This recipe brings a twist to my favorite childhood breakfast pick, offering a lower sugar, no additives alternative that makes the most of your sourdough discard. If you're a fan of that sweet, cinnamon flavor in the morning, prepare to fall in love with homemade sourdough cinnamon toast crunch cereal!
(For my fellow Europeans, this is the more delicious version of Cini minis! I believe General Mills Cereals has this cinnamon toast cereal flavor in America.)
Making these cinnamon crunch flakes is a smart way to use up leftover sourdough starter. It's also better than what you buy because it has less sugar and no added stuff, making it way healthier!
If sourdough + cinnamon is something you'd like to explore more of, also check out my sourdough cinnamon rolls, sourdough cinnamon sugar bread, and sourdough cinnamon raisin bagels!
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Ingredients
- All-purpose flour: The base of our cereal, it keeps everything together while making sure the squares are just the right amount of crunchy.
- Brown sugar: Gives the dough a touch of sweetness and a hint of caramel flavor.
- Ground cinnamon: Adds that warm, spicy flavor we all love.
- Salt: Just a pinch to enhance all the flavors in the cereal.
- Cold/frozen butter: This helps create the flakes crispy by introducing little pockets of flakiness. It's very important to use cond butter to get the right texture for this recipe!
- Sourdough starter - active or discard: Adds a unique tang and puts your leftover starter to good use, making the cereal more interesting.
- Vanilla extract: Rounds out the sweetness nicely.
- Melted butter: Used in the cinnamon sugar mix, it helps the coating stick to the cereal.
- White sugar: Combines with cinnamon for that classic cinnamon toast topping.
- Additional cold water: Used sparingly, it helps get the dough to the perfect consistency.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to Make Homemade Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal
STEP 1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (about 180 degrees C). Mix 50g white sugar and 2.5g ground cinnamon in a small bowl. Stir in 20g melted butter until combined. Set aside for now.
STEP 2. In a food processor, blend 110g flour, 25g brown sugar, 2.5g ground cinnamon, and 2g salt. Add 55g cold/frozen butter, pulsing until you have pea-sized crumbs. You can also use a pastry cutter to do this, but doing it with a food processor is quicker.
STEP 3. Mix in 60g sourdough starter or discard and 1.5g vanilla extract. If the dough isn't coming together, add cold water one tablespoon at a time until it does. You should end up with a very stiff dough that resembles a crumbly version of play dough.
(at this point you can wrap the dough in plastic wrap or foil and throw it in the fridge to finish up later (and get the benefits of long fermentation).
STEP 4. Roll out the dough between two layers of parchment paper using a rolling pin to about ⅛ inch thick. The thinner, the better, because that is what makes the cereal crispy and not cake like.
STEP 5. Transfer your dough, still in a parchment paper sandwich, to a baking sheet. Score the dough with a pizza cutter, pastry cutter, or a sharp knife, marking squares but not cutting all the way through. This will make it easy to break into pieces after baking.
STEP 6. Brush the scored dough with the cinnamon sugar mixture you made earlier. As you can see in the picture above, you do not have to spread it evenly. We all love an occasional extra crispy square!
STEP 7. Bake for 12-14 minutes at 350 degrees F (about 180 degrees C), until golden brown and crisp. The baking time will depend on the thickness of your squares, so if you manage to get them very thin, they'll probably be done in 12 minutes sharp.
STEP 8. Let the cereal cool, then break it into squares. They should separate easily, ready to be enjoyed right away with some milk or as a snack.
Hint: once your dough is ready, don't delay rolling and scoring it. If you wait too long, the butter will soften and melt, leading to a less crispy and flaky texture in your cereal.
Substitutions & Variations
- Flour options: If you're after a chewier bite, substitute some of the all-purpose flour with bread flour. This gives the cereal a bit more structure and texture.
- Sweeteners: Swap out white sugar for coconut sugar or even a drizzle of honey for a different kind of sweetness.
- Not a fan of vanilla extract? No problem, just skip it!
- Oil: Instead of butter, you can brush your scored dough with coconut oil mixed with sugar. This gives a slightly tropical twist (and saves you from running to the store in case you're low on butter!).
- Chocoholics: After baking, you can toss the warm squares in cocoa powder for a cinnamon-chocolatey version.
Tools You'll Need
- Food processor: Great for quickly combining your dough ingredients. While not essential (you can mix by hand), it does make the process faster and easier.
- Pizza cutter or a pastry cutter: Perfect for scoring the dough into neat squares. A sharp knife works too, but a pizza cutter speeds things up.
- Rolling pin: For rolling out your dough to the right thickness. No rolling pin? A wine bottle can be a handy substitute.
- Pastry Brush: Apply the cinnamon sugar mixture evenly. If you don't have one, a small spoon can spread the mix, but it's a bit messier.
- Baking Sheet: No need for anything fancy, any old cookie sheet will do.
💭Crucial Success Tips
- Butter temperature: Keep your butter cold. This helps create those flaky, crispy squares we love. If the butter melts before baking, your cereal might end up too dense.
