Monkey Bread

Recently I have thoroughly enjoyed watching the Great British Bakeoff on Netflix, which is a baking competition that is nothing like the ones here in the US. The British humor and desserts make this show quite interesting and I'm craving all of the food by the end of it. I found out as I was writing this post, that my “Crumb: The Baking Book” cookbook was written by one of the finalists in Season 2, Ruby Tandoh. It makes this book even more special now that I know who wrote it. 

For 4th of July, I made the Monkey Bread from this cookbook. It was fairly simple, but I had to allow over 3 hours to make it. I wanted to sleep in, but I knew if I did I would be eating this for afternoon tea. There are quicker ways to make monkey bread, but I was determined to make it from scratch.

Dough

3 Cups + 3 T Flour (Calls for White Bread Flour, but I only had all-purpose flour)

2-1/4 tsp (1 packet) Instant Yeast (I used Active Dry Yeast)

1 tsp Salt

1 Cup + 1T Whole Milk (I used 2% Milk)

2T Unsalted Butter, Softened

Coating

1/3 Cup Unsalted Butter

2 tsp Ground Cinnamon

1/2 Cup Light Brown Sugar

To begin the dough, combine the yeast and flour in a large bowl, then mix in the salt. Heat up the milk in the microwave until lukewarm. Add to the flour mixture along with the unsalted butter. Combine the ingredients (the butter will most likely stay in its original shape at this point). Knead the dough for 10 minutes and until the dough is elastic and smooth. It really does take this long to knead it. I had to alternate my arms because they were getting so tired—it was definitely a work out. Let rise in a covered bowl for 1 hour. It will double in size, but make sure the kitchen is not too cold because it will take longer to rise. 

Once the dough has risen, melt the coating butter in a bowl, and combine the cinnamon and brown sugar in another. Brush some of the melted butter on the inside of the bundt pan to prevent the monkey bread from sticking. 

Pull apart and roll the dough into ping pong size balls. Dip in the butter and then roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Place the coated ball of dough into the bundt pan. Evenly disperse the dough around the pan in a free form design. The dough balls will rise and bake into the crevasses of the pan. Cover the bundt pan and proof for 1 hour at room temperature. 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the dough for 30 minutes and then immediately turn over the pan onto a serving plate. The bread falls out easily from the pan if it was buttered properly. Eat right away!

Monkey Bread has this caramelized glaze and it is fun to be able to pull apart the bite size pieces. It is a great dish for company because it looks elegant on a plate and it is a group effort to devour it!