Thursday, April 27, 2017

How to Make Sticky Buns


The Loft Coffee House in Spring Branch, Texas, uses too many pecans on their sticky buns  even for Texans … and that's a good thing.


The new location for the Loft Coffee House is in Spring Branch South of the Guadalupe River on US-281 around 35 miles north of the city limits of San Antonio.  It's about five miles north of where TX-46 intersects with US-281.  If you are heading north, the coffee shop is conveniently located on the right side.


Here is How the Loft makes their Sticky Buns

Yes, you can do this at home.

Preparing the Dough:


If you are not a baker or one who loves to bake, go to Sam's or Costco's to get dough already to go.  They're usually sold in frozen balls.   Most of us don't have the time and many of us the talent to kneed dough.


Roll out the dough.  At home, granite counter tops or a marble cutting board works well, otherwise be ready to snow your surface with flour.


Seasoning the Dough:


Cover with brown sugar (which goes well in good coffee as well).


And now the cinnamon, the primary ingredient after dough.



Finally, add unrefined sugar.  Here's what it looks like after the seasoning.


Making the Rolls:


Roll the dough and cut it into three inch pieces.



The topping goes on the bottom for baking.  Here comes the good stuff: Melt once stick of butter and stir in 2/3 cup of brown sugar.  Cook on a low fire for a moment until all of the sugar is dissolved. Pour into the pan and add the pecans.


Tighten the rolls and put in the baking pan.



See how they are spaced.  That gives each roll room to expand.



Baking the Rolls:


Bake in conventional oven at 250 degrees for 29 minutes.  What? 29 minutes ... what is this, a train depot?  What happened to 30 minutes.  Okay, bake for 29 minutes.  Let the rolls cool in the pan for five minutes before popping them out of the pan with a spatular.


Carefully remove each roll keeping as much of the topping as possible.  The first one is the most difficult removal (Always is!).  Remove one from the edge first.  Save the middle roll for me.



You can either scrape the stuff left in the pan to put on top of the less endowed rolls or just eat the topping straight up.  Guess which one I would do.



Ready to serve to guests (or hide in a corner alone somewhere with a roll of paper towels).