Name: pecan sticky bun babka recipe
Yield: makes 1 9 x 5 inch loaf
Ingredients: For the basic brioche (makes enough for two loaves, but we will only use half for this babka recipe):; 2 1/4 cups (315g) all-purpose flour; 2 1/4 cups (340g) bread flour; 1 1/2 packages (3 1/4 tsps) active dry yeast; 1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp (82g) sugar; 1 tablespoon salt; 1/2 cup (120g) cold water; 5 large eggs; 1 cup plus 6 tablespoons (310g) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into 10 to 12 pieces; For the filling:; 2 cups pecans; 10 tablespoons (1 1/4 stick) unsalted butter; 1 cup packed dark brown sugar; 3 teaspoons cinnamon; 1 large egg, for egg wash

The ultimate sticky bun babka recipe with tons of buttery, cinnamon, pecan swirls between buttery brioche dough. Don’t let the recipe length scare you…each step is totally manageable and your efforts will be rewarded with a show-stopping breakfast!

Whoa! Is it really the end of October? Where has the time gone? Sorry for my recent absence…life has been very busy between moving apartments, starting new projects, travel, birthdays—all exciting and amazing things, but, the bottom line is, I miss you!

Will you accept this Pecan Sticky Bun Babka as an olive branch for leaving you for so long? I think you’ll love its sweet, caramel scent and beautiful nut-studded swirls. And I hope you’ll embrace its messy, ooey-gooey glory! If you’re looking for a great special occasion breakfast item or brunch recipe, this is certainly one to add into the rotation.

For the dough, we’re going to use the same basic brioche recipe as we used for the Flour Bakery Pan aux Raisins. You’ll only need half of the basic brioche dough for one babka loaf though. If you’d like to make two babka loaves, double the filling recipe below. Otherwise, wrap the extra half of the uncooked brioche dough tightly in a double layer of plastic and freeze for your next craving.

Note: This is one of those breads that can take a while to cook in the center. You will likely have to tent some foil over the top after it has been in the oven for a half hour or so to prevent it from browning too much before it is cooked through.

Please don’t fear the steps! While not a speedy snack, it makes for a great weekend project! As always, feel free to reach out to me with questions! Oh, and definitely use any extras for a bread pudding. Because, um, hello, it would be dangerously delish.

If you like this sticky bun babka recipe or sticky bun things, you should totally check out this Sticky Bun Bundt Cake. It’s one of my faves!

You’ll roll that all up!

You’ll cut the roll down the center to reveal the inner layers.

Twist it all up and then place it into your prepared pan.

One Month Ago: Triple Chocolate Cookies

Six Months Ago: Hong Kong Style Bubble Egg Waffles (eggettes)

One Year Ago: Warm, Lemony Crab Dip

pecan sticky bun babka recipe

Servings: makes 1 9 x 5 inch loaf

pecan-babka-recipe-1-white-background

Ingredients

For the basic brioche (makes enough for two loaves, but we will only use half for this babka recipe):

2 1/4 cups (315g) all-purpose flour
2 1/4 cups (340g) bread flour
1 1/2 packages (3 1/4 tsps) active dry yeast
1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp (82g) sugar
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 cup (120g) cold water
5 large eggs
1 cup plus 6 tablespoons (310g) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into 10 to 12 pieces

For the filling:

2 cups pecans
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1 large egg, for egg wash

Instructions

Prepare the brioche:

In a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the all-purpose flour, bread flour, yeast, sugar, salt, water, and eggs. Beat on low speed for 3 to 4 minutes, or until all the flour is incorporated into the wet ingredients. Beat on low speed for another 3 to 4 minutes. The dough will be very stiff and seem quite dry.
With the mixer on low speed, add the butter, one piece at a time, mixing after each addition until it disappears into the dough. Once it has all been added, continue mixing on low speed for about 10 minutes, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure all of the butter is mixed in very thoroughly.
Turn the speed up to medium and beat for another 15 minutes, or until the dough becomes sticky, soft, and somewhat shiny. It will take some time to come together. Once it has, turn the speed to medium-high and beat for about 1 minute. You should hear it make a slapping sound as it hits the sides of the bowl. To test: pull at the dough, it should stretch a bit and only have a little give. If it seems wet and loose and moves more like a batter than a dough, add a few tablespoons of flour and mix until it comes together. If it breaks off into pieces when you pull at it, continue to mix on medium speed for another 2 to 3 minutes, or until it develops more strength and stretches when you grab it. It is ready when you can gather it all together and pick it up in one piece.
Place the dough in a large bowl and cover it with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap directly onto the surface of the dough. Let the dough proof in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours or up to overnight.

