Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Tuesdays With Dorie - Pecan Honey Sticky Buns

I’ve discovered lately that having a food blog gives you an excuse to do things you would not normally do. Take brioche dough, for example. I’ve wanted to make brioche since I saw an episode of Barefoot Contessa in which Ina Garten makes the cutest little breakfast treats I’ve ever seen. I checked out the recipe, and as with most of her recipes it contains an alarming amount of butter. So I had put off making brioche dough because, well, I had no excuse really!

Until last Friday when I started on Madam Chow’s pick for this week’s Tuesdays with Dorie, Pecan Honey Sticky Buns. Oh, yes, now I had the perfect excuse. And my best friend, Empire Red, was real happy to help me out. He even danced a little dance of joy on my kitchen counter while kneading the dough! He got quite the workout, but he’s OK, and real happy to have used his dough hook for the very first time.

After a night’s rest in the refrigerator, the dough was ready to be used to make the buns. Last Saturday morning, we had one of the sweetest and most indulging breakfast we’ve had in a long time! These buns are out of this world. So tender and flaky and meltingly delicious! Now I know what I’ve been missing! They are really easy to put together once the dough is done, and with a mixer, making the dough’s pretty easy too!

The only change I made to the recipe was to use maple syrup instead of honey in the glaze, I couldn't help it, I had to change a little something! Intrigued as to what the rest of the Tuesdays with Dorie gang thought of these gorgeous breakfast treats? Well, click on over there and check out the blog roll! Have fun!

Pecan Honey Sticky Buns
From Baking from my Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

Makes 15 buns

For the Glaze:
1 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
1/4 cup honey
1-1/2 cups pecans (whole or pieces)

For the Filling:
1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons (packed) light brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

For the Buns:
1/2 recipe dough for Golden Brioche loaves (see below), chilled and ready to shape (make the full recipe and cut the dough in half after refrigerating it overnight).

Generously butter a 9-x-13-inch baking pan (a Pyrex pan is perfect for this).

To make the glaze: In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring the brown sugar, butter, and honey to a boil over medium-low heat, stirring frequently to dissolve the sugar. Pour the glaze into the buttered pan, evening it out as best you can by tilting the pan or spreading the glaze with a heatproof spatula. Sprinkle over the pecans.

To make the filling: Mix the sugars and cinnamon together in a bowl. If necessary, in another bowl, work the butter with a spatula until it is soft, smooth and spreadable.

To shape the buns: On a flour-dusted work surface, roll the chilled dough into a 16-inch square. Using your fingers or a pastry brush, spread the softened butter over the dough. Sprinkle the dough with the cinnamon sugar, leaving a 1-inch strip bare on the side farthest from you. Starting with the side nearest you, roll the dough into a cylinder, keeping the roll as tight as you can. (At this point, you can wrap the dough airtight and freeze it for up to 2 months . . . . Or, if you want to make just part of the recipe now, you can use as much of the dough as you'd like and freeze the remainder. Reduce the glaze recipe accordingly).

With a chef's knife, using a gentle sawing motion, trim just a tiny bit from the ends of the roll if they're very ragged or not well filled, then cut the log into 1-inch thick buns. (Because you trim the ragged ends of the dough, and you may have lost a little length in the rolling, you will get 15 buns, not 16.) Fit the buns into the pan cut side down, leaving some space between them.

Lightly cover the pan with a piece of wax paper and set the pan in a warm place until the buns have doubled in volume, about 1 hour and 45 minutes. The buns are properly risen when they are puffy, soft, doubled and, in all likelihood, touching one another.

Getting ready to bake: When the buns have almost fully risen , center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Remove the sheet of wax paper and put the pan on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat. Bake the sticky buns for about 30 minutes, or until they are puffed and gorgeously golden; the glaze will be bubbling away merrily. Pull the pan from the oven.

The sticky buns must be unmolded minutes after they come out of the oven. If you do not have a rimmed platter large enough to hold them, use a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or buttered foil. Be careful - the glaze is super-hot and super-sticky.

What You'll Need for the Golden Brioche Dough
(this recipe makes enough for two brioche loaves. If you divide the dough in half, you would use half for the sticky buns, and you can freeze the other half for a later date, or make a brioche loaf out of it!):

2 packets active dry yeast (each packet of yeast contains approx. 2 1/4 teaspoons)
1/3 cup just-warm-to-the-touch water
1/3 cup just-warm-to-the-touch whole milk
3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature but still slightly firm

What You'll Need for the Glaze
(you would brush this on brioche loaves, but not on the sticky buns):

1 large egg
1 tablespoon water

To Make The Brioche: Put the yeast, water and milk in the bowl of a stand mixer and, using a wooden spoon, stir until the yeast is dissolved. Add the flour and salt, and fit into the mixer with the dough hook, if you have one. Toss a kitchen towel over the mixer, covering the bowl as completely as you can-- this will help keep you, the counter and your kitchen floor from being showered in flour. Turn the mixer on and off a few short pulses, just to dampen the flour (yes, you can peek to see how you're doing), then remove the towel, increase the mixer speed to medium-low and mix for a minute or two, just until the flour is moistened. At this point, you'll have a fairly dry, shaggy mess.

Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula, set the mixer to low and add the eggs, followed by the sugar. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for about 3 minutes, until the dough forms a ball. Reduce the speed to low and add the butter in 2-tablespoon-size chunks, beating until each piece is almost incorporated before adding the next. You'll have a dough that is very soft, almost like batter. Increase the speed to medium-high and continue to beat until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 10 minutes.

Transfer the dough to a clean bowl (or wash out the mixer bowl and use it), cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature until nearly doubled in size, 40 to 60 minutes, depending upon the warmth of your room.

Deflate the dough by lifting it up around the edges and letting it fall with a slap to the bowl. Cover the bowl with the plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator. Slap the dough down in the bowl every 30 minutes until it stops rising, about 2 hours, then leave the uncovered dough in the refrigerator to chill overnight. (After this, you can proceed with the recipe to make the brioche loaves, or make the sticky buns instead, or freeze all or part of the dough for later use.)

The next day, butter and flour two 8 1/2-x-4 1/2-inch pans.

Pull the dough from the fridge and divide it into 2 equal pieces. Cut each piece of the dough into 4 equal pieces and roll each piece into a log about 3 1/2 inches long. Arrange 4 logs crosswise in the bottom of each pan. Put the pans on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat, cover the pans lightly with wax paper and leave the loaves at room temperature until the dough almost fills the pans, 1 to 2 hours. (Again, rising time will depend on how warm the room is.)

Getting Ready To Bake: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

To Make the Glaze: Beat the egg with the water. Using a pastry brush, gently brush the tops of the loaves with the glaze.

Bake the loaves until they are well risen and deeply golden, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer the pans to racks to cool for 15 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the pans and turn the loaves out onto the racks. Invert again and cool for at least 1 hour.

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67 comments:

Gretchen Noelle said...

Maple syrup sounds like a great change! I love that you say your red friend was dancing for joy! Great visual!!

April said...

They look great! I bet the maple syrup was great in these!

Mary Ann said...

Oh how scrumptious! They look perfect

Isabelle Lambert said...

certain que le beurre...ça change toutes les affaires dans une brioche ! lol!..tu sais Lyb...c'est pour cela que j'adore boulanger...je suis une fan de bon pain et de bonnes viennoiseries...et comme on n'est jamais mieux servi que par soi même...
etk, tes brioches sont parfaitement réussies

Anonymous said...

I wish I had one of those this morning. Yum!!

Mari said...

Brioche is just the best and once you've done it once, you realize just how worth the effort it is. I to would have put off tackling brioche forever, had it not been for TWD. I think I'll follow your lead next time and try these buns with maple syrup, yours look fabulous!

