Add the flour, sugar, and salt into a stand mixer. I used my bosch mixer with the dough hooks. Give the dry ingredients a quick mix to incorporate the sugar and salt into the flour.
In a separate bowl, add warm milk and yeast. I added my milk to a 4 cup measuring cup and microwaved it for 30 seconds until it was about 105 to 110 degrees F. If using active dry yeast, let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes until the yeast becomes foamy.
Add the cooled melted butter and egg to the milk and whisk together. I used a fork to whisk the mixture together, but a whisk will work as well. If the butter is added while it's still hot, you can kill the yeast. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Turn the mixer on medium and let it mix for 10 minutes. If you prefer to knead the dough some, mix with the mixer for 5 minutes. Oil your work surface and hands with vegetable oil and knead for about 7 to 10 minutes until your dough has a nice elastic stretch to it.
Place the dough in a bowl, coat with oil, cover with plastic wrap, and let double. This can take 1 to 2 hours to rise, depending on the temperature of where your dough is. I preheat my oven, let it come up to 350 degrees F, and then turn it off. Then I set my dough on the top of my stove so it's warm, but not hot. Press the dough out onto a clean floured surface. Make it a 14 inches long and 6 inches wide rectangle. If the dough was wider, you would have more cinnamon swirls and it will look like a cinnamon roll rather than a honey bun.
Coat the top with ground cinnamon. This gives the cinnamon flavor. No butter or oil is needed to make the cinnamon stick.
Roll the dough up. Start on the longest side. When you come to the edge of the dough, rub it with water to make it sticky and pinch it into the roll. If it doesn't stick, add more water. This is really important especially if you plan on frying these.
Cut the dough. I like to use floss to make nice slices. Slide the floss under the roll of dough, cross the two sides of the floss, and pull until it's cut the dough into a perfect slice. You can do ½-inch to 1-inch thick slices. I thought ¾-inch looked like it was the perfect size. No stand mixer? You can also make these without a mixer. Stir the dough together with a spatula until the dough comes together. Oil a clean countertop and your hands with vegetable oil. Begin kneading the dough until it has a nice elastic stretch. I haven't done it by hand, but I would guess 10 to 15 minutes would do the trick. Baked Honey Buns or Fried Honey Buns
You have to make a big decision here. Are you going to bake these babies or fry them? They're really delicious either way! Frying them is more work for sure.
If you plan on baking these, place the sliced dough about 2 inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and let them rise for 30 minutes in a warm place.
While the honey buns are rising, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Once the buns are ready, remove the plastic wrap and place in the oven for 15 to 18 minutes until the edges are golden brown.
baked honey buns on a parchment lined cookie sheet
Whip up the glaze in the meantime and have it ready to dip the warm honey buns in. Let the honey buns cool until they're firm enough to handle without falling apart. Carefully dip them in the glaze and place on a piece of wax paper to dry. For fried honey buns, you can place the slices of dough on a greased parchment-lined baking sheet about ½-inch apart. Cover them with plastic wrap and let them rise for about 30 minutes in a warm place.
While the slices are rising, heat 3 cups of vegetable oil or oil of your preference in a large saucepan to 320 degrees. Use a thermometer to check the temperature. You'll also want to mix up your glaze so it's ready for you.
There are two ways you can add these honey buns to the oil. You can cut the parchment paper into squares around each bun and carefully drop the honey buns in that way or if you greased your parchment paper as I suggested, you can carefully pick them up and place them in the oil.
I fried them one at a time so that the temperature of the oil didn't drop. This is very time consuming but I had golden fried honey bun every time! Once one side is a golden color, flip and let the other side fry until golden.
Place the fried buns on a paper towel lined plate. Let them cool for about 10 minutes and dip them while they're still warm in the glaze. Let any excess glaze drip off and place on a piece of wax paper to dry. Tips for the perfect glaze
Make the glaze before frying or baking your honey buns so it's ready.
If you want a honey glaze, reduce the melted butter to 5 tablespoons and add 1 tablespoon of your favorite honey in. It will make the glaze slightly thicker.
For more cinnamon flavor, add 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon to the glaze. How long do honey buns last?
If you're frying the honey buns, they're best the day they're made. You can store them in an airtight container and they'll last a second day, but they won't be as tasty.
If you're baking them, they will last 3 to 4 days stored in an airtight container.
