Monkey Bread

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This Homemade Monkey Bread recipe is easy to make and made of sweet and gooey dough balls and a simple icing. It serves 8-10, and takes 100 minutes and $3.17 to make. That’s just 40¢ per serving!

Growing up, my Mom made one thing for breakfast just three times a year: Christmas, and our church’s General Conference twice a year. We grew up calling it Pull-Apart Bread because that is quite literally what you do to grab a piece of it to eat. Plus, we are just not that creative!

Monkey Bread

The Pull-Apart Bread was something we looked forward to on those three days every year. As I left the house, I continued the tradition. I learned a few things along the way, too. The first thing I learned is that most people refer to this dish as Monkey Bread. I told you we were not that creative in my family! 

I remember my first year away at school. I was with my brother and wanted to surprise him with some homemade pull-apart (Monkey Bread). To say that I was excited would be an understatement! I was a little too excited! I pulled it out of the oven, and I can still remember how good it smelled. I took it straight to his apartment, with it was still in the bundt pan.

When he saw it, he was just as excited as I was. That is until I turned it over and dumped it on a plate. It was a soggy mess, and I was almost in tears! How did my mom make it so easy, and mine had failed? 

It was honestly quite a while before I attempted it again. My first failed attempt was still fresh in my mind any time I thought of making any Monkey Bread recipe again. After a few more years of baking experience, I decided I really could conquer making Monkey Bread from scratch.

Lessons Learned

I am happy to report that I nailed it! Thanks to our easy 1-Hour French Bread recipe that I used as a base. Now I can look back on my first experience of making this bread as an 18-year-old with tears of laughter and not tears of embarrassment. 

This Monkey Bread recipe is the BEST because it is covered in a buttery sauce that you then bake until golden, ooey, gooey, and sticky with cinnamon. What’s not to love about that? The best part is that you can make this, from start to finish, in just 100 minutes!

You can serve it as a sweet treat for breakfast, brunch, or even as a snack. Either way, you can’t go wrong. Over the years, I have learned that if you just follow the directions, Monkey Bread is straightforward to make. There’s a good life lesson right there too! It reminds me of my favorite Julia Child quote:

If you can read, you can cook. 

-Julia Child

Why do they call it Monkey bread?

My family grew up calling this pull-apart bread because to eat it, you pull the pieces apart. But think about how a monkey eats. They pick apart their food with their fingers. So it only makes sense that this pastry is called Monkey Bread because you use your fingers to pick it apart as you eat it. 

It is traditionally made in a bundt pan so you can easily layer it in a donut-shape that is easily stackable and then easy to pull apart to eat. However, if you don’t have a bundt pan, you can use a 9×13 pan to place it on. Just know it will not look as pretty!

How do you know when monkey bread is done?

There are two things to check for when looking to see if the bread is ready. The first is to ensure that the bread is puffy. The second is that it is a little crispy on top. Once you’ve got those two things, you’re golden! You can also put a skewer in the thickest part of the bread, and if it comes out clean then it is ready!

How to Make Monkey Bread Recipe:

1. First, lightly grease a bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside. 
2. Next, make the dough and let it rise for 30 minutes.
3. Then shape the monkey bread by making dough balls. Also, make the butter and sugar mixture.
4. Next, shape the monkey bread in the bundt pan and pour the butter mixture over the dough. Let the dough rise for 20 minutes. 
5. Preheat the oven and then bake for 30-35 minutes.
6. Finally, make the icing, and after flipping the monkey bread out of the bundt pan onto a plate, drizzle the icing over the bread. 

How to get the kids involved with this recipe:

• Ages 2-3: Let them help you make the icing. They can also drizzle it over the warm monkey bread.
• Ages 4-5: Have your kiddo help measure and mix the ingredients to make the dough. Teach them how to turn the mixer on and off safely. It’s best to guide their hands every time you have them turn the mixer on and off. If you have a kindergartner, have them count out the 72 balls of dough (a Kindergarten math benchmark is to count to 100. This activity will give them some good practice!). 
• Ages 6-8: Let them help shape the dough into dough balls, there are 72 to make so this will be a great help!
• Ages 9-11: Supervise them while they prepare the entire recipe. Remember to have them read it twice before beginning the recipe. 
• Ages 12+: Let them prepare the entire recipe, unsupervised, while you do the happy dance in the corner!

Discover why we love getting the kids involved in the kitchen and more tips in our How to Get Kids Involved In Cooking article.

The flavor and Recipe Variations:

• Add pecans or any other type of nut variety for an added crunch. Just sprinkle them on after each layer of the butter and sugar mixture. 
• You can use canned biscuits or Rhodes frozen rolls if you are short on time. 
• Instead of the simple icing below, you can make a more decadent cream cheese icing. 

