By Yotam Ottolenghi
- Total Time
- 1½ hours, plus rising time
- Rating
- 5(283)
- Notes
- Read community notes
I love to sprinkle nigella seeds over the tops of these fragrant buns — they look great and the savory nigella contrasts well with the sweet dough. (Sesame seeds would work, too.) Clotted cream is the perfect accompaniment, but if you can’t find it, crème fraîche or mascarpone would also be lovely — whether at breakfast or teatime.
Featured in: Weekend Breakfasts to Warm the Heart, and Belly
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Ingredients
Yield:8 buns
- ½cup plus 1 tablespoon/140 milliliters whole (full-fat) milk
- 3tablespoons/40 grams unsalted butter cut into 6 small cubes, more for greasing the pan
- 2tablespoons granulated or superfine sugar (caster sugar)
- ⅛teaspoon crushed saffron strands
- 1½teaspoons fast-acting (instant) yeast
- 1⅓cups/175 grams all-purpose flour (plain flour), more for dusting
- 1⅓cups/175 grams bread flour (strong flour)
- ½teaspoon salt
- ⅞cup/200 milliliters maple syrup
- 3tablespoons/45 grams unsalted butter
- 3cardamom pods
- 1vanilla bean (vanilla pod)
- ½teaspoon coarse sea salt, such as Maldon or fleur de sel
- 1teaspoon nigella or sesame seeds (optional)
- 1½ to 2cups/300 to 400 grams clotted cream, mascarpone cheese, or crème fraîche, for serving
For the Dough
For the Syrup
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
511 calories; 27 grams fat; 16 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 61 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 26 grams sugars; 7 grams protein; 300 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
In a small pot, combine milk, butter, sugar and ⅓ cup/60 milliliters water over medium heat and heat about 1 minute, until butter has melted and the mixture is just lukewarm. (Too much heat will kill the yeast when it’s added.)
Step
2
Transfer to a bowl, add saffron and yeast, whisk to combine and then set aside until the mixture is yellow and lightly frothy, 15 to 30 minutes.
Step
3
In a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine both flours, the salt and the milk mixture. Knead for 3 minutes, starting on the lowest speed and gradually increasing to medium, pausing every now and then to scrape down the sides and incorporate any dry bits on the bottom of the bowl. (If there is flour that refuses to be incorporated, add a teaspoon or two of water.)
Step
4
Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface. Knead by hand for 5 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Cover dough with a damp cloth and let rest for 10 minutes.
Step
5
Grease a 9-inch/24-centimeter cake pan and line it with parchment paper. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces and roll each into a smooth ball. Place 1 dough ball in the center of the cake pan and then arrange the rest in a circle around it, leaving a ½-inch/1-centimeter gap on all sides of each ball. Cover with a slightly damp cloth and leave to rise in a warm place for about 1½ hours, until doubled in size. The buns will press against one other and against the sides of the pan.
Step
6
Toward the end of the rising, heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit/200 degrees Celsius. Bake the risen buns for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden-brown and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Step
7
While the buns bake, make the syrup: Use the flat side of a heavy knife to crush the cardamom and discard the papery outer pods, reserving the seeds. Use the knife or a mortar and pestle to lightly crush the seeds. Slit the vanilla bean lengthwise and use the tip of a small knife to scrape out the seeds from both sides. In a small pot, combine maple syrup, butter, cardamom and vanilla seeds over medium heat and cook 5 minutes, whisking occasionally, until the butter has melted and the syrup has thickened. Reduce the heat if necessary to prevent scorching. Set aside and keep warm.
Step
8
As soon as the buns are baked, use a pastry brush to coat them evenly with syrup, then immediately sprinkle with the sea salt and seeds (if using). Let cool 10 minutes before transferring to a serving plate. To eat, slice the bun across the middle, and spread generously with clotted cream.
Ratings
5
out of 5
283
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Cooking Notes
Greg w
I suppose you can let it rise in the refrigerator overnight so all you have to do in a the morning is bake and make the syrup.
MFK
These are so good; this is a keeper! I doubled the recipe, using 2, 9" pans. Nothing took as long as the recipe said it would, the dough was a breeze to work with. Reminds me of lussekatter. I will reduce the amount of syrup next time, it was delicious but just too much. Also, I let the dough hook do all the kneading. Served with mascarpone, will try clotted cream next time. Was a big crowd pleaser - little kids to grandparents were all asking when I'd make them again.
Conner
I’m an avid user of NYT cooking, and this counts among the best recipes I’ve encountered here. Very easy, and the buns are sublime — complex and light. I used only 1 1/8 tsps of yeast, as I’m baking at 7000’ elevation; also replaced cardamom pods with ground (1/8 tsp) and vanilla bean with extract (1 tsp).
