Monkey Bread

by Nicole on May 11, 2011 · 43 comments

in Breads, Breakfast & Brunch, GF Blue Plate Specials (Recipes), Recipe Index

No monkeys were harmed in the making of this bread — or this post. We’re pro-monkey around here, people.

If you know why this is called Monkey Bread, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle. Or aunt. In any event, I’ll at least befriend a monkey, and allow him to call me Honey.

Perhaps I will even allow my monkey to groom me a little by picking any nits he might happen upon as he searches my body for foreign objects, and I his. We’ll become very close, this monkey and I. Of course, he’ll move in with me and my family. It’ll be like a Fresh Air Fund thing, but for my Uncle Monkey. Or Nephew Monkey. I can’t remember which we decided upon when we first started. It’s all too overwhelming now that I have a monkey living with me.

Enough of this monkeying around. Wait — one more thing: Which group of primates, monkeys or chimps, are the ones who end up living in posh retirement communities watching soap operas after their careers in show business dry up?

If you’re quite ready, I’d love to talk about this bread.

Remember this recipe for Doughnut Holes? Me too. They were delightful. So delightful, in fact, that my children embarrass themselves at least once a week begging for another batch just one more time please mom I promise I will never ask for anything ever again as long as I live {do they really think I’m gonna fall for that? what — was I born yesterday?}.

Well, in the spirit of one-up-manship in which I plan to one-up myself in an effort to silence my children, I have outdone the doughnuts. I have taken the mounds of doughnut dough {nut}, rolled them in melted butter, paraded them through brown sugar and cinnamon, squished them all together in a springform pan, and baked them into submission. They went quietly — into my mouth. Then they looked like this

So what do you think? Will your well-documented fear of yeast breads keep you from eating these little monkeys?*

*Doesn’t it feel like the plural of “monkey” should be “monkies”?*

Anywhichway, here are some pictures of what I describe in the recipe instructions, in case you’re a visual learner:

Monkey Bread

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Recipe type: Brunch-Dessert

By: Nicole @ Gluten-free on a Shoestring.com

Serves: 6

Gluten-free monkey bread

Ingredients

For the Dough
2 1/2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour (I use Better Batter)
1 1/4 teaspoons xanthan gum (omit if using Better Batter)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon white wine vinegar
2 extra-large eggs
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
3/4 cup warm milk or cream (low-fat is fine, nonfat is not), about 105 degrees F
For the Topping
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
Vegetable shortening for greasing the pan

Instructions

Place the flour, xanthan gum, salt & cream of tartar in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (if you’re not using a stand mixer, place them in the large bowl of your choosing, and use the spoon attachment for your hand). Mix for a bit to combine.
Add the vinegar, eggs, and butter to the dry ingredients one at a time, mixing well after each addition (oh who am I kidding – I just dump them all in and then mix).
Now add the sugar and yeast, and mix to combine.
Now it’s time to turn the mixer on low (or turn your hand with a spoon in it on low), and slowly pour in the milk. The dough will come together suddenly (awesome), ushering in the speed mixing part of our program. Now turn the mixer (or your hand) on at least medium speed, and mix for about 4 to 5 minutes to activate the xanthan gum.
The dough should be a bit sticky. If it seems too perfectly smooth, almost dry, add some more warm milk (or even a tablespoon or two of warm water).
Turn out the dough onto a very lightly floured surface. Pat your semi-sticky dough into a square, about 1-inch thick. Cut the dough into 36 pieces, and roll each into a ball. The dough will feel like a dream as it begins to come together into a ball. Place the little soldiers on a prepared baking sheet, about 1 1/2-inches apart (so they don’t bump each other when they rise), and spray them with warm water. Cover the baking sheet, and allow the dough to rise in a warm, damp space for about an hour, or until nearly sorta doubled in size – or until you just can’t wait another minute, not one more minute. While the dough is rising, mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon in a medium size bowl, and melt the butter in a small one. Grease a springform pan well with vegetable shortening and set it aside. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Once the dough has finished rising, dredge each mound of dough through the melted butter, and then through the cinnamon sugar mixture. Place the coated dough balls in concentric circles in the springform pan. They should be staggered like bricks in a wall, and squeezed in together tightly. Sprinkle any remaining cinnamon-sugar mixture evenly over the top.
Line the bottom of the pan with foil (some caramelized sugar will leak out during baking), and place the pan in the center of the preheated oven. Bake until the sugar has begun to caramelize and bubble, and the dough has risen a bit more, about 30 to 35 minutes.
Cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, run a toothpick along the sides of the pan to make sure nothing is sticking, and unmold the sides of the pan.
Cool another 5 minutes, then slide another toothpick along the border of the bottom of the springform pan, and invert onto a plate. Carefully remove the pan bottom, and reinvert onto another plate to the bread is right-side-up.
Serve warm.

Duly Noted

Use vegetable shortening to grease the pan instead of butter because shortening has no water, unlike butter, which can cause the bread to burn. The edges should brown, the sugar caramelize, but not ever burn. I use Spectrum Naturals shortening, and it’s not at all bad for you.
This stuff is seriously good. Don’t make the mistake I did, and share it with your family. That was just dumb of me.

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xoxo
Nicole

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