Instructions

1. Make the dough. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine 2 cups of the flour with the sugar, yeast and salt. Switch to the dough hook attachment.
2. Warm the milk to 120-130 degrees Fahrenheit. Add the butter and let it soften in the warmed milk. Then add this mixture along with the beaten egg to the dry ingredients. Beat on medium speed for 1-2 minutes, stopping to scrap down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Once the mixture is well combined, start slowly adding in more flour, about 1/4 cup at a time, until the dough is soft, easy to handle and easily leaves the sides of the bowl. You’ll need anywhere between 1 1/4 to 1 1/3 cups flour.
3. Mix the dough on low-medium speed for about 5 minutes, pulling the dough down off the hook as needed. The dough should be smooth and elastic. Alternatively, you can knead the dough by hand on a lightly floured countertop for about 5 minutes.
4. Gather up the dough with your hands and shape it into a ball. Transfer it to a lightly oiled bowl, turning the dough to coat it with a thin layer of the oil on all sides. Then cover the bowl loosely with a kitchen towel and let the dough rise in a warm place for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until it’s roughly doubled in size.
5. Once the dough has risen, gently punch it down to deflate it. Remove it from the bowl and transfer it to a floured countertop. Use your hands to roughly shape the dough into a rectangle. Then use a rolling pin to roll the dough out into a 15 X 10-inch rectangle. This will take a little bit of time, because the dough can be elastic and “springy” at first. If it’s bouncing back too much, let the dough rest for a few minutes before trying again.
6. Once the dough has been rolled out, combine all the ingredients for the filling in a small bowl. Spread the filling out in a thin layer evenly over the surface of the dough, leaving about a 1/2-inch boarder around the edges. Then starting with one of the long edges, tightly roll up the dough into a log. 
7. Place the log so it’s seam side-down on your countertop. Using a serrated knife, trim off and discard the uneven ends. Then slice the log into 14 to 16 equal-sized pieces of dough.
8. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the remaining 1/2 cup of butter. Add the brown sugar and pecans and stir until combined. Remove from the heat. Spray the bottom and sides of a 9 X 13-inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. Pour the pecan mixture into your prepared baking pan and spread it out evenly. Place the dough slices over top of the pecan mixture, spacing them out evenly. Cover the pan loosely with a kitchen towel and let the dough slices rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.
9. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Remove the kitchen towel from your baking pan and transfer the baking pan to your pre-heated oven. Bake the sticky buns for 28-30 minutes, or until they are golden brown and puffed.
10. Remove the baking pan from your oven and place it on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Do not let the sticky buns cool longer than 5 minutes or the topping will become hard and the sticky buns will be difficult (= impossible!) to remove from the pan.
11. Place a large baking sheet or a piece of parchment paper down on your countertop (this is to catch any drips). Then place a wire rack directly on top of the baking pan/sticky buns. Quickly but carefully flip the entire thing over, so the baking pan is inverted on the wire rack. Slowly lift off the baking pan. 
12. Let the sticky buns cool for a few minutes before serving. 
13. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days. Re-warm them slightly before eating.