Maple Pecan Sticky Buns (Vegan)
These buns are nothing less than maple-pecan-ooey goodness atop fluffy, soft yeasted dough. Every dairy-free bite will melt in your mouth.
I like to think of sticky buns as the cinnamon roll’s fun cousin. A yeasted dough creates a pillowy, soft bun that melts in your mouth. The sticky topping is a combination of sugar, butter, pecans, and maple syrup, creating an ooey-gooey addition to every bite. Yes, yeasted dough takes a little patience, but these buns are worth it. Family and friends have given these buns rave reviews.
What you will need:
These buns do not require anything special. I do use rapid rise/ instant yeast. Rapid rise does not need to be bloomed first, it can be added directly into the recipe.
- bread flour
- plant based butter with salt
- rapid rise yeast
- salt
- cane sugar
- coconut sugar
- plant based milk
- maple extract
- cinnamon
- pecans
- maple syrup
How to:
Let’s start by preparing the dough. Melt the butter and set it aside. In a large measuring cup, add the milk, melted butter, and maple extract; whisk to combine. In a medium bowl, add the flour, salt, yeast, and sugar; whisk to combine. Add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until all the flour is absorbed. Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased surface, continue bringing it together, and start kneading it. You want the dough to become less sticky and more smooth and stretchy. This usually takes about 10 minutes. Once done kneading, place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover the bowl, or place it in a proofing bag (see notes about proofing at the bottom of the recipe), and leave it to double in size. This usually takes 1.5 to 2 hours. I place my dough in a proofing bag and place the bag in my oven with only the oven light on. This is a perfect warm environment for the dough to rise in.
While the dough is in its first proof, the filling and topping can be made. The filling is made by simply combining the sugars and the cinnamon in a small bowl and whisking to combine. Go ahead and remove the butter from the refrigerator. This ensures that it is nice and spreadable when you are ready to use it. I don’t want to make the topping too far ahead of time, so I wait until about 30 minutes before the dough has reached the end of its first proofing. Start by fully lining a 9×13-inch baking dish with parchment paper. Next, roughly chop up the pecans and toast them. Place the toasted pecans in the prepared baking dish, making sure to evenly spread them out. In a small pan, add the butter, both sugars, and the maple syrup. Place the pot over medium to medium-low heat, leaving the pot over the heat until the butter has melted and the sugar has fully dissolved. Remove the pot from the heat and add the maple extract; whisk to fully incorporate. Pour the butter-sugar mixture over the pecans. You may find that you need to mix the pecans up a little to get them all coated; just make sure to spread them back out. Set the baking dish aside.
Once the dough has doubled in size, punch out the air and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough out to a 12×16-inch rectangle, spread the softened butter over the surface of the dough, and sprinkle the sugar-cinnamon mixture over the top of the butter. The dough needs to be divided into 8 equal strips (they should each be 2 inches wide and 12 inches long). Roll each strip up, pinch off the end so they do not unravel, and place each rolled-up bun in the prepared baking dish. Cover the dish or place it back in the proofing bag, and leave the buns to double in size. I place the baking dish back in the proofing bag, and I place the bag back in the oven with only the oven light on. The second proof should take 45 to 50 minutes.
Once the buns have doubled in size, preheat the oven to 350F. If your buns are proofing in the oven, make sure to remove them from the oven before turning it on. Once the oven has reached temperature, bake the buns for 35 minutes; they should be golden brown color on top.
Leave them in the pan for a few minutes; you don’t want the topping running all over the place when you flip them out. Once the topping seems to have hardened enough to not be too runny, place another parchment-lined pan or cookie sheet over the top of the pan the buns are in. Try to gently flip the buns out onto the new parchment-lined pan so the gooey sides with all the sticky pecan goodness are on top.
The buns are best served immediately. It is best to store them in the refrigerator; they should stay fresh for up to 3 days. The buns can easily be reheated in a toaster oven in a couple of minutes with the toast setting.
