Classic Yeasted Coffee Cake

In a small saucepan, whisk milk and flour to combine. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until mixture thickens to a stretchy pudding-like consistency, 2 to 3 minutes.

Using a flexible spatula, scrape hot tangzhong into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment; let cool until just warm to the touch, about 10 minutes. Add cold milk to tangzhong, followed by the flour, butter, egg yolks, sugar, yeast, and salt. Mix on low speed until dough is smooth, supple, and elastic, 12 to 15 minutes.

Loosely cover bowl with plastic wrap or a damp towel, and let sit at warm room temperature (75 to 80ºF; 24 to 27ºC) until nearly doubled in size, 60 to 90 minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk brown sugar, flour, ground cinnamon, and salt to combine. Add pecans, followed by the melted butter, using your hands to toss and gently press until the mixture is sandy. Set aside.

Grease a 9-inch aluminum cake pan with nonstick spray. Line the pan with two 15-inch by 3-inch strips of parchment paper, overlapping them to form an "X" in the bottom of the pan.

When dough has risen, lightly flour top of dough and transfer to a lightly-floured work surface. Roll dough into a 9- by 16-inch rectangle. Scatter the filling evenly over the surface of the dough, and starting with the long end, roll the dough up as tightly as possible. Carefully pinch dough together along the seam to seal, and gently pat log to ensure even thickness; brush off any excess flour from the dough.

Gently coil dough around itself to create a circular shape. Cover with a clean, damp kitchen towel and let dough rest for 5 to 10 minutes to allow gluten to relax. Roll dough into a 9-inch wide circle about 3/4-inch thick, then transfer dough to prepared pan. Loosely cover with plastic wrap or damp kitchen towel and let rise at warm room temperature until dough appears slightly puffed, about 30 minutes. Tightly wrap cake pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours and up to 12.

When ready to bake, remove dough from refrigerator and let rise at warm room temperature until roughly doubled in size, dough is about 1 3/4-inches tall, and bounces back slowly when gently pressed, 1 to 2 hours.

Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat to 350ºF (175ºC).

Firmly press pecan halves into the surface of the dough, arranging them in a circular pattern around the dough.

Bake until light golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the cake registers 190°F (88ºC), 20 to 25 minutes. Remove cake from oven and, using a pastry brush, immediately brush cake with melted butter. Lift the parchment to remove the cake from the pan and transfer it to a wire cooling rack. Let cool until slightly warm, 30 to 40 minutes.

In a medium bowl, whisk confectioners sugar, milk, vanilla extract, and salt until smooth. Glaze should be thick but pourable; if glaze seems too thick, whisk in milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, until glaze is the right consistency.

Using a spoon, drizzle glaze evenly over cake. Let set for 10 minutes before slicing with a serrated knife and serving.