How To Make Monkey Bread
how to make monkey bread - Get Started With Home Baking - Monkey Bread
While they take some time, yeast-raised breads are versatile and delicious. Great to eat alone, or with soup or stew, homemade breads can help you save money and eat healthier. Baking bread is also a great way to express your creativity in the kitchen..
A leisurely Saturday or Sunday afternoon is a perfect time to practice some new cooking skills (recipe follows), then sit with a cup of coffee or tea as you relax and enjoy the results.
Baking tips for yeast breads:
- Allow plenty of time to make a yeast bread recipe, as you may have to allow for a first and second rise.
- Check the date and make sure you are using fresh yeast.
- Scald the milk to deactivate enzymes that interfere with rising.
- Roll up your sleeves and enjoy the kneading process. It is a great way to work off some stress.
- Select the right size baking dish, as called for in the recipe. Ceramic, glass and metal ovenware is widely available.
- Bake your bread with the oven rack set in the center position.
- Grease or oil the baking dish with baking spray, or light vegetable oil.
Classic American and many international cuisines are full of fantastic bread recipes, waiting for home bakers to explore, in hundreds of sweet or savory versions.
Monkey Bread Recipe
Sweet bread recipes like this are also called bubble bread, because you form it into balls before the second rising. When you eat it, the pieces pull apart easily. Fun to make and delicious to eat, for young and old alike.
1 c. milk, scalded
1/2 c. sugar
1 t. salt
2 packages dry baking yeast
2 eggs, beaten
4 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 stick butter
1 c. white sugar
1 T. cinnamon
1/2 c. pecans or raisins (optional)
Mix the first three ingredients above in a saucepan, heat until it begins to simmer, then remove from heat and cool to lukewarm. This step is needed to deactivate enzymes in the milk that will interfere with the yeast. The mixture also needs to cool so as not to kill the yeast.
When mixture has cooled to lukewarm, add the yeast and eggs, then most of the flour. Knead about 10 minutes, until the dough makes a smooth ball and is elastic but not sticky. Add the last cup of flour gradually as you knead, as humidity influences how much flour the dough will take up. Better to add flour repeatedly, a little at a time, than to add too much. The dough should be satiny and stick to itself but not your hands or work surface.
Place dough ball in a large buttered or greased bowl, cover with a clean dish towel and place in a warm place to rise until doubled in bulk, about an hour.
Meanwhile, prepare an angel food cake pan by spraying with baking spray, or greasing with butter or shortening. Set aside.
When dough has risen, punch down in the center and let it rest for 10 minutes.
While dough is resting, melt butter in a small pan. Separately, in a wide, shallow bowl, mix the cup of sugar, cinnamon and nuts or raisins if you are using them.
Pull out small pieces of dough and roll them into the size of a walnut, about 1 1/2 inch in diameter. Roll in the melted butter, then in the sugar mixture. Place each ball in the prepared cake pan, staggering the rows. When all the dough has been added, cover the cake pan with the dish towel and set again in a warm place to rise for about half an hour, until doubled.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for about 45 minutes, until cake tester comes out clean.
Allow bread to cool in pan for about 15 minutes, then use a long knife to loosen the sides. Place a large plate on top and invert the pan over the plate to remove the bread. Serve warm.
Learn to bake yeast breads and a wonderful world of baking will be yours to explore. Loaves of all shapes, dinner rolls and pizza crusts and are just a few of the variations that will be ready for a delicious adventure once you learn the basic techniques needed to make this bread.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sally_Kimbel
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