Recipe | Sweet
Monkey Bread Recipe

Posted 26 Nov 2012

Galit showed me this recipe just as I told a friend that I'd eat anything, even monkey brains. These two incidents might not appear related however Monkey Bread has some alternative names including, you guessed it, Monkey Brains. Also Bubble Loaf, Sticky Bread and Pinch Me Loaf.

Monkey Bread is an American favourite dating from the 1950s. Most Americans make it with frozen biscuit dough but the original recipes were bread, like this one.

It is an ideal recipe to make with kids.

85 ml lukewarm milk
15 ml active dry yeast

  • Mix in mixer bowl
  • Leave until the yeast activates, about 10  min

500 grams all purpose flour
3 eggs, room temperature and beaten
75 grams sugar
12 grams salt

  • Add to bowl
  • Beat with dough hook until a little bit hard (by hand 10 min; Kitchen Aid setting 2 for 5-6 min)

100 grams cold butter cut into cubes

  • Add to bowl
  • Beat with dough hook until butter disappears (by hand 2 min; Kitchen Aid setting 2 for 1 min ? )
  • Shape into ball
  • Place in oiled bowl and cover with towel
  • Leave to rise in a warm place until almost doubled in size (about 1.5 hours)
  • Knock back
  • Cut into balls of 30 grams each
  • Grease ring cake tin

Bowl with 150 grams of melted butter that has returned to room temperature
Bowl with 300 grams of Demerara sugar mixed with 1.5 teaspoons of cinnamo
15 nuts (usually pecans) whole or chopped

  • For each dough ball
    • Dip dough ball into butter
    • dip dough ball into cinnamon and sugar
    • Put dough ball into loaf tin interspersed with nuts
  • Cover and rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about 30 min)
  • Heat Oven to 180 C
  • Bake until cake is risen and golden, and a toothpick comes out dry
  • Cool for 15 min
  • Turn out upside down onto a cooling rack
  • Rip apart with your bare hands helped by small children