I love sweets in the morning. Well, actually I love savories first, but after a hearty breakfast, I always feel like it makes sense to finish on something sweet. Something like monkey bread!
I love those little pull apart squishy balls of chewy, fluffy cinnamon-sugar goodness. If you haven’t had monkey bread before, you’re missing out! Think of it like a cross between a cinnamon bun and pull apart bread. What is it about eating with your hands that is so much more fun that using a knife and fork? Use your hands to really get in there and get those gooey lil cloud-like pillows of sweetness. Monkey bread is a treat best enjoyed warm, with the ones you love.
What is monkey bread?
It has a funny name but it has nothing to do with monkeys or bananas! Monkey bread is a gooey cinnamon sugar pull apart bread that’s baked in a bundt pan. It’s made with soft and squishy pieces of sweet dough dipped in cinnamon and sugar, baked up gooey and sweet.
How to make monkey bread
- Make the dough. Use a stand mixer to do all the hard work. All it takes is a quick knead with a dough hook and you’re good to go.
- Let it rest. After your dough is ready, it’s time for a rest so it can puff up. Now’s a good time to have a cup of coffee or tea.
- Roll the dough into balls. When the dough has doubled in size, it’s time to punch it down and shape it into little balls.
- Dip the balls. After the balls are shaped, dip them in brown butter and a mix of cinnamon and sugar. Pop everything into a buttered bundt pan.
- Bake. Bake until golden, gooey, and delicious.
- Drizzle. Finish off with a drizzle of vanilla icing while it’s still hot so it melts into all the nooks and crannies.
- Enjoy! Eat it while it’s still warm, there’s nothing better, trust me!
Monkey bread ingredients
Yeast – this recipe uses active dry yeast which needs to be dissolved in a bit of liquid before using – in this case we’ll sprinkle it on to milk. If you have instant yeast, you can use it too, there won’t be much of a difference; your rolls might rise a bit faster, depending how warm your kitchen is.
Milk – I use 2% milk but any milk will work here, even almond or oat milk. Warm the milk up slightly in the microwave (I usually pop it in the microwave in 20 second increments) You want it between 105-115°F, which feels like a warm bath.
Eggs – this is a extra rich dough with eggs in it. Not all monkey bread recipes have eggs in them, but this one does. I love the extra flavor and plushness the eggs gives this dough.
Bread flour – this one is important. You might be tempted to just use all purpose, and well, you can do that, but if you use bread flour your monkey bread will be soft and fluffy with just the right amount of chew. Bread flour has a higher protein content than regular all purpose – the resulting dough has more gluten in it which helps the little monkey bread balls stay soft and chewy.
Cinnamon – fresh cinnamon is best! We’re going to go with a fairly high cinnamon to sugar ratio so each bite is bursting with cinnamon goodness.
Butter – I love the way brown butter makes baked goods taste. Browned butter takes this monkey bread over the top!
What is brown butter?
Brown butter, also known as beurre noisette (hazelnut butter in French), is an out of the world delicious concoction originally used in savory French foods but is now used everywhere butter is used. It’s deeply golden, flecked with brown bits, nutty, and incredibly aromatic. Brown butter is perfection.
Browned butter brings so much flavor to baked goods for just a tiny bit of extra effort. It adds a nutty caramel roundness and highlights the cinnamon and sugar in this monkey bread making these soft lil balls so addictive.
Do I need a bundt pan for monkey bread?
If you don’t have a bundt pan, don’t worry, you can still make monkey bread. Just put all the little balls in a a regular pan. It can be round or rectangle, it doesn’t really matter! In fact, I love monkey bread in a loaf pan. But, if you’re on the lookout for a good bundt, this is the one I have and love.
Also, pro tip, if you’re wondering when your monkey bread is done – it can be hard to tell with all those little balls – if you have an instant read thermometer, just stick it right into the middle. If it reads 190°F, you’re good to go! If you don’t have an instant read thermometer, use a wooden skewer. You’ll know your monkey bread is done when the top is puffy and crisp and a wooden skewer comes out clean with no crumbs when you poke it into the thickest part.
