Morning Buns

Ingredients

Dough

• 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

• 1 cup warm low-fat milk, 1/4 cup chilled low-fat milk

• 1 tablespoon and 1/4 cup maple syrup or honey

• 585 grams (4 1/2 cups) bread flour

• 4 eggs, separated

• A pinch of salt

• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

• 2 sticks (1 cup) room temperature unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Filling

• 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter

• 1/2 cup honey

• 2 tablespoons cinnamon

• 1/2 cup brown sugar

• 1 cup of chopped and toasted pecans

Preparation

1. Dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast, 1 cup of warm milk, and 1 tablespoon maple syrup. Let it sit until it becomes foamy (this should happen in about 7 minutes).

2. Add 260 grams of bread flour, 4 egg whites, and 1/4 cup maple syrup. Use a paddle attachment on medium to beat everything together for 2 minutes. It should be light and thickened. Scrape down the bowl and remove the paddle. Add the remaining 325 grams of bread flour to the top and let it sit undisturbed for 35 minutes at room temperature. The bottom layer should bubble up during that time.

3. Add 4 egg yolks, a pinch of salt, tablespoon of vanilla extract, and 1/4 cup cold milk to the stand mixer bowl. Use a dough hook to mix this together on medium for 10 minutes. The dough should become soft and not be sticky. Add extra bread flour (a tablespoon at a time) if it is sticky until it becomes soft and elastic.

4. On medium speed, slowly add in the 2 sticks of butter about 1 tablespoon at a time. Mix each piece until completely incorporated before adding another. When done, the dough should be soft, smooth, and bounce when poked. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator over night (at least 8 hours).

5. Filling: Melt 1 stick of butter and 1/2 cup honey in a medium size heatproof bowl in the microwave. Add 2 tablespoons of cinnamon and 1/2 cup brown sugar. Mix well to combine everything. Then add the cup of chopped pecans and mix again to stir everything together.

6. Turn dough onto a piece of parchment paper. Cut it in half and put half back in the refrigerator. Then roll out the remaining half into a large rectangle on the parchment paper (about 18" x 12"). Then add half of the filling to the rectangle and spread to cover the entire rectangle. From the long end, roll the rectangle into a log. Use the parchment paper to help you roll. Chill the log while you repeat the process with the other half of the dough.

7. Preheat the oven to 350 ºF and grease two 12-cup muffin tins with melted butter. Place the muffin tins on baking sheets to ensure that nothing spills into your oven while baking.

8. Trim the ends off both logs. Then cut each log into quarters and then cut each quarter into three pieces to make 12 morning buns that are the same size from each roll. Add them to the greased muffin tins and let sit for 30 minutes or until they have a slight indent when poked.

9. Bake the buns until they are golden brown (about 25 minutes). Remove them from the oven and quickly remove them from the pans as soon as you can because the hardened sugar will make them difficult to remove. Place them on wire racks to let cool. Serve them for brunch or store them in an airtight container.

Notes

• Yield: 24 morning buns

• Estimated active time: 2.5 hours

• Estimated total time: 14 hours