Miso Caramel Pecan Sticky Buns

OMG these Miso Caramel Pecan Sticky Buns are absolutely incredible! Especially if you love tender soft buns wrapped around a warm cinnamon sugar filling, topped with a gooey sticky caramel topping that is just right – not too sweet, not cloying, perfectly balanced with a savoriness that cuts through all the sugar.

My husband loves pecan rolls, so I have made pecan sticky buns a couple of times over the years, the typical ways, with brown sugar, maple, etc. But after all the testing I did for my miso caramel recipe and my coconut milk caramel recipe, I needed to figure out what to do with all that extra caramel! And boy, I did not regret this decision, and you won’t either. 😋

What you’ll need

You’ll need 10 ingredients to make these pecan sticky buns, pictured below. As always, for the full list of ingredients with quantities and step-by-step instructions, skip straight to the recipe card.

The soft cinnamon buns

I used my eggless milk bread recipe to make these milky soft buns. It is a simple enriched bread that yields a fairly easy-to-work-with dough. I use it for my signature cinnamon rolls, as well as my Oreo cinnamon rolls and my macadamia coconut rolls.

One of the key ingredients for the rolls is half and half, you can substitute half milk and half cream if you tend to use milk and cream separately more rather than buying half and half specifically for this recipe.

You will also need yeast. I’ve used active dry yeast and instant yeast interchangeably when making yeasted bread over the years. With instant yeast, you don’t typically have to bloom it. But I always bloom both types to ensure they are working properly before mixing the dough. Because it would be a shame to mix the dough and wait for hours to realize that the yeast is not working!

The caramel topping

You will need 1 batch of homemade miso caramel. But if you want a shortcut, you can use 1 cup of any caramel sauce (homemade or store bought), warm it up in the microwave and stir in 4 teaspoons of white miso paste. 

I use Marukome premium white miso paste to make my miso caramel and many of my miso desserts. It doesn’t have a lot of sodium so it doesn’t make the caramel super salty, not like salted caramel. Just a note to check the sodium content of your miso paste if you’re using something different, but a little bit saltier can still work here.   

Using your oven as a proofing box

Place the first rack in the middle of the oven and the second rack in the bottom of the oven. A baking dish with boiling water will go on the bottom rack, and your pecan sticky rolls will go on the top rack.

Turn the oven light on, but make sure the oven is not on during proofing. Close the oven door tightly.

This will create a warm steamy environment to help your rolls rise. When the water cools down, you can replace it with boiling water to keep it going as needed.

Baking schedule

Same day baking

Below is a sample baking schedule for same day baking. You don’t have to follow this exactly, but I hope it gives you an idea when to start based on when you want to serve your pecan sticky buns.

Overnight sticky buns

Below is a sample baking schedule for overnight rise which will give you fresh pecan rolls in the morning to serve for breakfast. You can make the dough after dinner and pop it into the fridge for the second rise just before you go to bed.

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Miso Caramel Pecan Sticky Buns Recipe

By Trang

Incredibly soft Pecan Sticky Buns with warm cinnamon sugar filling, topped with gooey sticky miso caramel that’s perfectly balanced with a savoriness that cuts through the sugary sweetness.

Servings: 12 rolls

Prep Time: 45 minutes mins

Cook Time: 25 minutes mins

Proofing Time: 4 hours hrs

Total Time: 5 hours hrs 10 minutes mins

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Equipment

• Stand Mixer
• 9”x13” Baking Dish
• Thermometer

Ingredients 

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Dough

• ▢ 2 cup half and half, 480 g
• ▢ ½ cup granulated sugar, 100 g
• ▢ 2 teaspoon yeast, instant yeast or active dry yeast, 7 g
• ▢ 1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt, 10 g
• ▢ 4 cup all-purpose flour, 520 g
• ▢ Oil for your hands
• ▢ Extra flour for rolling
• ▢ Melted butter for baking dish

Caramel topping

• ▢ 2 cup pecans, 220 g
• ▢ 1 batch of miso caramel, substitution note below, 300 g

Cinnamon sugar filling

• ▢ 2 oz unsalted butter, softened or partially melted, 57 g
• ▢ ⅔ cup brown sugar, light or dark brown, 133 g
• ▢ 1 tablespoon cinnamon, 5 g

