Monday, December 20, 2010

Monkeybread


Happy Monday!  Everyone have a good weekend?  We surely did.  And anybody see that Eagles vs. Giants game yesterday?  Purely awesome!  And that's why Philly is going to the Superbowl!  Well, I hope so anyway.

It's going to be a busy week because I'm making myself make a different baked good/treat every day and then by Friday/Saturday, I'll have a variety of treats to wrap up and gift!  I've got some lucky recipients! 

I should have known this by some of the comments on the Chocolate Chip Cookie post, but a Dessert Bread won the poll by a landslide!  You guys must love your breads! 

Lots of people talk about Monkeybread as a treat they remember from childhood or whatnot, but I don't think  I actually learned about it's existence until a few years ago.  So I figured, why not.  Let's tackle it.  I just had one minor setback.  No bundt pan, and I really didn't feel like going out to buy one.  But I also didn't want to change my dish.  So, my inner Macgyver devised the perfect vessel for my Monkeybread.  Basically, if you don't have a bundt pan, take a deep cake pan, or a spring form pan (this is what I used) and place a small heat proof bowl in the center (in my case, I used a ramekin), and voila!  Instant, ghetto, bundt pan!


Ingredients:
Adapted from Itsy Bitsy Foodies' Recipe


Bread Dough:



4 & 1/2 cups flour
4 & 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 cups warm water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt




Monkey Bread:



1 & 1/4 cups sugar, divided
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 & 3/4 teaspoons cinnamon, divided


This is actually the first recipe I've tried using yeast that didn't require "proofing" it first.  I was skeptical, at first, but everything panned out, so you have my assurance that this should work!

In a large bowl, mix 2 cups of the flour and the yeast.  Add the water, vegetable oil, sugar and salt.  With a hand mixer, beat on low for about a minute and then increase the speed and mix for a 2-3 more minutes.  Add in the remaining flour until you achieve a good, sturdy dough.  Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface, until it is smooth and elastic.  Grease a large, clean bowl and form the dough into a ball.  Place the dough ball into the bowl and cover with a damp cloth.  Let dough rise for 1 & 1/2 hours, or until doubled in size.  Punch the dough down and divide it into half, and let rest for and additional 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, to make the monkey bread "sauce", combine 1 cup sugar, brown sugar, milk, butter and 1 1/4 tsp cinnamon in a small saucepan over medium high heat.  Bring the mixture to a slow boil and cook it for about 1 minute, or until slightly thickened.  Remove from the heat and let it cool for 10 minutes.

Combine remaining 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 tsp cinnamon in a shallow bowl.  Pick small portions of dough and form into small balls, until you've used up all the dough.

Preheat oven to 350 F and grease a bundt pan (or use my alternate pan that I've described above!).

Roll each portion into the cinnamon sugar mixture and layer the balls of dough in your chosen pan.  Sprinkle any remaining cinnamon-sugar mixture over the layers.  Pour the cooled sugar syrup over the dough.  Cover the pan with a damp cloth and let it rise for 35 minutes or until doubled in size.

Bake the bread for about 25 minutes or until lightly browned.  Loosen the edges of bread from the pan using a knife.  Place a plate over the top of the pan and carefully invert the bread onto the plate (or you can just release the springform pan).

Serve while it's warm (it's better this way!) and with a scoop of ice cream (it's better this way too!).  I definitely liked this, if I make it again, I might be a little more gluttonous with the syrup and double it so the bread is extra gooey!  But the flavor is definitely there!



Hope you guys liked the bread recipe and hope to get some more treats posted this week (but I've got some good dinners planned too, so savory might win out over the sweet stuff!)  Have a good rest of your Monday!  Enjoy guys!

16 comments:

  1. I have heard about this bread ..the name obviously can get you curious :) but have never tried it yet..
    Your makeshift bundt pan seems to have worked really well..

    US Masala

    ReplyDelete
  2. This monkey bread looks absolutely delicious! I keep seeing delicious recipes for it, but I've never made it - Time to change that! Thanks for sharing, and happy holidays to you!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Looks wonderful! I love monkey bread. I made it last year and my husband's been asking for it ever since :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. You are very creative! I love your ghetto bundt pan...brilliant idea! This moneky bread looks sweet and gooey. I want a piece now! Thank you for sharing such a sweet treat with me!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sounds and looks so yummy, great idea about bundt pan dear, useful for those without one...

    ReplyDelete
  6. I was planning to make this bread for long time. now i have to. This bread looks awesome. Makeshift bundit pan idea also good.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Monkey bread is so deceiving, I expect it to have bananas!! :) Looks delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hey,

    Bread sounds new to me but looks gorgeous...:)

    Dr.Sameena@

    http://www.myeasytocookrecipes.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  9. I haven't heard of this bread until I saw it in another blog. Yours looks beautiful. I think I must try it soon.

    ReplyDelete
  10. We always have cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning but maybe I should make this instead and try changing it up this Saturday. It looks delicious.

    ReplyDelete
  11. hey this looks swell ! have heard about it, but have never tried---bookmarked for sure !

    ReplyDelete
  12. Beautiful looking bread, prefectly baked..

    ReplyDelete
  13. I love monkey bread, and this one looks so delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hey now! That looks delicious!

    Laura

    ReplyDelete
  15. OH WOW! I've always wanted to make Monkey Bread! Looks perfect.

    My brother is a huge Eagles fan- Vick is proving he belongs there!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Let me start like this:
    Yes, I did see the Eagles-Giants game that day and I was screaming so hard when DeSean dropped the ball (at the end) that I got dizzy...awesome game!
    Monkey bread, hmmm. Me and my husband have a soft spot for this tasty bread and thanks for sharing, I never made a cinnamon version.
    Your blog seems delicious, can't wait to check out the rest of your recipes!
    Happy Holidays

    ReplyDelete

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails