Soufflé Buns

Another winner recipe of soufflé buns with sweet stiff sourdough starter was discovered and adopted from @autumn.kitchen.

My husband said it’s the best sweet buns he ever had.

The secret is to cover the rolls with foil at the beginning of the baking process, so they remain super light.

From this recipe you will have 9 buns (55g each). Go ahead and double the ingredients, for more buns if needed.

Ingredients

Sweet Stiff Sourdough Starter 

• 8 g sourdough starter
• 30g water
• 60 g bread flour
• 5g sugar

Dough

• 200 g bread flour (100%)
• 60 g sweet stiff starter 
• 55g milk
• 50g heavy cream
• 1 large egg
• 40g soft cream cheese 
• 15g soft unsalted butter 
• 40g sugar
• 4g salt 
• 0.5 g dry yeast (optional, to reduce sourness)

Directions 

Day 1

Starter

• 10 pm dissolve sugar in the water, add starter and whisk together, add flour, mix well, form a ball, place in jar, cover let ferment at room temp 74-78F until it increases in volume in 2 or more times.
• Stiff sweet starter will have lower hydration than regular liquid starter and will help us to lower the acidity of final product (learn how to make sourdough starter from scratch here).

Day 2

Dough

• 8 am in a bowl of stand mixer add milk, heavy cream, an egg, sugar, stiff sourdough starter (60 g) , yeast( if using) and the flour, mix all together let autolyse for 30 min.
• During the autolyse period the flour becomes fully hydrated. This activates gluten development.

• 8.30 am mix dough on low speed of your mixing machine for 2-3 minutes, or KitchenAid on speed 3 for 3-4 minutes until well incorporated.
• Add salt mix for a couple more minutes. The dough should form a ball.
• Add soft cream cheese and soft butter, increase the speed of mixer, mix for 10 more minutes until the dough is well incorporated and comes up together. You will be able to perform windowpane test.
• Cover the dough and let it proof for 3-4 hours at 76-80F/ 24-28C.

• During that time perform 2 stretches and folds.
• The dough should become slightly puffy.

• 1.30 pm transfer the dough to the fridge for cold fermentation for about 6-9 hours.
• 10 pm Remove the dough from the fridge.
• Divide on 9 equal pieces (about 55g each)
• Pinch all edges to the bottom of a roll, try to round it tightly.
• Transfer the shaped rolls into the square baking pan.
• Cover rolls and let them proof overnight for 8 -10 hours 70-74F /20-23C until they double in volume.

Day 3

• 7 am Preheat the oven to 335F.
• Sprinkle some flour on top of the buns or egg wash them.
• Place baking an with buns on the middle rack of your oven
• Bake for 8 minutes, then Place the tray on the top rack of your oven, to block the heat from the top. And also cover buns with foil to prevent browning.
• Let buns to bake for 15-17 more minutes (total baking time 23-25 min).

Enjoy your soufflé buns!

Soufflé Buns

182kcal

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Prep 30 minutes mins

Cook 25 minutes mins

Rise & Rest Time 21 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Total 22 hours hrs 25 minutes mins

Adopted from the brilliant Autumn Kitchen, these Soufflé Buns are the ultimate plush, pillow-soft treat. The secret behind their incredibly light, cloud-like texture lies in combining a sweet, stiff sourdough starter with a touch of cream cheese, paired with a specialized baking technique that keeps the tops completely pale and soft.

Servings 9 Buns

Cuisine Asian / Japanese-style (Hokkaido Milk Bread inspired)

Ingredients

1x2x3x

The Sweet Stiff Sourdough Starter (Night Before)

• ▢ 8 g Sourdough starter culture
• ▢ 30 g Water
• ▢ 60 g Bread flour
• ▢ 5 g Sugar

The Enriched Cream Cheese Dough

• ▢ 200 g Bread flour (100%)
• ▢ 60 g Active sweet stiff starter (30% – From the stage above)
• ▢ 55 g Milk (27.5%)
• ▢ 50 g Heavy cream (25%)
• ▢ 1 Large egg (approx. 50g / 25%)
• ▢ 40 g Soft cream cheese (20% – Softened completely to room temperature)
• ▢ 15 g Soft unsalted butter (7.5%)
• ▢ 40 g Sugar (20%)
• ▢ 4 g Fine sea salt (2%)
• ▢ 0.5 g Dry instant yeast (Optional helper pinch to fully neutralize any natural sour notes)

Equipment

• ▢
  Stand Mixer (Fitted with a dough hook attachment)
• ▢
  Square Baking Pan (An 8×8 or 9×9 inch cake pan works perfectly)
• ▢
  Aluminum Foil (Crucial for blocking top heat during baking)
• ▢
  Plastic Wrap or clean kitchen towel
• ▢
  Kitchen Scale

Method

Prevent Sleep ModePrevent Sleep Mode

Day 1 – Stiff Sweet Starter Setup

1. 10:00 PM: Fully dissolve the 5g of sugar into the 30g of water inside a small glass jar. Whisk in your 8g of starter culture, then add the 60g of bread flour.
2. Knead the mixture briefly inside the jar into a firm, tight dough ball. Cover loosely and let it ferment at room temperature 74–78°F (23–26°C) overnight for 8 to 10 hours until it at least doubles in volume and looks porous and airy.

