Mix the flour, salt, nutmeg, and orange zest if using. Set aside.

Warm the milk to 110ºF. Pour it into a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer.

Add 2 tablespoons of sugar, and the yeast to the milk. Mix to combine.

Let the mixture sit for 5 to 10 minutes, until it becomes foamy.

Add the rest of the sugar to the bowl, along with the butter and whisked eggs. Mix for about 30 seconds with the paddle attachment of the mixer, or use a spatula or wooden spoon to mix the ingredients.

The mixture won’t look incorporated, that’s fine. Add the flour, and the salt, and continue to mix with the paddle attachment, until the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients are combined into a shaggy dough.

Switch to the dough hook and knead the dough on low speed for 8 to 10 minutes. Alternatively, turn the dough into a floured surface, and knead by hand for about 10 minutes.

You should knead the dough until it is barely sticking to the sides of the bowl. It can be sticking on the bottom of the bowl, but should come off the sides.

The dough should be soft and smooth, tacky but not sticky.

Shape it into a smooth ball.

Place the dough in a large bowl greased with oil. Turn the dough over in the bowl to grease all around.

Cover with plastic wrap, or aluminum foil, or a clean kitchen towel.

While the dough rises, make the Cinnamon Butter Filling, and the Pecan Caramel Topping.

Right before you are ready to assemble the rolls, make the cinnamon butter. Mix the butter, sugar, cinnamon in a bowl. Use a spatula to incorporate the ingredients into a thick paste. Set aside.

Grease a 9×13” pan with oil spray, or by brushing oil on the bottom and sides of the pan. Line with parchment paper, it will make it much easier to remove the rolls from the pan. Set it aside.

In a medium saucepan, mix the butter, maple syrup, brown sugar, corn syrup if using, and salt.

Remove the caramel from the heat and pour on the bottom of the prepared pan.

Scatter the chopped pecans on top of the caramel. Set it aside.

To know if the dough is done rising, do the poke test. Gently poke the dough, it should form a small indentation, that slowly springs back, but not fully.

If the dough springs back too quickly, it needs more proofing time. And if the dough doesn’t spring back at all, and a deep indentation forms when you poke it, it’s been over proofed.

Turn the dough onto a floured surface. Sprinkle a very small amount of flour over the dough.

Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a rectangle.

It should be about 1/2” thick, and the rectangle should measure about 20×12”.

While rolling the dough, lift it off the counter gently a few times, to give it a chance to spring back and settle, which will ensure the dough is being properly rolled out.

If the dough keeps shrinking, let it sit on the counter for 5 to 10 minutes to relax the gluten.

Spread the Cinnamon Butter Filling all over the surface of the dough, on an even layer.

Make a tight roll with the dough, by gently rolling it from the widest size onto itself, making an 20” dough log.

Cut the ends of the dough. I always cut them off so I can have all the rolls be straight with the same height. I bake those two small rolls separately and eat them as a treat.

Divide the dough into 12 equal parts. I like to cut the rolls by placing a piece of floss underneath the dough and crossing it at the top, which makes a neat cut. If you use a knife to slice the rolls, it squishes them, and makes them pointy at the edges.

Place each roll on top of the pecan caramel mixture, in three rows of four rolls each.

Cover the tray with plastic wrap.

While the dough rises, pre-heat the oven to 375ºF. (350ºF is using convection or fan-forced)

Bake the rolls in the oven for about 25 minutes. It can take even up to 30 minutes, depending on the oven.

The rolls should be browned around the edges and slightly browned in the center. Make sure the dough in the center is fully baked. If not, cover the rolls with foil and bake for another 3 to 5 minutes. Then check again, and repeat until they are baked through.

It took me 25 minutes in my regular conventional oven to bake these rolls.

Let the rolls cool down for 20 minutes.
Serving

Flip the rolls onto a board, remove the parchment paper from the top, and serve.

These rolls are best served the day they are made. If not, store them in the fridge for up to 4 days, heating up gently before serving.

You can also freeze the baked rolls. Let them thaw in the fridge overnight, and heat them up before serving.