Orange Scented Olive Oil Sticky Buns

By 70 Comments

Edit Recipe Add Photos

biffbourgeois says: These delicious buns are wonderful. You’d never know that the dough was originally foccacia. Work quickly when cutting the buns since the filling is quite liquid and can seep out from the roll—you probably won't need all the juice for the filling. I loved the orange and olive oil combo and the little bit of acid in the icing is perfect.

fiveandspice says: I'v been monkeying for a bit trying to make some sticky buns that have all the decadent gooeyness of standard sticky buns, but a little fresher flavors. When we bit into these this morning, I knew they were it. The inspiration for them comes from a number of different places. I started by wondering if Joanne Chang's (of Flour bakery) focaccia dough would work for sweet rolls. It is, quite possibly, my very favorite bread dough, amazingly rich, tender, and pillowy, but enriched only by olive oil (quite a bit of it!). This gives it a lovely floral olive oil flavor.
This made me think of olive oil cakes, and how delicious they are, particularly olive oil cakes with a bit of orange fragrance. So, I decided to make a sticky filling with orange zest and juice, plus a little squeeze of lemon juice to add some refreshing extra acidity. This part is similar to the various recipes for lemon sticky buns that were flooding the interwebs a while back. Then, looking at Melissa Clark's recipe for olive oil and orange cake, I noticed there was buttermilk in the batter. Playing off of this flavor, I decided to make a buttermilk glaze, sweet but with the light tang of buttermilk. I decided to keep the flavors of the dough, the filling, and the glaze different from each other, because I felt each blended with and added beautifully to the others and didn't all need orange notes. However, if you'd like more orange throughout, add a tsp. of orange zest to the dough, and replace a little of the buttermilk in the glaze with orange blossom water to taste.

Makes makes 18 smallish buns, 12 larger ones

Bun dough

  • 1 3/4 cup warm water
  • 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 4 3/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 3 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 cup good, fruity, olive oil

Orange filling and buttermilk glaze

  • 1 cup sugar
  • zest of 2 oranges
  • 3 tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 2 cups sifted powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoons buttermilk
  1. In the bowl of an electric mixer with a bread hook, combine the warm water, yeast, and sugar, and allow to stand for 5 minutes to let the yeast foam.
  2. Add the salt and half of the flour. Turn the mixer on low, and continue to add the flour allowing the mixer to mix it all together. When the dough has come together in a shaggy ball (this may take slight more or less flour, err on the side of a slightly sticky dough to keep it from being tought), pour in the olive oil in a drizzle as the dough hook keeps stirring.
  3. On a medium low speed, let the dough knead for 4-5 minutes. (All of this mixing and kneading can also be done by hand.) When the dough is smooth and satiny, gather it together and turn it into a deep, oiled bowl. cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp, clean kitchen towel, and put somewhere warm to rise until doubled in volume (mine took about 90 minutes, but my apartment is a bit chilly).
  4. While the dough rises, make the filling. Combine the cup of sugar with the orange zest. Allow to sit for a couple of minutes while the zest releases its oil into the sugar. Then, rub it together until well mixed and slightly moist. Next combine the orange and lemon juice and stir it in a bit at a time until you have a thick mixture about the consistency of wet sand (you may not use all of the juice). Set aside.
  5. Butter a 9X13 inch baking pan. When the dough had risen, punch it down and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll it out into a large rectangle that is a bit under a half an inch thick.
  6. Spread the filling mixture onto the dough, leaving a half inch border clear along one of the long ends. Roll the dough up tightly like a jelly roll starting at the long end without the border. Slice into either 12 or 18 equal slices.
  7. Pinch one of the cut sides of each slice closed as much as possible, to help keep the filling in (it will leak out some anyway, but it will work out fine). Then fit the slices into the buttered pan, with the pinched sides down and the unpinched cut sides up. Cover and allow to rise for another 45 minutes to an hour, until puffed. You can also put the rolls in the refrigerator at this point and let them slow rise over night and bake them in the morning. If you refrigerate them, just let them stand at room temperature for about 15-20 minutes before putting them in the oven.
  8. When ready to bake, heat your oven to 350F. Bake the rolls for 35-40 minutes until the rolls are nicely browned on top and baked through. Then remove from the oven.
  9. While the buns are baking, make the glaze by whisking the buttermilk into the powdered sugar bit by bit until it is the consistency that is thick, but pourable, When the buns are finished baking, spread the glaze on the warm buns. Serve warm, preferably with some espresso or strong coffee, and moist napkins for cleaning off your deliciously sticky fingers.

