Homemade Monkey Bread
A tasty breakfast or dessert recipe, this Homemade Monkey Bread is a fun, flavorful and scrumptious treat the whole family will love!
A DELICIOUS PULL APART BREAD RECIPE
This Homemade Monkey Bread is one of our all-time favorite recipes. I’ve made it for breakfast and I’ve made it for dessert. With it being all homemade, it has that extra special flavor that really takes it over the top. It is slightly crispy on the outside and so warm and soft on the inside. The cinnamon and brown sugar coating is perfection! You really can’t go wrong when making this Homemade Monkey Bread recipe!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
Monkey bread is cinnamon/sugar coated bread rolled into bite-sized pieces. It’s called Monkey Bread because of the action of picking it apart – like a monkey would pick at something.
This calls for a standard sized bundt pan which will hold 12 cups.
Yeast can be intimidating to a lot of people but there’s really only three things you need to know. Make sure your yeast is fresh. Expired packets of yeast are almost always the problem with dough not rising. Remember that yeast likes warm places (not hot – just warm.) Yeast also needs sugar. It basically eats up that sugar to help it “bloom.”
Due to the sugar and butter on the dough balls, this recipe will have a tendency to stick to the pan if you don’t turn it out at the 5 minute mark. If you leave it longer to cool, the sugar/butter coating will harden and make it difficult to remove from the bundt pan. It’s also super important to throughly grease the bundt pan. I like to use a nonstick spray that has flour in it (like Baker’s Joy.)
I am using active dry yeast here. That means it has to hang out in a warm liquid with the sugar for about 5 minutes. This process is basically activating the yeast and when you see it bloom, you also know your yeast is definitely still alive and active. By contrast, instant yeast doesn’t require this activation. You can add it directly to the dry ingredients. The instant yeast particles are tinier in size to allow them to dissolve more quickly as well.
It all comes down to protein and gluten. Bread flour has more protein and more gluten. This is going to give us the chewier result we are looking for here and it rises it up a bit fatter as well. You can certainly use all-purpose flour but it will be a little more dense in texture.
Yes, definitely! Mix the ingredients together as listed in the recipe using a large wooden spoon until a shaggy dough is formed, then turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Be patient, this will take a while and your arms might get a bit tired but it’s worth it!
No. I don’t recommend it. You need the fat. Whole milk cow’s milk is going to give you the best results here. The other types of milk are just too water-y. Stick with the whole, real stuff here.
Most people are familiar with the canned biscuit monkey bread recipe. So yes, you can use them, you’ll just have to keep an eye on the cooking time. It will probably get done faster than the time listed here. However, I do recommend when you get time, to really go all out and try the homemade version. It truly is amazing!
Store at room temperature in an airtight container or covered with plastic wrap or foil for up to 2-3 days. This can also be frozen. Place in a freezer safe container and it will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let defrost at room temperature.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST)
- whole milk
- active dry yeast
- granulated sugar
- eggs
- butter
- bread flour
- cinnamon
- brown sugar
- vanilla
- powdered sugar
HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE MONKEY BREAD:
Add warmed whole milk (110-115°F) to a mixing bowl. Mix in the yeast and ¼ cup of sugar. Allow to sit for 5 minutes. You should see the yeast start to “bloom” where it slightly bubbles. This mean the yeast is good and active.
Using the dough hook to your stand mixer, mix the eggs and butter. Add the bread flour, one cup at a time. Mixing in between.
After mixed, empty dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a few minutes using your fist and heels of hands. You want it to look very smooth. When you pull it, it should be almost like elastic and bounce back.
Place dough into a large bowl to rise (remember the dough is going to double in size.) Cover the bowl with a dish towel or plastic wrap and let rise for 1-2 hours, until doubled in size. Make sure it is a warmer spot. Yeast doesn’t like the cold.
In a medium mixing bowl mix the granulated sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon.
In another medium bowl melt the butter. These are your two coating stations.
After the dough has risen, punch it down. Shape into 1 1/2” Balls.
Then dip/coat in the butter followed by the sugar mix.
Place into a well-greased bundt pan. I like to use a nonstick cooking spray that has flour in it (like Baker’s Joy.) Spray it really well and get into all the nooks and crannies of the pan.
