Sweet Beehive Buns are pillowy, little pieces of soft bread filled with cream cheese and gloriously glazed with a sweet, delightful syrup.
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
Sweet Beehive Buns
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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake the buns in the 350 F oven for 18-23 minutes or until the tops are golden.
- 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.
Notes
Nutrition
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Deb says
They look and sound delicious.
Which of your bun recipe would you suggest to fill with BBQ Pulled Pork? Any bao buns ?
TY, Deb
***Also, do you have a recipe for Carrot Cake?
sanna says
Hello Deb!
If you like to add fillings, you can use this dough https://www.womanscribbles.net/tuna-buns/, and fill it with your favorite fillings.
I do not have any bao buns recipe yet, but will surely work on that very soon! and carrot cake with a good cream cheese frosting has been on my list for a loong time, I really should make it soon 🙂
Thank you Deb and happy baking!
Kalthum Hassan says
Can you tell me how much is one block of cream cheese
sanna says
Hello! 250 grams 🙂
Olive Carillo says
Hello can i use instant yeast instead? If yes what is the measurement? Thank you.
sanna says
Hi there! Yes, you can use instant yeast. Use the same amount as the active dry yeast and use the same instruction in the recipe 🙂
Rachel says
Just found this recipe last night and tried it today. They are absolutely delicious. I added a little bit of fresh ground nutmeg and ground green cardamom to my simple syrup to help offset the sweet just a little bit. Thanks so much for the recipe!
sanna says
I am so happy you loved it!
Anna says
These are delicious! I made them for my roomate and I when she moved in, and now I’m making them again for my date tomorrow. She’s also a baker so I hope she likes them as much as I do! Thanks so much for the excellent recipe
sanna says
I love these buns too! I need to make them again! Thanks Anna! Happy Baking!
Eliza says
Could I use an alternative for the 9″ round pans?
sanna says
Hello! Use one 9×13 inch pan 🙂
Lisa says
Could I make these bigger? I have the hardest time dividing rolls evenly. But dont really want to have to weigh 50 balls of dough
sanna says
Hi Lisa. Yes you can. Sometimes, I make 25 pcs.
Lisa says
And would I do everything the same.. and the same cook time?
Iffat says
Can normal flour be used in place of all purpose flour? And in that case do we need to add baking powder?
sanna says
Hello! Normal/ all-purpose flour and no need to add baking powder.
Marie Lambinicio says
I baked these today and the texture is fluffy! I absolutely love them! Thank you for sharing!
sanna says
Thanks, Marie!
Fareha Ansari says
Hi this recipe looks delicious I would love to make it. Unfortunately I am out of yeast (and it is literally sold out everywhere) is there a substitute for it?
sanna says
Hello there! Sorry, no sub for yeast.
Marivic San Juan says
Hello Sanna,
Love, love love this recipe. My children and husband couldn’t get enough! Again followed your instructions down pat and I made the best buns in just my first take. Thank you for your recipes. Will be watching out for more. God bless you and stay safe!
Samira says
Hi there
I only have salted butter, will this be okay if I skip the salt?
sanna says
Hi Samira. Use salted butter and yes, skip the salt. I hope you enjoy these!
Hope says
Thank you so much for this recipe! They were absolutely delicious and surprisingly simple! They look impressive too which is an added bonus 😉 rave reviews from everyone who tried them!
sanna says
Hi Hope! So glad to know that 🙂
Wani says
Which cream cheese I have to use ?
sanna says
Hello Wani! Plain cream cheese is fine. ☺️
Veronica says
How tall are the round baking pans you used? They look taller than normal cake pans.
sanna says
Hello Veronica! They are 9 x2 inches round pans. The buns are pretty mini bites 🙂
Julia J says
Hi, these sound absolutely delicious, but not everybody in my family like cream cheese. Is the filling necessary? Or is there another filling you might recommend?
Thanks a bunch!0
sanna says
Hi Julia! You can skip the filling entirely, or you can fill them with honey cream that I used to fill these bread : https://www.womanscribbles.net/sweet-bread-with-honey-cream-filling/
Thank you!
Julia J says
Thank you so much! These are amazing, and my family loved them!
Damaris says
I love new bread recipes. I can’t wait to make these!
sanna says
Thanks, Damaris! You will love these 🙂