Add the warmed milk to the bottom of large mixing bowl or bowl of stand mixer. Stir in 1 tablespoon sugar and yeast and set aside for 5 minutes. It will look dissolved and slightly foamy. 

Whisk in butter, yolks and whole egg. Add half the flour and combine with the dough hook of a stand mixer or a wooden spoon, if mixing by hand. Add salt, then second half of flour and continue to mix until a craggy dough forms. If using a stand mixer, knead for 5 to 7 minutes on low until a stretchy, elastic dough forms. If kneading by hand, do so for 5 to 10 minutes on a floured counter. Lightly oil or butter your large bowl and let the dough rise until doubled, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

As your dough is rising, prepare your caramel base.  Melt butter in a medium heavy saucepan over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar, cream, and honey. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until caramel is golden brown and glossy about 3 to 5 minutes. Pour into the bottom and up the sides of a deep 9×13-inch baking dish (or 2 9 inch pans). Sprinkle the warm caramel with the chopped pecans and let the dish cool down in the fridge while your dough finishes rising and you assemble the buns.  The caramel will thicken considerably as it cools.

Turn the risen dough out onto a floured work surface and roll it into a rectangle that is 18 inches wide (the side nearest to you) and 12 or so inches long. Brush the dough with the melted or softened butter. Sprinkle it with the filling. Roll the dough into a tight 18-inch long spiral. Using a sharp serrated knife, very, very gently saw the log into sections.  I like to reverse engineer how many buns I want to end with.  For a 9x13 pan, I think 12 larger ones is great, but if I am doing two smaller pans, I like to end up with 8 in each.  I cut the log in half first, then the halves into quarters, then each quarter in half again, and so on till I have the right number and this helps the buns stay similar sized.  Arrange the buns evenly spread out over pecan-caramel base.

Cover with plastic wrap and proof at room temperature for another 1 to 2 hours, until they press tightly together in the pan and look puffed again. Or, you can refrigerate the buns overnight. If chilling overnight, remove from fridge 30 minutes to 1 hour before you’d like them to bake. Heat oven to 350°F.  I can do this in 30 if I have them near the preheating oven.

Bake your buns until they’re puffed and golden (the internal temperature should read 185 degrees F in the dough, not the caramel!), approximately 30 to 40 minutes. If they brown too quickly on top before the centers are baked, cover dish with foil for remaining baking time. 

Let rest in pan on cooling rack for 2 to 3 minutes, then (oh so!) carefully and quickly invert onto a large serving tray, scraping any caramel or pecans left behind in the pan or puddled in the center of the buns back evenly over the tops and sides. Eat warm. Store any leftovers in the fridge, rewarming slightly.