Is there a downside to Monkey Bread? Yes, unfortunately there is … you want to eat the whole thing. And it’s so easy to eat the whole thing, because it’s just there, and you can grab a nub of it and just plop it in your mouth. Addictive. I have to stop.
Ingredients
for the dough
2 1/4 teaspoons(i package) active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (110F-115F)
1 and 1/4 cups warm milk (110F-115F), do not use skim
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon salt
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
for the coating
3/4 cup unsalted butter
1 and 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
2/3 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon maple extract
for the maple glaze (optional)
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
3 Tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon maple extract
Directions
Make the dough: In the work bowl of your stand mixer, add 1 cup of flour, making a indentation in the middle. Add sugar and yeast, then the warm water and warm milk. Let sit for 15 minutes to activate the yeast. Add the melted butter, eggs, salt and 2 more cups of flour. Using the dough hook, beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Add in the remaining flour by half cups until a firm dough develops. Depending on the atmospheric conditions of the day, you may need only 4 cups or up to 5 cups in total.
Turn the dough onto a floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Do not over-knead, which will yield a tough, chewy bread. The dough is ready when it is smooth and when you can poke it with a finger and it springs back. Form dough into a smooth ball and place into a large greased bowl (I used baking spray), turning once to grease the top Cover tightly with plastic wrap and a clean dish towel, and let rise for 60-90 minutes in a warm, draft free area, until doubled in size.
Once you are ready to move on to the next step, make the coating. Melt 1/2 cup of butter in a small bowl. Mix granulated sugar and cinnamon together in another small bowl. Set aside. You will use the rest of the butter, brown sugar, and vanilla later.
Spray a 10-12 cup bundt pan with cooking spray. Set aside. Punch the cold dough down very gently to allow the air bubbles to release. Pull apart pieces and roll into balls, about an inch or a little more in diameter. You will need 40-45 balls total, so be modest with their size. Dip each ball, one by one, in the melted butter and then generously roll in the cinnamon-sugar mixture to coat them. You may need more cinnamon-sugar depending how heavy you coat each ball.
Arrange them in the bundt pan as you go. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and allow dough balls to rise again for about 45 minutes at room temperature.
Preheat oven to 350F. Melt the remaining 1/4 cup of butter and whisk in the brown sugar and maple extract until combined. Pour the buttery mixture over the dough balls in the bundt pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown on top. Cover loosely with foil if the top browns too quickly. Cool for 5-10 minutes and invert onto a large serving plate.
Make the glaze: Simply whisk all of the glaze ingredients together and pour over the bread. You may either cut the bread into generous slices or let everyone pick off the gooey pieces themselves.
