The Best Monkey Bread
This recipe is called the BEST monkey bread because there really is no comparison to this homemade gooey, sweet, decadent monkey bread.
Seriously, I hardly have any words to describe the glorious goodness of this monkey bread. And if you know me, you know it’s rare that I’m left speechless.
But this magical monkey bread doesn’t really need any words. It just needs action. Make it, bake it, devour it.
As a quick sidenote, I hate the whole snobby factor that comes with food. I’m not one to hide my feelings about cream-of-whatever soups but I really, really don’t care if you use them. And if you don’t make your own bread from scratch…guess what? We can still be friends and I’d still eat a sandwich at your house on your not-homemade bread. See?
See how open minded I am?
But when it comes to this monkey bread, I have to beg and implore you to run far, far away from the canned biscuits and dry pudding mix that usually appear in monkey bread recipes. Invest a tad bit more time and elbow grease and make this recipe with homemade dough.
It’s unreal, people…unreal being a good thing in this instance. And you’ll come back and thank me from keeping you from the canned biscuit monkey bread (I mean, that just sounds wrong, doesn’t it?), I promise.
There really is no comparison to this homemade Bundt-pan full of gooey, sweet, decadent love.
FAQ for Monkey Bread:
Yes! Follow the recipe through step #5. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and place the pan in the refrigerator before letting the monkey bread rise up to 12-18 hours. A couple hours before you want to bake it, remove the pan from the refrigerator and let the monkey bread come to room temperature and rise until puffy and risen 1-2 inches below the top of the pan (this exact measurement will depend on the dimensions of the Bundt pan you are using). Bake as directed in step #7 and proceed with the recipe. You can speed up the rising process by placing the refrigerated monkey bread into a warm oven (not warm enough it will bake the bread! just warm enough to help the rising – I preheat my oven to 170 degrees and then once it reaches temperature, I turn it off but keep the oven light on).
I have never baked this in another size/style of pan, but you could definitely experiment with a 9X13-inch pan for more of a rectangular presentation or split the dough into two loaf pans. I do not recommend an angel food cake pan; I think the sugar/butter mixture will leak out the bottom and make a big mess.
If you have active dry yeast instead of instant yeast, dissolve the same amount of active dry yeast in 2 tablespoons water and a pinch of sugar. Let the mixture sit until it is bubbling/foaming and then use in the recipe in place of the instant yeast (mixing it with the butter, milk, etc).
One Year Ago: Spooky Eats: Candy Corn Milkshakes
Two Years Ago: Romaine Salad with Chicken, Cheddar, Apples, Spiced Pecans and Cranberry Vinaigrette
Three Years Ago: Chicken Enchilada Pasta
The Best Monkey Bread
Ingredients
Dough:
- ¼ cup (57 g) butter divided, 2 tablespoons softened and 2 tablespoons melted
- 1 cup milk, warm (about 110 degrees)
- ⅓ cup water, warm (about 110 degrees)
- ¼ cup (53 g) granulated sugar
- 2 ¼ teaspoons instant yeast
- 3 ¼ cups (462 g) all-purpose flour, plus extra for work surface
- 2 teaspoons salt
Brown Sugar Coating:
- 1 cup (212 g) packed light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ cup (113 g) butter, melted
Glaze:
- 1 cup (114 g) confectioners’ sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Butter a Bundt pan with the 2 tablespoons softened butter. Use a pastry brush or a paper towel or anything that will really help get inside all of those nooks and crannies. Set aside.
- In a large measuring cup, mix together the milk, water, melted butter, sugar, and yeast. Mix the flour and salt together in a standing mixer fitted with dough hook (see below for instructions to make the dough by hand). Turn the machine to low and slowly add the milk mixture. After the dough comes together, increase the speed to medium and mix until the dough is shiny and smooth, 6 to 7 minutes. If you think the dough is too wet (i.e. having a hard time forming a cohesive mass), add 2 tablespoons flour at a time and mix until the dough comes together (it should still be on the sticky side, just not overly wet).
- Coat a large bowl with nonstick cooking spray. Place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat lightly with the cooking spray. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise until doubled, 1-2 hours (alternately, you can preheat the oven to 200 degrees, turning it off once it reaches 200 degrees and place the covered bowl in the oven to speed up the rising time).
- For the sugar coating, while the dough is rising, mix the brown sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl. Place the melted butter in a second bowl or shallow pie plate. Set aside.
- To form the bread, gently remove the dough from the bowl and press it into a rough 8-inch square. Using a bench scraper or knife, cut the dough into 64 pieces.
- Roll each dough piece into a ball (it doesn’t have to be perfect, just get it into a rough ball-shape). Working one at a time, dip the balls in melted butter, allowing excess butter to drip back into the bowl or pie plate. Roll the dipped dough ball in the brown sugar mixture, then layer the balls in the Bundt pan, staggering the seams where the dough balls meet as you build layers.
- Cover the Bundt pan tightly with plastic wrap and let the monkey bread rise until puffy and they have risen 1-2 inches from the top of the pan, 1-2 hours (again, you can use the warm oven approach to speed this up).
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees F (remove the pan from the oven if you placed it there to rise). Unwrap the pan and bake until the top is deep brown and caramel begins to bubble around edges, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool the monkey bread in the pan for 5 minutes (any longer and the bread will be too sticky and hard to remove!), then turn out on a platter or large plate and allow to cool slightly, about 10 minutes.
