Soft & Fluffy Sourdough Monkey Bread
This delicious sourdough monkey bread is enrobed in an easy caramel sauce and so fun to eat, pulling apart the pieces to enjoy! The dough balls are rolled in cinnamon sugar and bake into the softest, fluffiest bread. They're like little pillows! This recipe is not too sweet, balanced with the right amount of salt and butter.
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients
- 300 grams all-purpose flour
- 40 grams bread flour
- 1 large egg room temp
- 180 grams room temperature whole milk
- 30 grams granulated sugar
- 120 grams active sourdough starter
- 7 grams Diamond Crystal Baking Salt
- 70 grams softened, unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 tablespoon chunks
For dough balls
- 28 grams (2 tablespoons) melted, unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
Caramel
- 84 grams (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter
- 50 grams brown sugar (I use dark brown)
- 50 grams (1/4 cup) pure maple syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon + a pinch Diamond Crystal Baking Salt
Equipment
Instructions
- Add flours to bowl of a stand mixer.
- Whisk egg, milk, sugar, and starter together in separate bowl until starter is no longer lumpy.
- Attach hook to mixer, and turn on on speed 2 of your Kitchenaid, and gradually add liquid ingredients, until all dry bits are gone. When most of the flour is absorbed turn the mixer up one level to knead for 1 minute. Mixture will not look smooth, just shaggy. Let sit for 15 minutes.
- Turn mixer onto speed 2 (using Kitchenaid Stand Mixer) and add salt and one chunk of butter at a time to the dough, only adding another chunk once the previous is incorporated into the dough. Keep doing this until all the butter is added to the dough.
- Once all the butter is in the dough, turn KitchenAid up to speed 4 and continue kneading for 8 minutes, until dough is smooth, and cleaning the sides of the bowl. It will be a moist dough, but not stick to your hands much. It is normal for it to feel moist, and will gain strength and tackiness during the bulk fermentation.
- Move dough into a proofing bucket (or bowl) and cover with damp cloth. Let dough rise until it has doubled in size and is slightly domed on top. The temperature in your home will determine how fast or slow this bulk ferment goes. *YOU HAVE TWO OPTIONS FOR THIS SCHEDULE, SEE NOTES.
- Now take the dough out of the bucket or bowl it is rising in and use your hands to pat into a rough square. Let it rest for 20 minutes, then roll out to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick slab. Using a pizza cutter, you'll cut the dough into about 40 pieces of the same size. Each piece of dough is pinched together to make a ball.
- Brush the dough balls generously with melted butter. Combine cinnamon & sugar, and roll each ball in this to coat. Add each ball to a 10-cup bundt pan, not packing them super tight, as you want room for them to expand. Cover the entire bundt pan and allow to rise again in a warm spot until they have grown in size to become puffy, light and bouncy to the touch. This usually takes 1 1/2 hours in a spot that is around 75 degrees F. Will take longer if it cooler, so try to find a warm spot.
- When dough has gone through 2nd proof, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. While it is heating up, make the caramel. Melt butter, brown sugar, and salt in a saucepan on low heat. Whisk continuously, helping the sugar dissolve. This will take a few minutes, but it will work into a cohesive mixture. Turn heat off, leaving pan on stove. Add maple syrup and whisk for one minute to incorporate, then remove from heat to let cool a bit. You should have a smooth, glossy caramel.
- When oven has reached temperature, pour caramel evenly all over the top of the dough. Place bundt ban on a baking sheet (to avoid any spilling and it baking flat), and bake for 30 minutes. Bread will be very lightly browned on top and if you'd like, you can check temp to make sure it is at least 200 degrees F inside.
- Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Then use oven gloves to invert the bundt pan onto a plate, revealing the goodness! Enjoy warm.
Notes
You have two options for the baker's schedule.
- You can mix the dough in the morning, let ferment on the counter during the day, and when it has doubled in size and is slightly domed on top, you can put the bucket or bowl in the refrigerator, tightly covered. Take it out the next morning, let sit on counter for 30 minutes, then proceed with recipe. The 2nd rise will take a little longer than if you had gone from bulk ferment on counter to making the dough balls, because the dough will be cold from fridge.
- Or, if it is winter and cool in your home, you can mix the dough at night anytime 9pm and after, then let it bulk ferment on counter while you are sleeping. When you wake it up, it should be doubled, and you can proceed with recipe.
