Monday, May 14, 2012

Tuesdays with Dorie - Pecan Sticky Buns - A Sweet Treat on a Sunny Afternoon


Today' s choice for the Tuesdays with Dorie baking group is "Pecan Sticky Buns" from the "Baking with Julia" book. The recipe was contributed by Nancy Silverton.




When I read the lenghthy recipe for the first time, I was intimated. This recipe needs some serious planning I thought. Somehow after what seems to have been a weeklong baking marathon, the last thing I wanted to do was bake some more.

Baking for two children' s birthday parties, two sets of classmates and two more celebrations was all  I could handle, or so I thought. After rereading the recipe, I decided that I needed some notes to guide me. And although the recipe seems to be rather long, I realized that it can be easily broken down into a few clear steps.

After dinner, I prepared the brioche dough and while the sponge rested, I did some ironing, then during the time the dough needed for its first rise, I watched a Skandinavian thriller ( although I love to bake I was glad that for an hour and a half I did not have to think about the dough). The last step for the day was the second rise/chilling the dough, so after I put the dough in the fridge I went to sleep. Next day I rolled out, chilled again, buttered, sprinkled filling,  rolled out again, formed the chilled dough into a log, put it into the freezer for a while and then let it rise again.







Then finally the last step, namely, baking the risen pecan buns.






After all these different steps, I just held my breath for a while hoping that the pecan buns would release easily from the baking pan and taste as good as they smelled while they baked.




The pecan buns did release nicely from the pan and when we pulled them apart, the brioche dough was buttery, flaky and just delicious.




I did freeze half the dough and baked only seven buns and that turned out to be the right decision. Two pans with pecan buns are wonderful but I believe they should be eaten the day that they are made and half the recipe was perfect for us for one day - besides I was so concerned that the pecan buns would not turn out like they should, that I bought fresh strawberries as a sort of "back- up". We ended up eating both, the pecan buns and the strawberries and so I was glad that I put half the dough in the freezer.



It is interesting that after being somewhat overwhelmed by the recipe at first,  the most difficult task was not preparing the dough but finding the pecans (finally found them at a health food store) as well as the proper baking pan. While I have way too many baking pans already, the one I did not have was a 9 inch round pan with "high sides" - none of the stores that I went to carries them and I ended up having to order a special "cheesecake pan" (round, non removeable bottom and high sides). At least, next time I bake a cheesecake, there will be no more wrapping the pan with aluminium foil.

In conclusion, I am glad that I took the time to prepare the pecan sticky buns. It was a bit of a challenge timewise but well worth the extra effort - my taste testers agreed and honestly, what could be a nicer reward for such a hectic week than sitting in the garden on a sunny late afternoon and enjoying these wonderful pecan buns while they were still a bit warm...





Today's hosts are Lynn of Eat Drink Man Woman Dogs Cat and Nicole of Cookies on Fridays - a great big Thanks to our hosts!

To see how the other members of Tuesdays with Dorie prepared the Pecan Sticky Buns, please click here.





42 comments:

  1. Marvelous sticky buns Andrea! In spite of your hectic schedule!

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    1. Thank you, Paula - no more baking for me until Friday!

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  2. Andrea your sticky buns looks great. You got some really nice pictures!

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    1. Thank you, Guyla. It is easy to take nice pictures when the sun is shining and you know that you will eat those Pecan Buns very soon.

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  3. What a lovely reading. Beautiful pictures Andrea... I'm in a kind of holiday mood now!
    Let it last longer, till I finish my cup of coffee and start the daily chores.
    All the best!
    PS: In Switzerland Pecan are sooo expensive! When I made the "Xmas Cookie Club" project I needed a lot of them and went on a Pecan nuts almost impossible mission!

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    1. Carola I agree, pecans usually are a bit pricey in Europe and somewhat difficult to find. Thank you for your nice comment. I hope that you will enjoy the end result of the TwD group´s next recipe a bit more!

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  4. Perfectly done!!! And I see tons of layers in yours, too :)

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    1. Lizzy, thanks for the nice comment - enjoy the rest of the week!

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  5. your photographs are beautiful!! they turned out just like the recipe said... amazing work!! loved the buns despite all the effort, time and butter!!! :)

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    1. Thank you for your lovely comment - the recipe was fun (certainly a good experience there) and taking the pictures was nice after spending all that time in the kitchen.

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  6. Absolutely gorgeous photos and your sticky buns came out perfectly beautiful! Truly lovely post!! Happy Tuesday!

