Oh I was on another mission the other day. To make some super yummy monkey bread, from scratch. Now this version takes a little longer than it's from-a-can cousin, but I promise, it's worth it.
What you need:
- 1/4 c. warm water
- 2 1/2 t. yeast
- pinch of sugar
- 3 1/2 c. flour
- 1 egg
- 1 t. salt
- 1/2 t. vanilla
- 3 T. sugar
- 2 T. melted butter
- 1 c. milk, warm
- brown sugar
- butter
In a small bowl, mix together the warm water, yeast, and pinch of sugar. Let it sit to the side while you do the next step.
In another bowl or in a mixer, mix the flour, salt, vanilla, egg, sugar, butter, and milk. Add in the yeast mixture. Mix this together well. Knead by hand for 3-4 minutes until smooth or mix in a mixer with dough hooks for about the same amount of time. The dough should be only slightly sticky. I call it post-it note sticky. 
Let it sit in a covered bowl for 30 minutes after you knead it. It doesn't need to rise, just needs to rest a bit.
After 30 minutes, roll out the dough a bit. Cut it into strips and then cut those strips into small balls. You can use kitchen scissors or a knife or a pizza cutter to do this.
Melt butter and put brown sugar in a bowl. You can add cinnamon to the brown sugar if you like. Dip each piece of dough into the butter and then into the brown sugar.
Place each piece of buttered-brown sugared dough into a bundt pan. Let this rise, covered, for about an hour. Then bake at 350F for 25 minutes or until when you thump the top part it makes a nice sound like a watermelon.
Enjoy warm.
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{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
I have to say, you have inspired me to cook from scratch more and more. I still cook from a box or can, but am relying on it less and less. TY
I will admit that it takes a while to get used to cooking from scratch. It’s so convenient and easy to just grab a box! But after you get used to it, it just becomes second nature!
I didn’t see where you listed the amount of egg.
I fixed it:)
I linked here via Raising Homemakers. This sounds terrific. My aunt taught us to make the canned-biscuit cousin in the ’80s and I have loved it. I haven’t made it for years because I am avoiding canned biscuits. My kids have missed it. Thanks for sharing a recipe we can eat and enjoy without the guilt. I’ll be trying it soon.
Another fantastic looking recipe!
Hi, this looks great, and I am going to give it a try this morning….but just a little note for somethign you could maybe fix (even though I’m just going to wing it this morning and hope for the best)…your directions start right in with, “IN ANOTHER BOWL.” You’ve left off the bit about proofing the yeast. I’ll look on the back of the yeast pack & hope it tell you how long to wait. I’ve done this before with my mum when I was a kid, but it has ben a long time ago! Maybe you could revise the instructions to start off with the proofing step for those who haven’t done it in a while. This recipe looks sooo great & I’m heading for the kitchen with fingers crossed! <3
I made monkey bread one day from my regular bread recipe. I always have a 4-loaf batch but only 3 loaf pans cook properly in my oven at a time, so I always cut the 4th loaf into rolls instead. One day I decided to make dessert instead, so I cut up 2 loaves and rolled them in butter, sugar, and cinnamon, then put them together in a pan like monkey bread. Came out awesome.
Thank you … thank you … thank you! This was so yummy and so much better tasting and better all the way around than it’s can cousin. I’m going to try the batter for mini cinnamon rolls this weekend.
Thank you so much for posting this recipe. I have the “other” recipe for Monkey Bread, which uses the canned biscuits. But when I read your recipe, and realized how easy it was, I decided to give it a try. I’m in the process of making this yummy bread for my family, and I’m sure it’s going to be delicious. Thank you for inspiring me to cook from scratch, and provide something delicious for my family!