Indulge in the mouthwatering goodness of soft sourdough orange rolls, the citrusy cousin of classic cinnamon rolls. These delectable rolls are infused with the vibrant flavor of fresh orange zest, adding a delightful twist to your breakfast. Made with 100% natural yeast, soft sourdough orange rolls have the health benefits of fermentation, making them a delicious option for a special morning. I love eating them warm and covered with ooey gooey orange frosting. Enjoy this recipe for the best soft sourdough orange rolls!
Sample Sourdough Baking Schedule for the Soft Sourdough Orange Rolls
A sample baking schedule helps me when baking with sourdough. Sourdough takes much longer to rise than traditional bread. This schedule helps me plan my bake.
A few notes: This schedule assumes the dough temperature is 78 degrees F throughout the process. If you’d like to make the best soft orange rolls all on the same day, skip the cold bulk fermentation and go straight to shaping the orange rolls (you will still need to make the levain the night before and let it rise overnight).
| Day 1 | Levain |
| 8 PM -8AM | Make Stiff Sweet Levain. Let rise overnight. |
| Day 2 | Mixing/Bulk Fermentation |
| 8 AM | Mix Dough |
| 8:15 AM | Begin Bulk Fermentation |
| 12:15 PM | End Bulk Fermentation Option 1: Refrigerate the dough for 12-24 hours and shape rolls the next morning Option 2: Shape Rolls and continue with the recipe |
| 12:15 PM – 7:00 AM | Cold Bulk Fermentation |
| Day 3 | Shaping/Baking |
| 7:00 AM | Shape Sourdough Orange Rolls |
| 10:00 AM | Rise in a warm (78-80+ degree F) place for 3-4 hours until puffed up and touching. Do not bake unless dough has puffed up and risen. |
| 10:30 AM | Bake and frost. Serve warm. |
Ingredients in Soft Sourdough Orange Rolls
Sourdough Starter: Use an active/ripe sourdough starter (doubled in size/bubbly/mild sour aroma) to mix the levain.
Milk: Whole milk makes these rolls decadantly delicious but 2% milk works in a pinch.
Unsalted Butter: I always bake with unsalted butter. It allows me to control the flavor in my baked goods — there is no standard for the amount of salt in butter, so you cannot predict how much salt has been added.
Oranges: These orange rolls benefit from plenty of orange zest and freshly squeezed juice from an orange. You will need 2-3 oranges for this recipe.
Sugar: Granulated sugar brings the perfect sweetness to these orange rolls.
Eggs: Eggs add richness to the dough. I always add them in straight from the refrigerator.
Bread Flour: I almost always use bread flour for any bread that I am kneading. The higher protein content and properly activating the gluten results in a lighter/springy baked good.
Making a Sweet Stiff Levain
One of the reasons I advocate for making a levain instead of using straight sourdough starter is in cases like these sourdough orange rolls (or these sourdough cinnamon rolls). Maintaining a sourdough starter at 100% hydration makes it easy for me to create a stiff sweet levain when I need it for an enriched dough. I also use a stiff sweet levain for enriched breads like this cinnamon sugar babka. A stiff levain is a levain that mixes up to a firm consistency and is anywhere from 50%-65% hydration. It adds elasticity to dough and helps temper the acid in the sourdough, which gives all the benefit of sourdough fermentation without the tang. The sugar in the levain helps counteract the acidity and creates a more mild flavor. My sometimes picky kids are especially grateful for this! To make a stiff sweet levain:
- Use 100% hydration sourdough starter at its peak
- Add 20 grams of ripe sourdough starter to 100 grams of all purpose flour, 50 grams of water and 20 grams of sugar. Mix together.
- A stiff starter will be a little more difficult to mix together, because it forms a dough ball instead of a batter. Knead the ball of dough a few times until smooth.
- Place the stiff sweet levain in a liquid measuring cup and set in a warm (76-78 degree F) spot for 12 hours.
- Stiff Sweet Levain is ready to use when it has doubled in size and has a rounded top. Using it right when it reaches its peak will help decrease the acidity in the dough.
