Homemade Sourdough Sticky Buns
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The ultimate sourdough sticky buns with toasted pecans and an incredible brown sugar caramel glaze. Sourdough sticky buns are an elevation of the classic cinnamon roll. These ultra-flavorful, ooey-gooey, sticky little buns are worth all the effort.
Table of contents
Irresistible Sticky Buns with Toasted Pecans
Sticky buns are just like a cinnamon roll but drenched in caramel-pecan goodness! They are gooey, sweet, and cinnamon-y. The perfect treat any time, but especially during the holidays. One of these buns with a cup of coffee on a cold winter day definitely hits the spot. My favorite part about them is the toasted pecans that balance out the caramel sweetness just right.
As with all of my sourdough recipes, there is some waiting involved in making these. Even though they take a while to make, there is very little hands-on time. To help you plan your bake, I have included a bakers schedule at the end of this post.
Recipe run through
Day one
- Prepare the sweet levain – Start by gathering all your ingredients and add them to a bowl or starter jar. Use a rubber spatula and mix until just combined. Cover the bowl and let it rise for 4 hours at around 78F/26C until it has doubled/tripled in size.
- Mix up the main dough – Pop all the ingredients, except butter, into your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Knead until the dough comes together (1-2 minutes). Then cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
- Knead – Start your mixer and knead on medium speed for 10 minutes, until the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
- Add butter – You want your butter to be soft and at room temperature, but not melty. Cut it into cubes, and slowly, while the mixer is on, add one cube of butter at a time. When you have added all the butter, scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl and continue mixing at medium speed until the dough passes the window-pane test. This can take anywhere from 10-25 minutes, depending on your mixer.
- First proof – Transfer the dough to a clean, lightly oiled baking bowl and allow to proof for 2 hours, ideally at around 78°F/26°C. This dough typically won’t rise much during the first proof, especially compared to non-sourdough bakes. So what you’re looking for is more of an initial rest. As always, especially during the winter months, I use my Brød and Taylor proofer to manage the temperature.
- Overnight rest in the fridge – Place the dough in the fridge overnight. This second rest stiffens up the dough, which makes it a lot easier to handle during shaping. The overnight rest in the fridge also helps develop flavor and texture in the sticky buns.
Day TWO
- Prepare the cinnamon filling – Add butter, sugars, and cinnamon to a bowl and stir with a fork until smooth. The cinnamon filling is almost paste-like and a little on the stiff side; this is to help prevent butter leakage, which can often happen during the last proof.
- Prepare caramel glaze – Add butter, sugar, and maple syrup to a small pot and heat up over medium heat while constantly stirring. Once all the ingredients are fully melted and combined, remove from heat and salt to taste. I like to add two generous pinches of salt to help balance out the sweetness in the caramel. Add the caramel glaze to the bottom of a 13×10 baking pan and top with toasted, chopped pecans. Allow to cool while you move on with the shaping of the sticky buns:
- Shape – Take the dough out of the fridge and roll it into a 19x12in/50x30cm rectangle. Spread on the cinnamon filling and roll the dough up as tightly as you can, starting from the longest side of the rectangle. Cut half an inch or so off the edges of the roll. Use a sharp knife or floss to cut the dough into 1,5-inch/4 cm pieces. You should get 12 cinnamon rolls.
- Final proof – Arrange the rolls in the prepared baking tray (on top of the caramel and pecans.) Proof for 9-12 hours at 78°F/26°C, or until doubled in size. How long this last proof takes highly depends on your sourdough starter, temperature, and environment. Please don’t focus too much on the time, but more on how the dough looks and feels.
- Bake – Preheat your oven to 355°F/180°C and bake the sticky buns for 18-20 minutes, until lightly golden on top. Cool for 10 minutes. Invert the sticky buns onto a serving tray so that the caramel-pecan glaze is now on top of the buns.
Starter Care: Prepare your sourdough starter for sourdough sticky buns
For best results, make sure your sourdough starter is active before starting this recipe. If it’s in the fridge, take it out 2-3 days prior. During this time, feed it with equal parts flour and water every 12 hours until it doubles in size. This ensures your starter is lively and ready to add its unique flavor and rise to the sticky buns.
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Sourdough Sticky Buns
Sourdough Sticky Buns
The ultimate sourdough sticky buns with toasted pecans and an incredible brown sugar caramel glaze. Sourdough sticky buns are an elevation of the classic cinnamon roll. These ultra-flavorful, ooey-gooey, sticky little buns are worth all the effort.
