You won’t believe how amazingly delicious my pecan caramel rolls are, and your family won’t believe you made them!
Good sticky buns are a thing of beauty, and the best are made using brioche dough.
The problem is most brioche doughs are complicated and can prove to be a little daunting for a novice baker. But using a no-knead brioche dough recipe takes most of the work out of the process.
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I was truly amazed the first time I made these perfectly delicious pecan caramel rolls. So much so that I had to make them again just to be sure it wasn’t beginners’ luck.
It’s a simple foolproof recipe, that only needed a little tweaking to get the best results possible.
Of course, the dough is great for just plain Brioche rolls or a nice loaf of bread! The recipe I’m going to share with you will yield a few batches, and the dough will hold up for 5 days, giving you time to plan what other delicious treats you can bake.
Ingredients
Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make Caramel Pecan Cinnamon Rolls. In Chef Speak, this is called the “Mise en Place”, which translates to “Everything in its Place”.
Not only does setting your ingredients up ahead of time speed up the cooking process, it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.
How to make no-knead brioche dough
- Mix the yeast, salt, and water in the bowl of your mixer, and mix well
- Add in eggs, honey, and mix until well blended
- Add the melted butter, and continue to mix until well blended
- Add the flour and, using your dough hook, incorporate it all. Mix just enough so that all the flour is incorporated.
The dough may look loose and wetter than you think it should be, it may also look like it has lumps, that’s ok.
- Transfer the dough to a separate bowl, cover it with a towel, and let it sit and rise for 2 hours.
- Chill the dough for at least 2 hours before making the rolls.
- Using floured hands, cut out a 1 ½ lb piece of brioche dough.
- Dust the dough with more flour and shape into a ball by stretching the dough around and under in quarter turns until it is fully shaped.
How to make a caramel topping
- Cream the butter, salt, and brown sugar.
- Spread evenly over the bottom of a 9-inch cake pan, and scatter the pecan halves over the topping.
- Set aside until needed.
How to make cinnamon smear
While the dough is resting, cream the butter, cinnamon, and sugar until smooth and creamy.
How to assemble the Pecan Caramel Rolls
- Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to a ⅛ inch thick rectangle (about 12″x8″). Add flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking to the rolling pin or surface.*
- Spread the mixture evenly over the dough.
- Sprinkle the pecans over the filling.
- Start rolling the dough along the long side of the dough, so you end up with a roll.
*Refrigerate the roll for 20-30 minutes to chill the dough before slicing.
- When the dough is ready, using a serrated knife, cut the log into eight equal pieces and place them in a prepared cake pan.
- Cover with plastic and allow to rise for 1 hour in a cool area of your kitchen.
- Place rolls in a 350-degree preheated oven, and bake for about 40 minutes or until golden brown and set in the center.
- Run a knife around the sides of the pan and turn out the rolls onto a platter immediately.
When I first made these rolls, I had no idea if this type of brioche dough would turn out and I definitely didn’t expect it would be so good!
These are without a doubt the best Pecan rolls I ever had, light and fluffy, and so very flavorful!
Recipe FAQs
Also known as Active Dry yeast, it’s a type of dry yeast that’s granular, with a consistency similar to cornmeal. It’s a living organism that’s dormant until proofed or dissolved in a small amount of lukewarm water (105- 110°F).
Active dry yeast (granular) is typically sold in individual packets or small glass jars. If using the latter, be sure to refrigerate it after opening to keep the yeast fresh and active.
When turning the dough out onto the counter to roll out, use plenty of flour. If the dough is sticking to your hands or the work surface, add more flour to prevent sticking.
I usually dredge the dough I’m using in flour before starting.
Yes, you can. Increase the dough, smear, and caramel by 50%. That means rolling out the dough to a 12″ x 12″ area to work with.
No, you don’t. If you have nut allergies they can be omitted. You can use raisins instead of nuts if you prefer.
More Brioche Recipes You’ll Love!