Mixing the Dough
I use a Bosch mixer or KitchenAid mixer to mix this dough. If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can use your hands, though it will take longer. Add all the dough ingredients to the mixer and fit it with a dough hook. Reserve a little bit of the flour to add toward the end of mixing the dough as needed. Weight measurements are always more accurate than volume, but I always like to reserve a bit of flour (about a half cup) so I don’t over-flour my dough. Varieties of flour and weight of eggs can impact the amount of flour added to dough, so I play it safe. It’s easier to add more flour than to fix over-floured dough. Mix the dough on low speed for about 3-5 minutes. Add the reserved flour as needed. The dough should be tacky, not overly sticky. Continue kneading about 5 more minutes until smooth, elastic and it passes the windowpane test. Place in a container or bowl for bulk fermentation.
Bulk Fermentation
Bulk fermentation is the name for when the dough ferments in one big mass. Put the dough in a container and cover it (I like using these shower caps as covers). The entire bulk fermentation should take about 4 hours at 78 degrees Fahrenheit. Take the temperature of the dough, it should be between 76-78 degrees Fahrenheit. If your dough is significantly colder, bulk fermentation will take longer. If it’s warmer, the bulk fermentation will be a bit shorter, however wild yeast perform best in the 76-78 degree F range, so do your best to keep the dough in that range. I use a dough proofer or the inside of my oven with the light turned on (don’t turn the oven on!) to keep my dough warm. Let the dough sit for 4 hours in that warm place. By the end of 4 hours it should have puffed up, be smooth and risen a little.
Cold Bulk Fermentation
After the initial 4 hour bulk fermentation is finished, my favorite way to make these orange rolls is to put the covered container in the refrigerator overnight. This allows me to shape the rolls the following morning and we can enjoy the best soft orange rolls to start the day. I also think this step improves the flavor of the orange rolls. If you want to make them all in the same day, that works too. Just skip the cold bulk fermentation and proceed with the rest of the recipe (you will still need to make the levain the night before and let it rise overnight). The orange roll dough can stay in the refrigerator for 24-48 hours before using. When you’re ready to shape the rolls, pull the dough out of the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for a few minutes while you prepare the roll filling and put parchment paper on the baking sheet.
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Orange Roll Filling
Soft sourdough orange rolls have the most delicious orange roll filling. This comes from plenty of orange zest that turns the filling orange and gives the most delicious orange flavor. Mix together soft/melty butter in a bowl with white sugar, orange zest and a little bit of flour into the butter. Then I spread the orange-sugar paste over the roll dough. That little bit of extra flour helps keeps the rolls from gaping open when baked. For extra gooey orange rolls you can drizzle some heavy cream over the top of the rolls before baking.
Shaping Soft Sourdough Orange Rolls
This recipe makes 24 small orange rolls. Cut the dough in half. Roll the first half of dough out on a lightly floured pastry mat about 14 inches by 10 inches. Spread on the filling and then roll up, pinching the seam together. To cut out the orange rolls, you can use a sharp knife, bench scraper or even dental floss. Cut the log in half and then cut six equal-sized rolls from each half. Place the rolls on the upper half of a parchment-lined baking sheet. If you have any wispy orange roll ends, go ahead and tuck them under the roll so they don’t come loose during the bake. Repeat with the other section of dough and nestle the rolls on the bottom half of the baking sheet.
Proofing Sourdough Orange Rolls
Soft sourdough orange rolls need more time to rise than rolls using commercial yeast thanks to the sourdough. They also require a warm environment to rise–right around 78-80+ degrees Fahrenheit. Make sure that you put your pan of shaped rolls in a warm spot. I often use the oven with the light turned on. Let the rolls rise and get puffed up. Lightly touch the rolls and they will feel soft and airy. If they feel dense–do not bake them yet! Let them rise. This final rise is a very important step in the process. Take a finger and gently press into the side of the roll. If it springs back right away, you need to let the dough rise longer. If it stays indented with just a little bit of spring, they are ready to bake.
Baking Sourdough Orange Rolls
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees (make sure you take the risen orange rolls out if you are using your oven as a proofing box). Bake the rolls for about 20-25 minutes. Ovens all bake differently. Some ovens bake hotter in the back and cooler in the front. If you want an even bake on your rolls, rotate your pan 180 degrees after the first ten minutes of baking. This will keep half of your rolls from getting too dark or the other half being too light. Check the center of one of the cinnamon rolls after baking to make sure that the middle isn’t raw. Sometimes you need to let them go a minute or two longer to make sure they are completely baked through.
