By Erin Jeanne McDowell
- Total Time
- Time: 2½ hours, plus overnight rising
- Rating
- 4(322)
- Notes
- Read community notes
This savory monkey bread begins with a yeasted dough made with mashed potatoes, which helps make it the extra light and fluffy. Each round of dough is coated in garlic butter, cheese (Parmesan and white cheddar), and a generous dose of coarse black pepper. Think of it as cacio e pepe monkey bread. It’s best served warm. The dough rises overnight in the refrigerator, which makes this recipe especially great when you’re looking to plan ahead.
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Ingredients
Yield:8 to 10 servings
- 4½cups/576 grams all-purpose flour, plus additional for coating
- ½cup/60 grams finely grated Parmesan
- ¼cup/55 grams light brown sugar
- 1tablespoon garlic powder
- 2teaspoons instant yeast
- 1½teaspoons kosher salt
- 6tablespoons/85 grams unsalted butter (¾ stick), at room temperature, plus more for greasing
- ¾cup/163 grams leftover mashed potatoes or 1 small russet potato, peeled, chopped and boiled
- ¾cup/180 milliliters warm water (about 95 degrees)
- 1large egg plus 1 large egg yolk
- Cooking spray, for greasing
- ½cup/113 grams unsalted butter (1 stick)
- 5garlic cloves, minced
- 1cup/120 grams finely grated Parmesan
- 1cup plus 2 tablespoons/128 grams shredded white cheddar
- 1½teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper
For the Dough
For the Topping
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (10 servings)
595 calories; 33 grams fat; 18 grams saturated fat; 1 gram trans fat; 9 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 55 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 6 grams sugars; 20 grams protein; 469 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Make the dough the day before you want to make the monkey bread: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, combine the flour, Parmesan, sugar, garlic powder, yeast and salt on low speed to combine, 15 to 20 seconds.
Step
2
Add the butter, mashed potato, water, egg and egg yolk. Mix on low speed for 4 minutes, then on medium speed until the dough is smooth, about 2 minutes.
Step
3
Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise at room temperature for 1 hour, then punch the dough down and refrigerate overnight.
Step
4
When you're ready to make the bread, let the dough sit at room temperature for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Generously coat a 10-inch tube or Bundt pan with cooking spray.
Step
5
Divide the dough into 24 even pieces (about 2-tablespoon-sized balls at 48 grams each). Round each piece into a ball using your hands. If the dough is too sticky to handle, use a little flour. (Try to use as little flour as possible, as it can make the dough tough.) Cover the dough with plastic wrap on your work surface, and let rest for 15 minutes while you prepare the filling.
Step
6
Prepare the topping: In a small pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Transfer to a heatproof bowl and allow to cool for about 5 minutes.
Step
7
In a medium bowl, toss the Parmesan, white cheddar and pepper to combine. Working with one piece of dough at a time, dip the dough into the garlic butter, then roll it in the cheese mixture to coat.
Step
8
Transfer each ball to the prepared pan, arranging in even layers. Do not tightly pack. Drizzle the rolls with the leftover garlic butter and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
Step
9
Cover the pan with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until increased in volume, 35 to 45 minutes. (The dough won’t fully double in size, but it will look puffy and risen.)
Step
10
Toward the end of rise time, heat the oven to 375 degrees. Bake until the surface is golden-brown, 35 to 40 minutes. (It should have an internal temperature of 200 degrees. Be sure to take the temperature in the center portion of the dough.)
Step
11
Let cool 10 to 15 minutes before unmolding. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Ratings
4
out of 5
322
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Cooking Notes
bacon
The reason it does not rise that much is the garlic powder, it kills the yeast. Try leaving the garlic powder out and it will rise nicely. The garlic in the topping should be ok. But do not mix it in the dough. The fresher the garlic powder the more yeast it kills.
Amy Salvia
served this along with the Brisket in Sweet and Sour sauce for New Year's Eve party and it was a big hit. Note: the dough does not rise that much. Had I not proofed my yeast (which it doesn't call for) I may have thought I'd used dead yeast. But the end result was good. Next time I'll use a saltier cheese like Pecorino.
mindy swagel
do you think you have to refrigerate the dough overnight?
Remi
DELICIOUS! Accidentally used salted butter for the dough, no problems. Also usedshelf stable Parmesan/Pecorino blend, also delish. Roast your garlic first! Adds richness. Finally, no garlic powder so used a blended seasoning that had no salt and it was glorious. Hand kneaded took closer to 30-40 minutes (worked up a good sweat), totally worth it!! Shared with neighbors;it's huge! Also, no proper pans, but a soda can covered in foil and half full of water, and a round cake pan worked perfectly!