More Breakfast recipes:

• Buttermilk Sheet Pan Pancakes
• Chocolate Glazed Biscuit Donuts
• Easy French Toast with Blueberry Syrup
• Eggs Benedict Breakfast Braid
• Grab and Go Yogurt Parfait Boxes
• Green Smoothie
• Homemade Buttermilk Syrup
• Homemade Granola
• Red Velvet Buttermilk Waffles
• Simple Crock Pot Greek Yogurt

More sweet desserts:

• Brownie Cookies
• Chocolate Dipped Gingerbread Cookies
• Mom’s Lemon Lush
• Chocolate Dipped Sugar Cookies
• Chocolate Wacky Cake
• Dark Chocolate Pecan Pie
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Bon Bons
• Mom’s Lemon Lush

How long is this good for:

• Serve: This bread is best served warm. There is simply no other way to eat it! 
• Store: Cover the bread tightly with foil and keep it at room temperature for up to 24 hours. You can warm leftovers in an oven-proof pan for 20-25 minutes at 300 degrees F. 
• Freeze: Unfortunately, we do not recommend freezing this bread. 

How much will this Monkey Bread cost:

RECIPE COST: $3.17

PRICE PER SERVING: $0.40

• 1 1/3 cup warm water – $0
• 4 teaspoons instant yeast – $0.12
• 4 teaspoons granulated sugar – $0.04
• 1 1/4 teaspoon salt – $0.01
• 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil – $0.06
• 4 cups all-purpose flour – $0.76
• 12 Tablespoons unsalted butter – $1.29
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar – $0.48
• 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon – $0.10
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg – $0.10
• 2/3 cup powdered sugar – $0.20
• 4 teaspoons milk – $0.01

To find out more about how we price our recipes, check out Budget Recipes Explained.

Cook’s Tools:

• stand mixer
• mixing spoon
• bundt pan
• measuring cups
• liquid measuring cup
• measuring spoon
• small microwave-safe bowl
• rolling pin

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Monkey Bread

Recipe Cost 3.17

Serving Cost 0.40

Course Bread, Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine American

This Homemade Monkey Bread recipe is easy to make and made of sweet and gooey dough balls and a simple icing. It serves 8-10, and takes 100 minutes and $3.17 to make. That’s just 40¢ per serving!

Servings: 10 people

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 40 minutes mins

Equipment

• stand mixer
• mixing spoon
• bundt pan
• measuring cups
• Liquid measuring cup
• Measuring spoons
• small microwave-safe bowl
• rolling pin

Ingredients

 

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MONKEY BREAD DOUGH:

• 1 ⅓ cup warm water
• 4 teaspoons instant yeast
• 4 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 1 ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 ½ - 4 cups all-purpose flour

BUTTER AND SUGAR MIXTURE:

• 12 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

ICING:

• ⅔ cup powdered sugar
• 4 teaspoons milk

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

PREPARE PAN:

• Lightly grease a bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

MAKE DOUGH AND RISE:

• First, add the water, yeast, and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk the mixture together and let it sit for 3 minutes, or until it’s bubbly and frothy.
• Next, add in the oil, salt, and 3 ½ cups of flour. Attach a dough hook and mix on low until the dough comes together. Increase the speed to medium-high and knead. The dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl. If it doesn’t, add more flour, 1 Tablespoon at a time, until it does. Then, knead the dough for 2 minutes on medium-high.
• Remove the dough hook and cover the work bowl with a hot damp towel. Let the dough rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.

SHAPE MONKEY BREAD AND SECOND RISE:

• Punch down dough and lightly spray countertop with nonstick cooking spray.
• Pat the dough into a 12-inch square.
• Cut the dough into 12 long strips. Then cut each strip into 6 pieces. You should have 72 pieces of dough.
• Roll each piece of dough into a ball.

MAKE BUTTER AND SUGAR MIXTURE :

• Melt the butter in a microwave-safe bowl.
• In a small bowl combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

ASSEMBLE MONKEY BREAD & SECOND RISE:

• Pour ¼ of the butter mixture into the bottom of the bundt pan.
• Place half of the dough balls (36 of them) into the pan. Pour half of the remaining butter mixture over the dough balls in the pan.
• Place the remaining dough balls (36 of them) into the pan. Pour the remaining butter mixture over the dough balls.
• Cover the pan loosely with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and let the dough rise for 20 minutes.

PREP OVEN AND BAKE:

• While the dough rises, preheat the oven. Move the oven rack to the lower-middle position and preheat to 375 degrees F.
• Once the dough rises for 20 minutes, move the bundt pan to a baking sheet. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.
• Remove the monkey bread from the oven and move to a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes.

MAKE ICING:

• While the monkey bread cools, make the icing. In a small bowl whisk together powdered sugar and milk until smooth.

TO FINISH:

• Place a large plate on top of the bundt pan. Carefully flip out the monkey bread onto the plate.
• Use a spoon to drizzle the icing over the monkey bread. Serve warm.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 616kcal | Carbohydrates: 105g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 36mg | Sodium: 306mg | Potassium: 179mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 31g | Vitamin A: 420IU | Calcium: 48mg | Iron: 5mg

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