Sweet Milk Sourdough Rolls
These sweet milk sourdough rolls deserve your attention.
Made with sweet stiff starter, they are soft as silk, pleasantly sweet, and stay fresh for 3+ days.
If you follow the proofing schedule that I recommend, you’ll have freshly baked rolls for breakfast 😊
| Ready in: 24 hours | Serves: 6-8 people |
| Yield: 12 x 47g Rolls | Units: US, EU |
Ingredients
Sweet Stiff Sourdough Starter
- 8 g sourdough starter
- 30 g water
- 60 g bread flour
- 5g sugar
Dough
- 250 g bread flour (100%)
- 75 g milk
- 50 g condensed milk
- 75 g sweet stiff starter
- 1 large egg
- 20 g sugar
- 50 g soft butter
- 5 g salt (2%)
- 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 sit at room temp 74-78F until it increases in volume in 2 or more times.
- Stiff sweet starter will have lower hydration then 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, condensed milk, an egg, sugar, stiff sourdough starter (75 g) to the flour and let autolyse for 1 hour.
- During the autolyse period the flour becomes fully hydrated. This activates gluten development.
- 9 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 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 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 pm transfer the dough to the fridge for cold fermentation for 6-9 hours.
- 10 pm Remove the dough from the fridge.
- Divide on 12 equal pieces (about 47-50g 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 375F.
- Sprinkle some flour on top of rolls or egg wash them.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown.
Enjoy your sweet milk sourdough rolls 🙌
Sweet Milk Sourdough Rolls
1857kcal
Ingredients
Sweet Stiff Sourdough Starter (Night Before)
- 8 g Sourdough starter culture
- 30 g Water
- 60 g Bread flour
- 5 g Granulated sugar
The Enriched Sweet Milk Dough
- 250 g Bread flour (100%)
- 75 g Whole milk (30%)
- 50 g Sweetened condensed milk (20%)
- 75 g Active sweet stiff starter (30% – From the stage above)
- Large egg
- 20 g Granulated sugar (8%)
- 50 g Unsalted butter, softened (20%)
- 5 g Fine sea salt (2%)
- 0.5 g Dry instant yeast (Optional – used purely to diminish sour profiles further)
Equipment
- 9×9 Inch Square Baking Pan (Or a standard high-sided metal baking pan to cradle the rolls tightly as they double vertically)
- Stand Mixer (Highly recommended to smoothly emulsify the sticky enriched dough and butter matrices)
Method
Night Before – Sweet Stiff Starter Optimization
- 10:00 PM – Stiff Starter Initialization: In a small glass jar, dissolve the 5g of sugar into 30g of water and whisk cleanly. Stir in your 8g of starter culture and 60g of bread flour. Mix thoroughly and knead by hand into a tight ball. Cover loosely and let it sit at room temperature 74–78°F (23–26°C) overnight for 8 to 10 hours until it more than doubles in volume. This low-hydration, sugary setup ensures low overall dough acidity.
Day 2 – The Enriched Milk Autolyse & Mixing
- 8:00 AM – The Grand Autolyse: In your stand mixer bowl, combine all 75g of whole milk, 50g of sweetened condensed milk, 1 large egg, 20g of granulated sugar, 75g of your active overnight sweet stiff starter, and all 250g of bread flour (along with the optional 0.5g of dry yeast if using). Mix everything together with a heavy spoon just until a dense, sticky mass forms. Cover and let rest for 1 full hour to completely hydrate the flour proteins.
- 9:00 AM – Developing Gluten: Attach your dough hook. Mix the autolysed dough on low speed for 2 to 3 minutes (or use a KitchenAid mixer on speed 3 for 3 to 4 minutes) until well incorporated. Add the 5g of fine sea salt and continue mixing for an additional 2 minutes until the dough forms a tight, cohesive ball.
- Butter Emulsification: Turn your mixer up to medium speed and gradually drop in the 50g of softened unsalted butter piece by piece. Once all the butter is introduced, increase the speed and mix continuously for 10 more minutes until the fat is completely emulsified, the dough clears the sides of the bowl, and it passes a clear, translucent windowpane test.
- Bulk Proof with Intervals: Cover the container tightly and let it proof for 3 to 4 hours at a warm 76–80°F (24–28°C). During this window, perform 2 gentle rounds of stretches and folds to build structured vertical strength. The dough should look visibly lighter and slightly puffy.
- 1:00 PM – Cold Fermentation Stabilization: Slide the entire covered proofing container directly into the refrigerator to rest slowly for 6 to 9 hours of cold fermentation retard to chill the butter fats.
Day 2 (Night) – Portioned Tension Rolling & Overnight Rise
- 10:00 PM – Dividing the Portions: Remove the chilled dough from your refrigerator. Tip it onto a clean work surface. Using a bench scraper and a kitchen scale, divide the dough cleanly into 12 equal portions (roughly 47–50g each).
- Tension Ball Shaping: Take a portion of dough, cup your hand over it, and roll it firmly against the counter in a circular motion to form a smooth, taut, uniform ball. Pinch any loose edges cleanly to the bottom. Grease a 9×9 inch baking pan with butter, and arrange the 12 shaped dough balls neatly inside.
- The Overnight Counter Rise: Cover the baking pan loosely with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel. Let the rolls proof overnight on your counter for 8 to 10 hours at a stable room temperature of 70–74°F (20–23°C) until the next morning. They must completely double in volume, swelling until they look extraordinarily light, airy, and clustered.
Day 3 – The Golden Holiday Bake
- 7:00 AM – Baking: Preheat your home oven to 375°F (190°C). Dust the top crowns of your beautifully risen, clustered rolls lightly with a fine dusting of flour or coat them cleanly with an egg wash.
