A Monday Recipe: Cinnamon Monkey Bread

Recipe #2 from my Amish cookbook. This recipe was submitted by Carolyn DeeAnn Yoder, one of the women on the cookbook committee from Westphalia, KS.




Cinnamon Monkey Bread

as usual, my changes are in parentheses.

2pkg yeast
1c lukewarm water
1c milk
8 Tbsp sugar (as written...it's a 1/2c ha ha)
2t salt
1c melted oleo (butter...ha ha, "oleo")
6c flour
1/2c melted oleo (1c butter)
1c sugar (1 1/2c)
2T cinnamon (3T)

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in water, add sugar and salt. Stir. Add rest of ingredients. Beat well. Cover and let rise until double, about 1-1 1/2 hrs. Punch down. Pinch off pieces the size of walnuts and dip each piece in melted oleo and then sugar mixture. Place balls in well greased large pan. Let rise until double. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes. (don't follow these instructions, they're not correct)

*****Here's what I did: Stir together yeast, sugar and water. Let sit 10 minutes. Stir in milk and butter (I measured the butter BEFORE melting), then add flour and salt. I also added 2T vital gluten. Stir all together, knead a bit to get all the pieces gathered up (it's a bit dry) . Grease the bowl, add the dough, cover w/ a towel and let rise 1 1/2hrs. Grease a bundt or tube pan well. Combine in one small bowl the remaining sugar and the cinnamon, and the melted butter in another bowl. Punch down the dough, then pinch off small balls of dough. I did about 8 at a time: into the butter, then all into the sugar, then all into the pan. This is a LOT of dough!! Cover and rise about 1 hour. Bake at 375 for 35 minutes. Let cool about 3 minutes, then invert on a plate. Pull off pieces to eat. Get seconds. And thirds.


Here's the sugared dough balls rising in the oven.

After baking....notice the two dough balls that jumped ship

After inverting on a plate...omg....

Take a bite! I'm in love with this dough...it was light, and soft, and sweet, and a dream to work with... and the cinnamon-sugar on the outside didn't hurt a thing. 

I have to admit that I've been DYING to make monkey bread ever since my sister told me about it last year. She uses canned biscuits and has instant gratification! But, I always forget to buy biscuits, but I *always* have bread baking ingredients on hand, so after months and months of thinking about making monkey bread, I finally did it! How did I ever live my life without this? mmmmmm, this one is a keeper!