- Cinnamon sugar coating: If the mixture you prepared becomes a bit stiff, throw it in the microwave or heat it up a bit before spreading on the dough. On the other hand, try not to heat it up too much to prevent it from melting the butter in the dough before you manage to get everything into the oven.
- Baking time: Watch the oven closely! Oven temperatures can vary, and so can baking times. Start checking around the 12-minute mark to prevent over-baking.
FAQ
Yes, absolutely! For a long-fermented version, mix your dough, wrap it, and let it sit in the fridge for up to 48 hours before you roll, score, and bake. This wait gives it a little more flavor and all the fermentation benefits.
No worries! If it's too sticky, just add a little more flour until it feels right. Too dry? Mix in a bit of water, one tablespoon at a time.
Once it's completely cooled, put your cereal in an airtight container. This keeps it crispy for your next breakfast. Just avoid moisture to keep that crunch!
More Sourdough Discard Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
📖 Recipe
Sourdough Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal
Jump to VideoEquipment
- 1 food processor or a dough scraper
- 1 kitchen scale or measuring cups and spoons
- 1 Plastic wrap if doign the long fermented version
- 1 Rolling Pin
- 1 Pizza Cutter pr pastry cutter or a sharp knife
- 2 parchment paper
Ingredients
For the Cereal Dough:
- 110 grams all purpose flour
- 60 grams sourdough starter active or discard
- 55 grams cold/frozen butter
- 25 grams brown sugar
- 2.5 grams ground cinnamon
- 2 grams salt
- 1.5 grams vanilla extract
For the Cinnamon Sugar Mixture:
- 50 grams white sugar
- 2.5 grams ground cinnamon
- 20 grams melted butter or coconut oil
Instructions
- STEP 1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (about 180 degrees C). Mix 50g white sugar and 2.5g ground cinnamon in a small bowl. Stir in 20g melted butter until combined. Set aside for now.
- STEP 2. In a food processor, blend 110g flour, 25g brown sugar, 2.5g ground cinnamon, and 2g salt. Add 55g cold/frozen butter, pulsing until you have pea-sized crumbs.
- STEP 3. Mix in 60g sourdough starter or discard and 1.5g vanilla extract. If the dough isn't coming together, add cold water one tablespoon at a time until it does.
- STEP 4. Roll out the dough between two layers of parchment paper using a rolling pin to about ⅛ inch thick. The thinner, the better, because that is what makes the cereal crispy and not cake like.
- STEP 5. Transfer your dough, still in a parchment paper sandwich, to a baking sheet. Score the dough with a pizza cutter, pastry cutter, or a sharp knife, marking squares but not cutting all the way through. This will make it easy to break into pieces after baking.
- STEP 6. Brush the scored dough with the cinnamon sugar mixture you made earlier.
- STEP 7. Bake for 12-14 minutes at 350 degrees F (about 180 degrees C), until golden brown and crisp.
- STEP 8. Let the cereal cool, then break it into squares. They should separate easily, ready to be enjoyed right away with some milk or as a snack.
Video
Notes
- once your dough is ready, don't delay rolling and scoring it. If you wait too long, the butter will soften and melt, leading to a less crispy and flaky texture in your cereal.
- keep your butter cold. This helps create those flaky, crispy squares we love. If the butter melts before baking, your cereal might end up too dense.
- if the mixture you prepared becomes a bit stiff, throw it in the microwave or heat it up a bit before spreading on the dough. On the other hand, try not to heat it up too much to prevent it from melting the butter in the dough before you manage to get everything into the oven.
- watch the oven closely! Oven temperatures can vary, and so can baking times. Start checking around the 12-minute mark to prevent over-baking.
Nutrition
How to Store Sourdough Cinnamon Crunch Cereal
- At room temperature: Store your Sourdough Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal in an airtight container. It'll stay crispy and tasty for up to a week.
- Refrigerate: Honestly, no need! Keeping it at room temperature is perfect. Refrigeration might make it chewy.
- Freeze: You could freeze the cereal in a single layer before transferring to a freezer bag, but for this type of cereal, freezing is not ideal. If you do end up doing it and have some tricks to share with us, let me know in the comments!
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Naomi says
Thanks for the wonderful recipe Tina! I tried this twice so far! First time pretty close to recipe and hubby thought it was perfect, but I thought it was too salty. I am not sure if it matters, but I made the dough and it Sat in the fridge about 24hr before baking. Tried a second time now and doubled the recipe and halved the salt, and to me the taste is perfect now but the texture was not quite there, but I didn't let it sit in the fridge this time either, also it was a lot more humid today so not sure if that was a variable. So far my young kids who tried the second batch love it! This is my first try of making cereal at home and I would love this to become a regular at our house 💖
Tina says
Hi Naomi!
Thank you so much for taking the time to comment, it really means a lot to me! And it warms my heart when I think about someone making the recipe for their family somewhere. It connects us in some way I think!
I'm glad you enjoyed the recipe and I'll make a note about salt - I didn't think it too salty, but you're not the first person to point it out, so it has to be something worth mentioning!