Small batch maple pecan sticky buns with the fluffiest milk bread brioche cinnamon rolls.
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small batch maple pecan sticky buns
Today we’re taking my favorite, perfected small batch cinnamon rolls and somehow making them even MORE delicious. The dough is a milk bread dough which means it’s super light and fluffy, way more than your average cinnamon roll dough. They’re rolled with butter, brown sugar and cinnamon like your standard cinnamon roll, but then, the magic comes in. We make a super simple, super delicious maple syrup caramel, pour it into the pan, top it with pecans, then bake the cinnamon rolls on top of them.
I can’t say enough great things about these maple pecan sticky buns. Below are a *TON* of tips, tricks and notes that (I hope) are helpful for succeeding with this recipe. I know yeast dough can seem super intimidating and it’s a lot of information, but once you’ve got the basics down it becomes intuitive, easy and fun to make!
why you’ll love these maple pecan sticky buns:
- They’re small batch: because we don’t always need enough cinnamon rolls for a party, sometimes we just need enough for ourselves!
- They’re super soft and fluffy: The tangzhong (milk bread) method makes these super soft and fluffy.
- Maple pecan topping: because regular cinnamon rolls are great and all, but why not top them with maple & pecans to make them *even better.*
expert baking tips
Weigh your ingredients:
My recipes are all written in grams because it is the most accurate way to bake. When you use a kitchen scale, you ensure that your baked goods turn out as close to the written recipe as possible. Plus, the cleanup is way easier when using a scale! I will provide standard cup measurements but please note that I have not tested the recipe using cup measurements and therefore can not guarantee your recipe will come out how mine did. Here is my favorite kitchen scale.
Use room temperature ingredients:
It’s important that your ingredients are at room temperature so that they can easily incorporate with each other. Take out your cold ingredients about an hour before you’ll need them.
the dough will take a while to knead
Kneading this dough will take a longer time than you are probably used to. This dough is enriched with eggs and butter which makes it take longer for the proper amount of gluten to develop. Kneading in the mixer can take me anywhere from 10-20 minutes. The dough is ready to be used when it passes the windowpane test and has pulled away from the sides and bottom of the bowl. If you are weighing your ingredients, just trust the process! If you are using cup measurements and the dough just is not coming together after 15 minutes, try adding in 1 tbsp. of flour at a time.
how to tell your dough is done kneading: the windowpane test
The windowpane test is (in my opinion) the best way to tell that your dough has been properly kneaded. Once the dough starts to pull away from the sides and the bottom of the mixing bowl, it is most likely ready. However, just to be sure that it’s good to go I check if it passes the windowpane test. To do that, take some of the dough in your hands and start to slowly stretch it out. If it can get thin enough to where light passes through it before tearing, then it’s good to go! If not, keep kneading until it does!
A note on oven temperature:
Ovens vary and fluctuate in temperature and might not always actually be at the temperature they claim to be at. If you love to bake like I do, I highly recommend getting an oven thermometer. They are super helpful for letting you know when your oven might be lying to you! I use this one.
ingredients for small batch maple pecan sticky buns
Milk bread dough:
- Bread flour: for structure. I recommend bread flour because I think it produces a better dough, however, you can use an all purpose flour with a higher protein %, such as King Arthur (11.7%) so that your gluten will develop. If you’re using a low protein flour, the gluten will not develop enough and you will have to add a lot more flour to the brioche.
- Active dry yeast: for making the dough rise. You can easily substitute in instant yeast if that is what you have on hand. You will just skip the step of combining the warm milk, sugar, and yeast!
- Salt: for balancing and bringing out the sweetness of the brioche. Salt also “controls” the yeast to make sure that it does not overly expand.
- Dark brown sugar: for sweetening the brioche and for helping the yeast with rising.
- Egg: for binding and adding moisture.
- Unsalted butter: for tenderizing the brioche rolls and giving them a buttery, melt-in-your-mouth feel. I would not recommend substituting in salted butter since salt is important to controlling yeast growth and the amount of salt in salted butter is a little variable.
- Whole milk: for tenderizing and hydrating the dough. Whole milk will provide the softest rolls because the extra fat helps tenderize the dough. You can however swap in 1%, 2% or your favorite non dairy milk alternative! Just note that the dough may be a little less soft and fluffy due to the varying fat content.
cinnamon filling:
- Unsalted butter: we make brown butter with this for some great flavor!
- Dark brown sugar: I recommend dark brown just for the extra flavor it adds, but light brown works perfectly as well!
- Ground cinnamon: to turn it into a cinnamon roll of course.
maple pecan topping:
- Unsalted butter: for flavor. You can use salted butter, just be sure to omit the extra salt from the topping.
- Pure maple syrup: for flavor and sweetness. I use and recommend pure maple syrup for the best maple flavor.
- Dark brown sugar: for flavor and sweetness. In a pinch, light brown sugar will work as well.
- Salt: for flavor.
- Crushed pecans: the star of the show!
how to make small batch maple pecan sticky buns
Below are some steps of the maple pecan sticky buns process. You can find the full recipe at the end of this page!
- Make the maple caramel and pour it over the pecans in a pan.
- Roll out the dough.
- Spread the butter and cinnamon sugar over the dough.
- Roll up the rolls and slice them into 6 even pieces. Evenly space out the rolls on top of the pecans. Let the dough rise again, then bake, flip, serve, and enjoy!
small batch maple pecan sticky buns
recipe q&a
what is tangzhong / milk bread?
