Honey Buns (Reduced Sugar)
By America's Test KitchenPublished on April 16, 2020
Time
1½ hours, plus 2 hours rising
Yield
Makes 9 buns
Sugar
21 grams (down from 39)
Ingredients
Dough
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled⅓ cup buttermilk 2 large eggs 1½ teaspoons honey 1⅛ teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast 2 cups (10 ounces/283 grams) all-purpose flour, plus extra as needed½ teaspoon saltFilling and Glaze
⅔ cup honey 4 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 teaspoon orange blossom water 1 cup pecans, chopped coarseBefore You Begin
If you don't have orange blossom water, you can substitute ½ teaspoon orange zest.
Instructions
- Whisk melted butter, buttermilk, eggs, honey, and yeast in medium bowl until combined. In bowl of stand mixer, whisk flour and salt together. Fit stand mixer with dough hook and slowly add buttermilk mixture on low speed; mix until dough comes together, about 2 minutes. Increase speed to medium and knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. (If, after 5 minutes, dough is still very sticky, add 1 to 2 tablespoons extra flour; dough should clear sides of bowl but stick to bottom.)
- Transfer dough to lightly floured counter and knead by hand to form smooth, round ball, about 1 minute. Place dough in large, lightly greased bowl, cover tightly with greased plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- Cook honey, butter, vanilla, and orange blossom water together in small saucepan over medium heat until butter is melted, then whisk to combine. Measure out ¼ cup mixture and set aside for filling. Pour remaining mixture over bottom of 8-inch square baking pan, then sprinkle with ½ cup pecans.
- Transfer dough to lightly floured counter and roll into 12 by 9-inch rectangle, with long side parallel to counter edge. Brush dough completely with reserved ¼ cup honey mixture, leaving ½-inch border on far edge. Sprinkle remaining ½ cup pecans over top and press filling firmly into dough. Using bench scraper, loosen dough from counter and roll away from you into tight log, then pinch seam to seal.
- Roll log seam side down and cut into 9 equal pieces using serrated knife. Turn buns cut side up and reshape gently as needed. Arrange buns in pan, cover with plastic, and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Bake buns until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking. Loosen buns from sides of pan with paring knife and let cool for 5 minutes. Flip buns out of pan onto platter. Drizzle with glaze left in pan and let cool for 15 to 20 minutes before serving.
for the dough
for the filling and glaze
Time
1½ hours, plus 2 hours risingYield
Makes 9 bunsSugar
21 grams (down from 39)Ingredients
Dough
Filling and Glaze
Ingredients
Dough
Filling and Glaze
Ingredients
Dough
Filling and Glaze
Why This Recipe Works
Most honey bun recipes call for hefty amounts of corn syrup and granulated sugar along with the honey, obscuring the honey's flavor almost completely. We wanted to build a better honey bun by decreasing the amount of sweetener, eliminating the extraneous corn syrup and granulated sugar, and letting the flavor of the honey shine through. We started with a rich, buttery yeasted dough, which required only a small amount of honey to activate the yeast and give the dough a subtle sweetness. Tasters liked a dough made with buttermilk over one with regular milk, since the slight tang complemented the honey's rich flavor. We thought the filling and glaze would be easy—we simply combined honey, butter, and vanilla. But tasters found the flavor of the honey mixture to be a bit flat. Not wanting to overshadow the honey, we turned to orange blossom water, which added a subtle, floral backbone and gave our honey buns a distinctly “grown-up” flavor profile. A sprinkling of pecans over the filling and in the baking pan gave the buns pleasant crunch and nuttiness.
Before You Begin
If you don't have orange blossom water, you can substitute ½ teaspoon orange zest.
Instructions
- Whisk melted butter, buttermilk, eggs, honey, and yeast in medium bowl until combined. In bowl of stand mixer, whisk flour and salt together. Fit stand mixer with dough hook and slowly add buttermilk mixture on low speed; mix until dough comes together, about 2 minutes. Increase speed to medium and knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. (If, after 5 minutes, dough is still very sticky, add 1 to 2 tablespoons extra flour; dough should clear sides of bowl but stick to bottom.)
- Transfer dough to lightly floured counter and knead by hand to form smooth, round ball, about 1 minute. Place dough in large, lightly greased bowl, cover tightly with greased plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- Cook honey, butter, vanilla, and orange blossom water together in small saucepan over medium heat until butter is melted, then whisk to combine. Measure out ¼ cup mixture and set aside for filling. Pour remaining mixture over bottom of 8-inch square baking pan, then sprinkle with ½ cup pecans.
- Transfer dough to lightly floured counter and roll into 12 by 9-inch rectangle, with long side parallel to counter edge. Brush dough completely with reserved ¼ cup honey mixture, leaving ½-inch border on far edge. Sprinkle remaining ½ cup pecans over top and press filling firmly into dough. Using bench scraper, loosen dough from counter and roll away from you into tight log, then pinch seam to seal.
- Roll log seam side down and cut into 9 equal pieces using serrated knife. Turn buns cut side up and reshape gently as needed. Arrange buns in pan, cover with plastic, and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Bake buns until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking. Loosen buns from sides of pan with paring knife and let cool for 5 minutes. Flip buns out of pan onto platter. Drizzle with glaze left in pan and let cool for 15 to 20 minutes before serving.
for the dough
for the filling and glaze
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