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Why You’ll Love My Recipe
This is a great recipe for those bakers that are just beginning to bake with yeast breads and anyone that is wanting a sweet, carb-loaded treat!
If you’d like to add a glaze to this monkey bread, try this Buttery Vanilla Glaze, it works perfectly! Check out this Monkey Bread Recipe Roundup if you’d like to try more varieties. Or, if you’re craving a different sort of sweet treat, try making some Quickie Homemade Cinnamon Rolls.
Reader Review
I just made this. BEST DOUGH EVER!! It handles better than any dough I’ve ever worked with. I will use the dough recipe all the time now. I just took it out of the oven. 22 minutes was perfect. I’m not a sweet eater, but my husband is. He needed something to take to the fire dept breakfast tomorrow so I made this.
Karlynn’s Recipe Notes
- Skill Level: This is an easy recipe.
- Total Time: Making this monkey bread will take approximately 2.5 hours from start to finish.
- Variations: Sprinkle in raisins and nuts, chopped apple or candied fruit. Add more spices to the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Why not try adding some Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice or a Brown Sugar Icing Glaze?
- Tools Needed: For this recipe, you’ll need a Bundt pan, a medium bowl, a large measuring cup, a small bowl, and a stand mixer with dough hook or a large mixing bowl and a wooden spoon.
What You’ll Need For Ingredients
Bread Dough: The bread dough in this recipe is incredibly simple, though it does take patience while you’re waiting for it to rise. You can use a canned dough if you really want to, but this homemade dough is absolutely worth the effort and the wait.
Sauce: By dipping the dough balls into melted butter and then into cinnamon sugar, you’ll create a delicious, syrupy sauce to hold everything together. Think of gooey cinnamon roll filling.
How To Make Homemade Monkey Bread
This is a brief overview of the recipe. The full list of ingredients and step-by-step instructions are in the recipe card below.
- Preheat oven to 175°F and then turn the heat off.
- In a large measuring cup or bowl, mix together milk, water, melted butter, sugar, and yeast.
- In a stand mixer or large bowl, mix flour and salt.
- If using stand mixer, use an oiled dough hook. Using low setting, slowly add wet mixture. Once dough comes together, increase speed to medium and keep the dough hook going for 6-7 minutes. If dough is too wet, add 2 TBSP of flour.
- Turn dough on to lightly floured surface and knead briefly. Form dough into a smooth ball.
- If mixing by hand, mix flour and salt in large bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in the wet ingredients. Use a spoon to stir until the dough gathers in the middle of the bowl (almost a ball).
- Turn on to floured surface and knead by hand for approximately 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and shiny.
- Place dough in an oiled bowl and cover it up. Place in the warm oven to rise for 45-60 minutes.
- When dough has risen, grease your Bundt pan and set it aside. Take out dough and spread it into an 8×8-inch square on a floured surface. Divide that into 64 sections.
- Melt butter in a bowl. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix brown sugar and cinnamon.
- Roll each section of dough into a small ball, dip it into the melted butter, and then dip it into the sugar mixture before placing into the greased Bundt pan. Make sure to stagger your layers like you’re building a brick wall. Add nuts and raisins if desired. Let dough rise again, for 45-50 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake the monkey bread for 22-25 minutes.
Karlynn’s Tips and Tricks for Making Homemade Monkey Bread
Modifying the Size: The recipe calls for 64 squares, but the monkey bread pictured had 54 or so. It’s really a flexible recipe. You’re aiming for pieces that aren’t too thick and are about an inch wide and roll into an inch wide ball of dough. That size bakes up nicely but you can play with what works best for you. Depending on the exact size and shape of your Bundt pan, you may want to go with more or less pieces.
Toppings: Whole nuts, chopped nuts, fresh chopped apples or pears, or dried fruit like raisins, dates, currants, would all make lovely additions to this monkey bread. If you’d like to experiment, just sprinkle in however much you want between layers of dough as you’re stacking. You can also add a drizzle of Caramel Syrup or this Easy Salted Caramel Sauce. Maybe even add a few chocolate chips.
Storage Instructions
This will be the best warm and fresh, but you can keep it covered at room temperature for a day or two.
