Grilled Glazed Honey Bun Recipe

Ingredients

Honey buns use an enriched dough like brioche, challah, my Nutella babka, and of course my purple cow-pattern Japanese milk bread. In addition to bread flour, the honey bun dough calls for an egg, vegetable shortening like Crisco, and milk, here in powdered form.

I’ve cut the original recipe in half, but mostly kept the original Williams College recipe except for minor adjustments. The only substitution I made was for vanilla extract in place of imitation vanilla.

I’m planning to make future versions with butter in place of shortening. If you’re like me and want to use milk in place of powdered milk and water, please scald your milk to prevent inhibiting the yeast growth.

Other ingredients to note include the cinnamon (not pictured) for sprinkling on the rolled out dough and honey and gelatin for the honey bun glaze. Using gelatin isn’t essential, but it will give you a glossy finish to your glaze.

Recipe tips and tricks

Making the homemade honey bun dough

Step 1: Combine the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, milk powder, yeast, and salt) in the bowl of your stand mixer and mix on low speed for about 10 seconds. Add the egg, water, and vanilla and mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together.

Step 3: Shape the dough into a ball and put it in a greased bowl covered with plastic wrap in a warm place in your kitchen until it doubles in size – about one to two hours. If your kitchen is cold, you can create a warm, draft-free location by heating your oven to about 80 degrees. Or microwave a cup of water in your microwave and then put the bowl inside.

Honey bun construction

Step 4: Punch down the dough, then roll it out onto a lightly floured countertop to a rectangle that is about 6 inches wide and one quarter inch thick.

Step 5: Lightly brush the egg wash on the rolled out dough, and sprinkle the cinnamon on top. There isn’t any sugar in the honey bun cinnamon filling, that’s correct.

Step 6: With the short side facing you, roll the honey bun dough as tightly as you can, then slice into six one-inch segments.

The trick to cutting round slices is unwaxed, unflavored dental floss – slide a 8 to 10 inch piece under the honey bun roll, cross the ends above, and pull it tight to slice through the dough. Repeat four more times to get six slices.

Step 7: Let the honey buns rise on a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper and covered with plastic wrap. They should double in size in about 30 to 60 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat your frying oil. Use a neutral-flavored oil with a high smoke point.

How to fry and glaze the honey buns

Step 8: When your honey buns have doubled in size and your oil is at least 375 degrees Fahrenheit, deep fry the honey buns until golden brown, about 80 to 90 seconds on each side.

Let the honey buns cool completely before glazing.

Step 9: Combine the ingredients for the glaze and pour it over the cooled honey buns. You can make the glaze thinner with more water or thicker with more powdered sugar. Eat one right away or continue to Step 10 to griddle your honey buns.

Making grilled honey buns

I’ve wanted to make homemade honey buns ever since someone told me about buttering banana bread. While I can’t imagine butter on banana bread, the pan fried chocolate chip banana bread I made stirred up nostalgia for honey buns that seems shared by every Williams College alumni.

Step 10: To make grilled honey buns, slice a honey bun in half. Melt a tablespoon of butter in a cast iron or other frying pan, and cook it with the cut half down on low for about 5 minutes, until the inside is a toasty brown. Enjoy!

Recipe FAQs

Related breakfast pastry recipes

Check out some other breakfast recipes from the Ugly Duckling Bakery archives, like: