Sourdough Monkey Bread
Sourdough Monkey Bread is a delicious treat. It’s made up of tender, enriched sourdough bread bites smothered in gooey butterscotch sauce. The dough takes some time to make in advance, but it’s well worth it!
I’ve used my base sourdough sweet dough for this pull-apart bread recipe but with a little change. Usually, I like using a stiff starter for enriched dough, but I’ve had questions about making enriched dough with a standard 100% hydration starter, too, so that’s what I’ve done here. It’s a great dough for cinnamon rolls or fried doughnuts, too!
If you’re new to sourdough, start by learning how to create your own sourdough starter.
Equipment
- A stand mixer fitted with a dough hook will provide the easiest results.
- A large bundt cake pan
Ingredients
The ingredient amounts for this sourdough pull-apart monkey bread are listed in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post. Here is just a rundown of what you will need.
- All-purpose flour or bread flour – This recipe works well with a strong all-purpose flour with around 11% protein.
- Active sourdough starter
- Granulated and soft brown sugar (for the dough and the butterscotch sauce).
- Large eggs
- Whole milk
- Vanilla extract and cinnamon
- Butter – this can be salted or unsalted butter. It’s used in the filling and the dough
- Salt
Baker’s schedule
Here is a rough outline of the baker’s schedule to get an idea of the timings.
- 9 am – Feed your starter
- 2 pm – Mix the dough
- 2:30 pm – Let it rise in a warm spot until it has bulked out by half (approximately 4-6 hours, depending on the temperature)
- 7:00 pm – Refrigerate the dough overnight.
- The next morning – Shape the dough and let it rise a second time, around 2-3 hours. Then bake.
Method
- Feed your starter around 5-6 hours before you plan to start. Let it rise in a warm spot until it doubles in size.
- Once the starter has risen, add flour, sugar, salt, eggs, milk, and active starter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. Turn the mixer on low and combine until it forms a thick and shaggy dough.
- Mix this dough on medium-low speed for around 5 minutes to begin developing the gluten.
- Add the softened butter to the bowl of your stand mixer, a little bit at a time.
- Turn the mixer on medium speed and keep it mixing for around 15 minutes until the sticky and soft dough strengthens, comes together, and pulls away cleanly from the sides of the bowl.
- Once finished mixing, leave the dough to rest for a few minutes, then grab a piece and see if you can stretch it out thin so it’s almost see-through, without tearing. This is called the ‘windowpane’ effect and shows proper gluten development.
- Once the dough is kneaded, shape it into a smooth ball and place it into a large greased bowl.
Bulk fermentation
- Cover with a damp tea towel, compostable plastic wrap, or lid. Place the dough in a warm place, ideally around 25°C / 76°F, and let it rise.
It won’t fully double in this first rise but should bulk out by at least 60%. This will take around 4-6 hours, but the rise time will change depending on the temperature. You can create a warm and humid proofing spot by placing a large mug of boiled water in a turned-off oven and putting the dough in there. Replace the water with freshly boiled water if it cools down.
- Once risen, place the dough in the fridge for at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours.
Shaping
- After the refrigerator proof, deflate and pull the cold dough from the bowl onto a lightly floured surface.
- Form it into a rectangle, around 7×8 inches. Use a sharp knife or bench scraper to cut the dough into around 40 small pieces. Roll each piece into a small ball.
- In a small bowl, whisk together granulated sugar and cinnamon. In a small bowl, whisk together granulated sugar and cinnamon.
- Melt some butter in the microwave or on the stove. Dip the balls in butter, then coat them in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
- Alternatively, you can add all the small dough balls to a large container with a lid and shake over cinnamon sugar to stop them from sticking together.
- Shake the container to coat all the dough pieces in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Next, drizzle over the butter and shake again to coat.
- Grease a bundt pan and layer the coated little dough balls in the pan.
- Cover the bundt pan with a clean tea towel and let the dough rise again until about doubled in size, around 3-4 hours.
- Melt brown sugar, butter, heavy cream, and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook for around 3 minutes.
- Take off the heat, then stir through salt and vanilla. Drizzle this brown sugar mixture all over the risen dough.
Baking
Bake the monkey bread in a preheated oven until it’s browned and cooked.
Allow the bread to cool in the pan for around 5-10 minutes, then carefully invert it onto a serving plate. Don’t let the monkey bread stay in the pan much longer, or the sugar will stick to the pan. The monkey bread should come out in a beautiful, caramelized, sticky loaf.
Serve the sourdough monkey bread warm or at room temperature, allowing everyone to pull off their pieces. It’s perfect on its own or can be served with fresh fruit or a cup of coffee for breakfast or brunch.