Day 2 – The Enriched Mix, Multi-Stage Proof, and Cold Retard

1. 8:00 AM – The Hydration Autolyse: In your stand mixer bowl, combine the 55g of milk, 50g of heavy cream, 1 large egg, 40g of sugar, 60g of your active sweet stiff starter, and the optional 0.5g of dry yeast. Pour all 200g of bread flour over the liquids, mix until no dry flour spots remain, cover, and let autolyse undisturbed for 30 minutes.
2. 8:30 AM: Attach your dough hook attachment. Mix the dough on low speed for 2 to 3 minutes (or on a KitchenAid mixer on speed 3 for 3 to 4 minutes) until a unified mass forms. Add the 4g of salt and continue mixing for 2 more minutes until the dough gathers cleanly into a firm ball.
3. The Fat Incorporation: Add the 40g of soft cream cheese and 15g of soft butter. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and knead continuously for 10 minutes until the fats are completely incorporated, the bowl sides are spotless, and the dough passes a flawless windowpane test.
4. Cover the bowl and let bulk ferment for 3 to 4 hours at a warm 76–80°F (24–28°C). Perform 2 separate rounds of structural stretch-and-folds during the first 2 hours of the rise until the dough looks light and slightly puffy.
5. 1:30 PM: Transfer the covered dough container directly into the refrigerator for a cold fermentation retard lasting 6 to 9 hours to chill the dairy fats.
6. 10:00 PM – Shaping the Buns: Remove the cold dough from the fridge. Using a bench scraper and a kitchen scale, divide the dough cleanly into 9 equal pieces weighing roughly 55g each.
7. Take a dough piece, pinch all the outer edges tightly down into the bottom center, and roll it firmly against your counter under a cupped hand to create a smooth, tight skin. Repeat for all 9 pieces.
8. Arrange the 9 shaped buns side-by-side in rows inside a lightly greased square baking pan. Cover loosely and let them proof on your counter overnight for 8 to 10 hours at a stable 70–74°F (20–23°C) until they completely double in volume and fill the pan snugly.

Day 3 – Pale Staged Soft Bake

1. 7:00 AM: Preheat your oven to a gentle 335°F (168°C). Dust the tops of your puffed buns lightly with a fine coating of flour (or brush cleanly with an egg wash).
2. Place the baking pan onto the middle rack of your oven and bake uncovered for exactly 8 minutes.
3. The Soufflé Shielding Hack: Quickly transfer the pan up onto the absolute top rack of your oven to shield the buns from direct top heat. Cover the top of the pan loosely with a sheet of aluminum foil to block browning, and bake for an additional 15 to 17 minutes (total baking time: 23–25 minutes). Take them out and enjoy them while they are completely hot, light, and pillow-soft!

Nutrition

Calories182kcalCarbohydrates27gProtein5gFat6gSaturated Fat3gPolyunsaturated Fat1gMonounsaturated Fat2gTrans Fat0.1gCholesterol33mgSodium198mgPotassium57mgFiber1gSugar6gVitamin A220IUVitamin C0.03mgCalcium23mgIron0.4mg

Notes

• The Secret to Keeping Them Completely Pale: Traditional sweet rolls rely on intense top heat to develop a deep, caramelized golden crust. To give these buns their unique, delicate, soufflé-style appearance and texture, moving the pan to the top rack and tenting it with foil halfway through the bake is completely mandatory. This shields the expanding starches from intense browning, leaving the outer skin remarkably soft, thin, and pull-apart tender.
• Why the Cream Cheese is a Game-Changer: Adding 40g of soft cream cheese directly into the dough matrix does wonders for the final texture. The lactic fats and proteins in cream cheese integrate deeply with the wheat structure, mimicking the texture of a traditional Japanese tangzhong starter. This process locks in moisture, giving the buns a signature melt-in-your-mouth bite that won’t dry out.
• Why Low Hydration Starters Turn Down the Sourness: Building your overnight starter at a low hydration level (using double the amount of flour to water) combined with a touch of sugar creates a true sweet stiff starter. This environment encourages your yeast cells to multiply rapidly while suppressing the bacteria that produce sharp, tangy acetic acids. This ensures your Soufflé Buns maintain a beautifully clean, sweet, and milky flavor profile.
• Expect a Tiny Bit of Post-Bake Shrinkage: Because these buns are incredibly light and airy—very much like a true dessert soufflé—it is completely normal for them to wrinkle or shrink slightly as they cool down on your counter. This minor deflation is simply a sign that the delicate interior matrix is exceptionally soft and filled with tiny, feather-light air pockets.

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