Georgia Pecan Buns Recipes

PECAN STICKY BUNS

Steps:

• Place the yeast and warm water in a small bowl and stir with a fork to dissolve the yeast. Allow it to stand for about 3 minutes.
• Mix the flour and salt together in a large bowl. Add the warm water and the yeast mixture and stir with your fingers to moisten the flour, scraping the sides of the bowl and folding the dough over itself until it gathers into a shaggy mass.
• Move the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead it by hand for 5 minutes. This is a soft, moist dough. If the dough seems too stiff and hard to knead, add extra warm water 1 tablespoon at a time until you get a nice malleable dough. Gently shape the dough into a loose ball, cover it with plastic, and let it rest on the table for 20 minutes. (This rest period is the autolyse.)
• Gently knead the dough on the lightly floured surface for 1 to 2 more minutes, or until it becomes smooth, supple, and elastic but not too firm. The texture of the dough should be soft but springy. Shape the dough into a loose ball, place it in a lightly oiled bowl, and turn to coat the top with oil. Cover it tightly with plastic wrap and let it rise at room temperature (75 to 77 degrees F) until it has doubled in volume, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• While the dough is rising; in a small saucepan, heat the 9 tablespoons butter and the dark brown sugar over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the butter has melted and the sugar is completely moistened (it won't be dissolved), then whisk until the mixture looks silky and a little lighter in color. Use 1 tablespoon softened butter to grease the sides of a 9-inch square pan, then pour in the caramel, tilting the pan slightly so the mixture spreads evenly over the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle the toasted pecans over the warm caramel and press them down slightly. Put the pan in the refrigerator to cool the caramel; be the pan's on a level surface. Put the granulated sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and stir until evenly mixed. Set aside.
• When the dough has doubled, gently pour it out of the bowl onto the floured work surface. Flatten the dough and stretch it with your fingers to form a 13 by 10-inch rectangle, with a longside facing you. Work gently so you don't tear the dough surface. The dough should stretch easily at this point, but if it resists, let it rest for 5 minutes and resume stretching. Check to be sure the dough isn't sticking to the work surface; flour the table again, if necessary.
• Spread 3 tablespoons of the softened butter evenly over the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch strip unbuttered along the top edge. Sprinkle the cinnamon/sugar mixture generously and evenly over the butter, again leaving the top 1/2-inch of the rectangle bare. Starting with the bottom edge, roll up the dough jelly-roll fashion into a long log. If the dough sticks to the table as you're rolling, use a dough scraper to loosen it gently. Pinch gently but firmly along the seam to seal it. If necessary, gently shape the roll so it is a nice uniform log.
• Take the caramel-lined pan out of the refrigerator. Cut the log of dough into 9 equal pieces. (It's easiest to mark the roll first to show where you're going to make the cuts--a slight indentation with the knife edge will do--then use a sharp serrated knife to cut completely through the dough.) Lay the pieces cut side down on top of the caramel. Don't worry if it's a tight fit. Let rise, uncovered, at room temperature until the dough has almost doubled, about 1 to 1 1/4 hours. The rolls should fill the pan and extend 1/2 to 3/4-inch above it. In the meantime, position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Put the pan of sticky buns on a foil-lined baking sheet and place it in the oven. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake for 30 to 40 minutes longer, until the tops of the buns are golden brown and crusty. It's important to bake the buns long enough so the dough is cooked all the way through and the caramel topping develops properly. Set the pan of buns on a rack to cool for 5 minutes. Then quickly but carefully turn the pan upside-down and release the sticky buns onto a large flat heatproof plate. Immediately scrape out any hot caramel remaining in the bottom of the pan and spread it on the tops of the buns, filling in any bare spots. Let them cool until just warm before serving. (Clean the pan by soaking it in very hot water to dissolve the caramel.) Store any leftovers covered in plastic wrap at room temperature.

PECAN STICKY BUNS

Steps:

