I’ve been meaning to make this Monkey Bread for a whole long time, and a wet and yucky Thursday seemed to be a decent opportunity. They are perfect. They are addictive and I might just fall into a sugar coma later. It’s like a cake-sized cinnamon roll.
At the end of this recipe is also a quick note if you want to make a yeasted, not sourdough version, and a “store bought option” if you are really short on time.
This week’s edition of sourdough:Heritage Grains Red Fife Sourdough Bread. I’ve been playing around with not only different grains (spelt, einkorn, buckwheat, etc), but with different varieties of wheat. During their height of the pandemic, when it seemed like even flour was hard to come by, smaller mills started to become more common. This Red Fife flour (a heritage grain that used to be the most common in Canada a century ago, because the wheat itself is pretty hearty) come from Maine Grains, (https://mainegrains.com/). While the flour itself didn’t much color, when I baked it up, I did notice a more reddish tint. Or maybe I *want* to see that so I am seeing it. The flavor is a little more hearty and flavorful than a standard wheat flour. I like it!
This is a Zwetschgenkuchen (a plum cake). In Southern Germany, this is the quintessential late summer cake to be served at coffee time or even as dessert. This version uses sourdough as the base for the cake, instead of being yeast-based. It’s delicious and reminds me of my aunt, who had a plum tree in her yard when I was a little girl.
These were so good, I had to make them twice. 🙂 Yep, that’s right. I sampled one from the first batch and before I knew it, I had eaten half my giveaway. Whoopsie! At least I had a lot of Blueberry Jam hanging around. It is blueberry season and if you can get the good ones from Maine (or at very minimum, a jar of Stonewall Kitchen stuff), definitely go with the “Wild blueberry” variety. You won’t be sorry!