Sourdough Pecan Rolls

Ingredients You’ll Need to Make These Sourdough Pecan Rolls

• Bread Flour: I used the Bob’s Red Mill brand of bread flour for this recipe, but any bread flour that contains around 12-13% protein will work great for this recipe.
• Whole Milk: Milk brings a richness and silkiness to this enriched sourdough bun dough.
• Sourdough Starter: You’ll need a 100% hydration sourdough starter for this recipe (one that is fed equal parts water and flour by weight).
• Butter, softened: Softened butter will be used in this recipe for the dough, the filling, and the topping.
• Brown Sugar: Brown sugar will also be used three different times in this recipe: in the dough, in the filling, and in the topping. Pick your favorite brown sugar!
• Salt: I used Kosher salt in this recipe. You can use any sea salt, plain table salt, or kosher salt and it will work just fine.
• Egg: You’ll need one medium egg to make the dough for this recipe. A medium egg usually weighs around 50-60 grams.
• Maple Syrup: I recommend using pure maple syrup for this recipe. It will bring a rich, flavorful stickiness to the maple caramel glaze topping without using any corn syrup, which is a common ingredient used in some sticky bun recipes.
• Vanilla Extract: You’ll need two teaspoons of vanilla extract for the maple caramel glaze.
• Ground Cinnamon: One teaspoon of ground cinnamon will bring warmth and depth of flavor to the sticky bun filling.
• Pecans: You can use pecan halves or chopped pecans for this recipe. Use whatever you prefer.

Note: See recipe card below for full ingredient amounts and quantities.

How to Make Sourdough Pecan Rolls (Sourdough Sticky Buns)

Step-by-Step Instructions

Feeding the Sourdough Starter

Take 25 grams of sourdough starter out of the fridge and feed it 100 grams of water and 100 grams of bread flour. Stir to a pancake batter-like consistency and cover the starter loosely with a lid. Let the starter rise overnight, for roughly 6-8 hours, or until it doubles in size.

Mixing the Dough

To a mixing bowl add the whole milk, melted butter, brown sugar, egg, salt, and risen sourdough starter. Stir the liquid ingredients together until everything is dissolved. Then, add the bread flour and mix everything together to form a sticky dough.

Kneading

Turn the dough out onto an un-floured kitchen counter. Knead the dough by hand for 8-10 minutes until it becomes smooth and elastic.

The First Rise (Bulk Fermentation)

Transfer the kneaded dough to a glass bowl that has been greased with a little bit of butter. Cover the bowl with an air-tight lid or a sheet of plastic wrap and let the dough rise at room temperature for 6-8 hours, or until it is roughly doubled in size.

Making the Cinnamon Sugar Paste (Filling)

When the dough is almost doubled in size, start preparing the cinnamon sugar filling. Mix an entire stick of softened butter (113 grams) with 113 grams of brown sugar. Then add 1 tsp of ground cinnamon. Cream the butter and sugar mixture together with a form or a whisk until it forms a light and spreadable paste.

Making the Maple Caramel Glaze (Topping)

Set a sauté pan on medium heat. To the pan, add the butter and let it melt down. Then, add the brown sugar and maple syrup and continue cooking and stirring with a wooden spoon until the sauce comes together. Turn off the heat and add the vanilla extract and salt. Stir to combine. Immediately pour the warm glaze into the bottom of a 9×13″ baking pan. Then, add the full amount of pecans to the bottom of the pan and spread them around with a spatula or arrange them in neat rows (whichever method you prefer).

Dividing and Shaping the Rolls

Once the dough has doubled in size, place the risen dough onto your un-floured kitchen counter. Press the dough down into a rectangle, pressing out most of the air. Then, use a rolling pin to roll out the dough into a rectangle that measures roughly 12×18 inches. Place dollops of the cinnamon sugar paste on top of the dough and spread it over the top of the dough in a thin layer. Roll the dough into a tight cylinder just like you would do for my sourdough cinnamon roll recipe and then pinch the seam to seal it. Slice the long cylinder of dough into 12 individual rolls with a serrated bread knife, then arrange the rolls evenly in your 9×13″ baking pan directly on top of the pecans.

The Second Rise (Final Proof)

Cover the baking pan with a lid or a sheet of plastic wrap and then let the sourdough pecan rolls rise at room temperature for 2-3 hours, or until they double in size. Once the rolls have roughly doubled in size, they are ready to bake.

Overnight Rest (Optional)

After the rolls have doubled in size, you can move them to the fridge to proof in the cold environment overnight. This is an optional step that allows you to bake the rolls whenever you want to the next day – perfect if you want to bake the rolls in the morning.

Baking

30 minutes before you want to bake your sourdough pecan rolls, preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C). Once the oven is preheated, slide the baking pan of pecan rolls into the middle rack of the oven and bake for 35 minutes. After 35 minutes, the rolls should be golden brown and the maple caramel glaze will be bubbling.

Remove the baking pan from the oven and let the rolls rest for 5-30 minutes on the counter. Then, place a sturdy cutting board on top of the 9×13″ baking pan and carefully flip the baking pan over, inverting the rolls. The rolls should release easily from the pan; the pecans will now be on top of the rolls and the maple caramel glaze will slowly seep down the rolls making them sugary, sticky, and delicious.

When served warm, the rolls will be moist and dripping with caramel syrup. When served cool, the rolls will be more sweet and gooey (similar to a packaged sticky bun, but much better!)

If you’ve got someone in your life that says they don’t like sourdough, make them these sourdough pecan rolls – the rolls are so sweet and luxurious, they’ll have no idea they’re eating something made with sourdough starter.