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Instructions 

• Scald the half and half – Heat half and half along with granulated sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat until simmering – about 5 to 6 minutes – stirring frequently to dissolve the sugar. Don’t let it boil, take off the heat and allow the mixture to cool down to below 110°F – check with a thermometer after about 20 minutes.
  2 cup half and half, ½ cup granulated sugar
• Bloom the yeast – Sprinkle active dry yeast or instant yeast over the top of the milk mixture, stir and let it bloom for 5 – 10 minutes. The mixture should visibly puff up or you should at least see tiny bubbles forming. You don’t have to bloom instant yeast but I still like to do it to make sure it is still working properly.
  2 teaspoon yeast
  
• Knead the dough – To the stand mixer bowl, sift in the flour and stir in the salt. Add the yeast mixture and knead with the dough hook on low speed until a soft dough forms and starts to pull away from the side of the bowl, about 20 minutes.
  1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt, 4 cup all-purpose flour
  
• First rise – Oil your hands and a plastic dough scraper and scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured countertop. Form a smooth ball and place it back into the stand mixer bowl or another oiled large bowl. Cover with plastic, place the bowl in your oven with the light turned on and allow it to rise until doubled in size, about 1 to 2 hours. Make sure you don’t accidentally turn on the oven. Or if it is in use, find a warm spot in the house to proof the dough.
  Oil for your hands
  
• Roast the pecans – In a skillet over medium heat, roast the pecans for about 5 minutes until toasty and fragrant. Spread the nuts on a cutting board to cool and then chop into small pieces.
  2 cup pecans
• Prepare the caramel layer – Melt a tablespoon of butter and brush it all over the bottom and sides of your baking dish. Spread the chopped pecans to cover the bottom of the baking dish evenly. Pour miso caramel on top and set aside.
  Melted butter for baking dish, 1 batch of miso caramel
  
• Roll out the dough – When the dough is ready, dump it out onto a floured countertop. Roll and stretch it out to a rectangle 20”x13” with the longer edge facing you.
  Extra flour for rolling
• Butter the dough – If your butter is not already softened, microwave it for about 30 seconds. It doesn’t need to be completely melted, but it should be spreadable. Spread the softened or melted butter all over the surface of the dough, leaving about an inch untouched at the top.
  2 oz unsalted butter
  
• Add filling – Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon together in a small mixing bowl, sprinkle the mixture evenly over the buttered surface of the dough. Use your hand to even it out and lightly press it into the dough to adhere.
  ⅔ cup brown sugar, 1 tablespoon cinnamon
  
• Roll and slice – Roll the dough up starting from the bottom edge closest to you. When you get to the end, tuck the seam under. If the roll looks uneven, lift it up and stretch it out to make the entire roll about the same diameter. At this point, the roll could stretch out to about 23” – 24”. Divide the roll into 12 equal portions with a serrated knife.
  
• Second rise – Place the rolls into the prepared 9”x13” baking dish on top of the caramel layer. Cover with plastic and place the baking dish back into the oven with the light turned on. This time, also place another baking dish with boiling water on the bottom rack just below your rolls to create a proofing box. Allow the rolls to rise for about 45 minutes until they are touching each other and puffy. Again, make sure you don’t turn on your oven with the rolls proofing inside.
  
• Preheat the oven – Remove the proofed rolls as well as the baking dish with water from the oven and preheat it to 375°F. Keep the rolls on top of the oven to keep warm and continue proofing while you wait for the oven to preheat.
• Bake – Remove the plastic wrap from the baking dish and bake the rolls for 25 minutes until the tops are golden brown.
• Cool and flip – Take the rolls out of the oven and let them cool to the touch on a wire rack. Use a small knife to separate the rolls from one another before flipping. Place a cookie sheet or your serving plate on top of the baking dish and flip the whole thing over. Jiggle it a bit to get the caramel layer to release from the bottom of the baking dish. Serve warm.
  

Notes

• Miso caramel substitution: you can use 1 cup of any caramel sauce (homemade or store bought), warm it up in the microwave and stir in 4 teaspoons of white miso paste. I use Marukome premium white miso paste.
• Using your oven as a proofing box: place your rolls on the top oven rack in the middle of the oven, and another baking dish filled with boiling water on the second rack at the bottom of the oven. Keep the light turned on and the oven door closed to create a proofing box.
• Storage: these pecan sticky buns will last about 2-3 days at room temperature, up to a week in the fridge, and up to 3 months in the freezer. Wrap them individually in plastic wrap when freezing for easy thawing and serving.
• Reheating: these are best served warm. Reheat in the microwave, just 20 – 30 seconds will make them soft and gooey like freshly baked again. If frozen, thaw and then microwave to warm them.

Nutrition

Serving: 151g, Calories: 530kcal

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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