FOR THE DOUGH: 1/4 Cup Water 1 cup whole milk + 1 Tbsp. 1 Stick Butter 1 egg 1 tsp. vanilla 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 cup sugar 4 & 1/2 cup Unbleached White Bread Flour 1 Tbsp. wheat gluten 1 envelope dry yeast CINNAMON FILLING MIXTURE: 1 cup light brown sugar 5 Tbsp. cinnamon 1 stick butter (softened) FOR THE STICKY TOPPING: 1/2 pound butter (2 sticks) 15 ounces brown sugar by weight 5 ounces honey by volume measurement 1/2 cup heavy cream 1/2 cup water Pecan Halves or pieces (excellent breakfast baked goods)
Remove a large egg from the refrigerator and permit it to reach room temperature. Gently melt the butter. Add the Water and Whole Milk. The resulting liquid mixture should be permitted to cool so that it is between 75F (24C) and 85F (30C) before proceeding further. Then add the remaining ingredients, in the order listed above, to the bread machine and prepare using the dough setting. (Follow your bread machine instructions for dough preparation.)
STICKY TOPPING – While to dough is mixing, In a saucepan over medium heat, melt together the butter and brown sugar. Remove from heat, let cool, and whisk in the honey, cream, and water. Set aside.
Remove the butter from the refrigerator once you’ve started the dough cycle and allow it to reach room temperature. In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar and cinnamon.
After the dough cycle has completed, roll and stretch the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a 15″ by 24″ rectangle.
Mark off 1″ along the 24″ edge of the dough, closest to you. You will not spread any butter or Sugar-Cinnamon mixture on this edge so that you can seal the roll. Spread the softened butter over the dough with a rubber spatula and then evenly distribute the Sugar and Cinnamon mixture. Be careful to leave your 1″ edge clean. As a final step, use your rolling pin to lightly roll the Sugar and Cinnamon mixture.
Starting at the far edge of the dough, roll it up tightly. Begin at the far edge and roll up the dough toward the 1″ clean edge. The clean 1″ edge is used to seal the finished roll. Trim the left and right ends of the roll. The result will be a 24″ roll. Trim off the left and right ends of the roll so that you have a flush end at each end of the roll. Then mark the roll every 1 1/2 inches (3.8 cm). Cut the roll into 1 1/2″ long portions. This may be done with a knife, as they do at the store. However we’ve found it easier to use dental floss. Cut the roll by placing the thread under the roll at your mark, crisscross over and pull it to cut. You should get 15 rolls.
Place the sticky buns into two 9″ long rectangular pans. (Glass is ok too) Place the pecans on top of the mixture in 2 rows of three. In other words, when you place the dough in the pan you will be placing the dough on top of the pecans that you set in place. Place 6 rolls into the prepared 9″ rectangular baking pans 1″ apart and let them rise in a warm, draft free place until almost double, approximately 1 hour. After rising, rolls should be touching each other and the sides of the pan. This is important for best results. This gives the resulting rolls the soft, moist outer edge that most people prefer. Pour in the sticky bun topping just before baking. When pouring in the topping, be sure to lift the buns a little to allow the sticky topping to get to the bottom of the buns.
After rising, bake in a convection oven at 310F for 15 minutes. If you are using a conventional oven, bake at 335F for 20 minutes. The resulting rolls should be only lightly browned. We bake only one 8 inch square pan of rolls at a time to obtain uniform results.
You will need a bread machine to make this recipe, and if you dont have one, this recipe alone is worth the purchase of one.
Submitted By
Eddie Beyer
