This won’t come as a surprise to anyone, but salted caramel and pecan and best of friends! These super soft and buttery cinnamon buns are topped with delicious sticky salted caramel and crunchy pecans, which really make them the perfect breakfast.

I gotta be honest, cinnamon rolls are not my favourite thing, I just find them too much and they don’t excite me at all. So that’s why I thought I had to do something different with them to make them exciting, because I love the idea of them and I LOVE the idea of having bread for breakfast, as that’s why we’re here!

Tips for success

• Be patient – as with everything dough related, these take their time and patience is required, but it’s so worth it. Make sure you give them enough time to raise completely, dough is always a lot quicker during the hot months, but takes a lot longer when the temperatures drop. One thing that I like. todo is put them nearby a warm source (and I mean warm, not hot!) like near a heater, or the oven if it’s cooling down.
• Don’t over bake them – nobody likes a dry bun! Remember that they keep cooking after you take them out of the oven, so keep an eye on them during the last 5 minutes of cooking.
• Make sure the caramel is runny. Whether you make your own caramel or you buy it, make sure your caramel is at room temperature and almost liquid like, if it’s too think and not runny, pop it in the microwave for a couple of minutes so it loses its thick consistency.

Salted Caramel Pecan Sticky Buns

Ingredients:

For the buns:

• 270 ml of whole milk
• 60 gr of butter
• 500 gr of bread flour
• 15 gr of dry active instant yeast
• 100 gr of sugar
• A pinch of salt

For the filling:

• 65 gr of light brown sugar
• 50 gr of butter
• 1 tbsp of ground cinnamon

For the topping:

• 200 gr of pecans
• 200 gr of salted caramel

Method:

1. Warm up the milk and let the butter dissolve in it, you’ll have to stir regularly. In the meantime, mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
2. Pour the milk and butter into the dry ingredients and mix them well until you get a dough. Knead it over a floured surface for 5 minutes, then, put the dough in a lightly greased bowl and let it rest for at least an hour or until doubled in size.
3. Once the dough has risen, roll it in a floured surface until you have the shape of a rectangle. If you are struggling to get that shape, just cut the edges so it acquires that shape. Spread the butter all over the dough up until the edges.
4. Mix the sugar and ground cinnamon and sprinkle it all over the dough, I used my hands to make sure it was spread over evenly.
5. Grab one of the long edges (to your left or right) and start rolling the dough until you get a long log. Cut the top and bottom edge if those edges seem uneven.
6. Cut the rolls into 2.5-3 cm sections using either a very sharp serrated edge knife or floss (I used floss and found it extremely satisfying).
7. In a bowl, mix the pecans and caramel until the pecans are well covered. Then, pour the mix over a baking tray lined with partchment paper.
8. Place the rolls into the baking tray with the pecans and caramel and cover it with cling film or a kitchen towel. Don’t squeeze them together, leave some space between them to allow them to grow.
9. Let the rolls rise for another hour.
10. Once ready, pop them in a preheated oven at 170 degrees for 25-30 minutes, until they are golden brown and no longer doughy. Allow to cool slightly, before flipping over onto a large serving board and peeling away the parchment, these are better enjoyed warm!