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PULL-APART (MONKEY) BREAD 
2 cups milk
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening
1/4 cup warm water
1 pkg. active dry yeast
5 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

Dissolve yeast in warm (not hot) water with a pinch of sugar and allow to sit for 5 minutes.

Scald milk: Bring nearly to a boil, heating only until tiny bubbles begin to form around the edges of pan, around 190°F. Remove from heat. Stir in shortening and sugar until dissolved. Allow to cool to lukewarm (85°F).

Stir in yeast mixture and 3 cups flour. Beat until smooth.

Transfer dough to a bowl brushed with oil. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 2 or 3 hours.

Add remaining ingredients except for the butter. Knead 4-5 minutes. Cover and allow the dough to rise in an oiled bowl for another hour. Turn dough in oiled bowl to coat lightly in oil so that a skin will not form.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Melt 1/2 cup butter and allow to cool slightly. 1 tablespoon sugar may optionally be added to the butter for a little extra sweetness, if desired.

Dust a work surface well with flour. Turn dough out and roll into 1 1/2" to 2" diameter balls. Dip the dough balls into the slightly cooled, melted butter.

Arrange in layers in a Bundt pan, tube, or monkey bread pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 45-55 minutes. Cool 5 minutes, Run a blunt knife along edges of bread to free it from the pan. Remove, upside-down, from pan onto serving dish.

The bread may be served either sliced or pulled apart. Best served while still warm from oven.

Submitted by: CM

recipe reviews
Pull-Apart (Monkey) Bread
 #4447
 Brandy says:
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! I grew up on this recipe but anytime I would ask someone if they knew what monkey bread was they looked at me funny! Love this!!
 #4545
 Amy says:
My mother used to make this all the time for us. I love it!! To save time you can use can biscuits instead of making dough from scratch. Works just as well
 #7383
 Collin says:
Thank you soooo much. All the recipes I have looked up required frozen biscuits and tasted terrible.
 #8310
 A says:
Thank you for posting this recipe! I am so happy I can make it from scratch now, instead of using canned biscuits!
 #9041
 AB says:
Thank you, CM! I told my children last week that I would have to make monkey bread for them sometime (the staple of all fun slumber party breakfasts). They didn't believe me, but when I set to searching for a recipe this morning, I came across yours and I am set; dough is rising right now!
 #12919
 Siobhan Hanes says:
I thought I goofed when I added the soda and baking powder to the recipe. It rises a lot faster is all. I also dipped the balls into cinammon sugar (1/2 c. sugar, 1 tsp. cinnamon) after I dipped them into the melted butter. Yum!
Thank you for this recipe. It's way better than the canned biscuit ones!
 #13735
 Marilyn says:
I grew up in Sonora Ca and the local Safeway baker called this "chop suey bread". I had no idea it was called anything else until a friend told me about Cinnamon Pullapart Bread and it sounded just like it! So nice to finally have the recipe since that baker retired 40 yrs ago!
 #22243
 Carol Bingham Wardell (Ohio) replies:
I grew up in Groveland, Calif. I had forgot about that chop suey bread at Safeway. This recipe sounds like it. Can't wait to try it.
 #13870
 Marc says:
I do not know who this CM person is, but every recipe I have tried, with the CM logo, has turned out to be absolutely fabulous. I will be adding this one to my Thanksgiving menu this year, instead of the traditional rolls I've served in the past. Thank you CM for yet another!!
 #14487
 Barry says:
I've made Monkey Bread for years but here's my secret. Buy frozen bread dough, thaw and take pieces of it, dip in melted butter (with any additions you may like but I just do butter) layer in pan as recipe says. Bake, enjoy and your friends will think you're a champion baker.
 #14742
 Sylvia says:
Thanks for the MB recipe, I lost mine and had great results with this one, except I substituted 3 eggs slightly beaten at room temperature instead of shortening, baking soda and powder. The results... the bread tastes more like slightly sweet bread and not cake (more like my grandmother used to make).
 #15667
 SMA says:
This is the recipe for Hungarian Coffee Cake that my sister and I grew upon.The only thing different that our Mother did was she rolled the butter coated balls in cinnamon, sugar and finely chopped walnuts before putting each one in the bundt pan.After baking, besure to invert the pan over a large plate for a short while before removing it, to allow the delicious sticky syrup to drain down the sides of the cake. Tis pure heaven to eat.
 #20680
 Dianna (Idaho) says:
I like to use frozen bread dough and use the speed method do it the night before and place in the oven in the morning. Its quick silent and manages to get my late sleepers up without to much effort. Merry Christmas
 #45180
 Passionatebaker (California) says:
Just a little tip... one package of yeast is 2 1/4 teaspoons (approximately)... for those of us with jarred yeast!
 #45610
 Gary (Massachusetts) says:
This recipe was wonderful, enjoyed it with the family, but it needed to cook longer because the dough wasn't cooked. Every time I went to roll the balls of dough I would run out of sugar and have to keep getting more sugar so next time I will need 2 cups of sugar to roll the balls of dough in.
 #47908
 BAM (New Jersey) says:
Thank You for posting this recipe. I have food allergies and the only recipe I had for Monkey Bread was with canned biscuits. I can replace the flour with gluten free flour. My husband can't wait for me to make this!

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