Sticky Buns. Cinnamon rolls placed over a caramel pecan glaze prepared with butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and pecan pieces. Baked until golden, the rolls are inverted so the glaze and pecan pieces adorn each bun.
Finally getting settled in the new pad. Did I mention I was moving? A much nicer kitchen. Gas stove and oven. As if the physical and mental beat down of a move wasn’t enough, sticky buns were my first baking project. 20 minutes after they went into the oven, three smoke alarms were sending ear piercing screams throughout my new community. Hello neighbors! Whoops. No drip pan in place. My bad. Quickly removed the alarms from the ceiling and kept my buns in the oven. They turned out amazing.
These sticky buns start with active dry yeast being activated in a small amount of warm water with a bit of sugar added to feed the yeast. I do this first step of the process in my stand mixer bowl.
With our yeast getting foamy and ready to go, we add butter, buttermilk, more sugar, egg yolks, orange zest and most of our flour to the stand mixer and beat with the paddle attachment until it comes together. The paddle attachment is replaced with the dough hook, the remaining flour is added and the dough is kneaded until it becomes a smooth, slightly sticky ball.
Our dough ball is placed into a clean, lightly buttered or oiled bowl, covered with plastic and set aside in a warm location to double in size, about 2 hours.
The dough is removed from the bowl. Punched down, pressed down and out to create a rectangle shape and left to rest for 30 minutes.
While the dough is resting, the filling and topping are prepared (both can also be prepared in advance).
The filling consists of melted butter that is brushed on the dough surface once the dough is rolled out, and a mix of ground cinnamon and brown sugar, that is sprinkled over the brushed on butter.
The sticky buns topping is a combination of butter, brown sugar, honey, and corn syrup (or substitute). The ingredients are added to a small saucepan and heated over low until melted. The mixture should be stirred until smooth. Once removed from the heat, whole pecans and pecan pieces are stirred in. The mix is transferred to a parchment lined 9 x 9-inch baking pan, and spread evenly across the bottom.
After the dough has rested, it is rolled out into a large rectangle, approximately 18 x 12-inches. I lightly flour a large cutting board and roll the dough out on it. I flip the dough over or move it around to ensure it is not sticking to the board. Once I have my desired shape, I brush the dough with melted butter and sprinkle the brown sugar cinnamon mixture evenly over the melted butter. The dough is rolled into a long cylinder and cut into 12 equal pieces. Sometimes I will use a pizza cutter and cut individual 1-1/2-inch wide strips, and roll them up one at a time. The individual rolls are placed cut side down, toughing each other over the caramel pecan glaze in the baking pan.
The baking pan is covered with plastic wrap and allowed to proof for several hours at room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator. The sticky buns are baked in a preheated oven until golden on top. Once removed from the oven, they are allowed to cool for about 15 minutes before being inverted onto a serving tray.
You might also like our overnight cinnamon rolls
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Sticky Buns
Equipment
- 1 (9-inch) square baking pan
Ingredients
Dough
- 60 grams warm water (110 to 120 F.), (1/4 cup)
- 7 grams active dry yeast, (1 packet)
- 66 grams granulated sugar (1/3 cup)
- 190 grams buttermilk (3/4 cup)
- 56 grams unsalted butter, (4 tablespoons) + more for buttering pan
- 60 grams egg yolk (3 large)
- 6 grams finely grated orange zest (1 tablespoon)
- 5 grams fine sea salt (1 teaspoon)
- 512 grams all-purpose flour, (4 cups) plus more for dusting
Filling
- 120 grams firmly packed light brown sugar (1/2 cup)
- 8 grams ground cinnamon (1 tablespoon)
- 56 grams unsalted butter, (4 tablespoons), melted
Topping
- 160 grams firmly packed light brown sugar (3/4 cup)
- 56 grams unsalted butter, (4 tablespoons)
- 60 grams honey (3 tablespoons)
- 20 grams light corn syrup (1 tablespoon)
- 220 grams coarsely chopped pecans (2 cups)
Instructions
Dough
- Add active dry yeast, 1 teaspoon granulated sugar and warm water to a stand mixer bowl. Stir to dissolve and set aside for 5 minutes. Yeast should get bubbly and foamy.
- Add remaining sugar, buttermilk, unsalted butter, egg yolks, fresh orange zest, fine sea salt, and 3 cups all-purpose flour to stand mixer bowl. Using paddle attachment, beat on low to combine. Scrape down bowl, if necessary.
- Switch to dough hook, add remaining 1 cup of flour gradually, and beat on medium for about 5 minutes. Dough should be smooth, and well combined.
- Transfer the dough to a clean lightly oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, place in a warm location, and proof until the dough has doubled in volume, about 1 to 2 hours.
- After dough has risen, punch down and form small rectangle. Turn out onto lightly floured flat surface and roll gently into slightly larger rectangle. Let rest 30 minutes.
Filling
- Add the light brown sugar and cinnamon to a small bowl. Whisk to combine. Set aside.
- Melt butter in saucepan, or small micorwavable bowl. Set aside.
Topping
- Add brown sugar, butter, honey, and corn syrup to small saucepan. Heat over low heat. As butter and sugar melt, stir until smooth. Transfer mixture to buttered 9 x 9-inch baking pan. Sprinkle pecans evenly over butter and sugar mixture.
- Roll out the dough using a rolling pin into large 12 x 18-inch rectangle. Brush the top of the dough surface with melted butter. Spread the brown sugar cinnamon filling evenly over the melted butter.
- Roll dough into a long, tight cylinder. Cut the cylinder into 9 slices with a sharp bread knife or dental floss.
- Place the dough rounds, cut side down over the caramel pecan glaze in prepared baking pan. Cover the rolls with plastic and refrigerate overnight.
- Remove the rolls from the refrigerator. Set on counter for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 375 F. Bake in preheated oven until top of the rolls are golden, 30 to 35 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and set on wire rack for 10 to 15 minutes. Invert pan onto serving tray, being very careful not to let the hot pecan topping spill out.
- Best served warm. Store in airtight container.
