Featured Recipe Monkey Bread

GRANDS!™ MONKEY BREAD

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Generously grease 12-cup fluted tube pan with shortening or cooking spray. In large 1-gallon plastic food storage bag, mix granulated sugar and cinnamon.
• Separate dough into 16 biscuits; cut each into quarters. Shake in bag to coat. Arrange in pan, adding walnuts and raisins among the biscuit pieces. Sprinkle any remaining sugar over biscuits.
• In small bowl, mix brown sugar and butter; pour over biscuit pieces.
• Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until golden brown and no longer doughy in center. Loosen edges of pan with metal spatula. Cool in pan 5 minutes. Turn upside down onto serving plate; replacing any biscuit pieces and caramel from pan. Pull apart to serve. Serve warm.

MONKEY BREAD I

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease one 9 or 10 inch tube/Bundt® pan.
• Mix white sugar and cinnamon in a plastic bag. Cut biscuits into quarters. Shake 6 to 8 biscuit pieces in the sugar cinnamon mix. Arrange pieces in the bottom of the prepared pan. Continue until all biscuits are coated and placed in pan. If using nuts and raisins, arrange them in and among the biscuit pieces as you go along.
• In a small saucepan, melt the margarine with the brown sugar over medium heat. Boil for 1 minute. Pour over the biscuits.
• Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 35 minutes. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a plate. Do not cut! The bread just pulls apart.

MONKEY BREAD FROM SCRATCH

Steps:

• Lightly grease a fluted tube pan (such as Bundt®) with vegetable oil.
• Combine warm water, yeast, and 1 teaspoon sugar in a large bowl. Let stand until bubbly and foamy, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in 1 cup flour, warm milk, egg, 3 tablespoons sugar, butter, salt, and vanilla extract. Mix well before adding remaining 2 1/2 cups flour. Mix and knead until dough comes together in a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and punch down gently to deflate. Divide dough into small or medium balls.
• Mix brown sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl. Dip each dough ball in melted butter, remove with a fork, and roll in sugar mixture until well coated. Arrange in the prepared pan. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp cloth and let rise until almost doubled, about 45 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 35 minutes. Invert onto a large plate; cool for 10 minutes before serving.

AMAZING MONKEY BREAD

Steps:

• Arrange dinner roll dough in a grease tube pan.
• Heat butter and brown sugar in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until sugar is dissolved about 5 minutes; pour over rolls. Sprinkle with pecans and pudding mix. Mix white sugar and cinnamon in a bowl; sprinkle over pudding mix. Pour corn syrup evenly over cinnamon mixture. Cover tube pan with a sheet of greased aluminum foil and allow dough to rise overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Move rack to the lower half of the oven.
• Bake in preheated oven until golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes. Allow bread to rest for 10 to 15 minutes. Invert pan onto a baking sheet or large plate to serve.

SAVORY MONKEY BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Add the garlic powder and Italian seasoning to the butter. Remove the biscuits from their packaging. Separate each biscuit and cut into quarters, using a pair of kitchen shears. Dip each biscuit piece into the butter and layer them into the Bundt pan. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until golden brown. Let stand for 5 minutes before turning out onto a serving platter. Serve with marinara and pesto dipping sauces.

MONKEY BREAD

Steps:

• Whisk together yeast, sugar and 1/2 cup/120 milliliters warm water (110 degrees) in large mixing bowl or in bowl of a stand mixer. Let sit while you complete next step. (It may look like the yeast isn't working, but don't worry as long as it's fresh.)
• Combine half of butter, cut into 8 pieces, salt and warm milk (110 degrees) in a medium bowl. Lightly whisk to break up butter, which does not need to be totally melted.
• Add butter mixture to yeast blend, and stir in whole eggs and yolks. Whisk to blend thoroughly.
• Start adding flour, one cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. If using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, mix on low speed. After five cups are added, dough will become quite sticky and, if making by hand, is ready to be kneaded. If using a mixer, continue adding until about 6 1/2 cups of flour have been added. Switch to a dough hook attachment when dough becomes too hard to manage.
• Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface and work with hands. Lift dough and fold over. Continue lifting and folding, while adding remaining flour, until dough is elastic and pliable, kneading for about 10 minutes (about 3 to 5 minutes, if finishing from the mixer).
• Shape dough into ball and put it in buttered bowl, turning dough to coat it with butter. Cover with plastic wrap and set in warm, draft-free place to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Punch down dough and let it rest, uncovered, for five minutes. Turn it out onto the lightly floured work surface and shape once more into ball. Let stand, lightly covered with plastic wrap, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Butter a 10-inch tube bread pan. If using a two-piece angel food cake pan, line the space between the two pieces with a circle of parchment paper that extends up the interior sides of the pan by 1/2-inch to contain any leaks, then butter the pan and small edge of visible paper.
• In a small sauce pan, melt remaining butter, and add brown sugar and drained currants, if using. Pinch off enough dough to make about 60 golf-ball-size balls. Pour mixture into large bowl, and roll balls of dough in it, working about 10 at a time. Line bottom of pan with balls, and continue arranging in loose layers. Reheat butter mixture slightly if it becomes to stiff. Scrape remaining butter and brown sugar mixture, if any remains, on top. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Meanwhile, heat oven to 350 degrees. Place tube pan on a baking sheet, put in oven on low shelf, and bake about 45 to 50 minutes, tenting with foil after about 15 minutes. Remove or replace foil at any time to avoid overbrowning or inhibiting the rise of the dough. Tap top; it will sound hollow when the bread is done, or check with an instant-read thermometer for an internal temperature of 200 degrees. Unmold upright, and let cool before slicing or serve it warm and pull it apart.

FEATURED RECIPE: MONKEY BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease one 9 or 10 inch tube/Bundt® pan. Mix white sugar and cinnamon in a plastic bag. Cut biscuits into quarters. Shake 6 to 8 biscuit pieces in the sugar cinnamon mix. Arrange pieces in the bottom of the prepared pan. Continue until all biscuits are coated and placed in pan. If using nuts and raisins, arrange them in and among the biscuit pieces as you go along. In a small saucepan, melt the margarine with the brown sugar over medium heat. Boil for 1 minute. Pour over the biscuits. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 35 minutes. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a plate. Do not cut! The bread just pulls apart.