Sticky Caramel Spelt Buns (bread machine and stand mixer)

These sticky caramel buns spelt buns are just awesome. Wait. Am I allowed to say that about my own recipes? Why not? It’s true, after all. The dough can be made with all-purpose (plain) flour, and I’ve included instructions to make the dough in both a stand mixer and bread machine.

Regular readers are under no illusion about how much I like my bread machine. I like it even more that I picked it up at a bargain price from Lidl. If you aren’t sure whether you are going to get on with a bread maker, there’s no point in spending a fortune.

I made these beauties for a weekend fika and they were snaffled quicker than you can say, “Where have my buns gone?”

The dough for these sticky buns was made from scratch with my bread maker. Then I made them into these soft, pillows of sweet perfection. However, just because you don’t have a bread machine doesn’t mean you miss out: I’ve also included the instructions for making them in a stand mixer.

I did cheat (a little) and used tinned dulce de leche. Make your own caramel, if you’re so inclined.

Other amazing sweet bread recipes

I have made so many wonderful sweet bread recipes, and here are some of my favourites:

overhead shot of a tray of sticky buns with one bun in front.

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Bread Machine Sticky Caramel Spelt Buns (from scratch)

Course Snack

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 18

Servings 15 buns

Ingredients

Dough (see note 1)

1 egg (medium)
50g (¼ cup) butter
250ml (1 cup) milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
400-450g (3⅓ - 3¾ cups) spelt flour (see note 2)
1 tsp cinnamon
40g (¼ cup) brown sugar
7g (2¼ tsp) dried yeast (see note 3)
1 tsp salt

Filling:

30g (2 tbs) butter (melted)
30g (2½ tbs) brown sugar

Topping

Around 200g (7 oz) caramel (see note 4)
chopped almonds (optional)

Instructions

Bread Machine:

Add the egg, butter, milk and vanilla to your bread machine pan.
Add 400g (3⅓ cups) of flour and the remaining ingredients. Set your machine to make the dough, as per the machine's instructions.
On a very well-floured surface (the dough will be very sticky) work in just as much flour as you need to make a soft, pliable, but still a little tacky, dough. Form into a rough ball.

Stand Mixer:

Add the egg, butter, milk and vanilla to your stand mixer. If the butter is straight out of the fridge, it won't combine with the other wet ingredients too much, but that's okay.
Add 450g (3¾ cups) of flour and the remaining ingredients. The dough should be sticky, but if you need more flour, just add a little at a time. Be careful: too much flour will result in dry bread.
Switch to a dough hook (if you have one) and allow the mixer to knead the dough for around 7 minutes, just until soft. The dough will still feel a little tacky to the touch, but will be able to slowly drop off the hook.
Cover the dough and leave to proof (until it has doubled in size - usually about an hour).
When the dough is ready, knock it back, and on a floured surface, form into a rough ball.

For both methods:

Prepare the filling by mixing the melted butter with the sugar. Set to one side.
Roll out the dough into a long rectangular shape with the shorter sides about half the length of the longer sides. Have the longer length towards you.
Brush the butter all over the dough, leaving approximately a 1cm (just slightly longer than a quarter of an inch) edge all the way round.
Sprinkle the brown sugar all over the top.
Very carefully, roll up from the long edge facing you, as tight as you can, until you reach the end and are left with a long roll.
Carefully reposition the dough so that the seam edge is facing down.
Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut the dough into around 15-17 slices of equal thickness.
Take around half of the caramel/dulce de leche and spread it over the bottom of a fairly large oven tin or dish.
Place the dough slices on top with a little space in between.
With a brush or spoon, spread the remaining caramel over the tops. Sprinkle with chopped almonds.
Cover with a tea towel and leave to rest for about 30 minutes. Pre-heat the oven to 200℃ (400℉).
Bake for around 16-18 minutes. The buns are ready when golden brown on top. Allow to cool for a while then serve warm and soft. Enjoy!

Notes

I have converted grams to cups/ounces/tablespoons using online converters. Although I have no reason to believe they are inaccurate, please be aware that I have not made this recipe with imperial measurements.

I have made the dough using both a stand mixer and bread machine with identical results. I have not made the dough by hand, but I see no reason why you couldn't do so!
You can use spelt or regular flour for this recipe (just use the same amount).
In Sweden we have something called dried yeast. It is used both in warm liquid to proof and also added directly to flour. I am aware that the US has two options for dried yeast, and I believe instant yeast is the most similar to our dried yeast.
I used tinned dulce de leche. You can use homemade caramel if you like.