A Bread for All Monkey-Mankind

Imagine ooey-gooey cinnamon bread...mmmm... now imagine a bunch of mini donut holes baked together in a way that you can pull apart little round bites of sweet deliciousness...MMMMM...these two visions combined are what make a tasty sweet treat called monkeybread. It could possibly be the bread that brings all monkeys and mankind together.

Those who have eaten this monkeybread know - it's amazing. I know that you're salivating right now from thinking about it. Those who have not had this bread before should probably rectify this situation very soon, if not right now. It doesn't take very long to make, and it can be enjoyed day, night, and anytime that your brain can justify reasons to eat it.

Monkeybread gets its name from the way that monkeys eat by picking apart their food with their hands. We are all technically monkeys, after all. Why not join them?

Below is a basic recipe to make the bread dough. It's worth it to make it from scratch instead of buying store-bought dough. Your taste buds will thank you later! After the dough is baked, you can drizzle it with caramel, chocolate, or icing for a little extra decadence. 

Monkey Bread 
(Pull-apart Cinnamon Roll Bites)

Dough

• 1 1/2 cups 2% milk, warmed (105-110°F)
• 1 sachet of active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
• 3 Tbs cane sugar
• 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil, for greasing

Cinnamon Sugar Coating

• 2/3 cup unsalted butter, melted

• 1/4 cup honey
• 1  cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup cane sugar
• 3 tsp ground cinnamon

Culinary Dance Steps:

1. To make the dough...In a large mixing bowl, Dissolve the yeast and sugar in warm milk, and let the mixture sit for 5 minutes.
2. Add the melted butter, vanilla extract, eggs, and salt to the milk mixture. 
3. Stir in about 4 cups of flour, until the dough it pliable to start kneading. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes, adding enough of the remaining flour until the dough is smooth and firm, but not sticky to the touch. You can tell the dough is ready when you poke the dough, and it springs back a little.
4. Grab another large mixing bowl and grease the bowl sides with vegetable oil.
5. Form the dough into a ball and place it in the oiled bowl. Use a little more oil to coat the entire dough ball lightly.
6. Cover the dough bowl with a kitchen towel, and place the bowl in a warm spot in the kitchen (~70°F). Let the dough rise for about an hour or until it has doubled in size. The rise times will vary depending on how warm or cool your kitchen is, so be flexible!
7. While the dough is rising, make the cinnamon sugar coating. In a small bowl, mix together the both brown and cane sugar with cinnamon. In another small bowl, mix the melted butter and honey. Set both bowls aside.
8. When the dough has doubled in size, uncover the dough bowl and gently punch the dough to release the large air bubbles. Tear the dough into pieces and roll into 1" balls.
9. Grease a large cake pan with vegetable oil, and preheat the oven to 350°F.
10. For each dough ball, dip it in the melted butter, coat it in the cinnamon sugar, and place it in the greased cake pan. Do this until all the balls are nestled snugly in the cake pan.
11. Mix together any remaining melted honey butter and cinnamon sugar, and pour the mixture over the dough balls.
12. Bake the bread for another 35 minutes until the top of the bread is golden brown.
13. Let the bread cool for 10 minutes before you tear away for consumption. Remember, you can drizzle the baked bread with some melted caramel or chocolate if you want to make it extra decadent! :)