Notes: For a breakfast treat at the cottage we were staying in over New Year's, I decided to make sticky buns. Even though Cook's Illustrated is very picky about their recipe and directions, I took a few liberties to accommodate for ingredient and kitchen constraints. I used lemon-soured milk in the dough, and kneaded it by hand, leaving it to proof at a cool room temperature for almost 3 hours. After filling and shaping the buns, I put them in a small, black oblong ceramic dish and used the proofing feature of the Jenn-Air oven. In no time, they were puffed and I baked them. As they sprung in the oven, they shifted and pushed each other almost out of the dish. CI says that a non-stick metal pan placed on a baking stone is the best for these buns, but aside from being too small, the dark ceramic dish worked well too. The pecan topping adds even more sugar and corn syrup, but is something that can't be omitted; the crunch of the toasted nuts really puts these over the top. Do keep them covered as the dough dries out quickly.
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