On the following days, it’s best gently warmed in the microwave to soften up.
Tips for Best Results
- Don’t rush the rises; sourdough takes longer than dough made with commercial yeast.
- Ensure your starter is active and properly doubled before using, but not past its peak.
More sourdough recipes
Try these other delicious recipes! If you loved this sourdough monkey bread recipe, I would so appreciate it if you left a 5-star review!
- Chocolate Sourdough Bread
- Sourdough Chocolate Babka
- Sourdough Cinnamon Babka
- Soft Sourdough English Muffins
Sourdough Monkey Bread
Sourdough Monkey Bread is a delicious treat, made up of tender, enriched sourdough bread bites smothered in gooey butterscotch sauce.
Ingredients
Starter
- 30g sourdough starter
- 60g all-purpose flour
- 60g water
Dough
- 500g strong all-purpose flour with around 11% protein
- 50g granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 200g milk
- All the sourdough starter (around 120g total)
- 8g salt
- 100g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature, cut into cubes
Coating
- 200g granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 45g unsalted butter
Butterscotch sauce
- 100g soft brown sugar
- 115g unsalted butter
- 120g heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Feed your starter around 5-6 hours before you plan to start. Let it rise in a warm spot until it doubles in size.
- Once the starter has risen, add flour, sugar, salt, eggs, milk, and active starter in the stand mixer bowl fitted with a dough hook attachment. Turn the mixer on low and combine until it forms a thick and shaggy dough. Mix this dough on medium-low speed for around 5 minutes to begin developing the gluten.
- Add the softened butter to the bowl of your stand mixer, a little bit at a time.
- Turn the mixer on medium speed and keep it mixing for around 15 minutes until the sticky and soft dough strengthens, comes together, and pulls away cleanly from the sides of the bowl.
- Once finished mixing, leave the dough to rest for a few minutes, then grab a piece and see if you can stretch it out thin so it’s almost see-through, without tearing. This is called the 'windowpane' effect and shows proper gluten development.
- Once the dough is kneaded, shape it into a smooth ball and place it into a large greased bowl.
Bulk fermentation
- Cover with compostable plastic wrap or lid. Place the dough in a warm spot, ideally around 25°C / 76°F, and let it rise. It won’t fully double in this first rise but should bulk out by at least 60%. This will take around 4-6 hours, but the rise time will change depending on the temperature.
You can create a warm and humid proofing spot by placing a large mug of boiled water in a turned-off oven and putting the dough in there. Replace the water with freshly boiled water if it cools down. - Once risen, place the dough in the fridge for at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours. Ensure the bowl is covered tightly so the dough doesn't dry out.
Shaping and baking
- After the refrigerator proof, deflate and pull the cold dough from the bowl onto a lightly floured surface. Form it into a rectangle, around 7x8 inches.
- Use a sharp knife or bench scraper to cut the dough into around 40 small pieces. Roll each piece into a small ball.
- Melt some butter in a small bowl. In a separate small bowl, whisk together granulated sugar and cinnamon.
- Dip the balls in butter, then coat them in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Alternatively, you can add all the small dough balls to a large container with a lid and shake over cinnamon sugar to stop them from sticking together. Shake the container to coat all the dough pieces in the cinnamon sugar mixture, then drizzle over the butter and shake again to coat.
- Grease a 9.5- to 10-inch bundt pan, and layer the coated little dough balls in the pan.
- Cover the bundt pan with a damp kitchen towel and let the dough rise again until about doubled in size, around 3-4 hours.
- When the dough has finished rising, preheat the oven to 350°F/ 180°C.
- Melt brown sugar, butter, heavy cream, and salt in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and cook for around 3 minutes, whisking constantly.
- Take off the heat, then stir through salt and vanilla. Drizzle this brown sugar mixture all over the risen dough.
- Bake the monkey bread for 35-40 minutes until deeply browned. If the top is browning too fast, lay a piece of aluminum foil on it.
- Allow the bread to cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes, then carefully invert it onto a serving plate. Don’t let the monkey bread stay in the pan much longer, or the sugar will stick. The monkey bread should come out in a beautiful, caramelized, sticky loaf.
- Serve the sourdough monkey bread when it's warm, not hot, or at room temperature.
- On the following days, leftover monkey bread is best when gently warmed in the microwave to soften it. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 543Total Fat: 23gSaturated Fat: 14gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 91mgSodium: 336mgCarbohydrates: 75gFiber: 2gSugar: 30gProtein: 10g
This is an informational estimate only. I am not a certified Dietitian or Nutritionist