Monkey Bread

With two weeks remaining before class starts up, my time left for working with yeast is slowly decreasing. Why you ask? Yeast simple takes a lot of patience and time and with my school work, that's just a no-no. With my last attempt at bread, I decided to make Monkey Bread. Circular dough balls drenched in butter, rolled in cinnamon sugar with pecans, placed into a bundt pan and baked. Served best when warm. YUM!

Monkey Bread reminds me of an inside out cinnamon roll. Instead of having that delicious gooey centers of cinnamon rolls, monkey bread has more of a crispy sugary crust. With the added crunch of the pecans, it's to die for. This isn't a diet food by any means so if you are on a diet, I apologize. It definitely gives you that sugar rush with every bite you take.

Trust me, with the next two weeks, I'm gonna need that sugar rush. To start off the first two weeks, I'm taking the PCAT for pharmacy this week. EEEEEEEEEKKKK! Super nervous. Just reading through the rules and regulations are freaking me out. The security is crazy! Apparently they have to capture our signature and our PALM VEIN! I thought I was taking the PCAT, not getting arrested! haha. Oh well, I just can't wait to get it over with :)

Monkey Bread

Recipe by Martha Stewart

Makes one 10-inch Bundt Cake

Ingredients
For The Bread:
2 tablespoons solid vegetable shortening, plus more for pan and bowl
1/4 cup warm (110 degrees to 115 degrees) water
1/4 cup granulated sugar, plus a pinch for yeast
1 envelope dry active yeast (scant tablespoon)
3/4 cup warm (110 degrees to 115 degrees) milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

For The Coating:
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup firmly packed light-brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
For The Icing:
1/4 cup milk
2 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions
Lightly coat a 10-inch Bundt pan and a medium bowl with shortening; set aside. Put the warm water and a pinch of sugar in a small bowl; sprinkle yeast over top. Stir; let the yeast soften and dissolve, about 5 minutes.

Place shortening, milk, sugar, salt, and egg in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook.

Add yeast mixture to shortening mixture, and beat to combine. Slowly add flour. Knead on medium-low, 1 minute. Transfer dough to the prepared bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, and let stand in a warm place, 20 minutes.

Make coating: Place melted butter in a bowl. In a second bowl, combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and nuts; sprinkle 2 tablespoons nut mixture into prepared Bundt pan.

Cut dough into 1/2-inch pieces. Roll into balls. Coat in butter, then roll in nut mixture, and place in prepared pan. Cover with plastic wrap, and let stand in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool in pan for 15 minutes. Invert onto a serving plate, and let cool 20 minutes more.

Make icing: In a small bowl, combine milk and confectioners' sugar. Stir until smooth. Drizzle over bread.

-Aaron John