Traditional Monkey Bread

I've been meaning to share this recipe for a long time. I'm glad to say the time has come. I know that sounds dramatic. It's meant to be. This stuff is that good. I wish I could remember where I found the original recipe, I mean I know it was on Pinterest somewhere, but I can't remember which exact one because I wrote down the ingredients in my cook book so I wouldn't have to open a website every time I make this monkey bread..which is too often by the way. My husband and kids LOVE it and we can finish off the whole thing in one setting pretty much...yes, it's that yummy. Here are the ingredients:

For the Dough:

3-4 Cups of Flour
4 Tbsp. butter - half of it melted, half of it softened
1 Cup warm milk (I heat mine up in the microwave for 30 seconds and call it good)
1/3 cup warm water
1/4 cup sugar
2 1/4 tsp instant yeast
2 tsp salt

For the Brown Sugar Coating:
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 stick of butter melted

For the Icing:
1 cup of powdered sugar
2 Tbsp Milk

Step #1. Butter your bundt! I used to use the wrapper from the butter, but I've had better luck spraying a TON of butter spray over every inch of the bundt.

#2. Put your warm water, warm milk, sugar and yeast in a mixing bowl (I use my kitchen aid, you could also use a bread machine to make your dough or you could do this all by hand but that will be more difficult!If you don't have a kitchen aid with bread hook attachment, ask for one for Christmas! It's amazing for making bread!) and let the yeast bloom and get a little puffy. I think I use too hot of water this time so my yeast didn't get as puffy as it normally does, but it all still turned out ok! 

#3. Add the half melted, half softened butter.

#4. Turn on your dough hook on setting #2 speed and slowly add the flour. Then the salt.

#5. Let the dough knead for 6-8 minutes. You want it to be pulling away from the sides after a few minutes and a nice ball of dough. If there's too much flour in the bowl then you can add 1 tsp of warm water at a time..but don't overdo it! If it's too sticky then add a little bit of flour at a time until it has a good rubbery looking consistency.

#6. This next part I learned from another blog and I love using it to speed up the rising process. I turn my oven to 350 and once it hits 350 turn it off completely.  Spray a bowl with some butter or oil, then cover your dough and let it rise in the warm oven for about 20 minutes. Like I said, this time I think I damaged my yeast by using too hot of water, but it turned out fine still! 

#7. After your dough has rised (you can wait til it's doubled in size or an hour or so if you don't use the hot oven method), get it out and knead it a few times, then roll it out a half an inch thick and cut into pieces. I use a pizza slicer. I made mine too thin this time so I doubled up most of these squares. You want about 70 pieces of dough. 

#8. Roll them into balls and get your melted butter, cinnamon and brown sugar bowls out so you can assembly line them into the greased bundt! 

Soak them in the butter and roll them around in the cinnamon brown sugar so they're completely coated.

#9. Cover the bundt with greased plastic wrap and let rise again in a warm place til they're all puffy. About 30 min-an hour. Preheat oven to 350. Once the dough has risen again bake for 27-30 minutes. After it comes out of the oven let it cool for 5 minutes before you flip it over! Do that very quickly and onto a plate or stand. After another 10 minutes cover with the glaze and you are good to go! 

ENJOY! Homemade dough is sooo much tastier than biscuits and it's really not that difficult! The more you work with yeast the easier it gets. Let me know if you try this and how it works out for you! Your family will be happy with you ;) 

Weekly Bread/Week 2: Basil Pesto Bread

I know I just blogged my first week of bread a few days ago, but we're in the third week of January and I actually have made 4 different types, so I'm going to go ahead and get caught up :) This bread is sooo good and it's pretty fancy looking too. Tastes great/looks great. Win/win.
This bread reminds me of a pizza that I used to get when we went to Atlanta Bread Company, back in the good ol' days when we still had one in the area! I ate that pizza on my first date with my husband, so the taste is a little nostalgic to me...and that's my reasoning for making it four times in the past 2 weeks. Hah.
Ingredients:

160 ml warm whole milk
7g yeast
1/2 tsp. sugar
300g flour
30ml oil (I've used canola and olive oil, the olive oil made it slightly more dense)
1 tsp. salt

filling: About 5 tbsp. of basil pesto
optional: mozzarella (I didn't use it this time but I have other times and I like it better with the cheese-of course)

Step 1: Measure your ingredients and mix the milk, yeast and sugar in a bowl and let the yeast bloom aka get fluffy and bubbly. (As you can see I went a little over on the flour and it was ok)

Step 2: add the rest of the ingredients, turn it into a dough and knead it for a few minutes either by hand or in your stand mixer with dough attachment.

