Homemade Eggless Monkey Bread
This Homemade Eggless Monkey Bread is soft and fluffy with a gooey sticky texture! It’s basically a giant Bundt pan of gooey cinnamon rolls.
Servings 12 -14 servings
Calories 499kcal
Ingredients
For the Dough:
- 4 1/2 cups (630 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 1/4 teaspoons (7 g) instant yeast (1 standard packet in the US)
- 1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups (360 ml) whole milk, warmed to about 110° F (43° C)
- 2 tablespoons (20 g) custard powder (see notes for substitute)
- 4 tablespoons water
- 1/3 cup (5 tablespoons / 70 g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
For the Coating:
- 3/4 cup (12 tablespoons / 174 g) unsalted butter, divided
- 1 1/4 cups (250 g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 2/3 cup (134 g) brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ( 5 ml) pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Make the dough:
- Mix flour, yeast, sugar, and salt in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook.
- In a mixing bowl, combine warm milk, custard powder, water, and melted butter.
- Add the milk mixture to the bowl with the flour mixture. Mix the dough with the hook attachment on low speed for 1 – 2 minutes until combined; scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase mixer speed to medium, and continue kneading until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, and is no longer sticky about 5 – 8 minutes. Note: Make sure to knead the dough long enough, so your bread is light and fluffy and not dense or heavy. Heavy bread can be the result of not kneading the dough long enough. See note for by-hand instructions.
- Lightly spray a clean bowl with cooking spray or oil, and place the dough in the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel. Let rise in a warm place until puffy and doubled in size, about 1-2 hours.
Form the Balls:
- When the dough is ready, punch it down to release the air.
- Lightly sprinkle the counter with 2 tablespoons of flour.
- Carefully turn out dough onto the flour; gently pat and stretch the dough into a 10 x 4-inch rectangle. Note: Use the step-by-step photos above as a guide for this step.
- Using a bread scraper, pizza wheel, or knife, cut the dough into a 10 x 4 grid. You will need 45-50 balls to fill the pan.
- Roll each dough piece into a ball.
Assemble the Monkey Bread
- Generously grease a 10-12 cup Bundt pan with butter or nonstick baking spray.
- Melt 1/2 cup (115 g / 1 stick) of unsalted butter in a medium bowl.
- Mix granulated sugar and cinnamon in another medium bowl.
- Dip each ball, one by one, in the melted butter and then generously roll in the cinnamon-sugar mixture to coat them. Place balls in the prepared Bundt pan as you work. Loosely cover and let rise for 20 – 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350º F (180º C) while the bread rises.
Prepare the Coating:
- Melt the remaining 1/4 cup (60 g / 4 tablespoons) butter, then whisk in the brown sugar and vanilla extract.
- After the second rising time is over, pour the brown sugar topping all over the monkey bread evenly — place the pan on a rimmed baking sheet.
Bake:
- Bake for 35 minutes or until the top is golden brown and firm to the touch. If the bread is browning too much, about halfway through the bake time, cover the baking pan loosely with aluminum foil.
- When the monkey bread is fully baked, remove it from the oven and then gently loosen the edges of the pan with a spatula. Cool in pan for 5 minutes. Then, invert onto a serving platter and let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
Yeast: I always use instant yeast, which doesn't need to be activated before adding to the dry ingredients, but if you need to use active dry yeast, mix it with the warm (110º F) milk along with two teaspoons of sugar and let it rest for 8 -10 minutes until foamy and frothy.
Custard powder: Instead of custard powder, you can use golden flaxseed meal or evaporated milk. Flaxseed: Mix 2 tablespoons of flaxseed with 6 tablespoons of water. Let it rest for 5 minutes to thicken. Add the mixture in step 2 instead of the custard powder. If using flaxseed, skip the 4 tablespoons of water. Evaporated milk: Skip the custard powder and use 4 tablespoons (60 ml) of evaporated milk instead. If using evaporated milk, skip the 4 tablespoons of water.
No Stand Mixer? No problem! You can make this recipe by hand, but it requires a bit of arm muscle. Mix the dough ingredients in a large bowl with a large wooden spoon or rubber spatula after the dough comes together. Lightly sprinkle the counter with 2 tablespoons of flour. Turn out dough onto the flour; knead until it's elastic and no longer sticky, about 8 -10 minutes.
Store: Monkey bread tastes best served on the same day. Cover leftovers tightly and store them at room temperature for 1 day and in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Freeze: Prepare the dough as instructed in the recipe and let it rise. After the dough rises, punch it down to release the air, then roll it into small balls. Do not coat the balls. Place shaped dough balls on a baking tray, and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes. Once the dough balls are cold, they won't stick together. Place the cooled balls in a freezer bag or freezer-friendly container, then freeze them for up to 2 months. When ready to assemble, thaw dough balls in the refrigerator or at room temperature, prepare the coating and baking pan, then coat the dough balls as instructed in the recipe. Continue with the recipe.
Reheat: Reheat leftovers in a 300º F oven until warmed through, about 5 – 8 minutes, or in the microwave for 15 – 30 sec.
Overnight Instructions: Prepare the recipe through step 3. Cover the dough tightly and refrigerate overnight. At least 3 hours before you serve the monkey bread the next day, remove the dough from the refrigerator, keep it covered, and allow it to rise on the counter for about 1-2 hours. Continue with the recipe instructions.
Pro Tips:
- Greasing the inside well and getting into all the nooks and crannies guarantees that the sticky bread will unmold easily.
- If you don't have a Bundt pan, you can half the recipe and bake it in a loaf pan.
- Please do not allow the bread to cool in the pan for longer than 5 minutes; the sticky glaze will start to solidify, and the bread may break when you try to turn it out.
- To know if the dough is well kneaded, the dough must be not too sticky, not too dry, and not too springy. If your dough feels tight and springy, continue kneading until the dough is completely smooth, slightly tacky to the touch, springs back when pressed on with your fingers, and is no longer sticky. You can also test it with the windowpane test: To do so, pull off a golf-ball-sized piece of dough and stretch it gently from the center outward with your fingertips. If it tears, keep kneading. It should stretch into a paper-thin film, and you should be able to see the light pass through it, like a window.
- To know if my bread is done baking, I like to use a thermometer to check if my bread is fully baked. Introduce the thermometer to the middle of the bread, and if it reads a temperature of 190° F (87º C) at the center, it's fully baked but still soft and moist. If a thermometer is not an option, you can also use a long wooden skewer and pierce through the center of the bread, making sure my skewer doesn't come out doughy.
Nutrition
Calories: 499kcal | Carbohydrates: 78g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 38g