Milk and Honey Buns

Recipe via Clockwork Lemon.

Makes 14 buns

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/3 cup warm water
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 2 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 TBSP instant yeast
• 4 1/2 cups bread flour
• 1 1/4 tsp table salt
• 1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/4 cup flour for kneading

Directions

1.  In the bowl of your mixer, whisk together the honey, warm water, milk, eggs, and egg yolk. Sprinkle the yeast on top and let sit for minute to soften before whisking it in.
2.  Add the  4 1/2 cups of flour and the salt and stir until a sticky dough forms. Divide the butter into pieces, and press into the batter. Sprinkle a TBSP of the remaining 1/4 cup of flour  and knead with a dough hook until the batter comes together to form a dough. If the dough is still sticking, knead in flour from the 1/4 cup a single TBSP at a time. Let each addition of flour knead in completely for at least a minute or two before checking if you need to add more. I usually have a tablespoon or two left in my 1/4 cup.
3.  Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough inside it and flip it over a few times to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise in a warm spot for 1 hr. A good place is inside your oven with the oven light on (and the oven itself turned off). The dough won’t double, but it will grow by about 1/2.
4.  Grease two 9inch inch round pans. Divide the dough into 14 equally sized pieces and form the buns by pulling into a boule shape and pinching it at the bottom. Place 7 buns in each pan with six in a circle and one in the middle. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise until the buns are just starting to touch (approximately 35 -40 min)
5.  Bake at 350 for 20-27 minutes until the tops are golden brown and the seams where the buns touch have puffed up. Turn the buns out onto a wire cooling rack and allow to cool for 15 minutes before serving. Store leftovers in a sealed plastic bag to keep fresh.