Monkey bread
An American pull-apart bread, popular since the 1950s, when recipes appeared in women's magazines — Nancy Reagan reportedly loved it. It is dozens of small balls of yeast dough rolled in butter and cinnamon sugar, layered in a ring tin. In the oven the butter and sugar turn into caramel that glues the balls into a glossy ring. It is never sliced — everyone pulls off their own pieces. The crucial moment: turning it out after 5–10 minutes, before the caramel sets.
Your own work in that: 45 min.
- Mixing 15 min
- Rising 60 min
- Dough balls 30 min
- Proving 45 min
- Baking 35 min
- Turning out 10 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneKnead a soft dough
Mix the milk with the yeast and sugar, add the flour, egg, melted butter and salt. Knead 8–10 minutes, until smooth, soft and elastic.
Ingredients: 500 g plain flour · 240 ml lukewarm milk · 7 g dried yeast · 50 g sugar · 1 pcs egg · 60 g butter · 1 tsp salt
Leave to rise
Cover and leave somewhere warm for an hour, until doubled. Meanwhile grease a 2.5–3 litre bundt tin thoroughly — every crevice, as caramel sticks.
Ingredients: 500 g plain flour · 240 ml lukewarm milk · 7 g dried yeast · 50 g sugar · 1 pcs egg · 60 g butter · 1 tsp salt
Prepare butter and cinnamon sugar
Melt the butter in one bowl and mix the brown sugar with the cinnamon in another. Scatter the nuts, if using, over the base of the tin — once turned out they will be on top.
Ingredients: 120 g melted butter · 150 g brown sugar · 1 tbsp cinnamon · 50 g pecans
Divide the dough into balls
Flatten the dough into a rectangle and cut into about 48 pieces, shaping each into a walnut-sized ball. Even size matters — small balls burn before large ones cook.
Ingredients: 500 g plain flour · 240 ml lukewarm milk · 7 g dried yeast · 50 g sugar · 1 pcs egg · 60 g butter · 1 tsp salt
Coat and layer in the tin
Dip each ball in butter, roll in cinnamon sugar and layer loosely in the tin. Pour the remaining butter and sugar over the top — they make the caramel.
Ingredients: 120 g melted butter · 150 g brown sugar · 1 tbsp cinnamon · 50 g pecans
Butter, then cinnamon sugar — each ball separately.Prove in the tin
Cover and prove 45 minutes, until the balls puff to 2–3 cm below the rim. Heat the oven to 180°C.
Ingredients: 500 g plain flour · 240 ml lukewarm milk · 7 g dried yeast · 50 g sugar · 1 pcs egg · 60 g butter · 1 tsp salt
Until the balls nearly fill the tin.Bake until deep golden
Bake 30–35 minutes, until the top is deep golden and caramel bubbles at the edges. Stand the tin on a tray — caramel may bubble over and burn on the oven floor.
Ingredients: 500 g plain flour · 240 ml lukewarm milk · 7 g dried yeast · 50 g sugar · 1 pcs egg · 60 g butter · 1 tsp salt
Turn out after 5–10 minutes
Leave the tin 5–10 minutes, no longer, then turn out onto a plate. Too soon — the hot caramel runs off; too late — it sets and glues the balls to the tin. Mix the icing sugar with the milk and drizzle over. Serve warm, pulled apart by hand.
Ingredients: 80 g icing sugar · 1 tbsp milk
Five to ten minutes — then the caramel sets.
Before you start
The shortcut
In the US a popular version uses canned biscuit dough cut into pieces. Homemade yeast dough is fluffier and less sweet, though — worth the hour.
Overnight in the fridge
Cover the coated, layered monkey bread with film and refrigerate overnight. In the morning give it 1–1.5 hours out, until the balls are clearly puffy, then bake. Perfect for a festive breakfast.
A savoury version
Balls rolled in butter with garlic, parmesan and herbs make a savoury ring for soup or a party. Serve tomato sauce for dipping instead of icing.
