PECAN STICKY BUN BABKA RECIPE

Instructions

1. In a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the all-purpose flour, bread flour, yeast, sugar, salt, water, and eggs. Beat on low speed for 3 to 4 minutes, or until all the flour is incorporated into the wet ingredients. Beat on low speed for another 3 to 4 minutes. The dough will be very stiff and seem quite dry.
2. With the mixer on low speed, add the butter, one piece at a time, mixing after each addition until it disappears into the dough. Once it has all been added, continue mixing on low speed for about 10 minutes, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure all of the butter is mixed in very thoroughly.
3. Turn the speed up to medium and beat for another 15 minutes, or until the dough becomes sticky, soft, and somewhat shiny. It will take some time to come together. Once it has, turn the speed to medium-high and beat for about 1 minute. You should hear it make a slapping sound as it hits the sides of the bowl. To test: pull at the dough, it should stretch a bit and only have a little give. If it seems wet and loose and moves more like a batter than a dough, add a few tablespoons of flour and mix until it comes together. If it breaks off into pieces when you pull at it, continue to mix on medium speed for another 2 to 3 minutes, or until it develops more strength and stretches when you grab it. It is ready when you can gather it all together and pick it up in one piece.
4. Place the dough in a large bowl and cover it with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap directly onto the surface of the dough. Let the dough proof in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours or up to overnight.

1. Heat the oven to 350°F and, on a piece of foil on top a cookie sheet, toast the pecans until they are a few shades darker and very fragrant, about 10 minutes. Turn the oven off and transfer the hot pecans to a cutting board and chop them finely until the pieces are just larger than the size of a grain of rice.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the pecans, softened butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon until the nuts are evenly distributed and you have formed a crumbly paste. Set aside.