Prepare the filling:

Heat the oven to 350°F and, on a piece of foil on top a cookie sheet, toast the pecans until they are a few shades darker and very fragrant, about 10 minutes. Turn the oven off and transfer the hot pecans to a cutting board and chop them finely until the pieces are just larger than the size of a grain of rice.
In a medium bowl, mix together the pecans, softened butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon until the nuts are evenly distributed and you have formed a crumbly paste. Set aside.

Form the babka:

Once the dough has proofed, generously grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan and cover the bottom with parchment paper. Grease the parchment and set aside. Remove the dough from the fridge, cut in half and wrap one half in plastic and freeze for up to a week for another use. Sprinkle your work surface generously with flour and scrape the remaining half of dough onto the surface. Using a floured rolling pin, roll the dough out into a thin rectangle, roughly 10 inches wide by 12 inches long.
Scatter the pecan filling over the surface of the dough and, using your hands or a spoon, spread into an even layer, leaving about an inch of clear border at the top.
Starting with the short end closest to you, carefully roll the dough into a log. If any filling falls out, just tuck it back in. When done rolling, pinch the edges of the dough to seal it closed. Dip a very sharp knife in water and gently, but swiftly, slice the log down its entire length, creating two halves with the inner layers revealed.
Turn the halves so that the filling is facing up. Pinch together the tops of the two halves, then twist the halves around each other twice creating a spiral. Press the halves together again at the bottom. Lift and place the loaf into the prepared pan. Cover loosely with plastic or a clean dishtowel and let rise until puffy and just starting to dome over the tops of the pan, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Bake the loaf:

About a half hour before baking, place oven racks in the center and lower third of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Whisk the yolk with a splash of water to make the egg wash and gently brush it all over the surface of the loaf. Transfer loaf to the center rack of the oven and slide a baking sheet on the lower rack to catch any syrupy drips. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes until the center is around 200°F and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out free of wet dough (it’s okay if it has some filling on it though). Check the loaf after about 30 minute and cover with foil if the edges are starting to brown too quickly.
IMPORTANT: When you remove the loaf from the oven, let it cool in the pan for 20 minutes to firm up but not much longer or the sticky filling will make it hard to get out of the pan. Run a knife around the edges of the loaf to release it from the pan, and then invert onto a cooling rack to cool completely. Best served still slightly warm, but actually stays tasty for several days after. Store covered at room temperature for up to a week or wrap tightly and freeze for up to 3 months.

Notes

Total time: 45 minutes for baking, up to overnight for proofing

Adapted from The Kitchn

https://www.butterlovescompany.com/2015/10/27/sticky-bun-babka-recipe/

butter loves company | jenna larsson

This is a sticky bun/bundt cake hybrid which I’ve aptly named a sticky ‘bun’dt (Get it, get it?). I made a batch of fluffy sticky buns and baked them in a bundt pan literally for the sole purpose of saying sticky bundt all day. Lucky for me, the resulting sticky-sweet, pecan-studded cake tasted amazing, so I’m excited to share the recipe with you while I humbly pat myself on the back. 😉

look at these sweet dough pinwheels getting personal! they love each other!

If you are a fan of sticky buns, you’re definitely open to a bit of butter and sugar. Plenty of pecans adhere to a sticky-sweet—but more of a mature not-too-sweet, sweet—dark brown sugar topping, all of which jumps aboard a nutty, buttery cinnamon roll train. Hopefully, the train is headed for a brunch table near you!

Making sticky buns requires a bit of patience as you’ve got to proof the dough twice; first, right after preparing the yeasted sweet dough, and second, after filling and rolling the dough into pinwheeled buns. I promise you this sticky bun bundt cake cake is worth the extra effort as the bundt is as tasty as it is visually stunning.

