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If you’re looking for a special breakfast or brunch recipe, try making this delicious Sourdough Monkey Bread. These little balls of cinnamon sugary goodness are covered in a caramely brown sugar cinnamon sauce that is hard to resist.
It’s named after the way you eat it, by picking off chunks of gooey dough like a monkey would groom a friend. Perfect for holidays or any occasion, this monkey bread is a crowd-pleaser. Enjoy it warm and drizzled with a vanilla glaze for the ultimate treat. Or looking for something quick, easy and festive? Try my sourdough gingerbread waffles, crispy sourdough waffles or my sourdough discard donuts!
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Sample Sourdough Schedule for Sourdough Monkey Bread
A sample baking schedule helps me when baking with sourdough. Sourdough takes much longer to rise than traditional bread. This schedule helps me plan my bake.
A few notes: This schedule assumes the dough temperature is 78-82 degrees F throughout the process. If you’d like to make this sourdough monkey bread all on the same day, skip the cold bulk fermentation and go straight to shaping the dough.
| Day 1 (evening) | |
| 9:00 PM– 9:00AM | Mix levain. Let sit overnight and proceed with the recipe the next morning. |
| Day 2 (morning/evening) | |
| 9:00 AM – 9:15 AM | Mix and knead dough ingredients together. |
| 9:15 AM – 1:15 PM | Bulk Fermentation Cover and let rise in a warm (78 degree F) place for 4 hours. |
| 1:15 PM- next morning | Cold Bulk Fermentation Cover dough and let sit in the refrigerator until ready to shape the monkey bread, the next morning or within 48 hours. |
| Day 3 (morning) | |
| 7:00 AM | Shape monkey bread and let rise in a warm spot (at least 78 degrees or a little higher) until puffy. |
| 10:00 AM | Bake. Top with icing if desired and enjoy! |
Alternate Timing: If your kitchen is on the cooler side (around 74–75°F), you can mix the monkey bread dough in the evening and skip the bulk fermentation. Shape the dough into balls right away, then let the assembled monkey bread rise on the counter overnight instead of refrigerating it. In the morning, bake when it has risen and is almost doubled in size.
Important Ingredients in Sourdough Monkey Bread
- Sourdough Starter: Use an active/ripe sourdough starter (doubled in size/bubbly/mild sour aroma) to mix the levain
- Whole Milk: I prefer the richness of whole milk in this recipe. You can substitute 2% if you don’t have whole.
- Unsalted Butter: I always bake with unsalted butter. It allows me to control the flavor in my baked goods —salt in butter is not regulated, so you cannot predict how much salt has been added.
- Bread Flour: I almost always use bread flour for any bread that I am kneading. The higher protein content and properly activating the gluten result in a lighter/springier baked good.
- Salt: Salt is important to balance the flavors. Don’t leave it out.
- Brown Sugar: Brown sugar gives the monkey bread its “caramely” flavor when it is mixed with butter and cinnamon and baked.
- Cinnamon: I love the flavor that ground cinnamon brings to this monkey bread.
How to Make Sourdough Monkey Bread
Mixing the Levain
I almost always use a levain method when making sourdough. Begin the night before you mix the dough by mixing together
- 10 grams ripe sourdough starter
- 100 grams flour
- 100 grams water
Mix together those ingredients, cover and keep at 78 degrees Fahrenheit. The levain should be ready in about 10-12 hours. You can also manipulate the ratios of feeding your levain to make it move faster or slower.
Note: If you prefer using sourdough starter that is already ripe, bubbly and active, you can substitute it for the levain in this recipe.
Mixing Sourdough Monkey Bread Dough
Set the bowl of a stand mixer on a kitchen scale and add the ingredients to the bowl. Mix together for about 8-10 minutes until the dough is smooth, pulls away from the sides of the bowl and feel cohesive and strong. The dough should be tacky, but not overly sticky. If it feels too sticky, add a little more flour just 10 grams at a time.
If you don’t have a stand mixer, knead the dough by hand for about 10 minutes until smooth, cohesive and strong.
Bulk Fermentation
Remove the dough from the mixer and place it in a container. Cover the dough with a kitchen towel or plastic shower cap. Set the dough in a warm place (78 degrees-80 degrees F) for about 4 hours. The dough will puff up and look like it’s risen a bit by the end of 4 hours. If you want a more sour flavor in your monkey bread, you can let the dough ferment another hour or two.
Cold Bulk Fermentation
Place the covered dough in the refrigerator overnight for a cold bulk fermentation. This dough can stay in the refrigerator for up to 48 hours. I like using a cold bulk fermentation because it allows me to plan out my bakes better and adds more flavor to the dough. If you prefer to bake the monkey bread the same day, skip the cold bulk fermentation and move straight to shaping the dough.
Prepare the Pan and Brown Sugar Mixture
Before you divide and shape the sourdough monkey bread, prepare a bundt pan. This recipe uses a bundt pan for a unique and fun shape. You can use any pan you want if you don’t have a bundt pan. Melt the butter for the topping. Use a pastry brush to thoroughly spread melted butter into all the crevices to thoroughly coat the bundt pan. After the pan is prepared, mix the brown sugar/cinnamon/salt together.
