Gingerbread Sticky Buns

First, make the dough. Combine 1/2 cup of the warm water and the yeast together in a bowl and gently stir them together. Feed the yeast with a pinch of the sugar, then set it aside to grow for 5 minutes. Set up a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Combine the butter and brown sugar in its bowl and beat them together until it is a fluffy mixture. Add in the ginger, cinnamon, mace and nutmeg, followed by the two eggs. Then pour in the yeast mixture and the other cup of warm water. Finally, slowly add in the flour until you have a soft dough. Bring the dough together into a ball with your clean hands in the bowl, then cover it and set it aside in a warm, dry area. Let it rise for 3 hours.

While the dough sits, make the glaze and prepare the baking pans. Stir the soft butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, and water together thoroughly. The butter will be broken up but not melted in and that’s great. Take four 9 inch cake pans and spray them all well with cooking spray. Divide the glaze evenly among them, making sure it is an even layer across the whole bottom. Sprinkle half a cup of the chopped pecans into an even layer in each pan and press them lightly into the glaze. Set the pans aside.

When the dough is done rising, gently punch it down and divide it in half. Turn the first half out onto a clean, well floured surface and roll it out to be a thin rectangle about 10 inches long. Stir the brown sugar, ginger, cinnamon, mace and nutmeg together thoroughly for the filling. Brush the dough with half of the melted butter and sprinkle half of the filling all over it evenly. Roll it up tightly to make it a long log with the long side coming toward you. Cut the log in half, then cut each half in half. Then cut each half into three equal pieces to get 12 sticky buns total. Put 6 rolls into each pan to fill two of them, pressing them down gently into the glaze.

Repeat this process with the other half of dough to get 24 sticky buns total. Let them sit for an hour to rise again. When the hour is up, heat the oven to 350ºF. Bake the sticky buns for 30–35 minutes with two pans on each rack. Take them out and let them cool for 5 minutes. Turn each pan out onto a large plate or small platter and serve them warm immediately! At this point you can also separate the sticky buns and place them all into 2 large baking dishes with fitted lids that don’t touch the topping. Refrigerate them and then warm them up the next morning at 350ºF for 5–7 minutes so that you can make them ahead!