Engineer Baker said...

Maple syrup? I'd be dancing for joy too!

Anonymous said...

Ah, the contessa makes everything look so good. Gorgeous sticky buns! And an excellent excuse to make brioche dough.

Robin said...

Wow, these look and sound fantastic!

grace said...

goooood call with the maple syrup substitution! i don't particularly care for honey (except for in baklava...go figure), but i could literally pour maple syrup down my throat. your buns look real nice. :)

Jules Someone said...

I'm so excited that you used the maple syrup! I dislike a strong honey flavor, and I was wondering if I could use maple instead. I chickened out this week, but now I think I have to make them!

Elle said...

Those look perfect! And delicious, too.

Anonymous said...

How scrumptious these buns look!
My Empire Red also did a little dance of joy. I actually had to hold her down a little so she didn't hurt herself with a leap off the bakers rack!

Anonymous said...

I love that aspect of food blogs too. As much as I love lemon desserts, I don't know when I would have gotten around to making that lemon cream tart with TWD to get the ball rolling - all the butter would have dissuaded me!

Patricia Scarpin said...

LyB, blogging is an excuse for so many delicious things around the house and I love that! :)
These buns are so good! I have to bake them, too.

Anonymous said...

Gotta love how TWD makes you do things that wouldn't otherwise get done. Glad to hear it worked out so well.

PheMom said...

That exact same episode was when I decided I had to try making brioche too! LOL - I did try that recipe though and wasn't remotely as good as Dorie's (or as friendly to work with either).

Your pictures all look amazing!!

Anonymous said...

I can totally relate to your first sentence! And I really like the idea of maple syrup - I will try that next time.

Anonymous said...

Maple syrup...yum. Glad your little helper made it through.

Bumblebutton said...

They look terrific! And wasn't it fun to break in the dough hook? I'm sure it was pleased to finally be chosen!

ostwestwind said...

Maple syrup, that sounds great! They look perfect!

http://ostwestwind.twoday.net/stories/4072598/

Unknown said...

Maple syrup...sound even better! Gorgeous buns there...

The Kitchen Vixen said...

What a great idea with the maple syrup. I dont really care for honey and that would have been a great alternative for me. Amazing pictures. Great Job!

marae said...

oooh maple sounds great, i used wildflower honey and it was amazing!! i agree re: having an 'excuse'...i would never have made brioche or anything with 3 sticks of butter on my own hehee.

CB said...

Gorgeous photos! I just wanna reach into the computer and steal some! You have an empire red KA? ME TOO! We're KA twins! ;) Great job!
Clara @ I♥food4thought

Sharon said...

Oh, I am salivating...they look great. The more blogs I read the more determined I am to try this again and get it right!

Anne said...

Maple syrup, yum! I have an EmpireRed myself. They're the best! Great job-

Prudy said...

Ooh- maple. Now I want to make them again. I'm so glad I've got some in the freezer to play around with.

Amy said...

Your buns look wonderful! And I like the change you made. I am always too scared to change on my first try. I will be brave...one day!

Cookie baker Lynn said...

Definitely worth the wait! I think I gained 3 pounds just looking at those pictures.

Marie Rayner said...

Your buns look fabulous! I love the idea of using maple syrup! Fantastic!

kimberly salem said...

isn't it nice to have such a great excuse to make ridiculously fattening things? ;) nice job!

Lori said...

I agree that it was a good excuse to make brioche. I have always wanted to bu t the butter put me off as well.

It was worth it though.

Ginny said...

I'm drooling! I agree, blogging is a perfect excuse to make something so guilty but delicious!

Anonymous said...

Mmm... I bet the maple syrup made it amazing! I need to try that next time since I don't like honey very much.

Samira said...

yours turned out sooooo good! i am super jealous. mine dont look nearly as great as yours!
keep up the good work.