Equipment
- Stand mixer
- Brød & Taylor Proofer Box
- 13×10 inch baking pan
Ingredients
Sweet Levain
- 45 g active sourdough starter
- 45 g whole milk cold from the fridge
- 45 g bread flour
- 10 g sugar
Main Dough
- 550 g bread flour
- 90 g sugar
- 10 g salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- 250 g whole milk cold from the fridge
- 100 g eggs two medium-sized eggs
- 145 g sweet levain
- 110 g unsalted butter softened
Cinnamon Filling
- 100 g unsalted butter softened
- 100 g white sugar
- 100 g dark brown sugar
- 15 g cinnamon 2 tbsp
Caramel Glaze
- 110 g unsalted butter
- 110 g dark brown sugar
- 50 g maple syrup or honey
- salt to taste
Toppings
- 175 g pecans
Instructions
Sweet levain
- Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine. Cover and rest in a warm spot for 4 hours.45 g active sourdough starter, 45 g whole milk, 45 g bread flour, 10 g sugar
Main Dough
- Start by gathering all your ingredients. Add them all, except the butter, to the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Mix on medium speed until the dough comes together. Cover, and autolyse/rest for 30 minutes.550 g bread flour, 90 g sugar, 10 g salt, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp nutmeg, 250 g whole milk, 100 g eggs, 145 g sweet levain
- Start your mixer again and knead on medium speed for about 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, you want to slowly add cubed, softened butter, one cube at a time.110 g unsalted butter
- When you have added all the butter, continue kneading at medium speed for 15-25 minutes until your dough passes the window-pane test.
- Place the dough in a clean bowl and proof in a warm spot, ideally at around 78°F/26°C, for two hours.
- After two hours, transfer the dough to the fridge to cold-proof for a minimum of six hours.
Cinnamon Filling
- Add softened butter, sugars, and cinnamon to a bowl. Mix with a fork until you have a spreadable paste. Leave at room temperature until you're ready to shape.100 g unsalted butter, 100 g white sugar, 100 g dark brown sugar, 15 g cinnamon
Caramel Glaze and Toppings
- Add all the ingredients except salt to a small pot. Bring the mixture to a simmer while stirring. Once all the ingredients are melted and combined, remove from heat and salt to taste.110 g unsalted butter, 110 g dark brown sugar, 50 g maple syrup or honey, salt to taste
- Lightly toast pecans in a dry pan over medium heat for a couple of minutes.175 g pecans
- Add caramel glaze and pecans (chopped if desired) to the bottom of a 13×10 baking pan. Cool for 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile, shape the buns:
Shape
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface.
- With a rolling pin, roll the dough into a 19x12in/50x30cm rectangle.
- Evenly spread out the cinnamon filling.
- Roll the dough up as tightly as you can, starting from the longest side of the rectangle. Cut half an inch or so off the edges of the roll. Use a sharp knife or floss to cut the dough into 1,5-inch/4 cm pieces. You should get 12 cinnamon rolls.
- Place the cinnamon rolls in the prepared 10×13-inch/25x34cm baking pan, on top of the caramel and pecans.
- Cover the pan with plastic wrap. Proof at around 78°F/26°C for about 9-12 hours, or until they've doubled in size. Please don't focus too much on the time, but more on how they look and feel.
Bake
- Preheat the oven to 355°F/180°C.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes until golden. Cool for 10 minutes. Invert the sticky buns onto a serving tray so that the caramel-pecan goodness are on top of the buns.
These sticky buns taste like they were delivered straight from heaven. THEY ARE SO GOOD. This was my first successful sourdough baking attempt. Thanks so much for posting such an easy to follow recipe. It was so worth the work! My dough hook had an accident so I kneaded these totally by hand and they were perfect.
Amazing cinnamon buns! Thank you very much for this recipe. The wait time is absolutely worth it. I did make a couple small tweaks- I added cardamon to the dough because I love cardamon. I cut my bund extra thick as my family loves their buns tall. Finally, just before baking I added a 1/2 c of warm cream over the buns. It keeps the bun super soft and the caramel gooey. I had to increase the bake time but that’s because the buns were tall and chunky. Highly recommend making these.
Hi Elise! This recipe is AMAZING!!! Thanks for sharing. The only small issued I had is I notice my rolls opened a bit after I bake them. Other than that, they were havenly
I am looking for a cinnamon raisin bread recipe. Do you have one, I’m sure it would be delicious
Thank you
By far the best cinnamon bun recipe… yes. I would say better than any regular bread. They melt in your mouth and are just the perfect sweetness. Thanks so much!
Great recipe Elise! I made a plant-based version of this (and slightly less sweet), and they came out perfect!
I’ll write the changes I made below if anybody would like to try (the instructions remain the same).
Sweet Levain
45 g active sourdough starter
45 g whole milk cold from the fridge -> sub cow milk with oat / soy / coconut milk (I used oat)
45 g bread flour
10 g sugar
Main Dough
550 g bread flour
90 g sugar
10 g salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
250 g whole milk cold from the fridge -> sub cow milk with oat / soy / coconut milk (I used oat)
100 g eggs two medium-sized eggs -> sub eggs with two flax eggs (2 tbsp ground flax seeds, 6 tbsp water, mix and let rest for 5 minutes)
145 g sweet levain
110 g unsalted butter softened -> 100 g coconut oil
Cinnamon Filling
100 g unsalted butter softened -> 90 coconut oil (MCT is even better)
100 g white sugar -> 100g coconut sugar
100 g dark brown sugar -> nothing
15 g cinnamon 2 tbsp
Caramel Glaze
110 g unsalted butter -> 60g coconut oil
110 g dark brown sugar -> 70g coconut sugar
50 g maple syrup or honey
salt to taste
Toppings
175 g pecans
Thanks for sharing!!