Shaping Sourdough Monkey Bread
Turn the dough out of the container. It will be cold but as you work with it, it will warm up a bit. Using a bench scraper or sharp knife to cut the monkey bread into 8 sections. Cut each section of monkey bread into 6-8 pieces (depending on how large you like the pieces). You will end up with about 50-60 pieces of monkey bread. Roll each piece into a ball shape with your fingers and then dunk into the butter and then the topping mixture. Coat each ball completely in the mixture and place in the bundt pan. Continue layering the balls on top of each other until all the balls of dough are covered and the bundt pan is filled up with monkey bread bites. Pour any leftover butter and topping over the top of the monkey bread.
Proofing Sourdough Monkey Bread
Cover and let the monkey bread rest in a warm place for about 3 hours. I set my bread proofer to 82 degrees F which is a little warmer than usual. This helps warm up cold dough from being in the refrigerator a little more quickly. If you don’t have a bread proofer, use your oven with the light on to monitor the temperature of your dough. After about 3 hours, gently touch a dough ball. It should feel airy and light (no longer cold at all). If you press in on the dough ball it should spring back just a little bit. The dough should have puffed up but won’t necessarily rise to fill the bundt pan. If your dough is showing all of these signs, go ahead and preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. If it’s not showing these signs, let it continue rising for another half hour to hour. If you want more sour flavor, leave the dough to ferment even longer–another hour or two.
Baking Sourdough Monkey Bread
Put the sourdough monkey bread in a preheated 350 degree F oven and bake for 30-35 minutes. The monkey bread will puff up while it bakes and the brown sugar/cinnamon mixture will make a delicious coating and gooey sauce all over the monkey bread. After about 30 minutes, pull the sourdough monkey bread out of the oven and let it rest for about 5-10 minutes before turning it out onto a large plate. If you have trouble with the monkey bread not holding its shape, let it sit a little longer in the pan. Whisk together powdered sugar and whole milk and drizzle over the top of the warm sourdough monkey bread. Enjoy warm!
Frequently Asked Questions
You don’t have to use a bundt pan. I’ve successfully made it in an 8 by 8 pan or even loaf pans (you may need to separate the dough into two pans if you go this route). A 10 inch bundt pan makes a beautiful shape but any pan will work if you just want delicious sourdough monkey bread.
Yes! You have a few options. Make the dough ahead of time and leave in the refrigerator for up to 48 ready to shape and bake. Or assemble the monkey bread and leave it in the refrigerator for a day or two – just make sure it’s puffed up and risen before you bake it!
Sourdough monkey bread is best enjoyed warm and within the first 24 hours. If your monkey bread comes to room temperature, heat it up for a few seconds in the microwave for best results. If you want to keep it longer, stick leftover monkey bread in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. Warm up when you want to serve it.
Yes. You can change your feeding ratio and mix a 1:1:1 levain in the morning (or use ripe, bubbly, active sourdough starter). Mix the dough and let it rise for about 4 hours. Shape into small balls, coat and let rise again for another 3-4 hours in a warm 80-85ºF place. At this point, bake it or place in the refrigerator to bake the next morning.
Popular Sourdough Breakfast Recipes
Sourdough Monkey Bread
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Equipment
- bench scraper
Ingredients
Levain (1:10:10, overnight or about 12 hours)
- 10 grams ripe sourdough starter, about 2 teaspoons
- 100 grams all purpose flour, scant 3/4 cup
- 100 grams water, about 7 Tablespoons
Sourdough Monkey Bread
- 200 grams levain, about 3/4 cup
- 240 grams whole milk, about 1 cup
- 30 grams unsalted butter, melted and cooled, about 2 Tablespoons
- 55 grams granulated sugar, 1/4 cup
- 500 grams bread flour, see recipe note, about 3 1/3 cups
- 15 grams salt, about 2 teaspoons
Topping
- 230 grams brown sugar, about 1 cup packed
- 7 grams ground cinnamon, about 1 Tablespoon
- 113 grams unsalted butter, melted, 1/2 cup
- pinch of salt
Icing (optional)
- 65 grams powdered sugar, 1/2 cup
- 15 grams whole milk, 1 .5 Tablespoons
Instructions
Levain (1:10:10/overnight)
- Mix together the ripe sourdough starter with flour and water. Cover and let sit in a warm, 78 degree F place for about 10-12 hours until bubbly/ripe/doubled in size and has a slight sour aroma. Note: If you already have ripe, bubbly, active sourdough starter, you can use that in place of mixing a levain in this recipe. Or if you prefer to make the levain the morning of mixing the dough, mix together 75 grams ripe sourdough starter/75 grams water/75 grams flour and let sit in warm 78-80ºF place for about 3-4 hours before proceeding with the recipe.
Sourdough Monkey Bread
- Knead the Dough: To the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together ripe levain, whole milk, unsalted butter (melted), sugar, bread flour and salt. Knead for about 8 minutes until the dough is smooth and tacky. Alternatively, knead the dough by hand for about 10 minutes until smooth and cohesive.