There are three main elements to this sticky bun bundt cake: the dough, the filling, and the topping. Broken down into three parts it is totally manageable and you can even prepare and assemble the buns a day ahead of time so you will be able to sleep in and still impress your family and friends at Sunday brunch. Just allow the chilled buns to get to room temperature about an hour and a half before baking in the morning.

the pecan cinnamon rolls will rise up into these layers and you will feel like a superhero for making this happen.

you’ll flip the sticky bundt out of its pan and smell the nuts and sweet butter combined with the warm spices and rich topping.

sticky bundt
Adapted from Bon Appetit, April 2012

prep time: 30–40 minutes (plus time to chill and rise)
cook time: 50 minutes
total time: 5 hours (includes minimum time to chill and rise)
Makes: One 10-inch bundt cake or 10 individual sticky buns prepared in an 8x8x2″ metal baking pan

Ingredients:

Sweet dough:

2/3 cup whole milk
5 tablespoons sugar, divided
1 3/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (from one 1/4-ounce envelope)
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1″ pieces, room temperature, plus 1 tablespoon melted butter for greasing bowl

Topping:

2 cups chopped pecans (I like to keep about 1/2 cup whole to top the bundt, but up to you.)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
3/4 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup honey
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon finely grated orange zest (optional)
2 teaspoons orange liqueur or rum (optional)

Filling/bun assembly:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 large egg (for egg washing buns)
Coarse sea salt (such as Maldon) for finishing

Instructions:

Make the sweet dough:

In a small, microwave-safe bowl, heat milk in microwave until an instant-read thermometer registers 110–115°F. Stir in 1 tablespoon sugar. Sprinkle yeast over milk and whisk to blend. Let sit until yeast is foamy, about 5 minutes. Whisk in eggs until smooth.
Combine remaining 4 tablespoons of sugar, flour, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add milk mixture and combine on low speed. With mixer still running, add the room-temperature butter, 1 piece at a time, incorporating each piece fully before adding the next one. After you’ve added the last piece, mix on medium speed for 1 minute. Increase speed to medium-high and knead until dough is soft and silky, about 10 minutes.
Brush a medium bowl with melted butter; place dough in bowl. Brush top of dough with remaining melted butter; cover with plastic wrap and let sit room temperature until about doubled in size, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Transfer to refrigerator and chill dough for 2 hours.

Meanwhile, make the topping:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Toast pecans on a rimmed baking sheet until fragrant and slightly darkened, 10–12 minutes. Let cool completely. Set 1 1/2 cups nuts aside for inside the buns.
Melt butter in a small, heavy saucepan over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar, vanilla, cream, honey, salt, orange zest and liqueur, if using. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and simmer until glaze is golden brown, glossy, and slightly thickened, 3–4 minutes. Pour a third of the glaze into your bundt pan, tilting to coat bottom and sides. Set aside remaining glaze. Sprinkle 1/2 cup toasted pecans over bottom of pan and let cool.

Make the filling and assemble:

Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a medium bowl until light and fluffy, 2–3 minutes. Set filling aside.
Remove dough from refrigerator and transfer to a floured work surface. Lightly dust top with flour and roll out the dough into a 12×16″ rectangle about 1/4″ thick. Spread the cinnamon-sugar mixture over dough with a knife or your hands. Sprinkle 1 cup chopped pecans over the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
Beginning with the long edge closest to you, roll the dough tightly into a log. Once you finish rolling, arrange the log seam-side-down on the work surface.
Using a sharp knife (you can wet the knife slightly to help make a clean cut), cut the log crosswise into 10 equal pieces. Don’t worry about making perfect rolls especially if you’ll be putting into a bundt pan. Turn the buns cut-side-up and gently tuck the end of each roll under the bun so it won’t unroll while baking. Place the buns in prepared pan; space them evenly apart. If making the sticky bundt, the buns will touch. If making individual buns in a 8x8x2″ metal baking pan the buns will likely not touch each other. At this point, you can cover and chill buns and remaining glaze separately. Store remaining pecans airtight at room temperature.
Loosely cover pan with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel. Let buns rise in a warm, draft-free area until doubled in size, 45 minutes to 1 hour, or 1 1/2–2 hours if dough has been chilled overnight.
Arrange a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 350°F. Whisk egg with 1/2 teaspoon water in a small bowl. Brush tops of buns with egg wash. Bake, rotating pan halfway through and tenting with foil if browning too quickly, until buns are golden brown, filling is bubbling, and an instant-read thermometer inserted into center of buns registers 185°F, about 50 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes and then invert onto a platter. Spoon remaining glaze over sticky bundt. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup pecans. Lightly sprinkle with sea salt. Serve sticky bundt warm or at room temperature.