Sourdough Maple Pecan Sticky Buns

A popular holiday treat, these Sourdough Sticky Buns are made with a soft brioche dough and topped with a gooey maple pecan caramel topping.

If you’ve never had sticky buns, they’re essentially upside-down cinnamon rolls with a caramel nut topping. Instead of honey or corn syrup, I love using maple syrup for more toffee flavor that complements the toasted pecans.

The sourdough sticky buns are decadent, but there’s orange zest added to the dough for a hint of brightness and the toasted nuts and flaky salt on top give them a slightly savory bite.

This detailed recipe walks through every step of the process and gives lots of tips and photos so you can get the best results possible.

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👍 Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• I use maple syrup for the caramel topping instead of honey or corn syrup for more toffee caramel flavor.
• So many excellent textures from the gooey caramel topping, pull-apart brioche dough, and crunchy pecans.
• The soft sourdough brioche dough is easy to make ahead of time before rolling out, including overnight.
• Can let the shaped buns rise overnight in the refrigerator to bake in the morning.
• Store well and stay soft for days so you reheat for Christmas breakfast or Easter brunch.
• The toasted pecans and flaky salt on top add crunch and a slightly savory balance to the sweet buns.

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🛠 Tools Needed

See below for my tool recommendations for making these sourdough sticky buns, including various substitutes.

• Baking Scale
  • Measuring your ingredients by weight instead of volume is essential so you get a more consistent and accurate bake.
• Stand Mixer with dough hook attachment (highly recommended)
  • If you have a stand mixer, it’ll really help bring this brioche dough better. It’s a relatively sticky dough at first and the stand mixer will do a lot of the hard work for you to build the gluten development.
  • If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can knead the dough by hand.
• 9×13 Baking Pan
  • The recipe makes 12 sticky buns for a crowd. However, you can use another pan or baking dish with a similar area, such as a 12-inch round cast-iron skillet, or by using a couple of 8 or 9-inch round cake pans.
  • To cut the dough in half, use one 8×8 square pan or one 9-inch round pan.
  • The USA pan linked above is made of aluminized steel and is non-stick!
• Rolling Pin
• Pastry Wheel, optional but helpful for slicing
  • Can use a sharp knife instead.
• Pastry Brush
• Optional: Brød and Taylor Folding Bread Proofer
  • This folding proofing box by Brød & Taylor is a game changer to keep your sourdough starter and doughs at the perfect temperature while proofing.
  • The proofer folds up easily, includes a humidity tray, is multifunctional, and can even be a slow cooker.

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🛒 Ingredients Needed

See below for more information, variations, and possible substitutes.

Brioche Dough

• All-purpose Flour
  • I use King Arthur all-purpose flour, which gives these buns a chewy texture and helps them rise tall.
  • If you want to make the buns even heartier, substitute a cup with about 120g with whole wheat flour.
• Salt
• Sourdough Starter
  • Use active sourdough starter and not sourdough discard for this bread.
  • Don’t have a sourdough starter? Learn How to Make a Sourdough Starter and make a stronger sourdough starter with my top sourdough starter tips and why I maintain a small sourdough starter.
• Orange zest (optional)
  • While optional, orange zest adds some brightness to the dough (I do the same for my Sourdough Conchas (Mexican Pan Dulce). You can substitute with lemon zest or leave it out completely.
• Unsalted butter
  • If you use warm scalded milk as I do, then you can slice your cold butter into smaller pieces and gradually add it to the dough.
• Eggs
  • The eggs provide moisture, structure, and richness.
• Whole milk
  • I always bake with whole milk and full-fat dairy for richness and the best flavor, but you can substitute the whole milk with 2%, low-fat milk, or plant-based if needed (use unsweetened).
  • Scald the milk beforehand to denature the proteins, leading to a softer bread.
• Granulated sugar
  • Sugar is normal in enriched doughs, which helps add a bit more sweetness, aids fermentation, and adds a bit more moisture.
  • You can substitute the sugar with ⅔ the amount of honey, maple syrup, agave, or another natural liquid sweetener. It’s a small amount, but you may need to reduce the milk slightly so your dough isn’t too sticky.

Cinnamon Sugar Filling

• Unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• Cinnamon
  • Can substitute with caradmom, chai spices, or other warming spices.
• Dark brown sugar
  • You can use light brown sugar if you need to, but dark brown sugar has more molasses, leading to a richer flavor.