- Bulk Fermentation: Remove dough from the mixer, place in a container and cover. Set the dough in a warm place (78 degrees-80 degrees F) for about 4 hours. The dough will puff up and look like it's risen a bit by the end of 4 hours. If you want a more sour flavor in your monkey bread, let the dough ferment another hour or two.
- Cold Bulk Fermentation: Place the dough in the refrigerator overnight for a cold bulk fermentation. This dough can stay in the refrigerator for up to 48 hours. If you prefer to bake the monkey bread the same day, skip the cold bulk fermentation and move straight to shaping the dough.
- Prepare the Pan: Prepare a 10 inch bundt pan by brushing melted butter all over the pan-into every crevice of the bundt pan. I use the melted butter from the topping.
- Topping: Mix together the brown sugar, cinnamon and a pinch of salt. Set aside.
- Shaping Monkey Bread: Turn the dough out of the container. It will be cold but as you work with it, it will warm up a bit. Using a bench scraper or sharp knife, cut the monkey bread into 8 sections. Cut each section of monkey bread into 6-8 pieces (depending on how large you like the pieces). Roll each piece into a ball shape with your fingers and then dunk into the butter and then the topping mixture. Coat each ball completely in the mixture and place in the bundt pan. Continue until all the balls of dough are covered and the bundt pan is filled up with monkey bread bites. Pour any leftover melted butter/topping over the top of the monkey bread.
- Proofing the Dough: Cover and let the monkey bread rest in a warm place for about 3-4 hours. I set my bread proofer to 82 degrees F. If you don't have a bread proofer, use your oven with the light on to monitor the temperature of your dough. After about 3 hours, gently touch a dough ball. It should feel airy and light (no longer cold at all). If you press in on the dough ball it should spring back just a little bit. The dough should have puffed up but won't necessarily rise to fill the bundt pan. If your dough is showing all of these signs, go ahead and pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees F. If it's not showing these signs, let it continue rising for another half hour to hour. If you want more sour flavor, leave the dough to ferment even longer–another hour or two.
- Bake: Put the sourdough monkey bread in a preheated 350 degree F oven and bake for 30-35 minutes. The monkey bread will puff up while it bakes and the brown sugar/cinnamon mixture will make a delicious coating all over the monkey bread. Pull the sourdough monkey bread out of the oven and let rest for about 5-10 minutes before turning it out onto a large plate.
- Icing: Mix together powdered sugar and whole milk. Drizzle over the top of warm sourdough monkey bread if desired. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
If I do not own a bundt pan… is there a different kind of pan I could use for this instead? Thanks!
I would probably use two loaf pans if I didn’t have a bundt. I’ve done that with the buttery pull apart bread with good results, which is a similar style of pull-apart bread.
I made this to the recipe. The flavour was spot on, but it seemed a bit stogy (I used AP flour, not bread flour). I think it would benefit from bumping up the hydration – maybe add another 100ML milk? I’ve made savoury monkey bread before, and it was definitely a bit fluffier and higher hydration
You could try that! I think the bread flour does make a difference in texture, so you might try that if you have access to bread flour.
Amy, If making this for the morning your notes say to make the entire monkey bread and then let it sit in the fridge over night. Does that mean to go through all the steps, including dunking them in the butter/cinnamon/sugar mixture? And then set it in the fridge overnight and bake straight from the fridge in the morning?
Thanks! I can’t wait to make this!
Yes! That is what that means. Happy baking!
Made the Monkey Bread today and it turned out perfect! Your recipes are so easy to follow and love the tips provided. I wished I could upload a picture of the finished product so all could see the fantastic results. I left off the glaze as I knew it was needed.
You can share a picture and review here! I’m glad it turned out great. Enjoy!
I like to include pecans in our monkey bread. Is it ok to throw some in the Bundt pan during the final rise and then refrigerate?
That should work! Let me know how it turns out!
How do you store and reheat this?
For long-term storage I’d recommend freezing any leftovers and then reheat in the microwave. Short-term, you can keep it covered on the counter for up to 24 hours. Reheat for 10 seconds in the microwave until soft and warm.
I wish I knew what I did wrong? I mixed the dough and left it sit in the oven with the light in and it didn’t rise at all. It’s a dense solid mass. I’ll let it rest longer and hope for the best
How active was your sourdough starter? It sounds like it needed more time to rise, more warmth to rise or your starter/levain wasn’t quite active and ready to be used. Sorry it wasn’t rising for you.
Oh my goodness! This recipe is amazing! Made it for the family for morning breakfast/coffee and they were gone in seconds!! Thank you!
I’m so glad you love this recipe. Than you for the review.
Love it and so does my daughter! We had a great time making it together but a way better time eating it!
Daughter:
i am a cook my self and i could not come up with somthing like it sooooo cooool!!!! <3
Love this! Thank you for sharing and glad you enjoyed this recipe.
Since my house is cold can I make the dough before I go to bed and let it rise overnight at room temperature?
Yes, you can do that. It may still need a little longer to rise in the morning if the dough itself is cold during the rise. Just make sure it’s risen before baking.