KS Quotient
Easy: Fuss-free ingredients, added all at once. No hand-shaping required.
Most sticky buns are formed by rolling dough around a cinnamon-sugar mixture and fashioning pinwheel rolls, but these deliver the same luscious taste while skipping the fussy shaping. The dough is simply studded with little pockets and swirls of a buttery, cinnamon-sugar streusel and bathed in a gooey brown sugar sauce that forms on the bottom during baking. The buns are simultaneously shaped and baked in jumbo-size muffin cups (ones with a volume of about 1 cup each), then served inverted. So, the "tops" stay soft and the succulent sauce flows down the bun sides—yummy!
These are best eaten right out of the oven, so the refrigerator rise option, which lets you hold the buns for up to two days until ready for them, is particularly convenient. About 2½ to 3 hours before baking, allow them to warm up and finish rising on the counter, then pop them into the oven, bake, sample, and swoon!
The following buns are made from a half batch of the Easy White Bread Loaves . Use the other half to prepare a loaf of bread as directed in the original recipe.
Yield: 12 large buns
½ batch dough for Easy White Bread Loaves, stirred and ready for the second rise
¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
2/3 cup (3.33 ounces) unbleached white bread flour or all-purpose white flour, plus more as needed
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
½ cup (1 stick) cool, firm unsalted butter, cut into 1/3-inch pieces, plus 1/3 cup more, melted, for muffin cups
½ cup dark raisins, rinsed under hot water, thoroughly drained, and patted dry, or ½ cup chopped walnuts, optional
18 tablespoons (1 cup plus 2 tablespoons) dark corn syrup
Second Rise Have on hand half a batch of Easy White Bread dough, ready for the second rise. Prepare the sticky bun streusel by briefly processing together the brown sugar, 2/3 cup flour, and cinnamon in a food processor. Add the butter pieces. Pulse the processor on and off until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs. (Alternatively, combine the dry ingredients in a bowl and cut in the butter using forks or a pastry blender.)
Vigorously stir ½ cup of crumb mixture and the raisins or nuts (if using) into the dough until fairly evenly distributed; it's all right if some patches of crumbs remain. Evenly coat 12 jumbo-size muffin cups with melted butter. Put 1 teaspoon melted butter, 1½ tablespoons corn syrup, then 1 tablespoon of the crumb mixture in each cup. Cut the dough in half with well-oiled kitchen shears, then divide each half equally among 6 cups; dust the dough with a little flour for ease of handling, if desired. Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture over the dough portions, dividing it equally among them. Press down firmly on each with well-greased fingertips to imbed the crumbs. Drizzle any remaining butter over the tops. Tent the muffin tins with nonstick spray—coated foil.
Let Rise Using Any of These Methods For a 1½- to 2½-hour regular rise, let stand at warm room temperature; for a 45-minute to 1½-hour accelerated rise, let stand in a turned-off microwave along with 1 cup of boiling-hot water; or for an extended rise, refrigerate for 4 to 48 hours, then set out at room temperature. When the dough nears the foil, remove it and continue the rise until the dough doubles from the original size or extends about two-thirds of the way up the cup sides.
Baking Preliminaries 15 minutes before baking time, place a rack in the lower third of the oven; preheat to 350°F. Set the muffin tins on a large rimmed baking sheet (to catch any boil-overs of the sauce).
Baking Bake on the lower rack until nicely browned on top, 20 to 25 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the thickest part comes out with only a few particles at the bottom (or the centers register 200° to 202°F on an instant-read thermometer). Remove to a wire rack and immediately run a knife around the buns to loosen. Place a heat-proof cutting board flat against the muffin tin, then invert the tin and shake to remove the buns; the bottoms will become the tops. Transfer the buns to a serving plate. Scrape any sauce clinging to the cups out onto the buns; serve immediately.
Serving and StoringThese are best served hot and fresh. They will keep at cool room temperature for up to 2 days. Freeze, airtight, for longer storage. Reheat, wrapped in foil, in a low oven (or under a plastic cover at low power in the microwave for about 20 seconds) before serving.