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.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Homemade sourdough sticky buns
• Recipe run through
• Starter care before making this recipe
• Tools I recommend
• Bake sourdough sticky buns with me
• For more buns and rolls recipes, check out:
• Bakers schedule

Homemade Sourdough Sticky Buns:

The Ultimate Holiday Treat

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 plan out your bake, I have included two bakers schedules at the end of this post. Make sure to check those out before you start.

Recipe run through

DAY 1:

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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 2:

7. 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.

8. 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:

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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.

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Starter Care: Prepare your sourdough starter for sourdough sticky buns

This recipe requires an active sourdough starter. If you usually store your sourdough starter in the fridge, I recommend taking it out 2-3 days before making this recipe. You want to feed your starter with equal parts flour and water at least every 12 hours during these days (or at whatever ratio that works best for your starter, this can vary.) Please make sure it at least doubles in size during the 12-hour rise.

Don’t have a sourdough starter yet? You are always welcome to join my newsletter for instant access to my free eBook: How To Make A Sourdough Starter! Sign up HERE.

• Digital Scale is essential for exact measurements.
• Stand mixer fitted with a dough hook to easily knead your dough.
• Brød & Taylor Proofer Box manages the temperature during proof.
• Rolling Pin to roll out the dough.
• Offset Spatula to spread out the filling.
• This dough fits perfectly in a 13×10-inch baking pan.

Bake sourdough sticky buns with me

More buns and rolls recipes

• SOURDOUGH CINNAMON ROLLS
• SOURDOUGH CARDAMOM BUNS
• NORWEGIAN SCHOOL BUNS
• CARDAMOM KNOTS WITH RASPBERRY AND PISTACHIO
• SOURDOUGH MILK BUNS

Sourdough Sticky Buns

Elise

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. 

4.4 from 23 votes

Print

Pin Recipe

Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Proofing Time 21 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Total Time 22 hours hrs 50 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Yield 12 buns

Calories 626 kcal

Equipment

• Digital scale
• Stand mixer
• Brød & Taylor Proofer Box
• Rolling Pin
• 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.

Notes

Nutritional analysis per serving (12 servings) Disclosure: The nutrition facts are automatically calculated. I can not guarantee the accuracy of the data. Please don’t consider it a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Nutrition

Serving: 1bunCalories: 626kcalCarbohydrates: 74gProtein: 9gFat: 34gSaturated Fat: 15gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 90mgSodium: 353mgPotassium: 183mgFiber: 3gSugar: 38gVitamin A: 206IUCalcium: 80mgIron: 3mg

Keywords Cinnamon rolls, Recipe, Sourdough, Sticky buns

Tried this recipe? Let me know!Mention @breadbyelise or use the tag #breadbyelise