Jen in Astoria
I bet these would be the move made with everything bagel mix!!!
Michael Kelly
I made this in a regular Bundt cake pan. It was well greased, but with the cheese, the monkey bread stuck to the sides terribly. I would recommend using only a nonstick pan. My bread rose quickly on the second rise, so next time I will watch it more carefully.
Rita
I substituted the Parmesan with a mixture of Asiago and Gruyere, and left out the cheddar. This was delicious, and I would consider making it again with or without the additional cheddar. I experimented with baking it in a loaf pan (2 layers) and in a cooking pan (1 layer) and found that I liked the single layer cooking pan technique more. It cooked quicker (~40 minutes) and the top didn't brown as deeply, and every ball had a nice crunchy top.
Vida
This turned out well and the family really liked it. I didn't add the black pepper and I decreased the sugar to 40 grams. I reserved the potato cooking water and used it in place of the water in the recipe. The left overs freeze very well.
J McDee
Just made this tasty bread! Since I don’t have a Bundt or tube pan, I buttered my sturdy 9-inch springform pan and used a buttered tomato purée can for the center hole. I had leftover mashed Yukon gold potatoes mashed w/butter and a little milk, and they made the dough light and supple. The garlic powder I used comes from a local garlic grower and did not inhibit the action of the yeast; the bread rose well at every step. La Boîte’s Pierre Poivre added great pepper notes!
Katie
Any thoughts on making this with instant mashed potatoes?
Chris Walters
They work, but you need to add extra liquid. The recipe for making mashed potatoes in the box should give the amount to use.
karin
Made this with a bundt pan today (don’t have a tube pan) — I used about half a tablespoon of butter to grease it and it worked great! The only modification that I made was decreasing the brown sugar in the dough to 45g. And since it’s winter here, and my house is cold, I used the oven for both rises (preheat to 100°F and then turn it off and let some of the hot air out before putting the dough in), which also worked nicely. Delicious!!
Carin
Soooo…. The overnight fridge instruction… is this required? How many hours does this translate to? Should I set fridge at certain temp? I read the garlic diaries in the notes…a bit too late but hoping it still fluffs. I am so new to cooking / baking after living in tiny apartments for 20 years. Finally have a kitchen worth its name. I love any and all advice.
Lydia
I loved this idea but was feeling too lazy to make the dough from scratch today. Used two cans of uncooked Pillsbury biscuits (I quartered each biscuit with kitchen scissors), and just picked up where the recipe indicates to mix up the cheese/butter topping. Baked at 375 for about 40-45 min. Turned out great! Obviously scratch dough would be even more delish, but in a pinch, this shaved off most of the prep time.
lauren
made for Thanksgiving dinner and it was a hit! I proofed my active dry yeast in warm water with the brown sugar before adding it in with the wet ingredients. Followed others advice and omitted the garlic powder. I baked this in a 9x13 dish so that each roll would have a crispy top. Came out perfectly!
Vicki
Could you use pillsbury flaky biscuits instead of making the dough from scratch?
amyamosj
We thought this was a little too sweet and I would reduce the amount of sugar. I did a caramelizad onion jalapeño and cheddar topping. I swapped out a quarts of the flour for ww bread flour. The bread is great for different toppings.
Joanne
These were delicious! Perfect as an appetizer to share at our porch visit.
Frances
Served with roasted corn and poblano chowder (cooks country)!! Proofed yeast with sugar and used potato cooking water; let rise for an hour and chilled for 4 then proceeded with recipe. Rose to top of tube pan. Crunchy crust, chewy garlic buttery bread... just yum!!!
katie
This was a huge hit! The cacio e Pepe is a wonderful twist to a monkey bread (I prefer savory to sweet). It makes A LOT of bread so definitely invite friends to share. I recommend weighing the balls when you roll them to make sure they are even before baking. Let the top get crispy and you are sure to enjoy the bread for a week!
Remi
DELICIOUS! Accidentally used salted butter for the dough, no problems. Also usedshelf stable Parmesan/Pecorino blend, also delish. Roast your garlic first! Adds richness. Finally, no garlic powder so used a blended seasoning that had no salt and it was glorious. Hand kneaded took closer to 30-40 minutes (worked up a good sweat), totally worth it!! Shared with neighbors;it's huge! Also, no proper pans, but a soda can covered in foil and half full of water, and a round cake pan worked perfectly!
LizR
This was amazing, and makes A LOT. So either be prepared to over do it on the carbs or have guests over. For the first rise (Step 3) I set my bowl on a wire rack which had a heating pad on medium underneath it.
Jaime
This is actual insanity. Fair food without a fryer in the best possible way. Perfect quarantine project and treat. As I worked through it I though about maybe doing this or that but the recipe as written is perfect.
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