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    1. Happy Tuesday to you as well and thank you for your kind comment!

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  7. Simply gorgeous! I almost like the buns before they're removed from the pan better than their 'real' tops! :) Glad you all enjoyed them!

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    1. They sure were delicious - and the recipe was a good "learning experience" for me.

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  8. Beautiful - your buns came out perfectly. Such a nice touch with the blue themed props.
    Fortunately, my baking pans are 2" (5 cm) high, so they seemed to have no issue containing the rolls. We froze half of ours as well - which ended up being a work day surprise breakfast & enjoyed by all.

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    1. Thank you, Cher - the other half of my brioche dough ist still in the freezer but I will probably get to use it during the next few days because starting today, we have four days of "holidays" - so the weekend will be perfect for a second round of Pecan Sticky Buns.

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  9. They look great! Love your pictures.
    It's a shame you had to buy a new pan for it but I'm sure it will come in handy in the future.

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    1. Well, I will just have to bake a few cheesecakes soon - so buying a new pan wasn´t all that bad.

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  10. You went the extra mile for this recipe! We made do with some pans that were nearly the right size/height. Your photos are beautiful.

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    1. Thank you Teresa - I almost used one of my cast iron pots but was a bit scared that the light brown sugar together with that stick of butter would burn because of the way that these pots conduct heat.

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  11. They look great! Beautiful post :D

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  12. Andrea, You really demonstrated how to take apart a complicated recipe and make it work. And, your result was spectacular. I heard that a little nut fairy stole all the hard-to-find pecans, however. When I make a recipe by Thomas Keller (The French Kitchen) I have to take it apart and plan it over the course of 2 or 3 days. It makes it doable and more fun. From your Post, I think you actually enjoyed this week's recipe. Great photos.

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    1. Mary, I am so glad that I am not the only one that thinks that the only way to approach Thomas Keller`s recipe is with a detailed time planer in hand - I love his recipes and are the proud owner of his wonderful book "Ad Hoc at Home" but the recipes do require some advance organization and planning.

      Well, the pecans - people around here do not really eat them and no such trees here either, so they are rather difficult to find, difficult (and pricey) but not impossible.

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  13. They look great! So shiny and potentially sticky :-)

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    1. Everyone enjoyed them and that was nice because the whole recipe did take some planning.

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  14. Your sticky buns look great! I agree that the recipe was a bit intimidating, but when you broke it down it wasn't too bad. Definitely a yummy weekend treat!

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    1. I agree, definitely a weekend treat, Erin. And breaking down recipes into small steps makes them less intimidating, for sure.

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  15. Your buns look so beautiful. Perfect in fact. And how nice to sit outside eating them (maybe without the kids?)

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    1. Marlise, thanks for commenting and yes you were right, no kids in sight...for about a minute or so...

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  16. Beautiful. These were definitely a nice reward for all the work that went into it!

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  17. Your sticky buns are really beautiful and I would love to reach in the computer and grab one! Your photography is really nice also.

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    1. Cynthia, thanks for visiting my blog - it is fun to take pictures of things that you created be it food, needlework, sewing, pottery or other creative projects.

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  18. I didn't make these, but hope to at some point. I like that you can freeze a pan and have some for a later time. Your sticky buns look wonderful and I am sure worth the effort to find the right pan and the pecans.

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    1. Thank you, Elaine - I did not want to make the Pecan Sticky Buns at first but the part where you can freeze half the recipe appealed to me and such a long recipe was kind of a challenge for me, in a good way. The new cake pan will come in handy for the cheesecakes that my kids adore and that I have not baked in a while.

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  19. Your photos are just lovely, and they make me want to take my other log of dough out of the freezer and have them again! Glad you were successful with these.

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    1. Thank you - I am glad that liked them too - it is always nice to be able to put something delicious aside for later and not to have to start all over again with the preparation the second time around.

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  20. they look spectacular! your photos are lovely. glad you had the energy to make them after all that other baking.

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    1. Thank you - some people say that baking has a meditative quality to it - maybe that is why one almost always finds the energy to bake some more.

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  21. Your buns are absolutely beautiful! I agree, I was completely overwhelmed the first time I read through the recipe instructions, but split over a couple of days it actually wasn't so hard. And much of the required time is really just waiting.

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    1. It was one of those recipes - first it seems overwhelming and than you realize that once broken down into steps, it is not all that bad. It was certainly worth it!

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