Fridge: Once it’s fully cooled, you can store this monkey bread in the fridge for 2-3 days. Cover it tightly and reheat individual servings in the microwave for a few seconds to get the cinnamon and butter soft again.
Freezer: if you have any left to freeze, you’re probably best off to put individual portions into freezer safe containers so that you can take them out and reheat single servings.
More Delicious Monkey Bread Recipes
Looking for more easy and yummy monkey bread recipes?
Try this decadent Chocolate Stuffed Monkey Bread.
Make some Babka Monkey Bread instead of standard Babka.
Have a bit less time? Try a Cheater Skillet Monkey Bread.
Make a festive Christmas Monkey Bread for your holiday celebrations.
There you go, everyone. A basic, homemade monkey bread that you can personalize to your heart’s content. try this recipe out and let me know what you think.
Happy Baking!
Karlynn
Monkey Bread Recipe
Ingredients
Sweet Dough
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- 1 cup milk warmed to 115 °F
- ⅓ cup water warmed to 115 °F
- ¼ cup white sugar
- 2 ¼ teaspoons bread machine yeast or rapid rise
- 3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour plus extra for your work surface
- 2 teaspoons salt
- ½ cup toasted pecans
- ½ cup plumped up raisins boiled or soaked in water
Brown Sugar Coating
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ cup melted butter
Instructions
- Preheat your oven for rising, turn it on to 175 degrees then turn it off when it’s heated, this is as warm as it should get.
- In a large measuring cup, mix together milk, water, melted butter, sugar, and yeast.
- This recipe is as easy to do by hand as it is by mixer, so pick your poison.
- If you would like to use a stand mixer, mix flour and salt into the mixer bowl that is fitted with an oiled dough hook. Oiling the hook makes sure the dough doesn’t climb the hook and go all crazy on you. Works like a charm!
- Using the lowest setting, start the dough hook going and slowly add the milk mixture. After dough comes together, increase speed to medium and let your dough hook do the work until the dough is shiny and smooth, about 6 to 7 minutes. The dough should be slightly sticky but if it is too wet to come together into a ball, add an additional 2 tablespoons flour. It should just barely stick to your hands, nothing more. Turn dough onto lightly floured counter and knead briefly to form a smooth, round ball.
- If you are ready for a workout and want to do this by hand, mix flour and salt in large bowl. Make a well in the flour, then add the milk mixture, pouring into the well. Using a wooden spoon, stir until the dough is difficult to stir and it’s almost a ball in the middle of the bowl. Turn out onto lightly floured work surface and begin to knead, incorporating any loose scraps back into the dough. Knead until dough is smooth and satiny, about 10 minutes, giving those arms a workout and a half! Shape into a round ball.
- Take the ball of dough and place in a well oiled bowl, covering it up. Put it in the oven and let the dough rise until doubled in size, anywhere from 45-60 minutes.
- When that is done, grease your bundt pan and set aside.
- Take out the dough and on a lightly floured work surface roll it into a 8 inch by 8 inch square.
- Once you have that 8×8 square, mark off 8 sections, each way, so you are ending up with 64 lovely little squares.
- Cut the squares apart, making sure to separate them as you cut, they love to stick back together which defeats the purpose entirely.
- Melt the 1/2 cup of butter in a bowl.
- In a larger bowl combine the brown sugar and 2 1/2 tsp of cinnamon.
- Roll a dough square into a ball, dip it in the butter, dip it in the sugar mix then place it in the bundt pan.
- Stagger the layers. Build like you would build a brick wall, staggering the “bricks” so that the seams are not in the same place ever, building a lovely wall of dough. Sprinkle a few raisins and pecans between each of the layers, however you want.
- In about 45-50 minutes the dough will rise almost to the top of the pan.
- Time to bake! After you remove the pan from the oven preheat it to 350 degrees then get those babies back in there to bake.
- This took about 22-25 minutes in my oven.
- The bread will look slightly dark so watch out, you can overcook this!- and crisp on the outside.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Pat says
Delicious, fantastic will make again
Donna says
Can you use frozen bread dough? I would like an over night recipe. Any suggestions?
Jackie says
Just hubby and me and can’t eat up in 2 days. Can it be warmed in a microwave and still be kinda soft? Can’t wait to try!!
