Cinnamon Swirl Sourdough Quick Bread
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.When I think of a beautiful Christmas bread, this is the bread I think of. Layers of thick cinnamon sugar swirled throughout a tasty and tender quick bread. Add in some sourdough discard and you have the perfect holiday treat. Cinnamon Swirl Sourdough Quick Bread could be made and enjoyed any time of year, but I especially love it around the holidays. It’s the perfect quick loaf to gift or enjoy with family and friends.
Important Ingredients in Cinnamon Swirl Sourdough Quick Bread
- Sugar: This loaf uses white granulated sugar in the quick bread but layers brown sugar and cinnamon throughout the loaf for a richer flavor.
- Sourdough Discard: In order to avoid a stronger sourdough flavor, use sourdough discard that is fresh or no more than a day or two old. I always use 100% hydration sourdough discard. If your discard is very runny, you may need a little extra flour in this recipe.
- Sour Cream: Sour cream gives this quick bread a rich flavor and a moist, tender crumb.
- All-Purpose Flour: This cinnamon sugar loaf is perfect with all-purpose flour. Use flour with an 11.5% protein content, not bread flour.
- Baking Soda: Baking soda is the leavening agent in this quick bread. It gives the bread its rise.
- Ground Cinnamon: Ground cinnamon is mixed with the brown sugar and layered in between the quick bread mixture. It makes ribbons of delicious cinnamon sugar all throughout this bread.
How to Make Cinnamon Swirl Sourdough Quick Bread
Mix the Batter
Dry Ingredients: Whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.
Wet Ingredients: Mix together the wet ingredients in a separate smaller bowl. Whisk granulated sugar, egg, sourdough discard, milk, vegetable oil, sour cream and vanilla extract. Make sure to whisk until the wet ingredients are completely combined. You don’t want to see any chunks of sourdough discard. It should be completely combined.
Cinnamon Swirl Mixture: To a third small bowl, mix together the cinnamon and brown sugar. Set aside.
Layer the Cinnamon Swirl Batter
Before assembling this bread, make sure you line a 1lb loaf pan with parchment paper. This keeps the cinnamon sugar mixture from sticking and makes it easy for the loaf to come out of the pan. Cinnamon swirl sourdough quick bread is fairly easy to assemble if you think about it in thirds. Layer the batter and cinnamon sugar mixture in order like this:
- 1/3 batter spread on the bottom of the loaf pan
- 1/3 cinnamon sugar mixture sprinkled on top of the batter
- 1/3 batter on top of the cinnamon sugar mixture
- 1/3 cinnamon sugar mixture sprinkled on top of the batter
- 1/3 batter on top again
- 1/3 cinnamon sugar mixture sprinkled on the top of the loaf
This layering creates a delicious ribbon effect for the sourdough cinnamon sugar quick bread. It’s one of my favorite parts!
Bake Cinnamon Swirl Sourdough Quick Bread
After assembling the loaf, stick it in a pre-heated 350 degree F oven. This quick bread will take longer to bake because it is fairly dense in the middle. I bake this bread for about 65-75 minutes. Halfway through baking, check on the loaf and place a piece of aluminum foil over the top of the bread if you notice it browning too quickly. Use a knife or skewer to test the center of the bread to see if it is finished baking. If the knife or skewer comes out clean with no crumbs sticking to it, it is done baking. If not, bake it a little bit longer until baked all the way through. If you use a larger loaf pan, it may bake a little faster.
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Frequently Asked Questions
I slice and store in an airtight container or ziplock bag. You can also freeze the sliced bread or freeze whole loaves if desired. Use an airtight bag or container and enjoy within 2-3 months.
Yes! This would make great mini loaves. I haven’t tried this specific recipe but I would guess it would make about 3 mini loaves. The bake time would probably be 30-40 minutes depending on how much batter you put in each mini tin.
If you pull this loaf out too early from the oven, it may sink a little in the middle. Make sure your loaf is baked all the way through before removing from the oven.
Use a younger and more fresh discard. If your discard has been in the refrigerator longer than a week, it is often fairly acidic and sour tasting. I prefer using discard that is a day or two old in sweet recipes.
Cinnamon Swirl Sourdough Quick Bread
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 200 grams all-purpose flour about 1 1/2 cups
- 6 grams baking soda about 1 teaspoon
- 4 grams salt about 1 teaspoon
Wet Ingredients
- 175 grams granulated sugar about 3/4 cup
- 1 large egg
- 120 grams sourdough discard about 1/2 cup
- 100 grams milk about 1/3 cup, whole milk preferred
- 75 grams vegetable oil about 1/3 cup
- 90 grams sour cream about 1/3 cup
- 6 grams vanilla extract about 1 teaspoon
Cinnamon Sugar Filling
- 175 grams brown sugar about 3/4 cup
- 6 grams ground cinnamon about 1 Tablespoon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a 1 lb baking pan by lining it with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Dry Ingredients: To a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- Wet Ingredients: To a small bowl, mix together the wet ingredients: granulated sugar, egg, sourdough discard, milk, vegetable oil, sour cream and vanilla extract. Whisk until completely combined.
- Cinnamon Sugar Mixture: To a third small bowl, mix together the cinnamon and brown sugar filling and set aside.
- Add the wet ingredients on top of the dry ingredients. Mix together until it forms a batter and is just combined. Layer the batter and cinnamon sugar mixture together in the prepared baking pan as follows:1. Spread 1/3 of the batter into the baking pan. Sprinkle 1/3 cinnamon sugar mixture on top.2. Spread 2nd 1/3 of the batter on top of the cinnamon sugar mixture. Sprinkle again with 1/3 of the cinnamon sugar mixture.3. Spread last 1/3 of the batter on top of the cinnamon sugar mixture. Sprinkle the remaining cinnamon sugar mixture on top of the quick bread.
- Place loaf in preheated 350 degree F oven and bake for 65-75 minutes. Halfway through baking, check if the top of the loaf is browning too quickly. If it is, cover it with aluminum foil to keep the top from getting too dark. Use a sharp knife or skewer to check the middle of the loaf after about 60 minutes. If it comes out clean with no crumbs, the loaf is ready to pull out of the oven. If it comes back with batter, the loaf needs to continue baking.
- Once the loaf is completely baked through, pull it out of the oven and let rest about 5 minutes before using the parchment paper to gently lift the loaf and place on a cooling rack. Allow loaf to cool completely before slicing. Enjoy!
Definitely a favorite! 😍
Delicious- everyone loved it
Is there a substitute for the sour cream? I’m out of it 😕
I’m would use Greek yogurt or some type of yogurt to substitute if you have it.
A delicious cake-y loaf with a lovely cinnamon flavour! I didn’t do very well at evenly splitting the batter into 3rds so it was a bit messy 🤣
My kids loved it regardless and we will definitely make it again.
Thanks for sharing!
I made this with 1-2 week old discard and it still tasted great! I used a 4-cavity mini loaf pan and divided the batter evenly. It baked for 35-40 minutes. I topped with a sweet glaze 🙂 Absolutely delicious!