Maple Pecan Caramel Topping

• Maple syrup
  • Use real maple syrup (not corn syrup flavored with maple).
  • If you don’t have, use honey.
• Pecans, toasted
  • The pecans are typical nuts for holiday baking, including sticky buns. However, you can use walnuts instead.
  • Toast the nuts beforehand to bring out the best flavor. I do this for this for the pecans in my hearty Einkorn Salad with Radicchio & Oranges and it make the salad so much better!
• Dark brown sugar
• Unsalted butter
• Vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt
• Flaky salt, for topping (optional)
  • The rolls are quite decadent, so a little flaky salt goes a long way to help add some balance!

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⏰ Sample Baking Schedule

This is just one baking schedule for making the sticky buns for breakfast or brunch. However, the steps are flexible, depending on your own schedule needs, environment (like temperature), and starter strength.

For example, you can extend the proofing time in the refrigerator by a couple of days or make the levain the night before.

Plus, the buns store extremely well, so you can certainly make them ahead of time and reheat them before serving.

If making for a holiday like Thanksgiving, Easter, or Christmas, I’d personally plan to make them ahead of time like in the schedule below so you can just reheat them slightly!

Steps	Time
1. Make the Levain	9:00am
2. Mix the Dough	1:00-1:30pm
3. Bulk Fermentation	1:30-7:30pm (about 5-6 hours at 78ºF, but can vary depending on temperature)
4. Overnight Proof	7:30pm-next day (or up to 48 hours in fridge)
5. Make topping, filling, and shape	7:00am
6. Final Proof	7:30am-9:30am (about 2 hours at 78ºF, but can vary depending on temperature and how long your first fermentation went)
7. Bake	9:30am-10:00am

To make ahead of time so you can wake up and bake for breakfast earlier, fill and shape the buns late in the evening and do the final proof in a cool location overnight or proof in the refrigerator if your house is warm.

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🍁 How to Make Sourdough Maple Pecan Sticky Buns

Follow this visual step-by-step guide to help make these delicious Sourdough Sticky Buns.

1. Make the Levain

Mix 50 grams of sourdough starter, 50 grams of bread flour, and 50 grams of room-temperature water in a clean jar.

Cover and set it in a warm location (between 75-80ºF) for about 4-5 hours until it’s bubbly and ripe. The levain should double in size during this time.

2. Mix the Brioche Dough

Scald the whole milk in a small saucepan. This will denature the proteins and lead to a softer dough. It’s an extra step that I do for my Sourdough English Muffins and Sourdough Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls, and it makes a big difference (I’ve tested it!). Set aside to cool to slightly warm.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, add the dry ingredients- the granulated sugar, all-purpose flour, orange zest and salt. Rub the orange zest with your fingers into the dry ingredients so it incorporates well and is fragrant.

Then, turn your mixer on medium speed and begin mixing in the eggs and levain. While mixing, slowly pour in your warm milk until you have a shaggy dough.

Continue mixing on medium speed for a couple of minutes and add small slices of cold butter to the dough at a time while mixing. Wait until the butter is fully incorporated until you add the next piece.

As long as your milk was warm (not hot), the cold butter will warm up during mixing. However, if your milk was cold, you will want to use softened butter.

Mix the sticky bun brioche dough for 10-15 minutes or until the dough smooths out, is tacky, slaps the sides of the bowl, and passes the windowpane test. To test, pull a piece of dough between your fingers. If you can stretch it into a thin membrane, like a windowpane, without it tearing, then it’s mixed enough. Otherwise, keep mixing for a few more minutes.

3. Bulk Fermentation

Transfer the dough to a mixing bowl and cover for bulk fermentation, which will take about 6 hours at 78ºF.

If your dough and environment are colder, bulk fermentation will take longer. Conversely, in warmer conditions, the dough will ferment faster.

Bulk fermentation is complete when this dough has doubled in size, is smoother, and domes in your bowl.

4. Overnight Proof

Transfer the dough to the refrigerator for a cold, overnight proof and up to 48 hours.

The dough will continue to ferment slowly in the refrigerator, which helps develop flavor and allows you to bake on your own schedule.