Make ahead
After the balls are dipped and put into the bundt, wrap the bundt up and put it the fridge right away. The next day, take it out and leave it on the countertop while you heat your oven. Bake as usual and enjoy hot and fresh.
How to store
Monkey bread is best right out of the oven, but if you have leftovers, store them in an air tight container on the countertop for up to three days. Reheat before enjoying.
How to reheat
Take a couple pieces of monkey bread and simply microwave for 10-15 seconds, or until warmed through.
If you liked this, you will also like
- Cinnamon Rolls
- Mini Sticky Bun Cinnamon Rolls
- Copycat Cinnamon Streusel Starbucks Coffee Cake
- Caramelized Cinnamon Toast Recipe
I hope monkey bread is in your future! It just might change your world :)
Ingredients
Monkey Bread
- 3/4 cup warm milk 110ºF
- 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast 1 envelope
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 egg room temp
- 1 egg yolk additional, room temp
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 3 cup bread flour or 360g all purpose flour + 3.57g vital wheat gluten
- 3/4 tsp salt
Brown Butter Cinnamon Sugar
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1.5 tbsp cinnamon
Vanilla Icing
- 1 cup icing sugar
- 2-3 tbsp whole milk
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
Special Equipment
- 6 cup bundt pan
Instructions
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, add the milk and sprinkle on the yeast. Let sit until the yeast starts to foam, 1-2 minutes. Stir in the sugar, egg, egg yolk, and melted butter then stir in the flour and salt with a wooden spoon until everything comes together into a ball of dough.
- Knead with the dough hook on medium for 8 minutes. Alternately, knead by hand for 8-10 minutes on a floured surface. Lightly oil and large bowl and place the dough inside.
- Cover with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let rise for 1 to 1 and a half hours or until doubled in size.
- Brown the butter: add 1/2 cup butter in a saucepan, swirling, until butter foams and starts to turn brown and smells nutty. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. In a small bowl, mix together the sugar and cinnamon.
- Shape the balls. Punch the dough down and divide and roll into small balls, about 1 to 1 1/4 inch in diameter. If you want to be precise about it, each ball should weigh about 15 grams.
- Dip the balls into the brown butter and roll in the cinnamon sugar mix. Place each coated ball into a lightly buttered bundt pan, repeating until you finish all of the dough. Cover the bundt pan with plastic wrap and let rise for 20 minutes.
- Heat the oven to 350°F. Optional: While the oven is warming up, mix the leftover brown butter with 2-4 extra tablespoons of melted butter, 1/4 cup brown sugar, and 1/2 tsp vanilla. Just before you put the monkey bread into the oven, pour the brown butter syrup evenly into the bundt pan.
- Bake for 35-45 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. Cover with foil if the top starts browning too quickly. Cool for 5-10 minutes, then very carefully invert onto a large plate.
- Make the icing by whisking all of the icing ingredients together. Drizzle on generously. Enjoy warm!
Soooo good, insanely addictive. The brown butter is fantastic! Super easy recipe to follow too :)
Hello! Do you suggest buttering or using cooking spray on the bundt pan? The dough balls have lots of butter so I am assuming it’s ok un-buttered. Thank you! :)
hi andrea,
my bundt is so non-stick it’s not even funny. but if your bundt is a regular pan, i would recommend buttering just to make sure they slide out easily :) it would be the worst if they got stuck!
Awesome! I think I have a non stick one and a couple old school ones from my Grandma! Thanks so much! :)
Made this for Christmas and forgot to comment sooner! It’s delicious. One of the best monkey breads I have made. I appreciate the grams weight of the dough balls. I think I made them more like 20 grams thinking 15 grams would be too small but it worked out. 15 grams probably would be been a tiny bit better. It was delicious all the same. Thank you!!