Liliana said...

Your buns look delicious! Next time I make these I will use maple syrup which I have tons of. Great idea!

Heather B said...

Maple syrup sounds yum! Great job!

Elle said...

Oh my gosh. It's after dinner and I'm back here looking at these again. I'll make coffee for everyone, if you'll just find a way to beam me one of those. :)

test it comm said...

Those look so good!! I have been wanting to make brioche for a long time. I have also wanted to make sticky buns for a while. Bookmarked

Anonymous said...

Stunning photos!
The ever-important dough hook! My husband learned that you can strip the gears out of the Kitchen Aid if you forget to use it. I learned that showing up to the repair shop with a plate of cookies just to check on the progress of the repair can get your mixer back really quickly even if it is just a few days before Christmas!

Anonymous said...

oooooh....yours look sooooo perfect and amazing! I wish I had thought of maple syrup, my favorite! I bet it gave them the PERFECT flavor!

Anonymous said...

Oh, that last anonymous comment was me, sorry

Unknown said...

oh goodness, i bet the maple syrup tasted terrific on this! your photos are gorgeous, your buns look amazingly delish!

Jayne said...

Mmm, maple syrup sounds really good. Perfect breakfast flavor! Your pictures look gorgeous, by the way!

Tarah at Genesis of a Cook said...

Those look amazing!!

Natalie said...

Oh, maple syrup sounds delicious! Beautiful buns too!

Linda said...

Absolutely delish looking. I really like the substibution you made with maple syrup, and I will definitely try it the next time I bake these!

MOONSTITCHES said...

Gosh, you should have heard me when I saw the page loading up... what am I doing now? I am CRAVING for these Pecan Honey Sticky Buns. They look divine.
No way to try them as we have no butter in Japan right now, but I will keep them in mind for some time in the future. Oh, they do look so great.... Thanks for sharing the recipe!

Peabody said...

Maple Syrup sounds like a great idea.

noskos said...

Great looking buns!

Helene said...

Yes to the maple syrup...big time! Wonderful interpretation!

Mama Mia said...

mmmmmm I want that for breakfast please!

Lauren said...

Loved the read and photos. Thanks.

Garrett said...

I absolutely agree - there are tons of things that I'm baking now that I've started the blog that I wouldn't normally bake. These buns look great! Maple syrup definitely sounds like an interesting change.

Shari@Whisk: a food blog said...

I like your idea of using maple syrup in the glaze instead of honey! Lots of maple syrup up here in Canada (especially when my father-in-law makes his own!). Thanks for the tip!
Shari@Whisk: a food blog

SYD said...

These look absolutely delicious. Love maple syrup and it gives it an interesting twist.

Jaime said...

they look beautiful! i'm curious now as to how the maple syrup tasted...

Nic said...

Oh man, I would love these for breakfast.... or any time you want to bring them over!

Rajani said...

wowwoow these look amazing!!!! Your blog's lovely and great pics. I ve been drooling ever since I got here. Putting your link up on my blog. I totally admire anyone, anyone who can bake - I don't know how you do it! I am pathetic when it comes to baking - but you've got some great recipes here and who knows one day I'll try one of them out!!!

Anonymous said...

Hey LyB!
Great buns! And the maple syrup was a nice touch! Have to try that next time!

Anonymous said...

Does anyone ever ask to buy one of your photos? Great job on both photography and baking

The Food Librarian said...

sooooo pretty and what a wonderful saturday meal!

Mumsy said...

They turned out great! Next time I am going to use maple syrup. Yum!

eatme_delicious said...

Yum your buns look perfect! Great idea to use maple syrup instead of honey!

BAKE-EN said...

Yum, I'm from Vermont originally; so I love maple syrup. Sounds incredible.

Paula @ Vintage Kitchen Notes said...

These buns were amazing and maple syrup could only elevate them a bit! Great pictures