• Heat the milk in the microwave in a small bowl for 1 minute 30 seconds. Remove from the microwave and add slices of butter. Stir until butter has melted. If butter doesn't completely melt, heat for an additional 10 seconds in the microwave. Pour the warm milk and butter mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer. Sprinkle the yeast over the surface and let it sit for about 5 to 7 minutes or until you see bubbles on the surface which indicates that the yeast has been activated.
• Using the paddle attachment, add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition. Add the sugar and salt and continue mixing to combine.
• Remove the paddle attachment and switch to the dough hook. Add 3 cups of flour and mix until the flour is completely incorporated. Add additional flour in ½ cup increments, mixing in between, until you've added a total of 4 cups. Continue mixing and add very small amounts of flour (⅛-cup to ¼-cup increments) until the dough has come together and is mostly holding on to the hook (some will still be at the bottom of the mixing bowl). You may not need the entire amount (I usually need about 4 ½ to 4 ¾ cup total). Continue mixing to knead the dough for about 5 or 6 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. Dough will be very sticky.
• Coat a large mixing bowl with nonstick cooking spray, lightly flour your hands and scrape the dough from the mixing bowl and into the prepared bowl. Form it into a ball with your hands and turn it over to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen cloth and allow the dough to rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 to 2 hours.
• Punch down the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Use a rolling pin to roll into a 14- x 18-inch rectangle. Pour the melted butter over the surface of the dough and use a pastry brush to coat the entire surface evenly.
• In a small bowl combine the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and cinnamon. Sprinkle evenly over the melted butter.
• Roll up the dough, lengthwise, into a log, forming and shaping the dough with your hands to make it as even as possible. (Check length again after rolling and compress with your hands, if necessary, so it's 18-inches long). Trim and discard the uneven ends of the roll and then slice it in half. Then, slice each half into 6 equal size pieces for a total of 12 buns.
• Coat a 13- x 9-inch metal, glass or ceramic baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Scatter the pecans evenly over the bottom of the pan. Be sure they are packed down evenly so the tops of the buns will all be coated with nuts.
• Melt the butter with the brown sugar, honey, and salt in a small saucepan over LOW heat. When the butter has melted, simmer the mixture, stirring constantly, for 1 minute,until it comes together into a thin caramel mixture. Stir in the vanilla extract and cook, stirring, for another 30 seconds. Remove from the heat and pour the mixture evenly over the pecans.
• Place the buns over the caramel pecan mixture (3-across width of pan/4-down length of pan). Cover the baking dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
• The next morning, take the baking pan out of the refrigerator, remove the plastic wrap, and let it stand at room temperature for 30 to 45 minutes.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake for 22 to 30 minutes or until golden brown (buns will cook more quickly in a metal pan than in a glass pan). Place a piece of foil lightly over the top of the baking pan for the last 5 to 10 minutes of the baking time if needed, to prevent over-browning but to allow the buns to bake through to the center.
• Remove the pan from the oven and let the sticky buns cool for 5 minutes in the pan.
• Using oven mitts, carefully invert the pan onto a large serving platter or baking sheet (see tips below). Allow the pan to stay upside down over the rolls without lifting it for a few minutes and the warm topping will melt down the sides. Remove the pan. Serve warm.

GEORGIA PECAN BUNS

Steps:

• 1. Warm milk up to 30 seconds in microwave, just until warm. Combine milk, yeast and milk in a stand mixer until foamy. About 5 minutes. You'll need your dough hook for this.
• 2. Add eggs, flour and salt to the bowl and mix until a sticky dough forms. Beat in 2 tablespoons soft butter at a time, mixing well between each addition. Once dough is incorporated well, knead dough with hands for about 10 minutes.
• 3. Shape the dough into a ball and place in a lightly greased (PAM spray) bowl. Cover with plastic and store in the fridge over night or for at lease 8 hours. It will double in size!
• 4. Next you will roll dough onto a floured surface. Rolling it into a 12x16 rectangle.
• 5. Spread the softened butter onto dough stopping just short of the edge of the short side. At this point you can combine your filling ingredients together and spread the on top of the butter.
• 6. Roll the dough starting from the short edge, tightly into a spiral, making sure the edge sticks to seal the edge.
• 7. Cut entire roll with a serrated knife in half. Then cut the two halves in half and each once again. You will have eight rolls.
• 8. Place the spirals into a greased 9x13 pan. Cover with plastic and sit in warm location, allowing to rise for 30-90 minutes. They will be puffy and touching when ready.
• 9. Bake the rolls 20-25 minutes. Once removing from the oven let cool for 5 minutes before frosting.
• 10. Using a hand mixer beat the cream cheese and butter together. Add half the powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon milk. Blending well. Add vanilla, remaining sugar and another tablespoon milk. Blending well. You can adjust to your desired consistency by adding more milk if you like.

GEORGIA PECAN BREAD

Steps:

• Position oven rack 1/3 up from the bottom of the oven; preheat oven to 350°.
• Butter an 8-inch loaf pan; dust the pan with fine, dry breadcrumbs; tap to shake out excess crumbs over a piece of paper; set aside.
• Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg; set aside.
• In a big bowl, beat the egg to mix; mix in the buttermilk, butter, and the sugar.
• Add in the dry ingredients; stir or beat only to mix; stir in the nuts.
• Turn mixture into prepared pan; smooth the top.
• Bake 1 hour and 5-10 minutes.
• Cover with a rack and turn the pan and rack over, remove from the pan and then very carefully turn the loaf right side up to cool.
• Wrap the cooled loaf and refrigerate overnight; if you slice it immediately, as soon as it has cooled, use a serrated knife.