Orange Cinnamon Monkey Bread

Even though I'd always seen monkey bread recipes in magazines for as long as I remember, I'd always put off making them because they involved frozen bread dough purchased at the store or pillsbury crescent rolls. There's nothing wrong with those versions, but I wanted something that felt a little more homemade. There's something so satisfying about working with your hands and putting effort into something. It's similar to the psychological reasons of how box cake mixes were highly unpopular when they were first introduced and all you had to do was add water. It only became popular with the "add and egg" instruction because it felt like one was actually doing work.

This recipe was a hit at my brunch (as seen from the photo. I didn't even have time to take pictures before people started eating it). Next time, I think I would put nuts or dried fruits in between the layers as well.

This post has been submitted to Yeastspotting

Orange Cinnamon Monkey Bread

Ingredients

• 13 1/2 ounces all-purpose flour (about 3 cups)
• 4 3/4 ounces whole-wheat flour (about 1 cup)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 package yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
• 1 cup warm milk
• 1/4 cup warm orange juice
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• Cooking spray
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 4 1/2 tablespoons fat-free milk, divided
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• a splash of milk

Directions

1. Proof yeast in a small amount of the warm orange juice and milk.
2. Combine flours, salt, butter and honey with yeast mix. Mix until combined and knead for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Let rise 1 hour
3. Combine sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon in one bowl. Combine milk and butter in another bowl. Divide dough into 8 pieces (and each piece into 8 pieces). Roll each piece in milk/butter and in sugar mix. Place dough balls in bunt cake pan. Let rest for another hour until doubled in size
4. Bake bread for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Let rest 5 minutes in pan before inverting onto a serving plate.
5. Mix powdered sugar and vanilla briefly and pour over warm cake.