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Homemade monkey bread baked.
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5 from 1 vote

The Best Homemade Monkey Bread

A tender, fluffy homemade sweet dough is rolled and smothered in a mixture of cinnamon, brown sugar and butter that makes this The Best Homemade Monkey Bread ever. I bet you won't be able to stop at just one bite!
Prep Time2 hours 20 minutes
Cook Time35 minutes
Total Time2 hours 55 minutes
Course: Appetizer, Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: American
Servings: 10 -12 servings
Author: Jessica

Ingredients

Dough

  • 2 tbs unsalted butter melted
  • 1 cup milk warm
  • cup water warm
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • 2 ¼ teaspoon active dry yeast 1 standard packet
  • 3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour plus extra for work surface
  • 2 teaspoon salt

Brown Sugar Coating

  • 1 ½ cups light brown sugar
  • 3 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ cup unsalted butter melted

Glaze

  • ½ cup powdered sugar
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoons cream or milk

Instructions

  • Grease a 10-12 cup bundt pan very well with non-stick cooking spray or softened butter.

For the dough:

  • In a large measuring cup, mix together milk, water, melted butter. Heat in the microwave at 20 second intervals until very warm but not boiling to a temperature of 120°-130°F. Stir in sugar and yeast packet. Allow the yeast to get foamy so you know it's alive, about 5 minutes.
  • In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook (or a large bowl with a spoon if you are making this by hand), add flour and salt. Turn mixer on low and slowly add the yeast mixture. Once the dough starts coming together, increase speed to medium and mix until the dough is soft and smooth about 6-7 minutes. If the dough is too wet, add 1 tbs more flour at a time. The dough should still be sticky, but workable with floured hands.
  • Take the dough out and either use the same bowl or grab another large bowl. Grease bowl well with non-stick cooking spray and place dough in, then flip to be sure all areas are coated. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about one hour.
  • Tip: I like to turn my oven to 170 degrees, turn it off and place my bowl of dough in there to create a warm environment for my dough to rise.

Prepare the brown sugar coating:

  • Melt butter and place in a small bowl. Stir the brown sugar and cinnamon coating together in a separate bowl. Set aside.

Shape the dough:

  • When the dough is done rising, punch it down and cut the dough into 50-55 1" pieces. Roll each dough piece into a ball, it doesn't have to be perfect. Working one at a time, dip the balls in melted butter then quickly into the brown sugar mixture. Layer the balls in the bundt pan, staggering randomly to build layers.

Second rise:

  • Cover the bundt pan tightly with plastic wrap and let the monkey bread rise in a warm place again until puffy and it has risen almost to the top of the pan, about one hour.
  • Preheat the oven to 350°. Unwrap the pan and bake until the top is deep brown and it begins to bubble around edges, 25 to 35 minutes. Cool the monkey bread in the pan for 3-5 minutes ONLY, then turn out on a large plate and allow to cool slightly, about 10 minutes. If you wait too long, the brown sugar will stick to the pan and it will not release.

For the glaze

  • Whisk the powdered sugar, cream or milk and vanilla together in a small bowl until the mixture is smooth. Drizzle the glaze over the warm monkey bread or each individual serving.

Notes

Storage instructions: Monkey bread is best served warm and fresh on the same day. Cover leftovers with plastic wrap and store at room temperature for up to 3 days.