Tangzhong is a cooking method that involves cooking a portion of the flour in a recipe with 4-5x the amount of liquid. Cooking the flour pre-gelatinizes the starch in the flour, allowing it to hold on to more liquid. This leads to a bread that can hold way more liquid than it normally would be able to, which makes the bread softer, and fluffier, and keeps it from staling as fast. It’s basically a secret ingredient for better bread, using ingredients you already need for the bread! If you ever see the word “milk bread”, that means that that bread uses tangzhong!
how to store maple pecan sticky buns
Cinnamon rolls are definitely going to taste the best the day that they are baked, and I highly *highly* recommend serving them on the same day. If you’re not consuming them all in one day, store any extra cream cheese glaze in the fridge and keep the cinnamon rolls in an airtight container at room temperature. When you want to have a cinnamon roll, heat it in the microwave for 5-10 seconds before icing it, then enjoy!
can I double this recipe?
Definitely! I even more strongly recommend using a kitchen scale if you are scaling up the recipe, for the best results.
can I use instant yeast instead of active dry yeast?
Definitely – just pop all of the dough ingredients into your mixing bowl to start kneading. I recommend refrigerating the dough overnight to make it easier to work with and more flavorful. However, if you are making the recipe all in one day, and using instant yeast, let the dough rest for just 10 minutes as the first rise (or whatever the instructions are on your yeast packet), then proceed with the rest of the recipe.
can I make the dough ahead of time?
Yes, and I highly recommend it! Brioche dough is a very enriched dough that can be hard to work with when warm. Knead the dough together, cover it, and leave it to rise in the fridge overnight. When you’re ready, take the dough out of the fridge and proceed with the recipe.
if the dough just isn’t coming together
I can’t recommend the use of a kitchen scale enough, especially for this super-hydrated dough. If you’ve been kneading and kneading and the dough still won’t come together, add 1 tbsp. of flour at a time and knead for 2 minutes until the dough comes together. Please note that the dough at times has taken me up to 20 minutes to knead and pass the windowpane test!
tools and ingredients:
You can find all my favorite tools and ingredients that I use on my Amazon Storefront page, here!
other recipes you might enjoy:
did you make this recipe?
I’d love to see and know your thoughts! please leave a comment and review below, and tag me on instagram @freshbeanbakery. #freshbeanbakery
Small Batch Maple Pecan Sticky Buns
Ingredients
Tangzhong
- 24 g bread flour (3 tbsp.)
- 100 g whole milk (⅓ c. + 2 tbsp.)
Dough
- 90 g whole milk (⅓ c. + 1 tbsp.)
- 1 tbsp. dark brown sugar
- 1 ½ tsp. active dry yeast
- 1 egg room temperature
- 240 g bread flour (2 c.)
- 1 tsp. salt
- 42 g unsalted butter room temperature (3 tbsp.)
Maple Pecan Topping
- 56 g unsalted butter (4 tbsp.)
- 40 g pure maple syrup (2 tbsp.)
- 75 g dark brown sugar (¼ c. + 2 tbsp.)
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 120 g crushed pecans (1 c.)
Filling
- 35 g unsalted butter (2 ½ tbsp.)
- 100 g dark brown sugar (½ c.)
- 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
Instructions
Tangzhong
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, continuously stir together the flour and milk until the mixture and thickens into a thick slurry. Take off the heat and set aside. Alternatively, whisk together the flour and milk in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring after each, until the mixture becomes a thick slurry.
Dough
- Add all of the ingredients, including the tangzhong into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment.
- Knead the mixture on medium speed for ~15-20 minutes. The dough is ready when it is no longer sticking to the sides or bottom of the bowl, and passes the windowpane test.*
- Once the dough is done kneading, shape the dough into a ball and place it back into the mixing bowl. Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap, and place it in a warm area to rise until doubled in size (~1 hr.)**
Maple Pecan Topping
- *Save this step until the dough has doubled in size.* Butter and line an eighth sheet pan with parchment paper.*** Spread the pecans into an even layer in the pan.
- Add the butter, maple syrup, sugar, and salt to a small saucepan. Set the mixture over medium heat, stirring often until the butter has melted and the mixture is smooth.
- Let the mixture come to a boil, and boil for 2 minutes. Remove the mixture from the heat and pour it over the pecans.
Filling
- In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon and set aside.
- Once the dough has finished rising, lightly punch it down to remove any excess air in it. Transfer the dough to a clean and lightly floured surface, then roll it out to a 12″ x 16″ (30 x 40 cm) rectangle. If the dough keeps springing back a lot while rolling it out, let it rest for 5 minutes before continuing.
- Melt the butter, then spread it over the dough. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the butter in an even layer.
- From the longer side, roll up the dough into a tight long. Use a sharp knife or floss to cut the dough into 6 even pieces. Evenly space out the rolls over the pecans.
- Lightly cover the pan with a towel, and let the rolls rise in a warm environment until they puff up a bit (~30 minutes).
- Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C.
- Once the rolls have puffed up, brush the tops of them with milk or heavy cream. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the internal temperature of the rolls has reached 190°F / 88°C.
- Let the rolls sit for at least 15 minutes, then flip them over onto a large plate or serving platter. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Please note that the nutrition facts are only an estimate and may vary based on different brands of ingredients and any substitutions made.