No-Knead Brioche Pecan Caramel Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups lukewarm water
- 1½ tablespoon granulated yeast (2 packets)
- 1½ tablespoon coarse sea salt or kosher salt
- 8 eggs lightly beaten
- ½ cup honey
- 1 ½ Cups unsalted butter melted (3 sticks)
- 7½ cups all purpose flour
Caramel Topping
- 6 tablespoon unsalted butter softened
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup Karo syrup or Honey
- 30 Pecan halves (or as many as needed)
Filling for Rolls
- 8 tablespoon unsalted butter
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ cup toasted and chopped pecans (optional)
- pinch of ground black pepper
Instructions
- Mix the yeast, salt, water in the bowl of your mixer, mix well
- Add in eggs, honey and melted butter, and continue to mix until well blended
- Add in flour and using your dough hook, incorporate all the flour, mix just enough so that all the flour is mixed in.
- The dough may look loose and wetter than you think it should be, it may also look like it has lumps, that’s ok.
- Transfer dough to another bowl, cover with a towel and allow to sit and rise for two hours.
- Chill dough for at least 2 hours, before making the rolls*
- For topping cream butter, salt and brown sugar spread evenly over the bottom of a 9-inch cake pan, then scatter pecan halves over the topping and set aside.
- Using floured hands cut out a 1 ½ lb piece of brioche dough.
- Dust dough with more flour and shape into a ball by stretching the dough around and under in quarter turns until it is fully shaped.
- Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough int a ⅛ inch thick rectangle (about 12"x8") add flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking to the rolling pin or surface.*
- While the dough is resting cream butter, cinnamon and sugar, then spread the mixture evenly over the dough and if you're using pecans in the filling add them now by sprinkling them over the filling.
- Start rolling the dough along the long side of the dough, so you end up with a roll.
- If the dough feels too soft to cut, allow it to chill for about 20 minutes.
- When the dough is ready, with a serrated knife, cut the log into 8 equal pieces and place in prepared cake pan.
- Cover with plastic and allow to rise for 1 hour*
- Place rolls in a 350 degree preheated oven, and bake for about 40 minutes or until golden brown and set in the center.
- Run a knife around the sides of the pan and turn out the rolls onto a platter immediately*
- Serve the rolls and get ready for rave reviews
Kim Bee says
Congrats on top 9 Chef Dennis! I knew these ones would make it. So yummy!
Tiffany says
My nana is a sucker for pecan rolls… this is a MUST make for her!
Dee Dee's Delights says
Congrats on Top 9! This looks so yummy!
emily says
I LOVE that cookbook! Yeast intimidates me so much for some reason- it never rises on me! But these just look phenomenal!
Thanks so much
Peggy says
oh my goodness Dennis! These rolls were amazing! Might have to whip up another batch for breakfast tomorrow =)
Becky says
This was a great recipe for rolls, with all of that gooey caramel, pecans, and cinnamon, my family loved it
alyce@culinarythymes.com says
wow, those rolls were soooooo good.
whisksandchopsticks says
That looks amazing! Will have to try it soon. Thanks for sharing this yummy recipe.
Mercedes@Satisfy My Sweet Tooth says
Usually I see the word “yeast” and go running, but this recipe was manageable and came out delicious!
Angie @ Bigbearswife says
These pecan rolls were perfect and extremely yummy!
Cristina says
I love caramel pecan rolls! I’m going to making these sweet, heavenly rolls for sure. Thanks for sharing, Chef. Hope you’re having a great week and congrats on the Top 9! 🙂
Ali B says
Chef Dennis these look delicious! I’ll have to make them soon. Congrats on Top 9!
Glenn Kaufmann says
Dennis,
Thanks for this. These look great. I love sweet rolls, and all things pecan. This looks like the perfect combination.
Cheers,
Glenn Kaufmann
Editor & Publisher of All About Mardi Gras
Christine says
Your girls are lucky to have a chef like you teaching them. Great recipe.
The Mom Chef ~ Taking on Magazines One Recipe at a Time says
I’m sold. I’ll send you my address and you can pack up a batch of these and mail them my way, ok? I was thrilled to see your note about preparing them the night before and letting them rise for an hour in the morning. I surely couldn’t get up three hours earlier than normal to get these going and yes, I did see the prep time.
They’re gorgeous, fantastic and look so light, gooey and like the most glorious melt-in-your-mouth treat a girl could hope for. Again, I will be sending my address, ok? 🙂