Karlynn Johnston says
Yes it warms up beautifully!! You can freeze it and reheat it.
Barbara says
I just made this. BEST DOUGH EVER!! It handles better than any dough I’ve ever worked with. I will use the dough recipe all the time now. I just took it out of the oven. 22 minutes was perfect. I’m not a sweet eater, but my husband is. He needed something to take to the fire dept breakfast tomorrow so I made this.
Karlynn Johnston says
I use this dough as the base for almost everything!
Anonymous says
What can I use instead of a bundt pan?
Mr. Kitchen Magpie says
This is one of my all time favourites for breakfast!
Heather Penberthy says
I make this with apples inside. roll it like cinnamon roll cut down the middle then cross way then put into bundt pan. that has brown sugar butter and whipping cream.. when baked turn over and the caramel runs down the sides,. yummy
Hannah says
What if I have regular yeast? (I can’t just run up to the store rn)
Brian Adams says
I’ve made this several times, and will do it again soon! Wonderful recipe, thank you!
Karlynn Johnston says
You are welcome! Glad you like it!
Kristin Kawecki Greenwood says
Making this for a play date this morning (and mostly for the moms!)
Aliza Woodcock says
Wade Woodcock did you put this on as a reminder for your mother?
RuthMEtienne says
I made this recipe twice now and for reason my dough is not rising. Idk what I’m doing wrong
thekitchenmagpie says
RuthMEtienne It’s your yeast for sure. Buy a fresh jar and make sure the water is as warm as I specify.
PennyFawver says
RuthMEtienne Or your house is told cold. Bread will not raise in a cold house. No matter if the yeast is new or not.
talia_teeger9 says
mine was amazing
thekitchenmagpie says
talia_teeger9 That looks incredible!!! I’m drooling!
Mel says
Just made this delicious recipe. My roommate was not planning on eating any of the bread, but guess who popped into the kitchen when I was taking the bread out of the oven? My roommate is a very picky eater. He took one little piece….next thing I know it was half gone…lol glad he didn’t plan on eating any or there wouldn’t have been any left for me to try! Thanks for the great recipe
thekitchenmagpie says
@Mel LOL! How can you resist the smell of this bread? I’m not
surprised he popped in to snack!
Virginia says
I have made this several times already it`s such a sin!!! It goes in minutes, people can’t stop eating it. I usually don’t have raisins but I do have dried apricots, I plump them in hot water, and my oh my!!! Thank you so much for a wonderful recipe, all the way from Montreal.
thekitchenmagpie says
@Virginia Make sure to check out my Christmas version! It’s SO festive!!! I am so glad that you liked it!
https://www.thekitchenmagpie.com/christmas-monkey-bread
marlab31 says
I am doing this recipe right now, has anyone done individual ones? I am going to put 3 balls in each cup of a muffin tin.
thekitchenmagpie says
@marlab31 That will work!
Bart says
Ive made this a few time, got one doing a final rise right now! GREAT Recipe. Ive been working on a savory version Garlic/Parmesean. Made it twice, the first wasnt quite right, but MUCH better second time. Add 1/4 cup parm and 1T garlic powder to dough. Then combine parmesan, garlic salt and finely chopped rosemary. Dip in butter and coat with mixture. Awesome on a family lasagna night =)
thekitchenmagpie says
@Bart That sounds AMAZING! I will try to make it when I get home!
Bart says
ive made this a few times and ive gone one covered and doing a final rise now. only thing ive added was a little bit of orange zest. Ive been experimenting with a savory version of this using garlic and parmesean and it works just as well. 1/4 cup grated parm and a tablespoon garlic powder in the dough, then dip in butter and roll in more parm, garlic salt and rosemary. Thank you for the great recipe to start from! #Yeastieboy
Travis Dean says
Has any any one tried making in it is a stack-cooker from Tupperware in the microwave??!!!
Rachael says
I am a fellow with Teach for China and used your recipe (with substitutions) to make this using a rice cooker in rural china! My local teachers loved it! Thank you =]
thekitchenmagpie says
@Rachael That is a seriously awesome life hack using a rice cooker! Good job!!
technosauruspunk says
@Rachael could you tell us what substitutions you made? I have a friend in Japan I would love to introduce this recipe to, but most people in Japan don’t have ovens either.