Old Fashioned (yet easy) Sticky Buns

The 5th and last post in my "Bun in the Oven" series. Read about the inspiration here. 

This wouldn’t be a proper “Bun in the Oven” series without a good old-fashioned American sticky bun recipe.

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve featured two sweet bun recipes, but both have been Norwegian-of-origin. I don’t want you all to think I’ve lost my roots and sense of taste altogether, so consider this a way to redeem my Americaness. To bring back to home the flavors I grew up with. The brown sugar. The butter. The cinnamon. The pecans.

The Goo

What’s there to say about sticky buns.....

Firstly, Norwegians have never heard of them. Presented with a fresh sticky bun hot-out-of-the-oven, my husband intuitively opened up the cutlery drawer and drew out a fork and knife. In my opinion, you eat a sticky bun with your hands and your hands only. That way, you can lick all your fingers afterwards and don’t have to look goofy picking up the plate to give it a good rinse with your tongue.

Secondly, when presented with a plate of said hot-out-of-the-oven sticky buns, our Norwegian nephews grew skeptical. They took one look at the gooey, nutty, doughy mess and asked their mom for an apple. Not wanting to hurt their American aunt’s feelings, the mother told the boys (in one way or another) that: no, they couldn’t have an apple, they would eat a sticky bun and they would like it.

"Forbidden Fruit"

We have to talk some sense into our kids once in a while.

So what’s different about my sticky bun recipe??? Well, first off, it’s quick and easy and doesn’t even require the use of a package of pre-made grocery store pastry rolls. These sticky buns are of the “no knead” variety, which I’m usually very much against, but since this comes from a reputable source, I risked the laziness and still got great results. Also, you can mix up the dough up to three days in advance, stick it in the fridge, and have quick, fresh buns first thing on one of the mornings. Of course, a Norwegian would never dream of eating sticky buns so early in the day (and especially not with their fingers!) but since this is an American recipe and I am, in fact, still an American, I say go ahead and skip the oatmeal and dive on into a sticky bun or two.

This raps up my “Bun in the Oven” series. After two weeks of bun eating, not only am I quite pleased with how things have turned out, I think my little bun is too.

"Bun From Above"

Catch up on my first four “Bun in the Oven” posts:

Rosinboller- Norwegian raisin buns

Buttermilk Biscuits- buns spiked with jalapeños and cheddar

Skolleboller- Norwegian “School Buns”, filled with vanilla custard and topped with coconut

Really Good Hamburger Buns- aka: "Buns on the Bathroom Floor"

 

Old Fashioned (yet easy) Sticky Buns

Klistrende Amerikanske Boller

Adapted from kingarthurflour.com (check out the link for a good demostrative bun-makin' video)

Sent into yeastspotting

*Recipe given yields 3- 8 bun batches. I divided the recipe in 3 for a single batch, but you could certainly make the full amount if you have lots of bellies to fill or like to keep something special in the freezer for another lazy morning. You’ll need a 9” (23 cm) round pan for baking.

 

Dough

**6 3/4 – 7 3/4 (900 g -1 kilo) All-Purpose flour

1 Tablespoon + 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 Tablespoons instant yeast         

1 3/4 cups (440 ml) lukewarm water

4 large eggs

1/2 cup (170 g) honey

1/2 cup (120 ml) melted butter (or vegetable oil)

Filling

3 Tablespoons butter, melted

2/3 cup (130 g) granulated sugar mixed with 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon

 

Topping

3 tablespoons butter, melted

2 tablespoons maple syrup, honey, or corn syrup, light or dark

1/3 cup (65 g) brown sugar

2/3 cup (75 g) pecan halves or coarsely chopped pecans

                 

**The flour/liquid ratio is important in this recipe. If you measure flour by sprinkling it into your measuring cup, then gently sweeping off the excess, use 7 3/4 cups. If you measure flour by dipping your cup into the canister, then sweeping off the excess, use 6 3/4 cups. Most accurate of all, and guaranteed to give you the best results, if you measure flour by weight, use 33 ounces (935 g).

1) To make the dough: Combine all of the dough ingredients, in the order written, in a very large bowl. Stir to make a sticky dough. You can do this in a stand mixer and then transfer to a larger bowl; or simply use a big bowl and spoon (or dough whisk). Cover the bowl, and let the dough rise for 2 hours at cool room temperature.

2) Refrigerate the dough for at least several hours, to chill it and make it easier to work with. It can be refrigerated for up to 3 days before using.

3) To make sticky buns: grease your hands with oil or butter and dip them into the dough in the bucket. Pinch off/pull out 1/3 of the dough; this is about the size of a large grapefruit, a scant 22 ounces (620 g). For best accuracy, weigh on a scale. Place the remaining dough back in the refrigerator, to use another time. Or wrap and store in the freezer. This dough recipe is enough to make three 9" (23 cm) round pans of sticky buns.

4) Transfer the dough to a floured work surface, and roll it into a rectangle approximately 15" x 10" (40 cm x 25 cm).

5) Brush a third of the melted butter over the dough, sprinkle over the cinnamon and sugar mixture, leaving a narrow margin around the edges uncovered.

6) Starting with a long edge, gently roll the dough into a log. Don't roll it too tightly; if you do, the centers of the buns will pop up as they bake. Then cut the log into 8 pieces.

7) Prepare the topping by spreading the melted butter and syrup (or honey) in your lightly greased 9" (23 cm)  round cake pan. Sprinkle the sugar atop the butter, then scatter the nuts atop the sugar.

8) Space the buns in the pan. Lightly press each down till they're touching one another.

9) Cover the pan, and allow the buns to rise till they're quite puffy, about 1 hour. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350F/175C.

10) Uncover the pan, and bake the buns for 40 to 45 minutes, till they're a deep golden brown.

11) After removing the pan from the oven, turn it over onto a piece of parchment, or onto a cooling rack set over a piece of parchment or waxed paper (to catch any drips). Lift off the pan, and scrape any nuts or sugar in the pan onto the buns.

12) Serve immediately, or let the buns cool a bit. Wrap any leftovers securely, and store at room temperature.

Comments

[Sassy Molassy]

As usual, these look amazing and not TOO hard to make. Love the bump photo. Looking forward to some full body side profiles if ya know what i mean. ;)

[rachel]

As usual, great buns, Siri!

[gemma]

Siri, those photos are mouth-watering! Lovely.

[Murasaki Shikibu]

This looks really good to me. Kids are really peculiar sometimes about eating things that look different. =P

I also appreciate all the notes you made about what to be careful about. :)

[Karen]

Siri,
I made the sticky buns this morning for Britta's almost last breakfast before leaving for Africa. Remember Patrice? She was the food maven for the U of M house in the Solar Decathlon. See her blog entry: http://blog.lib.umn.edu/solard/blog/2009/10/icon-solar-house-adventures-in-dinner-parties.html. The U of M came in 5th overall, and her dinner was a hit. http://www.solardecathlon.org/. Keep on blogging. We really enjoy it.

[Amy]

Hi, just found your blog..I love to bake so this is a great find! And Sticky Buns...YUM....lovin' it!! Haven't read your whole story, how long have you been in Norway? I've been here 14 years, first 12 on the west coast between Molde and Kristiansund on an island called Averøy, the last 2 have been on an island in the middle of the Mjøsa!! Talk about ironic!! hahaha!
I'll be back!!:-))