After all the dough has been rolled into balls, cover and allow to rise again for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Mix the remaining sugar mix with the remaining melted butter and add the vanilla. Pour this mixture evenly over the top of the dough balls.
Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes. Check bread halfway through, if it is starting to brown too quickly, tent with foil. Remove and allow to sit for only 5 minutes then carefully turn out the bread from the bundt pan onto a cooling rack and allow to cool slightly.
Once cool enough to touch, move the monkey bread to a large serving plate or platter. Mix the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla to create the vanilla icing. Pour over the top of the bundt cake.
Serve and enjoy!
WANT MORE DELICIOUS RECIPES? YOU MUST TRY THESE!
- MONKEY BREAD (MADE WITH BREAD DOUGH)
- APPLE CINNAMON BUNS
- HOMEMADE PECAN CINNAMON ROLLS
- MINI CINNAMON ROLL WAFFLES
- HOMEMADE STICKY BUNS
- CINNAMON ROLL MONKEY BREAD “MUFFINS”
- EASY APPLE PIE CINNAMON ROLLS
- CRESCENT ROLL CHEESE DANISHES
Homemade Monkey Bread
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups whole milk warmed to 110-115°F
- 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast (one packet)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- ⅓ cup salted butter (melted, slightly cooled)
- 5 cups bread flour
COATING:
- ¾ cup butter unsalted
- 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
- 3 teaspoons cinnamon
- ⅔ cup brown sugar packed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
ICING:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons milk (use less milk for thicker icing)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Add warmed whole milk (110-115°F) to a mixing bowl. Mix in the yeast and ¼ cup of sugar. Allow to sit for 5 minutes.
- Using the dough hook on your stand mixer, mix the eggs, and butter. Add the bread flour, one cup at a time, stirring in between.
- After mixed, empty dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a few minutes using your fist and heels of hands. You want the dough to look really smooth. When you pull on the dough, it should be elastic and bounce back.
- Place dough into a large bowl to rise (remember the dough is going to double in size). Cover the bowl with a dish towel or plastic wrap and let rise for 1-2 hours, until doubled in size. Place bowl in a warm (not hot) area. Yeast likes the warmth.
- In a medium mixing bowl, mix the granulated sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon (from the coating recipe above).
- In another medium bowl, melt the butter. These two bowls will be your two coating stations.
- After the dough has risen, punch it down. Shape into 1-1/2” balls. Then dip/coat in the butter followed by the cinnamon sugar mix.
- Place into a well-greased bundt pan. I like to spray my bundt pans with a nonstick spray that has flour in it (like Baker's Joy.) Spray it liberally into all the nooks and crannies of the pan.
- After all the dough has been rolled into balls, cover the bundt pan with a clean dish towel and allow to rise again for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Mix the remaining sugar mix with the remaining melted butter and add the vanilla. Pour this mixture evenly over the top of the dough balls.
- Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes. Check bread halfway through, if it is starting to brown too quickly, tent with foil. Remove and allow to cool for only 5 minutes then turn out the bread onto a cooling rack.
- Once the bread is cool enough to touch, move it to a large plate or serving platter. Mix the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla to create the vanilla icing. Pour over the top of the bundt cake. Then dig in!
Notes
- This recipe can be frozen, see my tips above.
- This calls for using a standard bundt pan which is a 12 cup pan.
- Do not leave your bread in pan more than 5 minutes after baking or it could stick.
- Tent your bread halfway through baking if you notice it browning too quickly. Tenting just means to not wrap the aluminum foil tightly onto the pan. There should be some space between the middle of the bundt pan and the aluminum foil.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Step #2 calls for add’g salt – there is no salt mentioned in ingred’ts or anywhere else on the page above – nor, is any shown in pics – this is confusing, but I must assume there is actually no salt at all in this recipe.
Good catch Sue. I originally tested this recipe with unsalted butter and salt. Then re-tested it with salted butter and no salt. I liked the second test better so removed the salt from the recipe. I corrected it in the instructions – thanks!
YAAAAY! A recipe that uses homemade bread rather than canned biscuits or frozen roll dough. Can’t wait to try this! You Rock Brandie!
Hope you love it Donna! I’m not gonna lie though, I love me a good biscuit dough recipe sometimes. LOL