I have wanted to try making a monkey bread recipe for a long while now.
A while ago I was given this wonderful recipe to try and I love it. I had to share it with you.
What is Monkey bread?
Monkey bread is a soft, sweet, sticky brown sugar and cinnamon bread.
It is made up of little balls of dough covered in cinnamon and brown sugar piled together and baked into deliciousness. It is so good, it draws me right in every time.
The bread can just be pulled apart with your fingers, which is why some people call it pull apart bread.
If you want, you can also cut it and serve it a bit more formally as I have shown below.
Monkey bread apparently originated in Hungary. Thank you Hungary for this wonderful sweet bread.
Why Call it Monkey Bread?
I have no idea how the name monkey bread became attached to this style of bread.
Monkey bread goes by several other names too. It is often also called pull apart bread for obvious reasons, or bubble loaf (again for obvious reasons). It is even called plucking cake in some parts of the world.
Monkey bread seems to be the most popular term used to describe this sweet treat bread.
You can make sweet versions of a monkey bread recipe like we have here or choose to go in the savory bread direction. Either way this bread is delicious.
I love cinnamon and the mix of a soft bread with cinnamon and brown sugar is a combination I can’t resist.
So this is my kind of sweet bread recipe! I hope it becomes yours too.
Here is how to make it:
Ingredients to Make Pull Apart Bread
First of all, let’s start with the ingredients.
The ingredients are pretty simple really, and are things you more than likely already have in your pantry.
Obviously we start out with flour. This recipe calls for all-purpose flour which works perfectly for this bread.
No need for pastry flour or special bread flour. Just use your daily all-purpose variety.
You need two packets of yeast for this bread recipe.
If you buy your yeast in a larger container, you need to know that one packet contains 2 1/4 teaspoons of dry yeast, or 7 grams. So you need 4 1/2 teaspoons or 14 grams to make this monkey bread recipe.
A bit of sugar goes into the bread dough itself as well as a bit of salt.
You will also need 1 egg, at room temperature. Eggs work best in your baking if you start out with them at room temperature.
Some milk (1 3/4 cup) and 10 tablespoons of butter round out the bread ingredients.
10 tablespoons of butter equals 5 ounces of butter or 1 1/4 sticks. It is 141.7 grams if you are measuring using metric measurements. Note in the recipe that the butter is divided between the dough and the topping.
For that luscious buttery cinnamon topping that makes the pull apart bread so delicious you’ll just need butter, brown sugar and cinnamon.
That’s it. Like I said you probably already have all of this on hand.
Now we’re ready to get at making this delicious bread.
How to Make This Monkey Bread or Bubble Loaf Recipe
Monkey bread is very easy to make.
You start out by making a yeast dough that’s a bit sweet. You will have to do a bit of kneading for this one.
If you have a stand mixer or a dough making machine, they will do the kneading for you.
Once the dough is made you pull off small bits of the dough to make little balls. Line them up in a bundt pan, so the bottom of the pan is fully covered with balls of dough.
You will use up 1/2 the dough for this layer of dough balls.
Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and remaining white sugar in a small bowl. Melt the remaining butter.
Brush the dough balls in the pan with the melted butter. Sprinkle them liberally with the cinnamon sugar mixture. Use 1/2 of the mixture.
Use the rest of the dough to make balls and cover the bundt pan with another layer of the balls. Brush with the remaining butter and cover the balls with the remaining cinnamon/sugar mix.
Bake and enjoy!
Here’s a Fun Tip:
Pull apart bread is usually baked in a bundt pan, so the bread that comes out of the pan will have a hole in the center.
Instead of leaving the hole empty why not jazz it up a bit? Fill that hole with your favorite jam or preserves, a sweet icing-like dip or even melted chocolate.
You have now seriously upped your game with this wonderful cinnamon monkey bread recipe.
I hope you enjoy this monkey bread recipe. Let me know in the comments area below how it worked for you. I’d also love to know if you adapted the recipe to your own needs and tastes.
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Enjoy!
Cinnamon Pull Apart Monkey Bread Recipe
Equipment
- 1 bundt pan
Ingredients
- 5 cups all-purpose flour, to 5 1/2 cups
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 packets yeast, rapid-rise
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 3/4 cups milk
- 10 tablespoons butter
- 1 egg, large, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix 1 1/2 cups flour, 1/4 cup sugar and the salt with a wooden spoon.
- Heat the milk and 4 tablespoons of butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until it is very warm, approximately 120°F - 130°F. Stir the milk mixture into the flour mixture. Stir in the egg. Add enough of the remaining flour (at least 3 1/2 cups) to form a soft dough.
- Dust your work surface with a bit of extra flour. Turn the dough onto the lightly floured work surface and knead it until it is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. If needed, add some or all of the remaining flour to keep the dough from sticking.
- Melt the remaining butter. Coat a 10-inch bundt or tube pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- Combine the brown sugar, the remaining white sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
- From the large ball of dough that you have made take pieces that are about the size of a golf ball and roll them into a ball with your hands. Arrange the balls in a single layer in your bundt pan. Brush the dough balls with half of the melted butter, then sprinkle with half of the sugar mixture.
- Repeat with the rest of the dough, making a second layer of dough balls. Pour the rest of the melted butter over the dough balls and sprinkle the remaining sugar/cinnamon mixture over the rest of the dough balls. Make sure you have every area covered by butter and sugar/cinnamon.
- Cover the bundt pan with a damp tea towel. Let the dough rise in a warm place until it is doubled, about 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Bake the bread until it is browned on top, which will take about 35 minutes.
- Once the bread has cooled for about 10 minutes, unmold and serve it warm.
- Makes 24 servings.
Notes
Serving:
To serve the monkey bread recipe, you can either pull off the balls individually or slice through the bundt bread and serve it in individual slices as shown in the image. Even though this bread is best when it's served warm, it still tastes fantastic when it has cooled too. Warm it slightly in the oven if you want that just out of the oven taste again.Nutrition
Here is another recipe for a wonderful sweet bread – hot cross buns. I love them all year round.
You can browse all of our bread and sweet bread recipes on the site here.
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