Alright, let’s get started. Please make, bake and enjoy!
Maple Pecan Sticky Buns (Vegan)
Ingredients
Dough
- 540 grams / 4 1/2 cups bread flour
- 4 tbsp / 56 grams plant based butter with salt – melted
- 10 grams / 3 tsp Rapid Rise yeast
- 6 grams / 1 tsp salt
- 4 tbsp / 50 grams cane sugar
- 1 1/3 cup plant based milk (room temperature)
- 2 tsp maple extract
Filling
- 6 tbsp / 75 grams cane sugar
- 6 tbsp / 75 grams coconut sugar
- 2 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 3 tbsp / 42 grams plant based butter with salt (room temperature)
Topping
- 2 cups Pecans – roughly chopped and toasted
- 113 grams / 1 stick plant based butter with salt
- 1/3 cup / 62 grams cane sugar
- 1/3 cup / 62 grams coconut sugar
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tsp maple extract
Instructions
Dough
- To a large measuring cup add the milk, melted butter and maple extract; whisk to combine.To a medium bowl add the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. (I am using rapid rise yeast, so it can be added straight to the bowl without blooming it first). Whisk the ingredients together to fully combine. Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture and stir with a wood spoon or silicone spatula until all the flour is absorbed. Turn the dough out on to a lightly greased surface and knead it until it becomes smooth and stretchy. I usually knead for about 10 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a lightly greased bowl. Cover the bowl or place it in a proofing bag (see note below). Set it aside to double in size. I place mine in the oven with only the oven light on. It usually takes 1.5 to 2 hours to double in size.**see notes below if you are making these with a stand mixer
Filling
- While the dough is proofing, the filling can be prepared.In a small bowl add both sugars and the cinnamon and whisk to fully combine.Make sure to set out the butter for the filling, we want it to be a spreadable consistency when the time comes.
Topping
- I start the topping about 30 minutes before the dough is done with its first proofing.Start by roughly chopping the pecans and toasting them. Pour the toasted pecans into a 9 x 13in parchment lined baking pan. Make sure they are evenly spread out across the bottom of the pan.In a small pot add the butter, both sugars and maple syrup. Place the pot over medium to medium-low heat. Leave the mixture over the heat until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves, making sure to stir it regularly. Once the sugar has completely dissolved add the maple extract and stir to incorporate. Pour the butter sugar mixture over the pecans making sure to cover them evenly. You may need to move the pecans around a little to get them all coated. Just make sure to spread them back out so the bottom of the pan is evenly covered.
Rolling out the buns
- Once the dough reaches the end of its first proofing, punch out the air and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough out to a 12 x 16 in rectangle. Spread the butter across the top of the dough, make sure to cover it evenly. Sprinkle the sugar/cinnamon mixture over the butter; making sure to evenly covers the top of the dough. Cut the dough into 8 strips that are each 2 inches wide ( I used a pizza cutter for this).
- Roll each strip up, pinch the end so it does not unravel and place it in the prepared pan. Repeat for all 8 strips.
- Place the pan back in the proofing bag, or cover it and set it aside while the buns double in size. I place mine back in the proofing bag and back into the oven with only the oven light on. It usually takes 45 to 50 minutes for the buns to double in size.**see notes below if you want to make these the day before
- Once the buns have doubled in size, preheat the oven to 350F (if the buns are proofing in the oven, make sure to remove them before turning the oven on).Bake the buns for 35 minutes, they should be a golden brown color on top.Leave them in the pan for a few minutes, you don't want the topping running all over the place when you flip them out. Once the topping seems to have hardened enough to not be too runny, place another parchment lined pan or cookie sheet over the top of the pan the buns are in. Try to gently flip the buns out onto the new parchment lined pan so the gooey sides with all the sticky pecan goodness is on top.The buns can be served immediately.Store the buns in the refrigerator. They should stay fresh for up to 3 days.They can easily be reheated in a toaster oven in a couple of minutes with the toast setting.