flour bakery’s sticky buns

sticky buns flour bakery

Sticky buns are like cinnamon roll’s edgier, fancier cousin. Brioche dough filled with cinnamon sugar, rolled tightly, then baked with a caramel glaze and toasted pecans.

Divine.

It’s really hard to justify consuming all of those calories for breakfast, which is why it’s OK that they take forever to make. Mine were done just in time for a post-lunch snack (or in-place-of-lunch snack… same thing). No worries, there are a number of shortcuts you can take to ensure yours are ready in time for breakfast.

I wasn’t particularly worried about spending my whole Saturday baking, though, so being in no rush I made my brioche dough the night before, left it in the fridge overnight, and proceeded to make my sticky buns the following morning. The dough makes enough for 2 sets of sticky buns or, in my case, a set of sticky buns and a loaf of brioche. A magical loaf of brioche.

I hope you were all very good in January, because diet time is over.

Over.

(PS – Thank you BF for my wonderful Christmas gift – my Flour Bakery cookbook) <3

Learn from my mistakes –

  • Don’t skimp on the pecans. You don’t want to see what the rolls look like under there
  • Make sure your “goo” thickens appropriately, but still be careful not to burn it. I was overly paranoid about burning it, which left my goo a little on the “runny” side. Still delicious, but thinner than it should have been.

Flour Bakery’s Sticky Buns

[ Printable Recipe ]

Goo:

  • 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks; 170 grams, 6 ounces) unsalted butter
  • 1 1/2 cups (345 grams) firmly packed light brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup (110 grams) honey
  • 1/3 cup (80 grams) heavy cream
  • 1/3 cup (80 grams) water
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Rolls:

  • Basic Brioche Dough
  • 1/4 cup (55 grams) light brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 cup (100 grams) pecan halves, toasted and chopped

First, make the goo. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the brown sugar and cook, stirring, to combine (it may look separated, that’s ok). Remove from the heat and whisk in the honey, cream, water, and salt. Strain to remove any undissolved lumps of brown sugar. Let cool for about 30 minutes, or until cooled to room temperature. You should have about 3 cups. (The mixture can be made up to 2 weeks in advance and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.)

Make brioche dough and divide in half. Use half for this recipe and reserve the other half for another use. Can be made up to 1 week in advance.

On a floured work surface, roll out the brioche into rectangle about 12 by 16 inches and 1/4-inch thick. It will have the consistency of cold, damp Play-Doh and should be fairly easy to roll. Position the rectangle so a short side is facing you.

In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and half of the pecans. Sprinkle this mixture evenly over the entire surface of the dough. Starting from the short side farthest from you and working your way down, roll up the rectangle like a jelly roll. Try to roll tightly, so you have a nice round spiral. Trim off about 1/4- inch from each end of the roll to make them even.

Use a bench scraper or a chef’s knife to cut the roll into 8 equal pieces, each about 1 1/2-inches wide. **(At this point, the unbaked buns can be tightly wrapped in plastic wrap and frozen for up to 1 week. When ready to bake, thaw them, still wrapped, in the refrigerator overnight or at room temperature for 2 to 3 hours, then proceed as directed.)

Pour the goo into a 9 by 13-inch baking dish, covering the bottom evenly. Sprinkle the remaining pecans evenly over the surface. Don’t skimp on the pecans.

Arrange the buns, evenly spaced, in the baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap and put in a warm spot to proof until the dough is puffy, pillowy, and soft and the buns are touching-almost tripled in size, about 2 hours.

Position a rack in the center of the oven, and heat to 350 degrees F.

Bake until golden brown, about 35 to 45 minutes. Let cool in the dish on a wire rack for 20 to 30 minutes. One at a time, invert the buns onto a serving platter, and spoon any extra goo and pecans from the bottom of the dish over the top.

The buns are best served warm or within 4 hours of baking. They can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day, and then warmed in a 325 degree F oven for 10 to 12 minutes before serving.

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