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Pastry chef Jenn Knight whips up a mean monkey bread for Prospect’s brunch menu, and its cinnamony deliciousness has garnered quite the following.
With a topping of brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter that crisps up just so, it’s hard to keep yourself to just one of these fluffy, chewy treats.
Cinnamon-Butter Monkey Bread
Serves 8-10
1/2 cup milk, warmed to 100 degrees
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon salt
9 whole eggs, room temperature
1 cup + 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, for coating
Monkey Sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
Monkey Butter Spread
1 cup butter, softened
6 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1. In a stand mixer, combine the warm milk and yeast, and let sit for about 5 minutes to activate yeast.
2. Add 3 eggs and 1 1/2 cups of the flour, and whisk until incorporated.
3. Sprinkle the remaining 1 1/2 cups flour over the mixture, cover with plastic wrap, and let rest for 45 minutes.
4. Add the sugar, salt, 6 eggs, and 1 1/4 cups flour to the mixer, and mix on low speed for a minute until dough starts to form.
5. Add the remaining 1 1/4 cups flour and increase the speed to medium. Mix for about 15 minutes.
6. Begin to add in the butter, 2 tablespoons at a time.
7. Mix until all of the butter is incorporated and the dough is smooth.
8. Place in a well-oiled container, cover, and allow to rise in a warm area for 2 hours.
9. Punch down dough and place in refrigerator overnight.
10. Pull dough out of refrigerator and let warm up for about an hour.
11. Set oven to 350 degrees.
12. Melt 3 tablespoons unsalted butter.
13. Shape dough into balls approximately 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter, and coat in melted butter, then roll in Monkey Sugar mixture.
14. Arrange the balls in a loaf or cake pan and let rise until doubled in size and bake for approximately 40 minutes.
15. Whisk together Monkey Butter ingredients until smooth and spread over monkey bread when it has come out of the oven.