This easy monkey bread recipe is perfect for a lazy weekend breakfast. Each little nugget of bread is rolled in cinnamon sugar and then drizzled with a sweet vanilla glaze!
I've always had a sweet tooth for breakfast. Whether it might be a chocolate croissant or a blueberry scone, you can be sure I'd probably try those two before I had a breakfast burrito. So I'm surprised I don't already have a monkey bread recipe on the blog. This cinnamon bread is similar but baked in a loaf pan and without as much cinnamon sugar. As I was making this monkey bread recipe, I couldn't stop thinking about al of the different options I could make with this dough, even a savory version with sundries tomatoes, olives and oregano or a pizza style monkey bread!
What Is Monkey Bread?
Monkey bread is a soft, sweet bread made up of many individual balls of dough. After rolling the dough pieces in your hand, you toss them in a cinnamon brown sugar mixture a little bit like how you'd make a snickerdoodle cookie. The sugary dough balls are then piled up with each other in a bundt cake and then baked after proofing. The individual pieces of dough end up sweet and sticky as it bakes.
Do I Need Any Special Equipment?
You'll need a bundt pan or tube pan to make the monkey bread and like any bundt cake the pan will need to be well greased. The last thing you want is for the bread to stick to the pan making it harder to release the monkey bread. I always like to grease my baking pans and tins with lots of butter.
Is This Monkey Bread a No Yeast Variety?
No, my monkey bread dough requires yeast. There are recipes available that use flaky biscuit dough from a refrigerated can. Although these are much quicker to make and slightly easier, I believe making this easy brioche style dough provides much more satisfaction and more of a traditional bread recipe. It takes a little extra time but worth it! This dough can also be used for cinnamon buns.
Do I Have To Use The Glaze?
No, it's completely optional and just provides that extra gooeyness that we all love in our sweet breakfast breads. I recommend only adding the icing glaze just before you serve it and its okay to let it drip all over. This is a messy bread that requires licking your fingers. Serve with hot coffee and lots of napkins!
Can I make It The Night Before?
Yes you can but I'd keep it in the pan and cover it with plastic wrap to stop it from drying out overnight. If the monkey bread won't release from the pan when you turn it upside down, place the pan (bread facing up) on a gas burner and warm over the flame for 10-20 seconds moving it around. This will warm up and dissolve the pieces of sugar that can harden and prevent the bread from coming out of the pan.