The Best Orange Roll Frosting
The frosting on these rolls is amazing. There’s no other way to describe it. I’m not a huge fan of overly “cream cheesey” tasting frosting, and the ratios on this icing are just perfection. More butter than cream cheese, when all whipped together the orange zest and freshly squeezed orange juice takes this frosting to a whole new level. It is just divine! Whip the frosting until it is thick and creamy. Let the orange rolls cool about 5 minutes before spreading a large dollop on each roll.
Have I convinced you yet? These soft sourdough orange rolls are so so delicious. I may even love them more than the cinnamon roll version. And I don’t even feel guilty about feeding this decadent treat to my family because: sourdough!
More Amazing Sourdough Recipes Here:
Soft Sourdough Orange Rolls
Ingredients
Sweet Stiff Levain (12 hours/overnight at 78 degrees F)
- 20 grams ripe sourdough starter
- 20 grams granulated sugar
- 100 grams all purpose flour
- 50 grams water
Sourdough Orange Roll Dough
- 180 grams levain
- 440 grams warm whole milk about 1 3/4 cup, see recipe notes
- 113 grams unsalted butter, melted about 1/2 cup
- 115 grams granulated sugar about 1/2 cup
- 2 large eggs about 100 grams total
- 12 grams salt about 1 1/2 teaspoons
- 950 grams bread flour about 6-7 cups
- zest of one orange optional
Orange Roll Filling
- 113 grams unsalted butter very soft or melted, 1/2 cup
- 165 grams granulated sugar about 3/4 cup
- 2-3 Tablespoons orange zest from about 2-3 oranges
- 1 Tablespoon all purpose flour about 10 grams
Orange Roll Frosting
- 113 grams unsalted butter softened, 1/2 cup
- 57 grams cream cheese softened, 1/4 cup
- 250 grams powdered sugar about 2 cups
- 30 grams orange juice about 2 Tablespoons
- 1 Tablespoon orange zest from one large orange
- a pinch of salt to taste
Instructions
Levain (12 hours, overnight)
- Mix together ripe sourdough starter, all purpose flour, granulated sugar and water. Knead the levain until it forms a cohesive ball. Set in a liquid measuring cup and cover for 12 hours until the levain has doubled in size and the top is rounded.
Sourdough Orange Rolls
- Warm the milk in the microwave (about 1 1/2 minutes full power) or on the stove. It should be around 90-100 degrees F, no warmer than that. To the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook, add the ripe levain, warmed milk and melted butter.
- Add the sugar, eggs, salt, orange zest and most of the bread flour. Turn on the dough hook and knead for a few minutes. Add the remainder of the bread flour as needed. The dough should be tacky, not overly sticky and should all cling to one side of the bowl (or away from the edges depending on your mixer). Knead for a total of 8-10 minutes until the dough is smooth, soft and can pass the windowpane test.
- At the end of about 4 hours, the dough should be puffed up and feel very elastic. If it doesn't feel this way, let it bulk ferment for another half hour and check again.
- Overnight Option: At this point, after the bulk fermentation has finished, you can cover the dough and put it in the refrigerator. Proceed with the recipe the next day, shaping and proofing the rolls before baking. This allows you to time the orange rolls for breakfast or brunch if desired.
- Mix up the Filling: Near the end of bulk fermentation, mix up the orange roll filling. To a small bowl, add the melted butter, sugar, orange zest and flour. Mix together. Set aside.
- Shaping: Line a half sheet pan (18 by 13 inches) with parchment paper. Cut the dough in half and roll one half of the dough out into an approximate 14 by 10 rectangle. Spread the orange filling all over the dough with your fingers or a spatula, making sure to cover up to the edges of the roll dough. Starting with the dough closest to you, roll up the orange rolls and pinch together the seam. Flip the roll over, seam side down. Cut the long log of dough into 12 equal pieces. Place the orange rolls on the parchment paper, snuggling all 12 rolls together on half of the pan. Repeat with the other piece of dough, nestling the other 12 rolls on the other half of the pan. You will have 24 rolls total.
- Proofing: Cover the pan and let rise in a 78-mid 80 degree F place until puffed up and risen, about 3 hours. Do not bake these rolls if they have not risen.
- Baking: Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake for about 20-25 minutes until baked all the way through.
- Orange Roll Frosting: Using a hand mixer, whip together softened butter and cream cheese. Add the powdered sugar, orange juice (from one orange), orange zest and a pinch of salt. Whip together for 2-3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. The frosting should be light and fluffy.
- Spread frosting over the tops of the orange rolls while they are still warm. Enjoy!
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