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–+ servings
a close up of Homemade Caramel Monkey Bread from scratch

Homemade caramel monkey bread

Sticky, lightly crusted and pulled apart homemade caramel monkey bread recipe: coated in caramel & drizzled with a sugar glaze.
5 from 4 votes
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Proofing & shaping time: 4 hours 30 minutes
Total Time: 5 hours 30 minutes
Servings: 1 loaf
Calories per serving: 3671kcal
Author: Tu

Equipment

  •  6-cup Bundt pan 
  • A pizza cutter or bowl scraper 

Ingredients 

For the dough

  • 3 c unbleached AP flour
  • 2 tsp instant rise yeast
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 c whole milk room temperature
  • ¼ c water room temperature
  • ¼ c granulated white sugar
  • 1 oz unsalted butter melted

Coating

  • 1 c fine light brown sugar see notes
  • 2 tsp cinnamon spice optional
  • 4 oz unsalted butter melted and cool down at room temperature

Sugar glaze

  • 1 c confectioner's sugar
  • 3 tbsp whole milk room temperature

Instructions

For the dough

  • Combine all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook.
  • On medium-low speed, slowly add milk and melted butter to the flour mixture and mix until cohesive dough starts to form and pull away from the sides (make sure there is no dry flour remaining on the bottom of the mixing bowl), approximately 8 to 10 minutes. Scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed
  • Transfer the monkey bread dough to a lightly floured counter and start kneading by hand.
  • Start by picking the furthest edge of the dough and folding it toward the middle. Then turn the dough 45 degrees and repeat the pick and fold process. Do these steps for two complete circles.
  • Place the smooth round dough seam side down and carefully transfer it to a lightly greased large mixing bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let it rise until double in size, approximately 1.5 to 2 hours.
  • When the dough is double in size, deflate and transfer it to a lightly floured counter.
  • Press the dough down into a round square, then use a scraper or pizza cutter to cut the dough into six equal strips.
  • Then cut each strip into 10-12 small pieces.
  • Work with a few pieces at a time while covering the rest with plastic wrap or a damp towel.
  • Place a piece of monkey bread dough on a clean, non-floured counter, and using your clean hand, drag it in a small circle to form a round, smooth ball.
  • In a small bowl, combine sugar and ground cinnamon while placing melted butter in another bowl. Dip the round ball in melted butter.
  • Then carefully dredge it in a brown sugar mixture to coat evenly.
  • Then place the sugar-coated ball in a lightly greased Bundt pan. Put the seam side up for the first layer. For the rest of the layers, staggering seams where dough balls meet.
  • Cover the pan tightly with plastic wrap and let the dough rest & rise until it reaches 2 inches below the edge of the pan—about 30 minutes to 1 hour.
  • The dough might have already risen during the previous process. It'll depend on how fast you work on each piece, so the rest/rise time can be shorter than 30 minutes if necessary.

Baking

  • Pre heat oven to 350F.
  • When the dough is ready, bake until the top turns deep golden brown and the caramel bubbles around the edges, about 45 – 50 minutes.
  • About the last 10-15 minutes of the baking process, you can partially cover the pan with aluminum foil to help accelerate the melting.
  • You can shorten the baking time to 30 to 35 minutes if you don't want the outer layer lightly crusted; the monkey bread will yield a softer texture.

For sugar glaze

  • While waiting for the bread to bake, in a mixing bowl, whisk together the confectioner's sugar and milk until smooth. Set aside for later use.

Serving

  • When the bread is baking, let it cool in the pan for 3 to 5 minutes.
  • Prepare a clean large plate. Then invert monkey bread onto it and let the bread cool slightly before drizzling sugar glaze over the top.
  • Serve warm.

Notes

  • Fine light brown sugar - make sure you use fine instead of large crystal brown sugar. You can see from the photos I made a mistake using a large crystal type. As a result, they won't melt completely, and the remaining crystallized sugar still sticks to the bread.
  • You can use white sugar for the coating if brown sugar is unavailable. But the bread won't have such caramelized color effect after baking.
  • The monkey bread needs to rest in the pan for 3-5 minutes before inverting onto a serving plate. But don't leave it longer; thus, the caramel can cause it to stick to the pan.
  • If the breadsticks to the pan and is hard to take out, return it to the oven (350F) for a few minutes, then proceed with the inversion.

Nutrition

Calories: 3671kcalCarbohydrates: 703gProtein: 60gFat: 130gSaturated Fat: 79gPolyunsaturated Fat: 6gMonounsaturated Fat: 33gTrans Fat: 5gCholesterol: 339mgSodium: 1373mgPotassium: 1409mgFiber: 19gSugar: 278gVitamin A: 4022IUVitamin C: 0.2mgCalcium: 679mgIron: 20mg