Sugar Buns Recipes

Steps:

• For the roast pork: Combine the honey, hoisin, soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil, ginger, five-spice powder and garlic in a nonreactive baking dish large enough to hold the pork snugly. Whisk until smooth and season with pepper. Cut the pork against the grain into 1-inch-thick slices. Add to the marinade and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours and up to 8 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and place a rack on top.
• Drain the meat from the marinade (reserving the marinade) and place on the rack. Roast until the top is lightly caramelized, about 25 minutes. Flip the pieces and roast until the second side is lightly caramelized, about 25 minutes more.
• Meanwhile, pour a few tablespoons of the marinade into a small bowl. Add the cornstarch and whisk until smooth with no lumps. Add 2 cups of the marinade to a small saucepan (discard the rest) and heat over medium. Add the cornstarch mixture to the saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool to room temperature, about 15 minutes.
• Let the pork cool, then chop into small pieces for the filling and put in a medium bowl. Add the thickened, cooled marinade and stir to coat.
• For the dough: Combine the yeast, 1/2 cup warm water (90 to 110 degrees F) and a pinch of sugar in a large spouted measuring cup. Let sit until foamy, about 3 minutes.
• Meanwhile, combine the all-purpose flour, cake flour, granulated sugar and salt in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Whisk the milk, vegetable oil and egg into the yeast mixture. Add to the flour mixture and mix with the paddle to make a cohesive dough. Switch to the dough hook and knead, adding a little more flour or water if needed, to make a dough that cleans the sides of the bowl. Knead until the dough is very smooth and springy, 4 to 5 minutes. Knead the dough on a floured counter to bring the dough together. Oil a large bowl and turn the dough to coat in the oil. Cover and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Punch the dough down and divide into 2 pieces. Roll each piece to about a scant 1/4 inch thickness and use a 4-inch ring cutter to cut as many circles as possible. Reroll the dough to cut out 9 to 12 circles total. Fill the center of each with about 1 tablespoon of the filling. Pinch the dough to enclose the filling and make a ball. Put the balls pinched-side down on the baking sheets. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• For the topping: Combine the flour, confectioners' sugar, baking powder and salt in the work bowl of a food processor. Pulse to combine. Add the butter and process until crumbly. Add the egg and egg white and process to make a very smooth paste. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a medium plain tip.
• Once the buns have risen, pipe a spiral of topping on each bun. Bake until the buns and topping are golden, 20 to 22 minutes. Serve warm.

Steps:

• Stir together 2 cups flour and the yeast. In a separate bowl, heat milk, water, oil, sugar and salt to lukewarm in microwave. Add all at once to the flour mixture, and beat until smooth, about 3 minutes.
• Mix in enough flour to make a soft dough, 2 to 3 cups. Mix well. Dust a flat surface with flour, turn dough out onto floured surface, and let rest under bowl for about 10 minutes.
• Shape dough into 12 slightly flat balls, and place on greased baking sheet to rise until doubled in size.
• Bake in a preheated 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) oven for 12 to 15 minutes.

Steps:

• In a small bowl, dissolve 1 teaspoon sugar and yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. Warm the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Mix in 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup butter and salt; stir until melted. Let cool until lukewarm.
• In a large bowl, combine the yeast mixture, milk mixture, eggs and 1 1/2 cup flour; stir well to combine. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.
• Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
• While dough is rising, melt 3/4 cup butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in 3/4 cup brown sugar, whisking until smooth. Pour into greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Sprinkle bottom of pan with 1/2 cup pecans; set aside. Melt remaining butter; set aside. Combine remaining 3/4 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup pecans, and cinnamon; set aside.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, roll into an 18x14 inch rectangle. Brush with 2 tablespoons melted butter, leaving 1/2 inch border uncovered; sprinkle with brown sugar cinnamon mixture. Starting at long side, tightly roll up, pinching seam to seal. Brush with remaining 2 tablespoons butter. With serrated knife, cut into 15 pieces; place cut side down, in prepared pan. Cover and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in volume. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool in pan for 3 minutes, then invert onto serving platter. Scrape remaining filling from the pan onto the rolls.

Steps:

• Generously grease one 12-cup muffin tin with softened butter. Set aside. In medium bowl, combine sugar, cinnamon, and salt, and mix until well blended. Set aside.
• Turn yeast dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and roll into an 18-by-10-inch rectangle. Brush dough with 2 tablespoons unsalted butter and liberally sprinkle with one-third of the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
• Beginning with the long side facing you, tightly roll dough away from you into a log; pinch edge of dough to seal. Cut dough crosswise into 1 1/2-inch pieces. Place each cross-sectional piece into prepared muffin cup and lightly cover with plastic wrap. Place muffin tins in warm place until buns double in size, about 45 to 60 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Once dough has doubled in size, remove plastic wrap and place on middle rack in oven. Bake until golden and puffed, about 22 to 24 minutes.
• Remove from oven and cool slightly on wire rack. In the meantime, melt the remaining 6 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Remove buns from muffin tins. Brush liberally with melted butter and gently roll in remaining cinnamon-sugar mixture. Serve warm.