Monkey Bread
Quick answer
Small balls of yeasted dough are rolled in cinnamon sugar, layered into a buttered Bundt pan, and baked until the sugar melts and caramelizes into a sticky sauce that glu...
What makes this special
- Sticky caramel glazes the pull-apart cinnamon-sugar layers of this classic Monkey Bread.
- Cinnamon-sugar-rolled dough balls caramelize and fuse into pull-apart layers
- Inverting the Bundt pan lets pooled caramel cascade over the whole loaf
Key ingredients
Core cooking flow
- 1 Mix 320 g bread flour with 180 ml warm milk, 6 g instant yeast, part of the...
- 2 Place the dough in a bowl, cover it, and let it rise in a warm spot.
- 3 Stir the remaining sugar with 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, and keep the remaining butter melted.
Small balls of yeasted dough are rolled in cinnamon sugar, layered into a buttered Bundt pan, and baked until the sugar melts and caramelizes into a sticky sauce that glues the pieces together. When inverted onto a plate, the golden caramel cascades over the mound of bread, coating every surface in a glossy, sweet shell. The traditional way to eat it is by pulling pieces apart by hand - each tear trails a thread of caramel and reveals the soft, pillowy interior beneath the crunchy, sugar-crusted exterior. The outer pieces absorb the most butter and caramel and become almost candy-like, while the inner ones stay lighter and breadier, giving each serving a different experience depending on where it came from in the pan. A drizzle of cream cheese glaze or a handful of chopped pecans tossed in with the dough balls are common additions that expand both flavor and texture.
Instructions
Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.
- 1Season
Mix 320 g bread flour with 180 ml warm milk, 6 g instant yeast, part of the sugar, and part of the melted butter.
Knead for 8-10 minutes, until the dough feels elastic and sticks less to your hands.
- 2Control
Place the dough in a bowl, cover it, and let it rise in a warm spot.
It is ready when it is nearly doubled and an indentation pressed with a finger rises back slowly, not immediately.
- 3Season
Stir the remaining sugar with 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, and keep the remaining butter melted.
Divide the dough into small balls of similar size so the pieces bake evenly and pull apart cleanly.
- 4Season
Dip each dough ball lightly in melted butter, then roll it in the cinnamon sugar.
Layer the coated balls in the Bundt pan, leaving a little space instead of pressing them tightly together.
- 5Control
Cover the pan and proof the dough again at room temperature.
Wait until the balls look puffy and just start touching one another, which helps the bread stay soft after baking.
- 6Finish
Bake at 180C for 30-35 minutes, until the top is deep golden and caramel bubbles around the edges.
Let it stand for only 5 minutes, then invert onto a plate and serve warm while sticky.
After the steps
Pick a recipe that fits this dish.
Continue with shared ingredients, meal pairings, or a similar method.
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