Sticky buns, cinnamon rolls, and morning buns. I’m a fan of all sweet pastries deemed appropriate for breakfast. However, if I had to chose a favorite, it’d definitely be pecan sticky buns. Cinnamon rolls are made with a standard yeasted dough. Morning buns are often made with a flakey layered puff pastry. Sticky buns are special. They’re made using a brioche dough. It’s the brioche dough that makes sticky buns so ridiculously decadent and delicious. Since brioche bread had a higher amount of eggs and butter compared to bread used for cinnamon rolls, it resulting sticky buns are much softer, richer, and more flavorful.
Sticky buns are made upside down, baked, and then inverted onto a serving plate. During assembly, the bottom of the baking pan is coated with a gooey caramel sauce made with brown sugar and honey. While this recipe uses lightly toasted pecans, walnuts are an equally tasty substitute. I like to add a little orange zest to the cinnamon sugar mixture that fills the brioche dough. It adds a nice aromatic touch and a pop of brightness to this otherwise very rich treat. The sticky buns will start off small, barely filling the pan (as shown in the photograph above). After resting, they will puff up and expand to fill the entire pan.
Although homemade pecan sticky buns are bit time consuming due to the dough’s resting times, I believe the results are well worth the effort. Best of all, you can prepare the dough the night before, keep it chilled in the fridge, and simple bake it the following morning. Imagine waking up to the scent of sticky buns warming up in the oven. It would definitely lead to a delicious morning and a happy day!
This is the kind of recipe I like to reserve for special occasions (birthdays, holidays, and especially when I have guests staying over). It’s a dish that everyone will love and talk about all day.
Here are a few more breakfast bread recipes you might enjoy:
Sourdough Sticky Honey Buns by Flavor RD Caramel Walnut Sticky Buns by The Little Epicurean Triple Glazed Cranberry Pecan Sticky Buns by Broma Bakery Orange Sticky Buns by Recipe Girl