Comments (70) Questions (0)

Default-small
Default-small
Open-uri20130206-28286-1gcvf55-0

12 days ago Nikolay Dimitrov

Just finished making this amassing desert!
Thanks!

Sausage2

12 days ago fiveandspice

Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.

Glad you gave them a try!

Default-small

about 1 month ago Susie Hillman

Important tip! bake these on parchment paper or get them out of the pan before the sugar cools and cements them to the pan (buttered pan notwithstanding). I had to reheat mine in the oven after letting them cool in the pan, just to get them out.

Sausage2

about 1 month ago fiveandspice

Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.

Great tip.

Mrs._larkin_370

about 1 month ago mrslarkin

Mrs. Larkin is a trusted source on Baking.

Made these lovelies for Christmas morning, and then again on New Year's Day morning with a cinnamon/pecan/currant/choco chip filling. So easy and delicious. Thank you 5&s! Happy New Year!

Sausage2

about 1 month ago fiveandspice

Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.

Thank you too! Happy New Year! :)

Default-small

about 1 month ago petalpusher

I finally have a free standing mixer with a dough hook and this recipe was my first experience...It couldn't have been a better introduction. A simple delicious recipe with mind blowing flavors and textures. Orange, lemon sugar is wicked good. These came out perfect. thank you fiveandspice.

Sausage2

about 1 month ago fiveandspice

Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.

Woohoo! Honored that these were part of your dough hook's maiden voyage!

Img_6760

about 1 month ago DjeenDjeen

These are amazing. A great xmas morning treat. Thank you!

Sausage2

about 1 month ago fiveandspice

Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.

Glad you guys liked them! Thanks for letting me know.

Hc_lifestyle_0550_web_final

about 1 month ago hopecooks

I added cardamom and a little nutmeg to the filling mixture (also 1/4 turbinado sugar) and chopped walnuts sprinkled over the filling before rolling. I didn't have buttermilk, so I used heavy cream, a tiny bit of milk, orange flower water and vanilla for the glaze. Yeasty and delicious!

Sausage2

about 1 month ago fiveandspice

Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.

Great!

Default-small

2 months ago 2nd Street Sue

could I use soy milk instead as my granddaughter is allergic to dairy and egg?

Sausage2

about 1 month ago fiveandspice

Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.

Yes. Or you could use a different nondairy milk like almond.

Cuckoo-marans-hen

2 months ago DeirdreMS

How would I add pecans to this recipe?

Sausage2

2 months ago fiveandspice

Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.

I would add them finely chopped to the sugar and orange filling.

001

2 months ago TheKiku

Wow! These were really good! I was super scared mine weren't going to come out. I'm clearly not a baker - I have NO patience! I ran out of all purpose flour and had to use part cake flour, the filling was oozing out, I had holes in the dough...I was freaking out! But after all was said and done...DELICIOUS! I will definitely make these again!

Sausage2

about 1 month ago fiveandspice

Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.

That's wonderful! I'm glad they worked out for you. They're definitely messy, but I figure that's part of the whole point of sticky buns! :)

Default-small

2 months ago foodtoglow

I am definitely making this dough tomorrow for baking on Christmas morning, adding in smidge of cardamom. We normally just have what I term an Orange Julius fruit salad (fruit mixed with Greek yogurt, oj, honey and vanilla), but this will be perfect with it. Thanks so much for the recipe Emily! I love your blog, btw.

Sausage2

about 1 month ago fiveandspice

Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.

Thanks SO much!

Default-small

2 months ago emcsull

yet another comment. This would be perfect for one of my best friends, whose husband is allergic to eggs. But - BUT - she has foresworn dairy - what could she use instead of the buttermilk ?

Sausage2

2 months ago fiveandspice

Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.

You could use instead 1.5 Tbs. of coconut (or almond) milk and .5 Tbs of lemon juice. It would be an imperfect substitute, but a good one nonetheless!