Rosita
When I made the sticky buns this morning, I let them rise for only 45 minutes in a warm room and that was plenty to get a great rise and a fluffy bun. The initial proofing of the yeast also didn't take the whole time, only about 10 minutes, so it took a lot less time than anticipated :)
Patrick Hogan
I made this twice and both times I found it to be a very tough, dry dough that doesn't loosen up much from kneading. In fact the first time I kneaded it for a lot more than I probably had to.
Pat
I did the overnight thing!Best buns we have made in a while.. soft texture and light. Loved the sauce!
h m c
These were incredible! Really light and fluffy texture and delicious flavor. I added a tiny bit more water in the kneading because the dough did seem stiff at first (just wet my hands and let that incorporate), but they turned out amazing (I followed all the proofing times as given). We had tons of extra syrup, but was delicious on pancakes the next day.
Maisie Butterfield
I found the dough a bit parched and had to add more milk so it would come together.
Amelia West
My dough also turned out like play dough. Didn’t rise and didn’t bother baking. Just awful. 5️⃣
K. Wendt
I tried both homemade clotted cream and purchased mascarpone with these and really preferred the “gaminess” of the clotted cream. My dough was not dry as some suggested, and after dividing into individual rolls, I put in fridge overnight and then pulled out 1hr before baking in the morning to finish out the proof. I used one batch of syrup for two batches of rolls as others suggested. Overall- solid recipe; good for a breakfast treat because not too sweet.
Lesley
These are DELISH. Not too sweet, which for me is a plus, just a hint of sweet. Also did not need so much syrup, you can probably cut it in 1/2 unless you want to slather it several more times. Really nice recipe.
Proofing Instant Yeast?
Why proof instant yeast? I've always just added it straight to the flour.
Karen Thurow
I make this nondairy by blending 1/4 c oats with 1 1/4 c warm water for the milk (no need to cook it) and subbing earth balance (only 1 stick) for butter. Delish!
Christina
I didn’t understand why everyone was saying the dough was tough until I realized I accidentally used a full cup of milk. Honestly, that might have been the move, because it was still delicious and i didn’t have any trouble with toughness. Just added flour to make it less sticky. Also, I don’t think it made too much sauce! They’re called sticky buns for a reason. Sad I couldn’t find nigella seeds despite my best efforts but still really enjoyed these.
Archie
This recipe was truly delicious. You will not regret making this. Really outstanding.All the flavors mixed so well together. The bun was the perfect vehicle. And don’t skip out on the salt! Really pulled it together perfectly.
Sarah
These are fantastic. We don’t have a dough hook, so I kneaded by hand, which took about 20 min – it is a fairly dry, tough dough, and it definitely doesn’t get elastic in the way regular bread dough does. But it still rose beautifully, and the finished product was light and fluffy and flavorful. This recipe definitely makes more syrup than you need, but that’s fine – the syrup is delicious, and we’re planning to use the leftovers on regular pancakes/waffles. Already planning to make this again.
Rebecca
So good, so unique. Add splashes of milk to keep the dough moist. Ground cardamom/vanilla extract are fine substitutes. Used whipped cream cheese as a filling and it was next level delicious.
Miranda
These were sooo soooo good. I put them in the fridge overnight, and then let them rise for an hour in the morning which worked perfectly. The sauce was so good I may have eaten a few spoonfuls while waiting for the rolls to bake. The bread had a nice sweet yeasty flavor and were super soft and fluffy. Def adding these to the must bake again list.
Fred
Absolutely fantastic. The rolls by themselves are phenomenal, although the sauce is great (if not a touch sweet). Try adding bourbon sesame seeds on top!
Rita
I had to add a little extra water as directed for my dough to come together as it should. It was quite easy to make. I used more saffron that directed because I really like like the flavor of it. I did find that the syrup made at least double what I needed to paint the rolls so I will need to make the rolls again. I grew up eating saffron buns that were of Scandinavian extraction and were very similar to these except with dried fruit in them and no syrup on top. Yummy!
Jack
Absolutely amazing! I made half the amount of syrup written here and still have some left over. I also added probably >2 tablespoons of water to the dough throughout the kneading process because it seemed quite dry, though humidity is very low here.
Conner
I’m an avid user of NYT cooking, and this counts among the best recipes I’ve encountered here. Very easy, and the buns are sublime — complex and light. I used only 1 1/8 tsps of yeast, as I’m baking at 7000’ elevation; also replaced cardamom pods with ground (1/8 tsp) and vanilla bean with extract (1 tsp).
kvernem
I have made these multiple times now. Very easy. Yes there will be extra syrup but it tastes great on pancakes or waffles. The one thing I will say is that these look absolutely nothing like the photo. They are more like a puffy Hawaiian roll. You could in fact use these for dinner if you skip the maple glaze and brush with melted butter instead.
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