You can make this from-scratch monkey bread in the morning or the night before, but if you are planning on making it the morning, be sure to get up early or plan on having it for brunch. When making bread from scratch there is a proofing period in addition to the baking, and this can add considerable time to the process.
If you read through the recipe, one thing you may have noticed is that I used cinnamon extract (commonly found in most grocery stores) in place of cinnamon. This was purely for aesthetic purposes, as I wanted to create a beautifully light and colorful monkey bread. If you are not opposed to a dark brown confetti bread, feel free to omit the extract and substitute 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon.
Dough
5 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (105 degrees F to 120 degrees F)
1 1/4 cups warm whole milk (105 degrees F to 120 degrees F)
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs, beaten and at room temperature
1 cup rainbow jimmies, plus extra for garnish
Coating
3/4 cup unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Glaze
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk, plus extra if needed
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pour flour, sugar, and salt into the bowl of stand mixer with dough attachment.
Add in the yeast and turn on lowest speed for 30 seconds to evenly distribute.
Add warm water, melted butter and eggs to the flour/yeast mixture all at once. Beat on low to medium speed until the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
Add in sprinkles and mix for 30 more seconds, or until mostly distributed.
Remove dough from mixer, shape it into a ball with your hands and place it in a greased bowl that is at least twice as large as the ball of dough.
Turn the dough over once to grease the entire surface.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap that’s been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Let it rise until doubled in size. (You can also place in the refrigerator overnight.)
Make the Coating
Melt butter in a medium bowl. Add in granulated sugar and extracts. Set aside.
Generously spray the bottom and sides of a Bundt pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Punch the dough down by pushing your fist into the center and then start pulling the edges into the center.
Pull apart dough into small pieces about an inch across. Roll in your hands to create smooth, uniform dough balls.
Place one layer of dough balls into Bundt pan, then pour one-third of the melted butter mixture over.
Repeat this process twice more or until you have used all the dough and butter mixture.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown on top. Cover with foil if the top browns too quickly.
While monkey bread is cooking, prepare glaze.
Glaze
Beat cream cheese with powdered sugar until smooth and light. Add milk and vanilla, and mix until fully incorporated. If glaze seems too thick, add more milk. If glaze seems too runny, add in a bit more powdered sugar. You are looking for a gravy-like consistency where the glaze will fall over the sides of the monkey bread but not spill off completely.
Remove monkey bread from oven.
Cool for 10 minutes in pan and then invert onto serving plate.
Whisk glaze briefly, then pour over monkey bread. Garnish with more sprinkles.
from FN Dish – Food Network Blog http://ift.tt/1G7JLZy
Confetti Monkey Bread, Because Everything Is Better with Sprinkles