Monkey Bread
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Sticky, gooey, pull-apart Monkey Bread is the ultimate treat for breakfast, brunch, or dessert! Made from scratch with tender biscuit dough, rolled in cinnamon sugar, and then smothered in a buttery brown sugar glaze, this monkey bread is rich, indulgent, and totally irresistible.
You won’t need store-bought dough here! This homemade version is surprisingly easy to make and so much more flavorful.
Table of Contents
- Here’s Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Ingredients You’ll Need
- How To Make Homemade Monkey Bread
- FAQ
- More Recipes With Caramel
Today I am sharing my new favorite treat, monkey bread! I made this recipe last week and fell head over heels in love. It’s so easy to make, and so dang good. I love how tender and fluffy the bread is, and that sticky, buttery glaze is everything!
Nothing beats an indulgent brunch recipe, especially around the holidays. It’s so lovely to bake up a batch of crumb muffins, or orange cranberry scones, or cinnamon rolls for breakfast! But monkey bread is really ideal when you’ve got a big crowd to serve, and it whips up in a snap. So you can keep your focus on your loved ones, instead of fussing over a complicated recipe.
With a recipe like this, the butter really plays the starring role. It’s the main ingredient in the biscuit dough, and it totally makes that glorious gooey glaze, too. The butter flavor really shines, so I always make sure I’m using the best butter I can get my hands on for a recipe like this.
Here’s Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Made from scratch: This is just as easy as the other versions and contains ingredients you can actually pronounce.
- Crowd-pleasing: Perfect for holidays, brunches, or any gathering where you want to impress your guests.
- Irresistibly gooey: The brown sugar and butter create a caramel glaze that coats every bite.
- Fun to eat: Everyone loves pulling apart the sticky, cinnamon-sugar-coated pieces.
Ingredients You’ll Need
The recipe card at the bottom of the post contains the full list with all of the amounts. Refer to that when you’re cooking.
- All-purpose flour: You can use bread flour in a pinch, but AP flour is best.
- Baking powder: Make sure it’s fresh! If it has been in the back of the cupboard or in the fridge for a year, it is time for a new box.
- Kosher salt: Don’t sub in table salt. The measurements aren’t 1:1.
- Cold unsalted butter: Cut into the dry ingredients to create tender, flaky dough.
- Cold buttermilk: Adds moisture and a slight tang, making the dough soft and flavorful.
- Granulated sugar & cinnamon: For coating the dough balls in a sweet, spiced crust.
- Brown sugar: Loosely packed; combines with butter for a rich glaze.
- Melted unsalted butter: Helps the brown sugar melt into a syrupy coating.
How To Make Homemade Monkey Bread
Step 1: Preheat the oven.
Preheat your oven to 350°F. Prep a 10-cup bundt pan with non-stick spray.
Step 2: Mix the dry ingredients.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Step 3: Cut in the butter.
Cut in the cold butter until only pea-sized pieces remain.
Step 4: Add the buttermilk.
Stir in the buttermilk until a dough forms and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Step 5: Make the cinnamon sugar.
In a shallow dish, combine the granulated sugar and cinnamon.
Step 6: Form and coat the dough balls.
Scoop the dough into 1-tablespoon-sized balls. Roll each ball in the cinnamon sugar to coat, then place it in the prepared bundt pan.
Step 7: Prepare the glaze.
Once all dough balls are coated and arranged in the pan, whisk together the brown sugar and melted butter.
Step 8: Add the glaze.
Pour the brown sugar mixture evenly over the dough.
Step 9: Bake.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is puffed and crusty and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
Step 10: Cool and serve.
Let cool for 10 minutes, then invert onto a serving plate. Serve warm.
Helpful Tips and Tricks
- Use cold ingredients to keep the dough tender and flaky.
- Don’t overmix the dough; stir just until it comes together.
- Be generous with the cinnamon sugar coating.
- Let the monkey bread rest for 10 minutes before inverting to help it hold its shape.
FAQ
Monkey bread is traditionally made in a big bundt pan. If you don’t want to use a bundt, you have other options. You could make individual monkey breads in a cupcake pan. Or you could bake it in a 9×13 rectangular pan. You could even halve the recipe and use a 5-cup loaf pan.
Whatever size pan you choose, just keep in mind that the different size/shape may require a change in bake time. You’ll know your monkey bread is done when it’s puffy and crisp on the top, and when a skewer inserted in the thickest part comes out clean.
To make a gluten-free version of this monkey bread recipe, just substitute the all-purpose flour for a gluten-free flour blend. Look for one that subs 1:1 for regular flour.
Here are a few good options:
– King Arthur Flour Gluten-Free Measure for Measure Flour
– Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free All-Purpose Baking Flour
– Cup4Cup Multi-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour
Nothing beats a freshly baked monkey bread, still warm from the oven. If you can, I highly recommend you make it just before serving. Since it only requires about 30 minutes of prep, I think most of the time this should be pretty doable.
But if you absolutely must make it ahead, whisk the dry ingredients together, cut in the butter, and refrigerate the mixture until you’re ready to bake. You can also mix the cinnamon sugar ahead and whisk the glaze together.
About an hour before serving, stir the buttermilk into the dry mixture, then knead the dough. Then just scoop, roll in cinnamon sugar, pour on the glaze, and bake.
This monkey bread should keep at room temperature for a day or so, or in the fridge for up to a week.
It can also be wrapped tightly and frozen for up to a couple of months. Just thaw it at room temperature and reheat before serving.
Monkey bread is definitely best enjoyed warm! To reheat, zap each portion in the microwave for about 15 seconds, or place the whole thing in a 170°F oven, covered tightly in foil, for about 20 minutes.
More Recipes With Caramel
- Caramel Apple Pie
- Salted Caramel Brownies
- Salted Caramel Chocolate Tart
- Caramel Cheesecake
- Caramel Pecan Cheesecake
- Caramel Apple Cupcakes
- Chocolate Caramel Chip Cheesecake
Monkey Bread
Ingredients
- 4 cups (500 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 cup (113.5 g) Keller’s Creamery unsalted butter, , cold
- 1 1/2 cups (360 ml) buttermilk, , cold
- 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 cup (220 g) brown sugar , (loosely packed)
- 3/4 cup (170.25 g) Keller’s Creamery unsalted butter, , melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, and generously mist a 10-cup bundt pan* with non-stick spray.
- Place the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl, and whisk to combine.
- Cut the butter in until only pea-sized pieces remain.
- Stir in the buttermilk until a dough forms, and gathers itself into a ball that pulls cleanly away from the sides of the bowl.
- Place the sugar and cinnamon in a shallow dish, and stir together.
- Scoop the dough into 1-tablespoon sized balls, roll them in the cinnamon sugar to coat, and place them in the prepared pan.
- When all the dough has been scooped and rolled in cinnamon sugar, whisk the brown sugar and melted butter together in a medium-sized bowl, then pour over the unbaked monkey bread.
- Bake the monkey bread for 30 to 35 minutes, or until it’s puffed and crusty on the top. (A skewer or toothpick inserted in the thickest part of the bread should come out clean.)
- Cool the monkey bread for 10 minutes, then invert onto a serving plate and enjoy!
