In all the years that I have been writing about food, the most popular posts involve dough based items. Whether it’s a loaf of bread or a delicious old school donut, these items will almost always draw the most attention. For me, these items have always been my weakness and are difficult to stay away from or even minimize in my diet — yet I still find myself overindulging on some of my favorites without remorse.
Years ago, I had shared a recipe for a traditional monkey bread made with melted butter and cinnamon sugar, that creates a gooey caramel when baked and remains a crowd favorite. Since then, I created a savory version with garlic, parmesan and herbs. Again, this is a tweaked version of my thin crust pizza dough recipe, but I wanted to make this dough a little richer and more tender by adding an egg. This delicious bread can be served in a couple of different ways – as an individual, pull apart roll or one large loaf baked in the more traditional bundt pan, just like I did for my sweet version.
If you prefer to bake this in a bundt pan, you can bake all of the pieces together and then pull them apart and serve them homestyle in a large bread basket. This is actually a great way to serve them, and all of the uniquely shaped pieces of dough generates lots of smiles and conversation. Don’t worry if there are any pieces left. Toss them in a ziploc bag and place them into the freezer, then warm them up in your toaster oven and enjoy with your breakfast or cut them up and and make some extraordinarily delicious croutons.
The key for a delicious roll is to use a rich, cheesy sauce in which you roll the dough balls before baking. I did some research to find a good one, but wasn’t happy with what I found, so I created my own. Make sure to make this at least a few hours ahead of time so that all of the flavors have a chance to come together, and as a result, you will have a really delicious savory flavor.
The cheese sauce is very rich, but it goes a long way. The recipe I have provided is enough for one batch of individual rolls, or a double batch of dough for 2 bundt pans. If I am making this for home, I will add the finely minced fresh garlic, but when I make it for guests I usually skip it – some people love garlic, and others do not. The cheese sauce alone provides a lovely sour cream an onion flavor for the bread all on its own. As the dough bakes, the sauce melts and is absorbed into the bread — truly decadent. Serve some next to your favorite soup and salad or alongside a delicious beef or chicken roast.
Herbed Garlic & Parmesan Monkey Bread Rolls (makes about 16 individual rolls or 1-10” bundt)
1 recipe monkey bread (portion into ¾ ounce dough balls only if making individual bread rolls)
½ to ¾ cup shredded parmesan
Herb & Cheese Sauce
1 cup good quality mayo (I use Duke’s)
1 stick butter, melted
3 tablespoons sour cream
¼ cup finely grated parmesan cheese
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 ½ teaspoon dried parsley
½ teaspoon dried chives
½ teaspoon yellow mustard
3 teaspoons onion powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon sugar
2-4 cloves garlic finely minced **optional
To make the sauce, melt the butter in a microwave safe dish and then add the mayo, stirring well to combine completely. Then add in all of the other ingredients, stir well, cover and place and set aside until ready to use. If you are making this the day before and storing it in the refrigerator, allow it to come to room temperature before using.
Once the sauce has been made, prepare the dough according to the instructions on the link, and allow it to proof until doubled in size. Once it has proofed, you must decide whether you want to make individual rolls or bake the dough balls in a bundt pan. The size of the dough balls will vary slightly, so make sure to portion out the dough balls based on how you want to bake these. Portioning out all of the dough first is very important because the dough continues to proof, and you need to do put this together quickly.
If you want to bake the dough as individual rolls…
Portion out the dough into ¾ ounce portions to ensure that they all bake correctly. This is a good size for each dough ball because they will proof again and fill the muffin well. Three dough balls will be required for each individual roll, so make sure to roll them all out first. When ready, take each dough ball, gently coat it with the cheese sauce and dab it into some of the shredded parmesan cheese. Place the dough ball into your well sprayed muffin pan and repeat this until all of the dough has been used. Cover the muffin pan loosely with plastic wrap and proof the rolls until doubled in sized, about 15-30 minutes depending on your environment. Just before baking, brush the tops gently with some egg wash and bake in a preheated 350°F oven until golden brown, 20-30 minutes.
If you want to bake the dough in a bundt pan…
Portion out the dough balls by eyeing the approximate size. An approximation works fine here since they all proof and bake together in one pan. Generally 1 to 1.5 oz portions work well for the bundt pan, which is about the size of a golf ball. You don’t want anything too small when making it this way. Once all of the dough balls have been portioned out, sprinkle some shredded parmesan cheese into the bottom of your well sprayed 10” bundt pan. Roll each dough ball in some cheese sauce and place in the bottom of the bundt pan. Once you have the first layer completed, sprinkle on a little more shredded cheese. Repeat until all of the dough and the shredded cheese has been used up.
Keep the amount of cheese to a minimum, because if you use too much, you may not be able to pull apart the monkey bread after it has baked. Once all of the dough balls have been put into the bundt pan, cover it loosely with plastic wrap and proof until doubled in size, about 15-30 minutes depending on your environment. When ready, bake in a preheated 350°F until the tops begin to take on a golden brown color. Remove from the oven and invert the bundt pan onto a cooling rack but don’t remove the bundt pan yet. Allow it to cool slightly, then lift off the pan and separate the pieces of monkey bread. Place them in a tea cloth lined basket and serve warm.
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