5. Make the Maple Pecan Topping

If you haven’t done so yet, toast the pecans in a skillet over medium-low heat (It’s important to toast nuts before baking so they have the best nutty flavor like in my Sourdough Pumpkin Pecan Pancakes). Toss occasionally to prevent burning and remove from the heat when they smell toasty. Chop and set aside.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, add the maple syrup, vanilla extract, unsalted butter, salt, and dark brown sugar. Stir as it melts and bring to a boil for 30 seconds.

Immediately pour the hot caramel into your 9×13 inch baking dish. Tilt the pan as needed so the caramel covers the entire bottom and sprinkle the chopped pecans all over.

Set aside to cool as you shape the sticky buns.

6. Fill and Slice

Make the Cinnamon Sugar Filling

Melt the butter and set it aside to cool slightly while you make the filling.

Use your hands to mix the ½ cup brown sugar and ground cinnamon in a bowl together and break apart most of the clumps. That’s it!

Set aside the filling while you roll out the dough.

How to Shape Sourdough Sticky Buns

There are many ways to shape sticky buns, including rolling up the entire log and slicing them with a knife or dental floss (as I do for my Sourdough Cinnamon Roll recipe. But I do a slightly different method for these to show you a little different technique that I think is quite easy and helps you get even, pretty buns!

Punch down your cold dough and roll it out into a rectangular slab 12×18″ on a lightly floured surface with a rolling pin. Try to keep the corners neat and trim them with a pastry wheel if needed.

Brush the melted butter over the surface and then sprinkle the cinnamon sugar filling evenly over the slab of dough, leaving a slight border on the edges.

On the long end, make marks about 1 ½ inches apart with a pastry wheel to divide the dough into 12 even slices.

Now, use the pastry wheel to slice 12 long strips and then roll the sticky buns up into neat buns. Easy!

Alternatively, roll up the dough into a log after filling and use a sharp serrated knife (like a bread knife) or dental floss to cut the slices.

7. Final Proof

Place the 12 sticky buns in four rows of three on top of the maple caramel and chopped pecans.

Tent with aluminum foil or plastic wrap for the final proof. At 78ºF, the final proof typically takes about 2-3 hours, but it depends on your environment and how much the dough is proofed during the first bulk ferment.

To bake fresh in the morning, proof them in a cool location or keep them in the refrigerator overnight.

At the end of the final proof, the dough should rise about 50% in the pan (not doubled or they can overproof), be poofy, touch each other, and feel full of air if you poke one with a floured finger.

8. Bake and Flip

Preheat the oven to 350ºF (177ºC).

Bake the rolls for 30 minutes until the filling just starts to bubble and the tops turn lightly golden brown.

If checking the internal temperature with an instant-read thermometer, it should read about 190-200ºF (88-93ºC).

Cool for five minutes on a wire rack. Do not let them cool too long or the caramel will harden and they won’t release well (unless you heat the pan again).

Now, here comes the fun part! Like making my Sourdough Apple Cider Upside-Down Cake, quickly flip the buns so the ooey gooey maple pecan topping is on top.

To do so, wear heat-proof gloves and place a large platter (or a wire rack with a sheet pan) on top of your buns. Then, quickly flip them over. Tap the bottom of the pan to help release the buns and lift the pan off.

Scrape any stuck caramel topping off the pan, sprinkle with optional flaky salt, and enjoy warm!

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How to Store, Make Ahead, & Serve

These sourdough sticky buns store well and you can easily make them ahead of time. The caramel topping will harden over time, so they’re best served warm so the topping is gooey (hence the sticky name!).

The rolls keep well in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days, but will lose some moisture over time. Reheat them slightly before serving so you get a gooey topping. I heat for about 10-15 seconds in a microwave and they’re perfect!

To make ahead, you can freeze the unproofed sliced rolls in the baking pan in plastic wrap. Thaw at least overnight in the refrigerator and let them proof at room temperature.

Finally, while a little messier, you can freeze baked sticky buns in a freezer-safe bag. Thaw them in the refrigerator overnight and reheat the rolls in a 300ºF (149ºC) toaster oven, toaster, or oven until warmed through.

These are a beautiful dessert for holiday dinners or as a festive breakfast treat, including Thanksgiving, Easter brunch, or Christmas. They’re excellent served with coffee or tea!

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❓FAQs:

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