• In a small saucepan, warm the milk to around 95-104°F / 35-40°C and pour the warm milk into a bowl of a stand mixer. Sprinkle yeast and sugar over the milk. If using active dry yeast, let this sit for around 5-10 minutes until it becomes foamy, if using instant yeast this step can be skipped. 180 g whole milk, 2 teaspoons instant yeast, 50 g granulated sugar
• Add in the flour, salt, pumpkin puree, spices, and egg. Fit the stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment and mix on low speed to form a thick dough. 500 g all-purpose flour, 170 g pure pumpkin puree, 1 large egg, 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ⅛ teaspoon cloves, ¾ teaspoon salt
• Add in the softened butter, a few cubes at a time, and keep mixing for around 10-15 minutes until the soft dough is smooth and strong and it pulls away cleanly from the sides of the bowl. 55 g butter
• Kneading by hand - Use a wooden spoon and mix the dough until it forms a shaggy dough ball. Once it forms a dough ball, pull it onto a floured surface and knead in the butter, a few cubes at a time. The butter will make it a bit of a sticky dough initially. Knead by hand for around 10-15 minutes until it becomes a strong and smooth dough. If you need a break, take it. The dough responds well to resting time.

First rise

• Once kneaded, form the dough into a smooth ball. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl and cover.
• Let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, around about 1 hour. The exact time the dough rises will depend on your room temperature.
• If making the dough ahead of time, it can instead be covered tightly and refrigerated for up to 16 hours.

The filling and topping

• In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar and ground cinnamon for the filling and set it aside. Roughly chop up pecans with a sharp knife and set them aside. Line a 9x13-inch baking pan with parchment paper. 100 g brown sugar, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 170 g pecans halves
• In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt together the butter, brown sugar, honey, and salt until the butter and sugar have melted. Give it a good stir while it's melting to combine it into a cohesive caramel. 113 g butter, 100 g soft brown sugar, 85 g honey, 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Once melted together, pour the caramel into the prepared pan and use a rubber spatula to gently spread out the caramel. Don't worry if it's not super even, it will spread out more later when it's baking. Top it with the chopped pecans.

Shaping

• Punch down the risen dough and pull it from the bowl onto a lightly floured work surface. If the dough has come from the fridge, it will be very stiff. You can let it warm up to room temperature for 10 minutes first before shaping.
• Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out into a 12x18 inch (30x45cm) large rectangle. Spread the dough with the softened butter. Evenly sprinkle over the cinnamon sugar filling. Roll the dough up from the long side into a log. Cut the log into 12 equal pieces, using unflavored dental floss or a serrated knife. 3 tablespoons butter
• Place the slices on top of the pecans and caramel. Let them rise in a warm spot until doubled in size.

Baking

• Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). 
• Bake the buns for around 25-28 minutes until deep golden brown. If they are browning too fast, you can cover the top of the buns loosely with aluminum foil. While they are baking, lay a piece of parchment paper on a large tray. This is what you will tip the sticky buns onto once baked.
• When the buns have finished baking, remove them from the oven and carefully invert the pan onto the parchment paper-lined tray. Remove the pan.
• Let the buns cool for around 20 minutes before pulling them apart and serving. Leftover sticky buns can store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 4 days.