Monkey Bread

Today’s recipe is inspired by this month’s Movies & Munchies pick: Uncorked, hosted by Debra from Eliot’s Eats.  The film follow’s Elijah, whose dream is to become a sommelier, but his dad wants him to take over the family BBQ business.

Honestly, I was a bit underwhelmed by the film, I guess it felt like a Hallmark or Lifetime movie that’s been done before.  The bonus was that it was chock-full of foodie inspiration!  There was all kinds of BBQ, wine, a trip to France, and mama’s home cooking.

Ultimately it was mama’s home cooking where I took my inspiration. There was often ham, turkey, greens, and monkey bread on the huge family spreads.  I decided to finally try my hand at Monkey Bread. 

Lots of Monkey Breads rely on canned biscuit dough, but I decided to make my own bread (since I love making bread!)

The monkey bread was delicious!  My only regret was that I wished I had poured the glaze over before I allowed the bread to rise.  The bread raised so much that it became a barrier and the glaze stayed on top (once inverted, the bottom) of the bread.  Nevertheless, it was delicious and enjoyed by all.

Monkey Bread

Adapted from Crazy for Crust

Dough

¼ cup warm water (about 110 degrees F)

2 ¼ teaspoon instant yeast

¼ cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

¾ cup milk, lukewarm

¼ cup butter, softened

1 egg

3 ¼ - 3 ¾ cups all purpose flour

Cinnamon-Sugar Coating

¼ cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Caramel glaze

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup butter, melted

Place the water, yeast & a pinch of sugar in the bowl of the stand mixer.  Set aside to proof.  Once foamy, add half the flour and all the remaining dough ingredients.  Mix until smooth.

Switch to the dough hook and add the remaining flour a bit at a time.  Knead until a smooth dough forms.  Dough may still be slightly tacky but not sticky.

Spray a bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray.  Mix together the cinnamon and sugar and place in a small bowl.  Use a pastry scraper/bench cutter to cut the dough into small pieces, about ½ ounce each.  Loosely form each piece into a ball and roll through the cinnamon sugar.  Place the coated dough into the prepared pan.  Loosely cover and set aside in a warm, draft free area to rise for 45-60 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  While the oven preheats, make the caramel sauce by melting the butter and brown sugar and stirring until smooth (I used the microwave).  If you have a little extra cinnamon sugar from the previous step, add that in as well.  Pour the caramel glaze over the risen dough.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.  Cool for 15 minutes in the pan, then invert and serve warm.