Serves 10 to 12
EVEN THOUGH MOST RESEARCH LEADS TO THIS HOMEY, PULL-APART BREAD coming from Southern California in the 1940s, to me monkey bread is pure Midwest. It’s comfort food of the highest order, shareable by design, meant to be placed in the center of the table and immediately devoured. I plucked countless sweet, sticky nuggets from batches served at girlhood slumber parties, between Hello Kitty sticker swaps and spritzes of Electric Youth perfume. When we first moved back to Illinois and experienced our first real block party mere weeks after, a friendly neighbor busted out with a fresh, hot monkey bread within the first 30 minutes of the street barricades going up, and my heart nearly cracked out of my chest.
This is an unabashed celebration of butter and sugar, and when warm and fragrant straight from the oven, even the most refined lady will dive in and get her fingers sticky to score a coveted, caramelized outer piece. This recipe is a twist on the classic, with a scratch-made dough and a hit of coffee added to the dousing of buttery, salted caramel.
2¼ teaspoons instant yeast
¼ cup/57 g warm water (110° to 115°F/43° to 46°C)
3 tablespoons/38 g granulated sugar, divided
1 cup/225 g well-shaken buttermilk, at room temperature
3 large egg yolks, at room temperature
4 tablespoons/57 g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
4 cups/512 g unbleached all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, plus more for dusting
¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
Nonstick cooking spray or oil for bowl and pan
5 tablespoons/70 g unsalted butter, melted
¾ cup/150 g granulated sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
⅓ cup/75 g strong brewed coffee, hot or cooled
7 tablespoons/98 g unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch/1.25 cm pieces
1 cup/225 g firmly packed light brown sugar
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Prepare the dough: In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together the yeast, warm water, and a couple of pinches of the granulated sugar. Let sit until the mixture is foamy, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the remaining sugar, buttermilk, egg yolks, and melted butter. Add the flour and salt. Mix with a wooden spoon to form a shaggy dough. Fit the bowl onto the mixer along with the dough hook. Knead the dough on medium speed until smooth and elastic, 6 to 7 minutes.
Lightly flour a work surface and turn out the dough onto it. Knead the dough by hand several times. Spray the mixer bowl with nonstick cooking spray or oil it lightly. Place the dough in the bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 1 to 1½ hours.
Spray a 10-inch/25 cm Bundt or tube pan generously with nonstick cooking spray (don’t forget the core of the pan!). Using kitchen scissors, snip the dough into small chunks and roll into 1-inch/2.5 cm balls.
Prepare the coatings: Pour the melted butter into a pie plate. In a medium bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, cinnamon, and salt.
Working in small batches, coat the dough balls with the melted butter, then toss them in the cinnamon sugar to coat. Fit the balls snugly into the prepared pan. (The bottom of the pan will end up as the top when the bread is inverted, so arrange the first layer neatly.) Cover with plastic wrap and set on a baking sheet. Let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour (or in the refrigerator overnight, 8 to 12 hours).
Position a rack to the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C.
During the last half of the rising time, prepare the caramel: In a 2- to 2½-quart/1.9 to 2.4 L saucepan over high heat, combine the coffee, butter, brown sugar, and salt. Bring the mixture to a full rolling boil, stirring often until the sugar is dissolved. Boil hard just until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes, depending on the size and depth of your pan. Stir in the vanilla. Let cool for about 10 minutes. Pour over the risen dough—it may not all sink down into the pan.
Bake until puffed and golden, 35 to 40 minutes (the internal temperature should register at least 190°F/88°C on an instant-read thermometer). Tent with foil during the last third of the baking time. Let the bread cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes (no longer, to avoid sticking) before inverting onto a platter and serving warm.
*If you’re feeling like a shortcut, use 2 pounds/905 g of high-quality frozen, store-bought white bread dough or dinner rolls from the freezer section of the grocery store. Let it come to room temperature and rise until doubled in bulk, then proceed with snipping the dough into small pieces.