Monkey Bread- Cooking with Lei

The second recipe we cooked was Monkey Bread.  It just takes a few minutes to prepare before you pop it into the oven.  The result is a cinnamon bread that is delicious and fun to pull apart and eat.

Monkey bread

from Wikipedia: 

Monkey bread, also called sticky bread, African coffee cake, golden crown, pinch-me cake, bubbleloaf and monkey brains is a sweet, sticky, gooey pastry served in the United States for breakfast..^[1]

Name

The origin of the term "monkey bread" is uncertain. Possible etymologies include that the bread resembles the monkey puzzle tree,,^[2]  or the act of several ,people pulling at the bread is reminiscent of monkey behavior.  The packaging of a stoneware "Monkey Pot" made by Boston Warehouse in 1981 claimed that "monkey bread was named by that unique and whimsical comedienne, ZaSu Pitts, who so referred to it because, as she said, "you have to monkey around with it."

Origins

Recipes for the bread first appeared in American women's magazines and community cookbooks in the 1950s, and the dish is still virtually unknown outside the United States. The bread is made with pieces of sweet yeast dough (often frozen) which are baked in a cake pan at high heat after first being individually covered in melted butter, cinnamon, sugar and chopped pecans..^[3] It is traditionally served hot so that the baked segments can be easily torn away with the fingers and eaten by hand.

There are many theories on the origins of Monkey Bread, but Nancy Reagan did make it popular in the White House.

The following was found on line at  Park Palates- Nancy Reagan's Monkey Bread, at www.ohranger.com/white-house/news.

Wanna Monkey around with Nancy Reagan’s Infamous White House Dessert?
Dough, butter and sugar–who would have thought such simple ingredients could be so delicious? Although its origins are unknown, monkey bread emerged in bakeries in the 1950s and 60s and has been a staple in American households, from farmhouses to the White House, ever since. Comprised of inexpensive ingredients, easy to make, and fun to eat, this treat also known as “bubble bread” will undoubtedly please young and old alike.
First Lady Nancy Reagan served monkey bread during Christmas at the White House, causing a brief spike in the “pull-apart” bread’s popularity in the 80s. Although no one really knows whether or not Mrs. Reagan pulled up her sleeves and baked the bread herself, she sure was right about one thing: “When you make it, you have to monkey around with it.”
There are hundreds of monkey bread recipes in the baking world, but don’t get overwhelmed–the general idea remains constant: balls of dough, dipped in butter, coated, and placed to bake in a bundt pan. The slippery, butter-coated dough balls are determined to do their own thing, so leave your Type-A personality traits at the door and get ready to just have fun!
We found Nancy Reagan’s monkey bread recipe in Alabama First Lady Patsy Riley’s cookbook, When the Dinner Bell Rings at the Governer’s Mansion. Have fun monkeying around with it!
Nancy Reagan’s Monkey Bread

Ingredients:
¾ oz. yeast or 1 package dry yeast
1 to 1¼ c. milk
3 eggs
3 T. sugar
1 tsp. salt
3½ c. flour
6 oz. butter, room temperature
½ lb. butter, melted
2 (9 inch) ring molds
Directions:
In a bowl, mix yeast with part of milk until dissolved. Add two eggs and beat. Mix in dry ingredients. Add remaining milk, a little bit at a time, mixing thoroughly. Cut in butter until blended. Knead dough. Let rise 1 to 1½ hours until double in size. Knead again. Let rise 40 minutes. Roll dough onto flour board. Shape into log. Cut log into 28 pieces of equal size. Shape each piece of dough into a ball. Roll in melted butter. Use half of the pieces in each buttered and floured molds. Place seven balls in each mold, leaving spaces in between. Place remaining balls on top. Spacing evenly. Let dough rise in mold. Brush tops with remaining egg. Bake in preheated oven at 375° until golden brown, approximately 15 minutes.

Lei and Denise's  "Monkey Bread"

Ingredients:

• 4 tubes refrigerated buttermilk biscuits (like Pillsbury)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup oleo or margarine
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

(This recipe was taken from a cookbook, simply called Monteith, compiled by cooks in Monteith, Iowa.  It was submitted by Eva Grote in 1978.)

Assemble the ingredients.

Measure 3/4 cup sugar into a bowl.

Add to the sugar 2 teaspoons cinnamon.

Mix them together.

Prepare a baking pan.  I used a bundt cake pan.  You can
also use an angel food cake pan.  Some older recipes call
for ring molds.  Use what you have.

Open 4 tubes of refrigerated biscuits.

Cut each biscuit into 4 pieces.

Roll in the cinnamon and sugar mixture in the bowl.

Drop them into the greased baking pan.

Then, in a separate pan, measure 1 cup sugar.

Add 1 teaspoon cinnamon.

Add 3/4 cup oleo or margarine.
That will be 1 and 1/2 sticks.

Bring to a boil, stirring constantly so it doesn't burn.

Bring to a boil.

Pour over biscuits in baking pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

The bread will be brown when it comes out of the oven.

Invert onto plate when cool enough to handle.

Enjoy!

More Conversation!

Lei trying French macaroons!

Coco and Lei sampling Monkey Bread.

Group picture.

Lei.

Denise and Lei.

More conversation!

Another Version called Herb Bubbles

In the same Monteith Cookbook, my Aunt Doris had submitted a recipe called Herb Bubbles.  She and my Uncle Gerald lived in Monteith for many years.  This recipe is a tribute to all the delicious meals we enjoyed at her house growing up.

Ingredients:

• 3 to 3 1/2 cups flour
• 2 Tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 package dry yeast
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup oleo or margarine
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Combine 1 cup flour with the sugar, salt and yeast in the bowl.  Add milk and oil that has been warmed.   Add egg and beat 1/2 minute at low speed of electric mixer; then 3 minutes at medium speed.  Stir remaining flour to form soft dough.  Knead until smooth.

Cover and let rise until double.  Punch the dough down and pinch off pieces the size of a walnut.  Dip in melted oleo and place in 9x13 inch pan, or bundt cake pan.  Sprinkle with remaining ingredients.  Let rise until double.  Bake at 400 degrees for 25-35 minutes.