- For the glaze, while the bread cools, whisk the confectioners’ sugar and milk together in a small bowl until the mixture is smooth. Using a whisk, drizzle the glaze over the warm monkey bread, letting it run over the top and sides of the bread. Serve warm.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: adapted slightly from Cook’s Illustrated
384 Comments on “The Best Monkey Bread”
I like the idea of making your own bread dough instead of using tube biscuits — it wasn’t that hard and tasted good. However l think I prefer my mom’s method — melting butter and brown sugar in a small saucepan and pouring it over all the bread pieces in the bundt pan, which had been shaken up in a ziploc with sugar and cinnamon coating. Much less work, and I find the end result gives a little more “crunch” here and there between the syrupy bits. All that to say — this was very good! If not a bit too labor intensive for lazy me 😀
How funny, I grew up with my mom having taught me this recipe and we always made dough from scratch. But when I became an adult (and the Internet became more of a thing) I learned you could just use canned biscuit dough and I’ve never looked back. Making dough was always the part I hated and I think the cans taste just as good . But now I have a bread machine so I thought “why don’t I try that!” And this will be the first year in maybe 20 that I’ll make this with homemade dough
10/10 love this!!!! Will make again
These are amazing!
I made the dough in my bread machine (or rather, my 15 year old son did that part) which turned out a little on the sticky side, but as noted, a little flour fixed that. Then my Bundt pan couldn’t be found anywhere. 2 loaf pans to the rescue!
Wow, these are so good!! I’m glad we made these as 2 loaves, so we could give one away. Otherwise I think I would have eaten half of it all on my own.
When we divided the dough into 64 pieces my boys were telling me they were too small. But they rose and puffed up and we’re much bigger by the time it was cooked.
Also, the butter the pieces are dipped in- one stick was more than enough. I drizzled the last bit of butter over the loaves before covering them to rise. But the brown sugar/cinnamon mixture ran out. So we mixed up another 1/4 cup brown sugar with 1/2 tsp cinnamon.
So glad this worked for you!
How long did you bake the two bread pans?
Turned out exactly as hoped.
I don’t often leave reviews but this was perfect! Tried it out a couple weeks ago, a half recipe in a loaf pan and kind of skimped on the butter. It was okay, but a little dry (I overcooked it) and didn’t stick together too well. Last night I did the full recipe for a brunch and followed it to a tee! Refrigerated overnight, pulled it out about an hour before baking it, cooked it right at 30min, came out perfect!! Wish I could leave pictures! Thanks so much!
I am in love!
Someone else commented that these taste like the center of a cinnamon roll and that is spot on. These are pillowy soft and indulgent. Your instructions were clear and I was able to create a picture perfect dessert. My family was certainly impressed.
I must thank you so much for this recipe. I will be making these again and again for sure!
Every piece tastes like the inside of a cinnamon roll, heaven!! I will never use biscuits again! Thanks for another winner.
Can I make the dough in my Bread Machine?
I don’t have a bread machine so I haven’t tried it, but it’s definitely worth experimenting. I’m thinking it should work just fine.
What kind of milk should I use? This might be over-the-top, but would using heavy cream instead of milk make it extra delicious?
I use 1% or 2%. Sometimes using heavy cream can make the dough dense, but you could try it.
I made this for the first time today, and it was amazing. I did the make ahead method, and every step is informative and helpful. This really was the most delicious monkey bread I’ve ever had, It has a caramelized flavor that just keeps you going back for more. Wonderful Recipe!
Well, I made this yesterday and took it into work. My coworkers absolutely loved it! I baked it fresh at work so it was served warm. Everyone remarked that it was a keeper recipe and I agree! Easy to make and simply delicious. I wouldn’t change a thing. Thanks for sharing this recipe – I am sure it will become part of my regular rotation.
I am here to say this is the BEST monkey bread EVER!!! I’ve made and eaten quite a few recipe variations of this over the years, but nothing compares to this recipe. This is the HOLY GRAIL of monkey bread!!! I made it Christmas Eve and popped it in the fridge overnight, pulled it out Christmas morning to rise for 1.5 hrs and baked it. I’ll never make another recipe. The groans of tastebud heaven were loud and numerous while eating it. This is the recipe!!!!!
Can I make this with gluten free flour?
Unfortunately, I don’t think it will work out with gluten free flour.
I made this earlier today and I didn’t turn out like monkey bread, more like cake still good tho I recommend
This recipe was perfect and I’ll definitely be making it again, it reminds me of the inside of a cinnamon roll, so good and won’t last for more than a day!
Love this recipe. Great Sunday morning breakfast on the beach.
Make-ahead note says make through Step 5. But Step 5 is just cutting into 64 squares. Doesn’t make sense. Can you recheck the two make-ahead notes?
Hi Mel! I have made this monkey bread many times and it is delicious!! I made it again this weekend and did the overnight method. It seemed to work great, the bread looks amazing, however, the dough tastes sour. We are in anyways! Any idea what would make the dough have a sour taste so I can avoid this outcome next time?
Hi Sarah, it’s probably the increased flavor of the yeast due to the overnight rise. You can try decreasing the yeast a bit if rising overnight – that might help!
I am just getting ready to make these for conference and imagine my surprise to find that America’s Test Kitchen Monkey Bread is exactly this recipe! But their bread book was published in 2016. Seriously, is has all the exact same ingredients and ingredient amounts AND it says 8×8 inch square cut into 64 pieces. Is that even legal?
Hey Emily! You can see below the recipe up there that I have a Recipe Source link. I adapted this recipe just a little from Cook’s Illustrated (which is basically the same company as America’s Test Kitchen). I think the only thing I changed was I use salted butter (not unsalted like the original recipe) so it’s close to the original recipe, which is why I always include a recipe source for my recipes.
oh gosh, this makes so much more sense. haha. your recipe also suggests putting it in the fridge at a different time.
Has anyone tried this recipe and put little cubes of cream cheese in the center of each roll? Curious how it turned out. I want to do this but don’t want to ruin anything
I haven’t – sorry!