Monkey bread - Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July to those of you celebrating American Independence Day. Of course we don't really celebrate it down here in Australia but I never miss an opportunity to whip up something in the kitchen. Oprah, well actually Gail made me add this recipe to my 'to make' list. I was watching Oprah last week and Gail was going on and on and on about this 'Monkey bread' she just had to have. They never actually showed the monkey bread but of course to google I went and discovered a bread/pull-apart loaf that looked just like a naughtier cinnamon scroll and who could resist that? A lot of the recipes I found used biscuit dough which is something you can only get in the US (to my knowledge) but I finally found a from-scratch recipe and a'bakin' I did go.

The stack of ingredients looks a little scary but there's not much to monkey bread.

Start by dissolving the yeast in the water in the bowl of a mixer.

Stir in the sugar, salt, oil and egg.

Add one cup of the flour and mix it in until it has been incorporated. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and set it aside in a warm place for 15 minutes. I set mine up in front of the heater.

Add the rest of the flour and let the dough hook get to work. Knead the dough until it is smooth (about 3 minutes).

Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface.

Cut the dough into 32 portions.

Roll each portion into a ball. Don't be tempted to add more flour. The balls need to be sticky so they all bind together while baking.

Roll each ball in butter and arrange in the tin.

When the base of the tin is covered, sprinkle the dough with the cinnamon and sugar.

Keep going until all the dough is in the tin. Cover the tin with a tea towel and leave it to rest in a warm place again for at least 30 minutes. Bake the bread for 12 to 15 minutes at 190C fan-forced.

Leave the bread to cool in the tin for a few minutes then transfer to a wire rack.

Monkey bread is best served warm. Enjoy!

Recipe

Monkey bread - Happy 4th of July

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Author: Recipe from Four hats and frugal

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Ingredients

• 1 package of active dry yeast I used 1 heaped tbsp
• ¾ cup water warm (between 105 and 115F)
• 2 tablespoon sugar
• 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 egg slightly beaten
• 2 ½ cups plain flour I used bakers flour, plus more for kneading (not too much)
• 3 tablespoon butter melted
• ¼ cup sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon mixed together

Instructions

• In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix the yeast and water together to dissolve the yeast.
• Add the sugar, oil, salt and and egg and mix them through.
• Add one cup of flour and stir it in until the mixture is smooth.
• Cover the bowl with a tea towel and move it to a warm place to rest for 15 minutes (in front of the heater is good).
• Attach the dough hook and with the motor running, add the rest of the flour and knead the dough for about 3 minutes. You can do this part by hand if you don't have a dough hook.
• Transfer the dough to a floured surface and divide it into 32 chunks. Shape each piece into a ball.
• Roll the balls in butter so they are completely coated then arrange in the bottom of the tin (don't grease the tin).
• When the bottom of the tin is coated, sprinkle the balls with the cinnamon and sugar then continue to layer the balls and cinnamon sugar until everything is used up.
• Cover the tin with a tea towel again and put it back in the warm place to rest for at least 30 minutes.
• While the dough is resting, pre-heat the oven to 190C (374F) fan-forced.
• Bake the dough, uncovered for 12-15 minutes or until it is golden on top.
• Leave it to cool in the tin for a few minutes then transfer to a wire rack.
• Monkey bread is best served warm.

Have you made this recipe? I'd love to hear what you think. Tag me on Instagram @clairekcreations