This Sourdough Monkey Bread is a trip down memory lane. From the fun pull apart pieces to the delicious dripping caramel sauce. This recipe is great for a special occasion or a simple Saturday morning treat, either way it will be a hit!
Growing up, my mom would let us pick whatever special breakfast we wanted on our birthdays. Of all the things to choose from I always asked her to make me monkey bread. So this bread brings back a lot of good memories for me.
My Mom made her Monkey bread with good ol’ fashioned canned biscuits cut into small pieces, dredged in refined sugars and baked in a sea of margarine.
As delicious as that was, I was determined to re-create my favorite birthday breakfast for my own children. Instead of canned biscuits I use sourdough. I switched the refined sugars for coconut sugar and real maple syrup. And I swapped that factory made margarine for some real grass fed butter.
It’s not hard to make these kinds of switches. My kids will still have the same kind of memories that I had, but they will have the benefit of a healthier, more real option. Trust me, this Sourdough Monkey Bread is by far one of our favorite treats!
Before we get started you will need a sourdough starter. If you do not have one yet, here is a Day by Day Guide to help you make your own Sourdough Starter. If you’d like to learn more about the benefits of sourdough, check out my “Why Sourdough?“
Ingredients to make Sourdough Monkey Bread
- Active Sourdough Starter
- Unbleached Flour (I always recommend Organic)
- Filtered Water
- Melted Coconut Oil or Butter
- Honey
- Salt
- Sugar (I love using coconut sugar)
- Cinnamon
- Maple Syrup
- Butter
- Vanilla
Helpful tools to make Sourdough Monkey Bread
- Stand mixer. You can mix by hand too, just double the mixing time.
- Large glass bowl to ferment dough in.
- Bundt Pan, but any baking dish will do. Even muffin tins will work to bake in.
- Gallon sized Ziplock bag to shake dough balls in.
How to Make Sourdough Monkey Bread
If you have never made Monkey Bread before, do not be intimidated, this is a simple process. Just keep in mind that this is sourdough, so it will take some additional time to make. But I promise the end result will be worth the extra wait! That being said, here is how to make Sourdough Monkey Bread.
First mix the active starter, flour, water, melted coconut oil, honey and salt together in a stand mixer for 5 minutes. You want the dough to be silky and have a smooth texture. It will be sticky to the touch but not so much where it sticks to your hand.
Ferment
Place the dough into a large greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap or Bee’s Wrap and let it ferment for 8-12 hours. It should double in size. In a gallon sized plastic bag shake together the coconut sugar and cinnamon.
Take the dough and break off 1 inch pieces. One at a time, roll each piece into a small ball. Add the ball to the plastic bag and shake it into the cinnamon sugar mixture. Continue ripping off dough, rolling 1 inch balls and adding to the bag until the dough is gone. Shake the bag around every so often to cover the dough balls well.
Grease a bundt pan, angel food cake pan or any other oven safe baking dish you want. Once I used muffin tins and made individual servings. Whatever you choose, add a thick layer of maple syrup to the bottom of the pan then add in the cinnamon sugar dough balls.
Proof
It will appear the dough balls aren’t enough, but remember they still need to proof again. Proof for 2 hours. They will puff up and fill the pan. And then grow even more while baking.
After the proof, melt the stick of butter and add real maple syrup in a small sauce pan on the stove. Remove from heat and add in vanilla.
Bake
Pour the mixture over the proofed dough balls. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
Immediately after removing from the oven, place a plate on top of your pan and flip it over. Lift away your pan so that the monkey bread is left on the plate. Serve warm.
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Let’s Make some Sourdough Monkey Bread!
Sourdough Monkey Bread
This Sourdough Monkey Bread is a trip down memory lane. From the fun pull apart pieces to the delicious dripping caramel sauce. This recipe is great for a special occasion or a simple Saturday morning treat, either way it will be a hit!
Ingredients
Ferment Sponge
- 200 g Active Starter
- 450 g Flour
- 200 g Filtered Water
- 1/2 cup or 105 g Melted Coconut Oil
- 2 Tbsp Honey
- 1 tsp Salt
Cinnamon Sugar Mixture
- 1/2 cup Brown Sugar or Coconut Sugar
- 1 Tbsp Cinnamon
Caramel Sauce
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) melted butter
- 1/2 cup Maple Syrup
- 1 tsp Vanilla
Instructions
- Ferment the Sponge: mix the active starter, flour, water, melted coconut oil, honey and salt together in a stand mixer for 5 minutes. You want the dough to be silky and have a smooth texture. It will be slightly sticky to the touch but not so much where it sticks to your hand. Place the dough into a large greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap or Bee's Wrap and ferment for 8-12 hours. (It should at least double in size)
- In a gallon sized plastic bag shake together the coconut sugar and cinnamon. Roll the fermented dough into 1 inch balls. Add the balls to the plastic bag and shake it into the cinnamon sugar mixture until ball in completely covered. Continue until the dough is gone.
- Grease a Bundt Pan and add 2 Tbsp Maple Syrup to the bottom. Add cinnamon sugar dough balls evenly around bundt pan. Proof for 2 hours. They will puff up and fill the pan. (Tip: Turn oven on for a few seconds to get slightly warm then turn it off. Proof pan in warm oven)
- After proof, melt butter in small sauce pan on stove. Mix in 1/2 cup maple syrup. Remove from heat and add in vanilla.
- Pour caramel sauce over proofed dough balls.
- Bake 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
- Immediately after removing from the oven, place a plate on top of your pan and flip it over. Lift away your pan so that the monkey bread is left on the plate. Serve warm. Enjoy!
Notes
See post for other options to bake in if you don't have a bundt pan.
Leave a comment and tell me what occasion will you make this Sourdough Monkey Bread. Maybe breakfast, an afternoon snack, dessert or a special holiday or birthday? Whatever it may be, this will be your new favorite indulgence!
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Do you think I could do the second proof in the fridge overnight instead of 2 hours on the counter?
Yes. But it may fall flat in the fridge and not double in size during the cold proof. You can still do that, but What I suggest is in the morning, slightly warm your oven and add the dough to a warm oven to finish the proof. This will help the dough become puffy again and double in size. Do this before baking or else the dough will be dense.
This is the best Monkey Bread I have ever tasted in my LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I loved this recipe so much! It is not too sweet, and it light and airy! I’m going to make again because I made a mistake on my fermented dough. Long story, but my mistake, and I recouped. But this is a wonderful sweet treat without it being so over the top. I used coconut sugar in my cinnamon mix. Perfect!
Hi there. I’d like to try this as a make-ahead recipe so I can bake it first thing in the morning and not have to worry about proofing for 2 hours and waiting. Do you have any tips for this? Planning it for Thanksgiving morning. Thank you!
After the 2nd proof, cover tightly and place in fridge until you’re ready to bake in the morning. Increase cooking time several minutes to make up time for the cold dough.