- The Crisp Finish: Slide the pan onto the middle oven rack and bake for 30 to 35 minutes until the crowns turn a uniform, rich golden brown. Remove from the pan and allow them to cool slightly on a wire rack before pulling them apart to serve warm!
Nutrition
Calories1857kcalCarbohydrates297gProtein46gFat53gSaturated Fat31gPolyunsaturated Fat4gMonounsaturated Fat13gTrans Fat2gCholesterol134mgSodium2045mgPotassium626mgFiber8gSugar57gVitamin A1511IUVitamin C1mgCalcium295mgIron3mg
Notes
- The Magic Synergy of Condensed Milk & Sweet Stiff Starter: Utilizing a sweet stiff starter reduces the liquid hydration down to 50% while feeding the wild yeast small amounts of sugar. This favors yeast cell propagation over acetic and lactic acid development, eliminating any sour notes. Combined with the tenderizing fat solids of sweetened condensed milk, this completely softens the gluten mesh to keep the rolls fresh and pillow-like for days.
- Why the Final Proof Happens Overnight on the Counter: Enriched doughs packed with condensed milk, whole milk, eggs, sugar, and butter ferment significantly slower than standard lean flour artisan loaves. Giving the shaped dinner rolls a slow, 9-hour room temperature proof on your kitchen counter overnight allows the wild yeasts to work steadily over many hours, ensuring a gorgeous, towering rise by the time you wake up.
- Troubleshooting the Autolyse Stage: When combining ingredients during step 2, ensure you stir with a heavy spoon until no raw dry spots remain before covering the bowl. Enriched liquids take longer to penetrate wheat starch structures. Giving the flour an entire hour to autolyse allows the protein chains to link up naturally, which prevents the dough from remaining overly sticky or breaking apart when the butter is emulsified later.
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
😍😍😍
I can change the flour to whole wheat flour ?
Yes, but it might take little more milk 10-30g
What could I use instead of sweet condensed milk please?
You can use regular milk instead 🙏
Hi. Can I make it without egg? I dont eat eggs…
Use regular milk instead 🙏
What’s an alternative of sweet condensed milk?
Hi Natalya
This recipe is also perfect!
Thank you so much for sharing 🤗
Erica, thank you for your kind feedback 🙏
This looks delicious! Can I use a plant based milk instead of regular milk?
Thank you. Yes! Absolutely 🙏
Hi Natasha, when you say increase the speed, what’s ideal in kitchenaid? Is it harmful for the mixer to increase it to max. while doing sourdough loaf and batters with butter? Hope you can help!! Thanks 🙂
Andrea, hi!
I would say speed 5-6 for KitchenAid.
Thank you 🙏
I just made this with the following changes: omitted the yeast and I used evaporated milk instead of condensed milk. 30 minutes of baking was a little too much in my oven, but regardless, these rolls came out absolutely delicious. This recipe is a keeper! Thanks for sharing.
So happy you liked them, and thank you for your updates, evaporated milk sounds delicious 😋
An amazing recipe for sure! Tasted really good and soft. Everyone loved it. Thank you so much for this recipe 😍
Thank you so much for your feedback. Means a lot to me🙏
Perhaps this is silly question but If I use my bare hands only (have no mixer yet) do you think this type of baking can be successful 😅?
You can succeed , if you’ll mix the dough for longer time. Use slap and fold method
Yes definitely slap and fold would be sufficient . It’ll take longer and patience is needed. But definitely a challange because this recipe is just super delicious. I have baked it a couple of times after my first bake and everyone loved it 😍. My mother especially. My son, My friends and neighbors.. Thank youu so much for this recipe
Zack, thank you!
Keep baking and you’ll be amazed with results 🙏
What about using this for cinnamon roll dough? In the middle of making it right now. Very slow in rising, although I have a very strong starter and had just fed it a couple of days ago.
Absolutely!
It will be delicious 🙏
Omy! Wonderful rolls to have hot for breakfast! They actually didn’t taste that sweet, which was fine. I did not use the yeast, so maybe that is why it was slow. I also didn’t put it in the refrigerator. I formed them last night, they were beautiful and doubled this morning. So soft and pillowy! Used them for tuna sandwiches for lunch. A new go-to roll recipe for my starter! Haven’t used yeast for over a year! Wish I could attach a picture.
Barbara, thank you so much for your feedback!
Really glad you liked the rolls.
Finally made the dough for cinnamon rolls. Omy, they are wonderful. I did use all of the starter. I also used a different schedule. I got to thinking about the starter, it reminds me of bread making with tangzhong. Would love to send you a picture of them!
Thank you so much for your feedback!
Please send the pictures to my Instagram 🙏
Will do! I actually quadrupled the recipe, because we had family coming to stay for a few days.
Made this recipe again and made them as cardamom knots, which I put into silicone cupcake holders. Yummy! Love working with sourdough, it is like magic. I especially like using your stiff sweet starter.
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I have a possibly silly question: in the autolyse step, are you meant to mix the dough then let it sit for an hour? Or do all the ingredients just sit and basically wet the flour until mixing when adding the salt? I ask cause after adding my butter, the dough never smoothed out and stayed quite sticky. No windowpane. The consistency was never right once I mixed again after autolysing. Curious.
Hopefully, Natalya will answer. But I do know that you have to mix the ingredients well to get the flour to absorb the liquids. The dough will be sticky, cover and let it stand. I have never had a problem with the dough after the autolyze period. Maybe you needed a little more flour?