12 unexpected sourdough bread recipes that aren't crusty loaves
From sourdough flatbread to sourdough milk bread — and even sourdough babka.
Date
April 22, 2026
While sourdough starter might conjure images of crusty artisan loaves, that only scratches the surface of naturally leavened breads. Don’t stop at boules and baguettes; you can use your starter to make fluffy milk bread, chewy naan, airy doughnuts, and much more — check out our full lineup of recipes that take sourdough to unexpected places.
1) Big and Bubbly Focaccia, Sourdough Edition
This spin on our 2025 Recipe of the Year swaps in sourdough for the yeast, resulting in a plush, dimply bread that is entirely naturally leavened. It has an open crumb, bronzed top, and bold tang that complements the olive oil and salt.
Get the recipe: Big and Bubbly Focaccia, Sourdough Edition
To make this recipe, you’ll need: Fabulous Focaccia Pan
2) Sourdough Naan
Unlike most naan recipes, this one incorporates sourdough discard, which adds a tang that’s enhanced by the yogurt in the dough. These flatbreads are chewy, buttery, and flexible, ready to wrap around fillings or be ripped and dipped into spreads and curries.
Get the recipe: Sourdough Naan
To make this recipe, you’ll need: Bread Flour
3) Sourdough Pandesal
This Filipino bread is soft and fluffy, with a delightfully crispy exterior that gets its signature crunch from a shower of toasted breadcrumbs. These rolls are lightly sweet with a subtle depth from the sourdough, and they’re best enjoyed for breakfast accompanied by over easy eggs or coconut jam.
Get the recipe: Sourdough Pandesal
To make this recipe, you’ll need: Bench Knife
4) Chocolate Sourdough Babka
Sourdough starter is the sole leavener in this sweet, spiraled bread, which has a tender, enriched crumb from the butter and milk incorporated into the dough. Then there’s the cinnamon-scented chocolate filling: The subtle sharpness of the sourdough brings out the fruity notes in the chocolate for a flavor that’s more than the sum of its parts.
Get the recipe: Chocolate Sourdough Babka
To make this recipe, you’ll need: Vietnamese Cinnamon
5) Taiwanese Bakery Sourdough Focaccia
For a maximalist focaccia — both in terms of toppings and literal size — make this recipe from Joy Huang. Topped with sweet-salty sausage, caramelized corn, scallions, and umami-forward Kewpie mayonnaise, it’s inspired by a fully loaded Taiwanese bakery bun.
Get the recipe: Taiwanese Bakery Sourdough Focaccia
To make this recipe, you’ll need: 9" x 13" pan
6) Chocolate Chip Sourdough Bread
This soft sandwich loaf pairs the balanced acidity of sourdough with the sweetness of chocolate chips, which are studded throughout the dough. Adding a little yeast to the dough saves hours of time (no overnight rest required!), and ensures your bread rises nice and tall.
Get the recipe: Chocolate Chip Sourdough Bread
To make this recipe, you’ll need: King Arthur Standard Bread Loaf Pan
7) Sourdough Doughnuts
These sourdough doughnuts have an open, airy crumb, with a slight sourdough tang that balances the sweet vanilla glaze. A tangzhong slurry not only contributes to the doughnuts’ pillowy softness but also helps them stay delicious even the next day — a true miracle for a doughnut!
Get the recipe: Sourdough Doughnuts
To make this recipe, you’ll need: Double-Sided Round Cutters
8) Soft Sourdough Rolls
These sourdough rolls are light, moist, and buttery, with a distinct yeasty flavor and a pleasing chew from ripe sourdough starter. Baking them clustered together in two 8" round pans ensures that each roll retains its soft, pillowy texture on all sides.
Get the recipe: Soft Sourdough Rolls
To make this recipe, you’ll need: King Arthur Round Cake Pan
9) Sourdough Milk Bread
This towering sandwich loaf has the best qualities of milk bread — it’s soft, fluffy, and tender — but with an edge thanks to ripe sourdough starter. We found that starter can mimic the effects of a traditional tangzhong (a cooked flour-and-water slurry) to deliver a squishy milk bread that stays fresh for days.
Get the recipe: Sourdough Milk Bread
To make this recipe, you’ll need: Bread Flour
10) Sourdough Pita Bread
These chewy-yet-tender pita are leavened solely with sourdough starter — no yeast here. To get that characteristic pita puff, we recommend baking on a preheated baking stone or steel, which delivers a powerful blast of heat while baking.
Get the recipe: Sourdough Pita Bread
To make this recipe, you’ll need: King Arthur Bread and Pizza Stone
11) Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls
Making these cinnamon rolls with sourdough starter instead of yeast results in slightly longer proofing times, but what you gain from that swap more than makes up for it: tender rolls with a complex flavor to complement the sweet cinnamon filling and vanilla icing.
Get the recipe: Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls
To make this recipe, you’ll need: Vietnamese Cinnamon
12) Sourdough Challah
While this sourdough challah recipe requires some patience — you’ll start with active sourdough starter, create a stiff levain, then mix the dough and wait overnight while it rises — the results are well worth it: This large loaf is slightly sweet with a subtle sourdough flavor and a softer, more aerated crumb than most loaves of challah.
Get the recipe: Sourdough Challah
To make this recipe, you’ll need: Bread Flour
Inspired to bake? Grab a jar of sourdough starter from our online shop!
Cover photo by Patrick Marinello; food styling by Yekaterina Boytsova.
