Monkey Bread From Scratch

Monkey Bread from Scratch is gooey, buttery balls of dough baked in a Bundt pan to make a big ring of delicious cinnamon roll like rolls. Homemade Monkey Bread is so easy to make and the rolls are always, soft and fluffy, topped with a caramel pecan topping making this perfect for breakfast, brunch or a delicious side to dinner.

Looking for other sweet rolls to try? Check out my recipes for Homemade Cinnamon Rolls and Easy Orange Rolls

Homemade Monkey Bread Recipe

Homemade Monkey Bread is a must for Christmas morning, weekends, special occasions or just any random Tuesday. This recipe is so easy to make from scratch, so don’t be intimidated if you don’t think of yourself as much of a baker, you’ve got this!

Monkey Bread is easy to make, with simple ingredients. This recipe is just like making cinnamon rolls, but so much easier, there is no rolling out dough or spreading cinnamon sugar all over the dough. This recipe comes together quick with the help of instant rise yeast, a must when making breads or rolls.

Ingredients for Monkey Bread

There are two parts to this ingredients list for monkey bread from scratch, both simple ingredients. One list is for the bread dough and the other for the gooey, caramel pecan sauce. To make the best monkey bread recipe you will need:

Ingredients for the dough balls:

• Flour– all purpose flour works perfect in this recipe
• Instant Yeast– I always bake with instant yeast, it works great, can be added right into the dry ingredients and takes less time to activate and rise.
• Sugar– feed the yeast and sweeten the dough with a little sugar
• Salt
• Butter– I always bake with unsalted to control the amount of salt, but either salted or unsalted will work
• Egg– just one egg is all that is needed, make sure it is at room temperature
• Water

Ingredients for the Pecan Caramel Sauce:

• Pecans– this is an optional ingredient, but those candied pecans are delicious in this recipe
• Butter
• Brown Sugar
• Cinnamon
• Heavy Cream– think caramel, soooo yummy

Scroll down to the recipe card at the end of this post to find the complete list of ingredient amounts and instructions for the recipe.

How to make Monkey Bread from Scratch

To make homemade monkey bread from scratch, first start by making the dough. To make the dough combine together the flour, instant yeast, sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk these together until combined. Add in the butter and mix until a course, sandlike dough is made.

Add in the egg and mix with a wooden spoon or the hook attachment for one minute. Next, pour in the warm water. The water should be at least 120º F if using instant yeast.

Mix the dough for 5 minutes, until a soft dough is formed and pulls easily from the side of the mixing bowl. If you feel that your dough is too sticky, you can add additional flour, one tablespoon at a time. The dough will be a little sticky and soft.

Cover the dough and let rest for 10 minutes in a warm place covered with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap while you prepare the pecan caramel sauce.

Caramel Sauce for Monkey Bread

While the dough is resting, make the caramel sauce. To make the caramel topping for this monkey bread recipe, you will combine, in a small saucepan, the butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, heavy cream and pecans (if using).

Bring this mixture just to a boil so that the butter is fully melted and the brown sugar is dissolved. Stir to combine and then remove from the heat.

Assemble the Monkey Bread

The dough is made and the sauce is done, time to assemble the monkey bread. Grease a bundt cake pan with cooking spray being sure to get all the sides and even the center of the pan coated.

Pour about 1/4 cup of the caramel sauce into the bottom of the pan. Form dough balls, by pulling about a one inch piece of dough from the prepared dough and rolling into a ball. Drop these dough balls into a single layer into the bottom of the pan.

Continue filling the pan with dough balls and then caramel sauce. Try to fill in any spaces with the dough. At the end if you have extra caramel sauce, just pour it over the dough in the pan, more is better in this situation!

Next, cover the dough in the pan again with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap and allow to rise for 30-45 minutes.

Bake the monkey bread in a 400º F oven for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown. When done baking, let rest in the pan for 5 minutes before inverting onto your serving dish.

Can I make Monkey Bread without a Bundt Pan?

Absolutely! If you don’t own a bundt cake pan, you can make monkey bread in a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Grease the pan with cooking spray and pour in a layer of caramel sauce, then place the dough balls all along the bottom of the pan and pour the extra sauce over the top of the dough.

Bake at 400º F for 15-20 minutes.

Monkey Bread From Scratch Recipe

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Homemade Monkey Bread is so easy to make and the rolls are always, soft and fluffy, topped with a caramel pecan topping making this perfect for breakfast, brunch or a delicious side to dinner.