Reenie's Recipes - the dinner party recipe swap
 

Monkey Pull-Apart Bread

Posted by reeniek (291)
Category: Brunch
Subcategory: bread, christmas, sugary

 

Recipe Details:

FOR THE DOUGH
2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted (plus extra for buttering pan)
1 cup warm milk (at about 110 degrees - use a thermometer)
1/3 cup warm water (at about 110 degrees)
1/4 cup sugar
1 package (2 1/4 tsp) rapid-rise yeast
3 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (plus extra for kneading)
2 tsp salt
cooking spray

- Butter a bundt pan. Heat oven (to about 200 degrees minimum) to help the dough to rise (*See note below).
- In the mixing bowl of your Kitchen-Aide mixer fitted with the dough hook, add flour and salt and mix until combined.
- In a large measuring cup, whisk together milk, water, butter, sugar and yeast.
- Turn mixer onto low speed and in a steady stream, slowly add milk mixture to flour. When all liquid is added, increase speed to medium and mix until dough forms, about 6-7 minutes. Dough should be sticky but if it isn't coming together well, then add up to 2 tbsp more of flour and mix until dough is a cohesive mass.
- With floured hands, transfer dough onto a floured work surface and knead gently to form a large ball. Coat a large ceramic bowl with cooking spray and transfer dough ball to it. Cover with plastic wrap and set bowl on top of the warmed oven to rise, about 1 hour (until doubled in size).

FOR DOUGH BALLS
- When dough has risen, gently remove dough from bowl, transfer to a work surface and form it into an 8-inch square. Using a dough knife or scraper, cut the dough square into 4 seperate, uniform pieces. Then, cut each piece into approximately 16 small, uniform pieces. You will have about 64 dough pieces total. Using your hands, roll each piece into a ball.

FOR THE DOUGH COATING
1 1/2 cups golden brown sugar, packed (not dark)
3 tsp cinnamon
1 stick unsalted butter, melted (you may need a little extra)

- Right before the dough is finished rising, melt butter and place in a small bowl.
- In a seperate small bowl, mix together brown sugar and cinnamon.
- Dip each dough ball first into the butter, then into the brown sugar mixture to coat generously. Then, set the coated dough ball into the buttered-bundt pan. Do this for remaining balls, staggering the balls as your set them into the pan.
- Once all balls are stacked, cover tightly with plastic wrap and set to rise on top of the warmed oven for another 50-70 minutes. Balls should be puffy.

FOR COOKING AND GLAZE
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp milk

- Heat oven to 350 degrees. Remove the plastic wrap and set the bundt pan in the mid-lower rack of the oven. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until golden. Remove and cool for 5 minutes. Then, very gently, transfer Monkey Bread to a platter to cool about 10 minutes more. You may need some extra hands with this step so bread mold doesn't fall apart like it did when I made it (oops).
- While the bread is cooling on platter, combine powdered sugar and milk in a small bowl. Whisk until smooth. Using a fork, drizzle thoroughly onto the monkey bread. Serve warm.

Serves 6-8

*Note: To aide rising process and if your oven and stovetop are seperate, you can heat your oven to 200 degrees. Then, turn it off. Then, place dough in warmed oven to rise (for both rising occasions).

Note: This bread should be made for special occassions as it is very bad for you and is quite time-consuming. A great recipe though for Christmas morning. It is delicious!!!! Email me for questions! I wouldn't recommend making it if you don't have a standing mixer with a dough hook!

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