Default-small

2 months ago leah_shelton_pucciarelli

Cider vinegar works well with soy milk to make df "buttermilk" also

Open-uri.4355

2 months ago Dina Moore-Tzouris

sitting at the breakfast table and eating one from the batch i made yesterday. first of all: YUM. the orangey inside does ooze out, but it makes the bottom of the roll taste as delicious as the top, with its crunchy, orangey syrup. i made them yesterday, kept them loosely covered with foil in my mud room, and heated them up for breakfast--perfect, since they take so long to prepare.

Sausage2

2 months ago fiveandspice

Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.

Awesome!

Default-small

2 months ago emcsull

so what if I have no bread hook for my mixer, can I just hand-knead ? Would it take a lot longer ?

Thanks emcsull

Sausage2

2 months ago fiveandspice

Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.

You can certainly mix and knead by hand. The only thing that will be tricky is working in the olive oil. You may want to add it before you add the flour if you are kneading by hand. And then, you'll just have to knead carefully adding as little extra flour as possible (so the dough may be a little sticky and crazy making! But, you can do it!) so that the final baked rolls are tough.

Sausage2

2 months ago fiveandspice

Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.

Aren't tough, that is. Not are tough!

Sophia

2 months ago Sophia Real

These look amazing - I love sticky buns and have been experimenting with olive oil a bit lately (unsaturated fat and longer shelf life than butter!). Might have to give these a go on the weekend!

Sausage2

2 months ago fiveandspice

Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.

I do hope you enjoy them if you give them a try! Let me know how it goes!

Default-small

3 months ago Essentialchef

I love that these are butter free and egg free, for the sake of reducing saturated fat. If I were to make these ahead, at least the dough and stop them before the final rise by putting them in the fridge. That way the majority of the work is done the night before and then we can eat them warm from the oven. My eyes would be a bit bleary if I were to do this whole recipe first thing in the morning, even with coffee!

Sausage2

3 months ago fiveandspice

Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.

Yes! That's exactly what I do when I want to make these ahead. Nobody should have to get up three hours early to make breakfast! :)

Open-uri.4355

2 months ago Dina Moore-Tzouris

i made them completely yesterday--kept them loosely covered with foil in the mudroom overnight. reheated perfectly this morning.

Tad_and_amanda_in_the_kitchen

3 months ago amanda

Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.

Love these -- am going to make them over the holidays.

Sausage2

3 months ago fiveandspice

Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.

Thanks so much! I hope they're enjoyed by all!

Img_0472

4 months ago darksideofthespoon

Made these last night! Delicious. My only changes were I used left over vanilla bean sugar for the dough and filling, and added a handful of chopped dried cranberries. There are only 5 left!!!

Sausage2

4 months ago fiveandspice

Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.

Yay! Love the cranberry addition too!

Default-small

about 1 year ago japanna

terrific except next time I would cut back on the sugar in the filling, especially if making the larger size buns. maybe for e smaller size that intensity might be what you are after. i subbed in half superfine whole wheat and used yogurt for the topping. i found the dough to be very forgiving in terms of rise time. will be making these again. thanks for a great recipe.

Sausage2

about 1 year ago fiveandspice

Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.

I'm glad you liked them! And, definitely the amount of the filling used should be adjusted to personal preference.

Default-small

about 1 year ago phzs

After the dough has risen I would cut a quarter of it and flatten to the bottom of the buttered pan and I would do the rest of the recipe with the remaining dough. In that way I could prevent the leaking of the filling.

Sausage2

about 1 year ago fiveandspice

Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.

Great idea!

603409_10151177771186289_457223809_n

about 1 year ago misslofox

What a great recipe! I'm planning on making it at a Valentine's Day brunch I'm hosting in February. Do you have an olive oil you can recommend? I've never heard of one that's "fruity!" :)

Sausage2

about 1 year ago fiveandspice

Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.

Great question! Actually most good quality olive oil has some fruitiness to it. They also tend to have a lovely greenish tinge. If you live near a Williams Sonoma - or often other cooking stores too - they usually let you taste a whole line up and you can compare. But, overall, I'd say you don't have to worry too much about finding the very finest olive oil for these buns, just don't use low quality olive oil.

603409_10151177771186289_457223809_n

12 months ago misslofox

Great to know. Thank you!