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Monkey bread is the only bread in America that nobody ever slices. It comes to the table as a tall golden ring, shining with caramel, and everybody reaches in and pulls a piece off with their fingers. The odd part is where that caramel comes from. It is built upside down: little balls of dough rolled in cinnamon sugar go into a buttered bundt pan, melted butter and brown sugar are poured over them, and in the oven the butter and sugar bubble into caramel underneath the dough. When the pan is turned over, the bottom becomes the top and the caramel runs down every side.
It is one of the easiest things you can bake on a weekend morning, and the only things that can go wrong are all about the caramel. Pour it in the wrong order and the top pieces come out dry and pale. Leave it in the pan too long and the caramel sets like glue. Bake it too hot and the sugar at the bottom burns before the dough in the middle is cooked. Here is how to make the caramel coat every single piece without burning it, every time.
Why this monkey bread works
- Two coats of sugar. Every ball is rolled in cinnamon sugar first, so even the pieces in the middle of the ring taste of caramel.
- Caramel poured in layers. Half the butter and brown sugar goes over the first layer of dough and half over the second, so the caramel reaches the top as well as the bottom.
- A moderate oven. At 350 degrees the dough cooks through before the sugar against the pan has time to scorch.
- A short rest, then turn it out. Five minutes in the pan lets the caramel settle; any longer and it hardens and glues the pieces to the metal.
- A well-greased pan. Soft butter in every ridge of the bundt pan means the ring slides out whole.
Ingredients
Makes one 10 inch bundt pan, enough for 10 to 12 people pulling pieces off. The measurements are in US cups with grams in brackets.
For the dough
- 3 tubes refrigerated buttermilk biscuit dough, 8 biscuits each (about 1.2kg in all)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons soft butter, for the pan
For the caramel
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter (170g)
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar (200g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- A pinch of fine salt
Optional
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans (55g)
Plain refrigerated biscuits work best; the flaky layered kind come apart in the caramel. You can also use homemade sweet roll dough or frozen dinner roll dough, thawed and risen.
How to make monkey bread
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees (175°C). Rub the soft butter into every ridge of a 10 inch bundt pan. If you use pecans, scatter half of them in the bottom of the pan.
- Mix the granulated sugar and cinnamon in a large zip-top bag or a wide bowl.
- Open the tubes and cut each biscuit into quarters with kitchen scissors. Roll the pieces lightly into balls.
- Drop about ten pieces at a time into the cinnamon sugar and shake or toss until they are completely coated. Repeat with all the dough. Keep the leftover cinnamon sugar.
- Make the caramel: melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, stir in the brown sugar, salt and any cinnamon sugar left in the bag, and bring it to a gentle bubble for 1 minute, stirring, until smooth. Take it off the heat and stir in the vanilla.
- Pile half of the coated dough balls into the pan in an even layer. Pour half of the warm caramel over them, letting it run between the pieces.
- Add the rest of the dough and the rest of the pecans, then pour the remaining caramel over the top.
- Set the pan on a baking sheet to catch any drips and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is deep golden brown and the pieces in the center no longer look doughy when you pull one gently apart with a fork.
- Let the pan rest on a rack for exactly 5 minutes.
- Lay a large plate upside down over the pan, hold both firmly with oven mitts and turn it over in one quick move. Lift the pan off slowly and scrape any caramel left inside onto the top. Serve warm.
Tips that make the difference
- Do not overfill the pan. The dough doubles in the oven, and a pan filled to the rim spills caramel onto the oven floor, where it burns and smokes.
- If the top browns too fast before the middle is done, lay a loose sheet of foil over the pan for the last 10 minutes.
- Check the middle, not the outside. The pieces against the pan cook first; the ones near the center tube are the last to finish.
- Five minutes is the magic number. Set a timer the moment the pan comes out of the oven.
- If a few pieces stick in the pan, lift them out with a spoon and press them back into place. The caramel hides the patch.
Variations
- Cream cheese icing. Drizzle a thin icing of softened cream cheese, powdered sugar and milk over the warm ring.
- Apple monkey bread. Tuck a cup of small diced apples between the layers of dough.
- Chocolate chip. Scatter a handful of chocolate chips between the layers; they melt into the caramel.
- Savory pull-apart. Skip the sugar and roll the dough in melted garlic butter, parmesan and herbs for a supper bread.
Storage and make-ahead
Monkey bread is best warm, within an hour or two of baking. Cover leftovers tightly and keep them at room temperature for up to 2 days.
Warm single pieces in the microwave for 10 to 15 seconds, or the whole ring wrapped in foil in a 300 degree oven for 10 minutes, until the caramel softens again.
To get ahead, you can coat the dough and layer it in the pan the night before, cover it and refrigerate it, then pour the warm caramel over it in the morning and bake, adding 5 minutes.
Frequently asked questions
Why is it called monkey bread?
Nobody knows for sure. The most common explanation is that people climb all over it and pick at it with their fingers. What everyone agrees on is that you never slice it.
Why did my caramel burn?
The oven was too hot, the pan was dark and thin, or it baked too long. Bake at 350 degrees on a baking sheet and start checking at 30 minutes.
Why is the middle doughy?
The ring was too tightly packed or came out too early. Pull one piece from near the center tube before turning it out; it should be fluffy, not wet.
Can I make it without a bundt pan?
Yes. A tube pan works the same way, or use two 9 inch loaf pans and start checking them at 25 minutes.
Put it in the middle of the table on a weekend morning and see who gets the first sticky piece.
Monkey Bread (Pull-Apart Caramel Bread, Glossy on Every Piece, Never Burnt)
Old-fashioned monkey bread made with refrigerated biscuit dough rolled in cinnamon sugar, baked in a bundt pan under a butter and brown sugar caramel, then turned out so the caramel runs down every side.
Ingredients
- 3 tubes refrigerated buttermilk biscuit dough, 8 biscuits each
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons soft butter, for the pan
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- A pinch of fine salt
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees (175°C). Rub the soft butter into every ridge of a 10 inch bundt pan. If you use pecans, scatter half of them in the bottom of the pan.
- Mix the granulated sugar and cinnamon in a large zip-top bag or a wide bowl.
- Open the tubes and cut each biscuit into quarters with kitchen scissors. Roll the pieces lightly into balls.
- Drop about ten pieces at a time into the cinnamon sugar and shake or toss until they are completely coated. Repeat with all the dough. Keep the leftover cinnamon sugar.
- Make the caramel: melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, stir in the brown sugar, salt and any cinnamon sugar left in the bag, and bring it to a gentle bubble for 1 minute, stirring, until smooth. Take it off the heat and stir in the vanilla.
- Pile half of the coated dough balls into the pan in an even layer. Pour half of the warm caramel over them, letting it run between the pieces.
- Add the rest of the dough and the rest of the pecans, then pour the remaining caramel over the top.
- Set the pan on a baking sheet to catch any drips and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is deep golden brown and the pieces in the center no longer look doughy when you pull one gently apart with a fork.
- Let the pan rest on a rack for exactly 5 minutes.
- Lay a large plate upside down over the pan, hold both firmly with oven mitts and turn it over in one quick move. Lift the pan off slowly and scrape any caramel left inside onto the top. Serve warm.