(It may look like I kneaded it by hand...I didn't. Kitchen-Aid for the win!)
Step 3: Let is rise til it's doubled in size, about an hour or two.
Step 4: Roll out the dough into two long rectangles approx. 16x8 inches.

Step 5: Add the basil pesto being careful not to get too close to the edges. Not like I did, or else it will bust out...like mine did. It still turned out ok. I am no perfectionist.

Step 6: Roll up the dough! Then braid it and brush it with olive oil (I forgot to brush it with olive oil...I wasn't kidding when I said I'm no perfectionist!) Then cut some slits in the top so that the basil pesto can seep out and look beautiful.

 Step 7: Bake in a preheated oven at 360* for about 30 minutes. Wait at least 15 minutes to slice into it and enjoyyyy. And use mozzarella! You won't regret it.

Weekly Bread/Week 1: Asiago Cheese Bread

One thing I learned this week is that taking photos of food is not a strength of mine! haha. But seriously. Just use the pictures as a guide :) This bread is sooo yummy and so easy! I have a kitchen-aid and it makes life easier but if you don't, you can use a bread machine on the dough setting or just do it the old fashioned way and knead the dough with your hands (just be prepared for a workout).
THIS is where I got my recipe from, and every time I've made it has been a success.
Here are the ingredients to make two small loaves:

3 1/4- 3 1/2 cups of flour
2 1/4 tsp. yeast (I buy my yeast in bulk at Sam's Club and refrigerate it in a sealed glass jar. It's the way to go)
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 1/4 cup warm milk (I heat mine in a glass cup in the microwave for 30 seconds)
2 tbsp. almost melted butter
1 1/2 cups asiago cheese (you'll be using 1 1/4 for the dough and 1/4 for the topping)
1 beaten egg

Here's where you'll use your stand mixer with dough attachment or bread machine, or bowl and wooden spoon if you want to burn some calories...

Combine 1 1/2 cups of flour, yeast, sugar, salt and pepper.

Melt the butter and milk and stir in slowly

Next you'll add the 1 1/4 cup of shredded Asiago Cheese. I also buy my Asiago Cheese from Sam's Club because you can get a big block for about $7-$10.

Mix it in until it's just combined. Then gradually add in 1 3/4 cup of flour and knead for about 5 minutes. If it's still too wet after 5 minutes you can add a tiny bit more of flour and if it's still too dry you can add a tsp of warm milk at a time until it's a good consistency. 

Now you want to spray a bowl with some cooking spray or butter and drop the dough in the bowl. Cover it with a dish towel and let it rise in a warm place for 1-2 hours. I think I waited 2 1/2 hours for this one.

Oooh, pretty. It should be nice and fluffy now. Yeast is so cool. So now you want to punch this down and form two loaves. I made one a longer shape and one more of a rectangle. Just to add a little variety into my life.

You can cut some lines into the top with a sharp knife. It'll make it look fancy. Place them on a greased baking sheet (please don't judge mine, I know it's a little beat up). Cover them again and wait til they've doubled. About another hour (sooo much waiting when making bread).  I like to preheat my oven during this time and leave the bread covered on the oven so it gets extra warm and puffs up quicker. Preheat it to 375. Brush the top with egg and sprinkle it with the leftover cheese.

Bake for 30-35 minutes until it's a beautiful golden color. Pull it out and let it cool on a rack and after about 15 minutes you can cut into it and enjoy! It tastes a lot like Panera's Asiago Cheese bread or bagels! SO GOOD.

I'm going to blame the bad pictures on the fact that it was evening when I finally was able to bake it and so those are my beautiful fluorescent lights beaming down on it :)
I hope you make this bread and enjoy it! Let me know how it turns out for you!

Asiago Cheese Bread:
3 1/4- 3 1/2 cups of flour
2 1/4 tsp. yeast
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 1/4 cup warm milk
2 tbsp. almost melted butter
1 1/2 cups asiago cheese (you'll be using 1 1/4 for the dough and 1/4 for the topping)
1 beaten egg

Directions: In a stand mixer combine 1 1/2 cups of flour, yeast, sugar, salt and pepper.
Melt butter and milk and stir in on low. Add in 1 1/4 cup of shredded asiago cheese and mix until just combined. Gradually add in 1 3/4 cup of flour and knead for 5 minutes. Spray a bowl and let the dough rise for 1-2 hours. Punch down into 2 loaves and place on a greased baking sheet. Cover until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Preheat oven to 375. Cut the top of the loaves with a knife, brush on the egg and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown. EAT IT ALL IN ONE SETTING. (optional)