Sweet Beehive Buns

Sweet Beehive Buns are pillowy, little pieces of soft bread filled with cream cheese and gloriously glazed with a sweet, delightful syrup.

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These little buns, cute and tiny, will delight you as you pop one after another in your mouth. They are legitimately little bites of heaven. Sweet Beehive Buns, they are called. And I have to admit that before this, I have not heard of these delicious treats ever.

What has drawn me to make them is the lovely, shiny and shimmering surface of the buns, speaking to me and alluring me to explore further.

So today, for our second entry for our month-long #breadseries, we have this glorious, stunning little bread originating from the Middle Eastern regions, Sweet Beehive Buns.

What do you do when a food teases your eyes, seduces your taste buds and leave you hanging in a world of curiosity and imagination? You make the food.

So here we go, let us make sweet beehive buns.

How to Make Sweet Beehive Buns?

• First proof the yeast by dissolving it in warm water. Let this stand for 5 minutes or so, until it is foamy.
• In a large mixing bowl, stir together warm milk, egg, butter, sugar and salt. Add the yeast mixture.

• Add 3 cups of flour, one cup at a time and stir the ingredients well using a wooden spoon.
• Gradually add some of the remaining flour from the reserved, little at a time, to help with the stickiness. Keep stirring until a soft dough is formed and gathers in the center of the bowl. You may not need the entire amount of reserved flour.

• Turn the dough over in a generously floured surface and knead for 6-8 minutes until it is smooth and elastic. Dust your hands and flour as needed to help with the stickiness of dough, but do it sparingly or you will end up with a dry, stiff dough.
• Once the dough is smooth and can stretch thinly, shape it into a ball and let it rise inside a bowl, covered for 1 hour.

• The dough will be puffy and doubled in size after an hour. Gently deflate it and use a sharp knife to divide it into 50 portions.
• Take one portion, flatten it with your palms. Put about 1 and 1/2 to 2-inch piece of cream cheese in the center of the dough. Pull the edges of the dough and fold over the cream cheese to cover it. Twist the ends of the dough together to seal it into a  smooth ball. Repeat with the rest of the portions.
• Arrange them in two greased 9-inch round baking pans. Space them evenly. Cover the pans loosely with plastic wrap and let them rise for one hour until puffy.

• Preheat your oven to 350 F. Bake the buns for 18-23 minutes at 350 F. The tops should be golden.
• While the buns are baking, make your sweet syrup glaze. In a medium saucepan, combine the water and sugar. Over medium heat, let the mixture come to a boil and let it simmer for three minutes. The sugar should be dissolved and the syrup is clear.
• When the buns are done baking, pour the syrup over the hot buns, distributing the liquid evenly in the surface. I always prefer to do this while the buns are still hot from the oven.
• You can use the entire amount of syrup or you can leave about 1/4 to 1/3 cup if you feel that the buns are oversoaked. Just be sure to pour in lots, though. You may think that the buns will be soaked after you are halfway into the syrup, but trust me, you need more than that.

These buns are so heavenly served warm, but they are still soft and moist as they sit overnight if you happen to have leftovers. Actually, it is easy for these buns to be gone in a flash.

They are small, poppable in your mouth and they are addictive. You really have to try this. Bring them over to your gatherings, gift it to a friend just because, bring it to work, or bake them for yourself.

Here are more bread recipes for you:

• Chelsea Buns
• Milk Bread
• Sweet Cheese Rolls
• Sweet and Buttery Sugar Buns
• Austrian Buchteln
• Chocolate Walnut Bread
• Choco-Hazelnut  Rolls
• Cream Cheese Brioche
• Japanese Milk Buns

5 from 9 votes

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Sweet Beehive Buns

Sweet Beehive Buns are pillowy, little pieces of soft bread filled with cream cheese and gloriously glazed with a sweet, delightful syrup.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Middle East, Arab

Keyword sweet buns recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 23 minutes

rise times for the dough 2 hours

Total Time 53 minutes

Servings 16

Calories 247 kcal

Author sanna

Ingredients

For the Bread Dough

• 1/4 cup warm water 105-115 F
• 2 and 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
• 3/4 cup warm milk 105-115 F
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter softened
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 and 1/4 cups to 3 and 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 block cream cheese

For the Sweet Syrup

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 and 1/2 cups water
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

Instructions

1. Dissolve yeast in warm water. Let the mixture stand for 5 minutes, or until foamy. In a large mixing bowl, combine milk, butter, egg, sugar and salt. Add the yeast mixture and stir well. Add 3 cups of flour, one cup at a time and use a wooden spoon to stir the ingredients together. 

2. Sprinkle just enough of the remaining flour gradually until the mixture turns into a soft dough that gathers in the center of the bowl. Turn the dough over in a generously floured board and knead for 6-8 minutes, adding flour to the surface and to your hands as needed to help with the stickiness, until the dough is smooth and elastic. Shape the dough into a ball and let rise inside a bowl, covered for 1 hour.

3. Grease two 9-inch round pans. Gently deflate the dough and divide to 50 portions. Flatten each portion in your palms and place a small bit of cream cheese, just enough to fit in the center of the dough. Fold the edges of the dough to cover the cream cheese and twist the ends together to seal. Arrange the balls into the 2 prepared baking pans. Cover them loosely with plastic wrap and let rise for about an hour until puffy and doubled in size.

4. Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake the buns in the 350 F oven for 18-23 minutes or until the tops are golden.

5. As the buns bake, make the syrup. Combine sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat. Let the mixture boil and simmer for three minutes. The syrup should be clear and the sugar has completely dissolved. Turn off heat and add 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract. When the buns are done baking, pour the syrup over the buns, distributing evenly. You may choose not to pour all the syrup. I always find that 1/4 to 1/3 cup remains in my cup. Just make sure to don't skimp on it.

Recipe Notes

Nutrition Facts

Sweet Beehive Buns

Amount Per Serving (1 serving)

Calories 247 Calories from Fat 27

% Daily Value*

Fat 3g5%

Saturated Fat 2g13%

Cholesterol 20mg7%

Sodium 157mg7%

Potassium 54mg2%

Carbohydrates 49g16%

Sugar 28g31%

Protein 3g6%

Calcium 20mg2%

Vitamin A 125IU3%

Iron 1.4mg8%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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