Monkey Bread

Monkey Bread – Balls of sweet bread dough coated in sugar and cinnamon, baked in a bundt pan and drizzled with a creamy glaze!

Raise your hand if you love Monkey Bread! *Raises both hands.*

I love Monkey Bread for breakfast AND dessert, it fits both perfectly. If you’ve never heard of Monkey Bread before, think cinnamon rolls in ball form.

Monkey Bread is little balls of sweet bread dough rolled in melted butter then sugar and cinnamon, baked in a bundt pan and drizzled with a glaze.

Sounds perfect, right?

Why do you call it Monkey Bread?

The origin of the term “monkey bread” comes from the pastry being a finger food. You would pick apart the bread as a monkey would. And who doesn’t LOVE finger food? 🙂

Monkey Bread is a lot easier (and fun!) to make than cinnamon rolls because there’s no rolling and slicing, and it’s even more fun to eat, too!

To make this bread, whisk together the flour, yeast, sugar, and salt. Add the milk, butter, egg, and vanilla extract. Mix well, then bring everything together with your hands to form a sticky dough.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface, and knead for about 5 minutes until smooth and elastic. Place the dough into a lightly greased bowl. Cover with clingfilm and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.

For the coating, melt the butter in a bowl. In another bowl, mix together the sugars, and cinnamon.

Pull apart pieces of the dough and roll into about 1-inch balls. Dip each ball in the melted butter, and then roll them in the sugar mixture. Place the balls of dough into a greased 10-inch bundt pan.

Mix together any remaining melted butter and cinnamon sugar, and pour over the dough balls. Cover the pan with clingfilm and allow the dough to rise in a warm place for another hour.

Bake for 30 – 35 minutes until golden brown. Cool for 5 – 10 minutes, then remove onto a serving plate.

For the glaze, whisk together the icing sugar, vanilla, and heavy cream until smooth and combined. Drizzle over the warm bread, and serve.

The printable recipe card with the FULL list of ingredients and instructions can be found at the bottom of this post.

NOTE: For best results, I highly recommend using the gram measurements (with a digital scale), rather than the cup measurements.

Cup measurements are simply not accurate enough, and I cannot guarantee the best results if you use them.

How long will this Monkey Bread last? This bread can be stored, covered tightly, in the fridge for up to 1 week. Warm up before serving.

Can I freeze Monkey Bread? Yup! This bread also freezes well for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge.

If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag me on Instagram and hashtag it #marshasbakingaddiction. I’d love to see!

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