridge to cool for 10-15 minutes.
Note: You'll only be using 1 cup of the browned butter. Reserve the remainder for use in other recipes.
Make The Dough:
- Step 3: Preheat the oven to 350f and grease a 9×5″ loaf pan with butter, margarine, or nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk 2 cups all purpose flour, 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt. Set aside.
- Step 4: In a large bowl, combine 1 cup sourdough discard with 3 large eggs. Then add 1 cup melted brown butter and beat until completely combined. The mixture may be separated, but it will come together with continued stirring.
- Step 5: Add 1 cup sugar, and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract and stir until completely smooth.
Try making homemade vanilla extract!
- Step 6: Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined.
Assemble The Loaf:
- Step 7: In a small bowl, make cinnamon sugar topping by combining 1/8 cup of granulated sugar with 1 teaspoon cinnamon, set aside for now.
- Step 8: Spoon about half of the batter into the greased loaf pan , reserving the remaining batter.
- Step 9: Sprinkle half of the cinnamon-sugar mixture on top of the batter.
- Step 10: Spoon the remaining batter on top of the sugar mixture. Sprinkle again with remaining cinnamon sugar topping.
Bake:
- Step 11: Bake at 350f for 50-60 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.
- Step 12: Allow your sourdough cinnamon quick bread to cool in the loaf pan for 10 or so minutes before turning out onto a wire cooling rack.
Expert Tips
- Wait until the loaf is cooled before slicing. Slicing quick breads before they are completely cooled can lead to the texture becoming drier and crumbier.
- Whip up extra brown butter – trust me, that’s something you’ll never be sad about having quickly at hand! It keeps in the fridge for at least 4 weeks in an airtight container. You can use it in sourdough chocolate chip cookies, sourdough brownies, and sourdough cinnamon rolls.
- If you find the crust on your bread hard, store it in an airtight container overnight, the crust will soften right up!
- Make sure to use room temperature discard – during testing, I tried with discard straight from the fridge and it took too long to cook, making for an extra crispy crust.
Why This Recipe Works
Brown butter adds complexity. Cooking the butter until the milk solids caramelize creates a deep, nutty flavor that elevates this from a simple quick bread to something special. The toasted notes complement the cinnamon beautifully and add richness without heaviness.
Sourdough discard provides tang without sourness. Using fresh discard (within a few days) adds subtle complexity and helps tenderize the crumb through its mild acidity, but won’t overwhelm the sweet cinnamon flavor. The natural acids in the discard also react with the baking soda for extra lift.
Layered cinnamon sugar creates visual appeal. Dividing the batter and sprinkling cinnamon sugar between layers and on top creates distinct swirls throughout the loaf rather than just topping. This means every slice has ribbons of sweet cinnamon running through it.
Sourdough Cinnamon Quick Bread FAQs
If you're going to eat this sweet treat within a couple of days, you can store the quick bread at room temperature. Simply allow the loaf to cool completely before sliding it into resealable plastic bags or airtight containers for up to 3 days.
Absolutely!
Freezing a Whole Loaf:
To freeze, wrap the loaf tightly in plastic wrap, then again in aluminum foil to prevent freezer burn. Freeze for up to 3 months.(HA! As if it will last that long!)
When you're ready to enjoy it, let the loaf thaw at room temperature for a few hours, no need to unwrap it until it's fully defrosted.
Freezing Slices:
For easy, grab-and-go portions, slice the cooled loaf and lay the slices in a single layer on a parchment lined baking sheet. Freeze until solid, then transfer to a freezer-safe bag or container. This way, you can pull out just what you need. Toast or let thaw at room temperature and you're good to go!
This usually happens when the center of your loaf isn't fully baked, the batter was overmixed, or there was too much leavening. Opening the oven door too early can also cause the loaf to collapse as it cools.
For best results, bake until a toothpick comes out clean (or the center hits about 200°F), measure your leavening carefully, and avoid peeking too soon.
See What Else I’m Baking With Discard
If you tried this Cinnamon Swirl Sourdough Discard Bread recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Thanks for visiting!
📖 Printable Recipe
Sourdough Cinnamon Swirl Quick Bread
Ingredients
Browned Butter
- 1 ½ cup unsalted butter
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour, 260g
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder, 7g
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 3g
- ½ teaspoon baking soda, 3g
- ½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt, 3g
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup sourdough discard, 220g
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup brown butter, 220g
- 1 cup granulated sugar, 225g
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 8g
Cinnamon Topping
- ⅛ cup granulated sugar, 25g
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 3g
Instructions Start Cooking
Brown The Butter:
- In a medium-sized sauce pan, over medium-low heat, melt 1 ½ cup unsalted butter and simmer stirring regularly, until it takes on an amber color, the milk solids have browned, and it smells nutty. The butter will foam up two distinct times, and it's ready shortly after the second foam. It usually takes 5-10 minutes.
- Transfer the browned butter to a heat proof container and place in the fridge to cool for 10-15 minutes.Note: You'll only be using 1 cup of the brown butter. Reserve the remainder for use in other recipes.
Make The Batter:
- Preheat the oven to 350f and grease a 9×5″ loaf pan with butter, margarine, or nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk 2 cups all purpose flour, 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon baking soda, and ½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 cup sourdough discard with 3 large eggs. Then add 1 cup melted brown butter and beat until completely combined. The mixture may be separated, but it will come together with continued stirring.
- Add 1 cup sugar, and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract and stir until completely smooth.
- Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined.
- In a small bowl, make cinnamon sugar topping by combining ⅛ cup of granulated sugar with 1 teaspoon cinnamon.
Assemble The Loaf:
- Spoon about half of the batter into the greased loaf pan - reserving the remaining batter. Sprinkle half of the cinnamon-sugar mixture on top of the batter. Spoon the remaining batter on top of the sugar mixture. Sprinkle again with remaining cinnamon sugar topping.
Bake:
- Bake at 350f for 50-60 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.
- Allow your sourdough cinnamon quick bread to cool in the loaf pan for 10 or so minutes before turning out and cooling on a wire rack.
Notes
- Wait until the loaf is cooled before slicing. Slicing quick breads before they are completely cooled can lead to the texture becoming drier and crumbier.
- Whip up extra brown butter - trust me, that's something you'll never be sad about having quickly at hand! It keeps in the fridge for at least 4 weeks in an airtight container. You can use it in sourdough chocolate chip cookies, sourdough brownies, and sourdough cinnamon rolls.
- If you find the crust on your bread hard, store it in an airtight container overnight, the crust will soften right up!
- Make sure to use room temperature discard - during testing, I tried with discard straight from the fridge and it took too long to cook, making for an extra crispy crust.
WOW! GREAT!
I LOVE this easy cinnamon bread! It’s a delicious and easy way to use up excess sourdough discard. The cinnamon swirl inside is probably my favorite part!