Sticky Buns
 
Ingredients
For Dough:
  • ¾ cup milk
  • 1 packet (2¼ teaspoons) instant yeast
  • 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 6 Tablespoon butter, melted and slightly cooled
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 1 whole egg
  • 3¾ cups all-purpose flour plus more for kneading
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • Vegetable oil for the bowl
For Sauce:
  • ½ cup salted butter
  • ¾ cup brown sugar, packed
  • ¾ cup heavy cream
  • ⅓ cup honey
Filling:
  • 6 Tablespoons brown sugar, packed
  • 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 3 Tablespoons salted butter, melted
  • 2 cups chopped pecans, divided
Instructions
For Dough:
  1. Whisk milk, yeast, and granulated sugar together. No need to warm the milk since it is instant yeast and not active dry yeast.
  2. Whisk in butter, yolks, and the whole egg.
  3. Add half of the flour with a wooden spoon. It will be slightly lumpy.
  4. Add salt and then the rest of the flour. The dough will look shaggy and the flour will not be completely incorporated.
  5. Knead for 10 minutes on a lightly floured counter with floured hands. The dough should come together into after a few minutes into a ball.
  6. Lightly oil a bowl and roll the dough in the oil.
  7. Cover the bowl with a dish towel or plastic wrap and let the dough rise for about 1½ to 2 hours in a non-drafty place.
For Sauce: (This step can be done during or after the rising time)
  1. Melt butter in a saucepan on medium heat.
  2. Stir in brown sugar, cream, and honey.
  3. Cook on medium heat stirring occasionally until the mixture bubbles up to a boil, about 2 minutes. Reduce to low heat and cook at a simmer for another 3-5 minutes.
  4. Pour the sauce into the bottom of a baking dish that is about 9 x 13- inches. Put the dish in the fridge while you roll out the dough. I used a Le Creuset stoneware baking dish.
Assembly and Filling:
  1. Stir sugars and cinnamon together.
  2. Roll the risen dough out on a well floured surface into an 18 x 12 inch rectangle (it won't be a perfect rectangle).
  3. Brush the dough with the melted butter.
  4. Sprinkle with the sugar and cinnamon mixture and 1 cup of pecans.
  5. Roll the dough into an 18 inch tight log.
  6. Using a sharp knife, cut the log into 12 pieces. The end pieces may be wimpy so you can eat the dough or cook them but they won't cook the same as the other normal sized buns.
  7. Remove the dish with the sauce from the fridge and sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of pecans on top of the sauce.
  8. Arrange the buns evenly in the dish.
  9. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and let the buns sit at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours or overnight in the fridge for up to 16 hours (if you are leaving them in the fridge, pull them out 1 hour before you are going to bake them). The buns will be slightly puffy.
  10. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
  11. Bake buns for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown.
  12. Let the buns cool for 3-4 minutes in the pan before flipping them quickly onto a serving dish.
  13. Serve buns warm.
Yield: 10-12 buns
Store in an air tight container in the fridge. Microwave for 45 seconds to reheat.
Recipe by Birch Tree Baking at https://www.birchtreebaking.com/sticky-buns/