Sourdough Sticky Buns Step by Step

Light and fluffy sourdough sticky buns with a cinnamon filling, sticky caramel, and pecan coating. These use a simple sourdough sweet dough as the base.

What are sticky buns?

Well, essentially these are a sourdough cinnamon roll recipe but instead of cream cheese frosting baked over top of sticky honey caramel and nuts. When they’re baked, they’re tipped upside down so the caramel underside becomes the top. There’s no need to glaze them as that’s what the caramel is for.

The sourdough bun is made from an enriched dough, with eggs and butter. It gives it a great tender texture and full flavor. It’s a bit similar to my sourdough brioche dough, but with less butter and eggs.

Stiff active sourdough starter

For an enriched dough like this, I use a stiff starter.

Stiffer starters are slower to rise than those with higher hydration. Low hydration sourdough starter undertakes a slow but steady growth, with less risk of peaking too early. Unlike my normal sourdough starter feeding which is at 100% hydration starter (so equal parts water to flour), this one is fed less water than flour. It means you make a bit of a starter dough ball instead of the runnier mixture that comes with a high hydration sourdough starter.

I use a 1:2:1 ratio. 1 part starter, 2 parts flour, and 1 part water. This mixes together into a slightly sticky dough ball and is left to rise overnight to be used the next morning.

Learn how to make and maintain your own sourdough starter.

Baker’s schedule

The evening before – The stiff starter is mixed. Brush the starter with some water, so the top doesn’t dry out too much overnight. Cover with a loose lid.

Day 1 – The next day, mix the dough ingredients. There is a room temperature dough rise where the dough must bulk out by 50% before it’s transferred to the fridge for a few hours to stiffen up.

In the evening the caramel is made, and the dough is rolled and cut into scrolls. The sourdough rolls are left to have a second rise overnight at room temperature and baked in the morning.

Day 2 – The buns are baked.

Alternatively, the dough can be refrigerated overnight on day 1. Then the caramel and shaping can be done on day 2. The sourdough sticky buns will take around 5-7 hours to double in a warm spot.

The method

The night Before

Mix together 30g starter with 60g flour and 30g water. Knead it for a minute or two into a stiff dough ball.

Place this into a lightly oiled jar. Brush the top of the ball dough with a little water (so it doesn’t dry out too much overnight). Cover with a lid and leave it to rise for 8-12 hours.

The following day

The following day, in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment, add all the dough ingredients except for the butter. Mix it together, either with the mixer or by hand into a dough ball. Knead it for around 5 minutes to begin developing the gluten. Now add in a few chunks of slightly softened butter, a few at a time, and keep mixing to incorporate each piece.

Use the stand mixer on medium speed to knead the dough for 15-20 minutes until strong and the dough pulls away cleanly from the sides of the bowl.

Alternatively, knead by hand. Tip the dough ball onto a clean work surface and slap and fold it for approximately 10 minutes. Slap it down on the bench, and fold it over. Repeat, working quickly. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes and come back to it and keep kneading until glossy and strong. Use a bench scraper to gather up any dough pieces that spread too far.

The windowpane test

Once you think the dough has been kneaded enough, leave it to sit and relax for 5 minutes. Then, grab a piece of dough and see if you can carefully stretch it out so thin that you can almost see through it.

This is called the windowpane test and it shows you whether or not the gluten strands in the flour have strengthened enough.

Bulk fermentation

Once kneaded, place the sticky bun dough in a lightly greased bowl and cover it with a lid or a damp tea towel. Leave it to sit in a warm place, ideally at around 25C/76F, and let the dough bulk out by at least 50-60%. The rise time will change depending on your room temperature.

I pop mine in the oven alongside a mug of boiled water to keep it humid. Don’t rush this rise, it’s an important one. Once this room temperature ferment is completed, place the covered dough bowl in the refrigerator for a minimum of 4 hours to firm up.

The evening

Once the dough has chilled, remove it from the refrigerator and let it sit for about 15 minutes at room temperature while you make the caramel.

Over medium heat, melt together the butter, sugar, honey, and salt and stir until the butter has melted and the sugar dissolved. Whisk it together, then pour it into a 23cm by 33cm (9 x 13 inch) baking tray or dish. Roughly chop up pecans and sprinkle them over the caramel.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll the dough with a rolling pin into a 30cm by 45cm large rectangle (12 by 18 inches). In a bowl, mix together the cinnamon and brown sugar for the filling.

Brush the dough with melted butter and spread over the cinnamon sugar. Roll the dough up from the long edge into a log.

Slice the dough log into 12 equal slices. Using unflavoured dental floss, thread, or fishing line works really well to cut even slices.

Space the buns evenly over the caramel in the baking dish. Cover the dish with a damp tea towel or plastic wrap and let the buns rise overnight to double.

The following morning

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F), Prepare a sheet of parchment paper on a large chopping board or tray.

Bake the buns for around 30-35 minutes until puffed up and golden brown. Once baked, remove the buns from the oven and carefully invert the pan onto the parchment paper to remove the buns.

The caramel will be very runny when they’re straight out of the oven. Let the buns cool for a bit, then use a spoon or knife to scrape the caramel and pecans that are oozing out the sides and drizzle it back over the buns. As they cool right down, the caramel will thicken and become sticky.

Storing

Any leftover buns can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Leftover buns can be gently rewarmed in the microwave.

Want more sourdough recipes? Try these!

• Sourdough banana bread
• Fougasse with sourdough starter
• Sourdough chocolarte chip hot cross buns
• Sourdough dinner rolls
• Garlic knots with sourdough

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