Sourdough Pull-Apart Monkey Bread (with beets, if you like!)

Welp. I can’t say I haven’t enjoyed experimenting with this recipe… I must have made monkey bread 8 times since the beginning of covid quarantine!

And yup, that’s a lot of butter that I’ve consumed. It may not be my healthiest recipe, but man is it ever good – and particularly comforting during these uncertain times 😉

So let’s skip the pre-recipe rambling and get to the goods…

Ingredients

DOUGH

• 1 cup active sourdough starter
• 3/4 cup something liquid-y (e.g. coconut milk, or a combination of plain yogurt and water, or yogurt and beet puree!)
• 3 Tbsp sugar or honey
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup butter (we like salted, organic, but anything goes – even a vegan butter alternative)
• 1 tsp sea salt (non-iodized)
• 2 1/2 cups flour (I use organic unbleached wheat), plus extra for rolling out
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda

GOO

• 2/3+ cup butter (or vegan butter alternative)
• 1 cup brown sugar or coconut sugar
• 2-3 Tbsp cinnamon
• Optional: 1/2 cup raisins and/or nuts

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Instructions

1. Combine all ‘Dough’ ingredients together in a large glass/pyrex mixing bowl. Mix until everything is incorporated, no need to kneed.
2. Cover and let rest 6 hours or overnight.
3. Dough will be very soft and airy, even a bit sticky. Don’t worry! Clear a surface to roll your monkey bread balls. Dust the surface with a bit of flour for easier handling and forming of balls.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a bundt pan (or any pan. I’ve even done monkey bread in 2 loaf pans so I could share with 2 separate families).
5. Make the cinnamon goo by melting butter in a small saucepan over low heat and adding the sugar and cinnamon. Once melted, remove from heat.
6. Drizzle a small amount of the cinnamon goo into the bottom of the bundt pan (a few Tbsp, just enough to roughly coat the bottom of the pan).
7. Begin rolling dough into balls. I typically roll them about 1-2″ wide, making about 40 balls or so. If you make more/small balls, the goo will be able to envelop them better 😉
8. As you roll balls, toss them gently into the bundt pan, trying to space them out somewhat evenly. If balls seem really sticky, simply roll them in a little extra flour (or even sugar if you’re really having a sweet craving).
9. Once all the balls have been rolled and added to the pan, pour the remaining cinnamon goo over top, trying to distribute evenly in all the little crevices.
10. Place pan into heated oven for 30-35 minutes.
11. Remove from oven and allow to cool on a rack for about 5 minutes.
12. Place a large place on top of the bundt pan and, grasping both the plate and pan edges together on either side, quickly and smoothly flip the pan over. Et voila! Easy pull-apart monkey bread! (note: if any of your balls get stuck in the pan, simply scrape them out and stick them in place… no one will even notice!)

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You’ll notice the quantity of cinnamon goo mixture varies in a few of my photos. The two photos with less “goo” (including the beet version) use about 1/2 cup butter, while the cover photo grid used about 3/4 cup butter… So if you’re looking for extra gooey pull-aparts, add a bit of extra butter 🙂

Regardless of how much butter and sugar you use, enjoy!