3 1/4cupsall-purpose flour plus extra for your work surface
2teaspoonssalt
1/2cuptoasted pecans
1/2 cupplumped up raisins boiled or soaked in water
Brown Sugar Coating
1cup packed brown sugar
2 1/2teaspoonsground cinnamon
1/2cupmelted 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 8x8 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
This will last on the counter for 1-2 days ( as if! Who has leftover Monkey bread??)