The world of homemade bread is one that I’ve been meaning to explore for quite some time. I mean I am a carb-lover through and through. I really should learn how to cook the one thing I swear I could live on alone… I’ve seen a bunch of different monkey bread versions on Pinterest lately and decided that it would be perfect for a homemade bread adventure.
I will be the first one to admit that making the white bread dough from scratch for this monkey bread takes a little bit of time and patience (the dough rises twice). I’m sure you could quickly throw together a version of this with refrigerated biscuit dough…but I swear this bread is heavenly when you take the time to make it right.
I’m a sucker for any garlic, herb, and olive oil combo (how could you not be?) and this bread is like all of my favorite things rolled into one. Mmm…might have to go make some more monkey bread tonight (this one didn’t last long at all in our house). Can’t wait to try a few sweeter versions of monkey bread for breakfast soon!
Ingredients:
- 1 recipe white bread (shown below)
- 3 to 5 Tbs olive oil
- dried oregano, basil, rosemary, and thyme
- 1 garlic clove, minced
Directions:
- Combine oil, herbs, and garlic.
- Prepare White Bread recipe up through its first rise.
- Spray a small tube or bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- Turn out the risen dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into small pieces (each about the size of a chestnut).
- Place about a third of them in the bottom of the pan.
- Brush dough with oil and herb mixture.
- Continue to layer with the remaining dough rounds, either dipping each into the oil mixture or continuing to brush the dough with the herb oil.
- Let the bread rise again, covered, for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and bake for 30-35 minutes, until it’s golden.
White Bread Recipe
Ingredients:
- 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp instant yeast
- 1 1/4 tsp salt
- 3 Tbs sugar
- 4 Tbs butter
- 1/4 cup nonfat dry milk
- 1/4 cup potato flour (or bread flour)
- 1 1/8 cups lukewarm water
Directions:
- Combine all the ingredients and mix and knead them together — by hand, mixer, or bread machine — until you’ve made a soft, smooth dough.
- Adjust the dough’s consistency with additional flour or water as needed.
- Cover and let the dough rise for 1 hour, until it’s puffy.
Shortcut Option: Use Pillsbury biscuit dough instead of the homemade white bread recipe. Not sure if it would be quite as good and fluffy as the from scratch version, but hey — you do what you gotta do in a pinch.
Recipe from: The King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion | The All-Purpose Baking Cookbook
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