Sourdough Morning Buns

imagine the flakiest croissant you’ve ever eaten, but rolled in sugar and brightened with fresh orange zest. These are sticky, sweet, and shatteringly crisp on the outside, with soft, buttery layers hiding inside. I’ve been making these for years, mostly around the holidays, as a special weekend treat 

Think of a morning bun as the sophisticated cousin of a cinnamon roll. Instead of a soft, bready dough, we use a laminated dough (similar to a croissant) loaded with butter. But here’s where they get really special: rather than a heavy glaze, they get tossed in a sparkling coating of cinnamon-orange sugar. The heat from the oven caramelizes the sugar on the bottom of the pan, creating a sticky, toffee-like crunch that contrasts perfectly with the tender, airy interior.

What You’ll Need

Must-Have Equipment

Ingredients

For the Dough

• ¾ cup (150 grams) sourdough starter: Must be active and bubbly.
• ½ cup (120 grams) warm water
• ¾ cup (200 grams) warm milk
• ⅓ cup (75 grams) granulated sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (120 grams) bread flour
• 3 – 3 ½ cups (360-420 grams) all-purpose flour 
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons avocado or vegetable oil

For the Butter Block

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Cinnamon Orange Filling

• ⅔ cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• Zest of 1 orange:
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons softened butter

For the Pan & Coating

• 2-3 tablespoons melted butter (for brushing the pan)
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• Zest of 1 orange

Instructions

Day 1: Mixing the Foundation

Today is easy. We are just getting the dough mixed and letting the sourdough do its heavy lifting overnight.

1. Mix the liquids and starter Start with your active sourdough starter, warm water, warm milk, and sugar in your mixer bowl. Give it a quick whisk just to break up the starter so it distributes evenly later.

2. Incorporate the flour and fats Switch to your dough hook. Add the bread flour, salt, and about a cup of the all-purpose flour. Once that’s incorporated, add your soft butter and avocado oil.

Now, slowly add the rest of the all-purpose flour a little at a time. You are looking for a dough that comes together and cleans the sides of the bowl, but still sticks a little bit to the very bottom.

If the dough seems too wet, add a tablespoon of flour at a time. If it seems too stiff, add a teaspoon of water. You want soft and tacky, not sticky and sloppy.

3. The Knead Let your mixer run on medium speed for 6-8 minutes. This is crucial for building the structure that will hold all those buttery layers later.

You know it’s done when the dough looks smooth, shiny, and passes the “windowpane test” (you can stretch a small piece thin enough to see light through it without it tearing).

4. The Long Rest Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover it, and find a cozy spot on your counter.

Let it bulk ferment for 8-12 hours. It should double in size and look bubbly and alive by morning.

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Day 2: Lamination (The Layers!)

This is where the magic happens. “Lamination” is just a fancy word for folding butter into dough to create hundreds of flaky layers.

1. Prep the Butter Block You need your butter to be malleable. Think the consistency of playdough. It should bend without snapping, but it shouldn’t be oily or melting.

Mix your softened butter with a little flour and salt (this helps absorb excess water), then shape it into a 13×18 inch rectangle between two sheets of parchment paper. Chill it until it’s firm but still flexible.

If your butter is too hard, it will shatter inside the dough. If it’s too soft, it will squish out and merge with the dough. The goal is for the butter and the dough to be roughly the same consistency.

2. Enclose the Butter Roll your chilled dough out into a large rectangle (about 18×26 inches). Place your butter block on the bottom half and fold the top half of the dough over it, like closing a book.

Pinch the edges tightly to seal the butter inside.

3. The Folds (Letter Folds) Now we create layers. Roll the dough out gently. Then, fold it like a business letter: fold the bottom third up, and the top third down over it. That’s one fold! Wrap it up and chill for 30 minutes to let the gluten relax and the butter firm up.

Repeat this rolling and folding process two more times, chilling for 30 minutes between each fold.

If at any point the dough fights back and shrinks when you try to roll it, or if the butter starts to feel too soft, stop immediately. Put it back in the fridge for 20 minutes. Don’t rush it, or you’ll lose your layers.

After your final fold, chill it for at least an hour before shaping.

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Day 2: Shaping and Baking

1. Make the Filling Rub the orange zest into the sugar with your fingertips. This releases the citrus oils and makes the sugar incredibly fragrant. Mix in the cinnamon and salt.

2. Roll and Fill Roll your beautiful, laminated dough into a large rectangle. I like to cut the dough in half here and work with one piece at a time so it stays cold. Spread softened butter over the entire surface.

Be generous, this is the “glue” for the sugar! Sprinkle that amazing orange-cinnamon sugar evenly over the butter.

3. Cut and Curl Use a pizza cutter (my favorite tool for this!) or a sharp knife to cut strips. I do 12 strips for standard muffins, or 6 wider strips for jumbo ones. Roll each strip up loosely to form a spiral and place them cut-side up in your buttered muffin tin.

Don’t roll them too tightly. They need room to expand outwards. If they are too tight, the centers will pop up like little volcanoes while baking.

4. The Final Rise (Proofing) Let them rise in a warm spot for 2-4 hours.

They won’t necessarily double again, but they should look puffy, airy, and jiggle slightly when you bump the pan.

5. Bake and Flip! Bake at 375°F until deep golden brown on top.

Important!  Let them cool in the pan for only 5 minutes. The sugar and butter that dripped to the bottom has turned into caramel. If you let it cool completely, it will harden like cement and stick your buns to the pan forever. Use a butter knife to gently pop them out while they are still warm.

6. The Sugar Toss While the buns are still warm, brush them lightly with melted butter and toss them in your cinnamon-orange sugar coating.

Serve immediately, if you can!

Storage Instructions

You worked hard on these, so don’t let them go to waste.

• Room temperature: Store in an airtight container for up to 2 days. (You can refrigerate for up to 4 days, but the cold air can dry out the layers).
• Freezing (baked): Freeze fully cooled buns on a baking sheet until solid, then transfer to a freezer bag for up to 3 months.
• Freezing (unbaked): Freeze immediately after shaping (skip the proof!). When ready to eat, thaw overnight in the fridge, let them proof on the counter until puffy, and bake.
• To reheat: Place buns in a 350°F oven for 6-8 minutes. Avoid the microwave! It turns the crispy layers into a soft mess!

Variations

Here are a few lovely ways to tweak the flavors without changing the method. The dough stays exactly the same; we just play with the filling and sugar coating.

• Brown sugar & pecan: Use brown sugar instead of white sugar in the filling for a deeper, molasses-like flavor. You can also sprinkle finely chopped toasted pecans inside the swirl before rolling it up for a little crunch.
• Cardamom & vanilla: For a Scandinavian twist, swap the cinnamon in the filling for ground cardamom. Add the seeds of a vanilla bean (or vanilla bean paste) to the final sugar coating for a warm, floral flavor.
• Lemon & ginger: Swap the orange zest for lemon zest and add 1 teaspoon of ground ginger to the filling. It’s brighter, zestier, and perfect for spring.

Troubleshooting

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