Better Than Bakery Sticky Buns

Total Time: 2 hrs 40 mins Preparation Time: 2 hrs Cook Time: 40 mins

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon dry active yeast
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/3 cups lukewarm milk
• 4 whole eggs, plus
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/2 lb unsalted butter, softened
• 2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 cup currants
• 1/2 cup finely ground walnuts (use a food processor)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup honey
• 1/4 lb unsalted butter

Recipe

• 1 for the dough, sprinkle yeast and sugar over milk in a large mixing bowl; let stand until yeast bubbles, about 5 minutes.
• 2 whisk eggs and yolks together in a small bowl.
• 3 whisk in vanilla and salt.
• 4 sift flour and cardamom together and set aside.
• 5 stir egg mixture into yeast.
• 6 add butter and mix by hand until butter looks like small curdles.
• 7 mix in enough flour mixture to form a loose dough.
• 8 turn dough onto work surface sprinkled with remaining flour mixture.
• 9 knead, incorporating remaining flour, until dough is smooth and springs back slightly when touched, about 5 minutes.
• 10 place dough in a greased bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 1 to 2 hours.
• 11 for the filling, mix filling ingredients except butter; set aside.
• 12 for the glaze, grease sides of 2, 10-inch round cake pans (not spring-form).
• 13 pour half melted butter into each pan; sprinkle each evenly with half brown sugar; set aside.
• 14 punch down dough and turn it onto a lightly floured work surface.
• 15 roll it out into an even 18 x 12-inch rectangle, about 1/4-inch thick.
• 16 brush dough with melted butter (see filling ingredients) and sprinkle with filling, leaving a 1/2-inch border on long sides.
• 17 use a rolling pin to embed filling into dough.
• 18 fold long edge of dough over twice and then proceed to roll dough into a tight log.
• 19 use dental floss to slice log into 12, 1 1/2-inch pieces.
• 20 place buns, cut side down, into prepared pans.
• 21 cover with a damp cloth and let rise by 50%, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
• 22 adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375°.
• 23 bake until bun tops are golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes.
• 24 for the syrup, bring honey and butter to simmer over low heat in 2-quart saucepan.
• 25 simmer until thickened slightly, 2 to 3 minutes.
• 26 bring 2 burners to low heat.
• 27 as buns come out of oven, pour hot syrup over them and place each pan over a warm burner.
• 28 using oven mitts to hold each pan, shake to distribute syrup and caramelize glaze, 2 to 3 minutes.
• 29 use a thin spatula to separate buns from edge of pans and each other.
• 30 immediately invert buns in each pan onto a rimmed baking sheet.
• 31 cool for 10 minutes and serve.