Pumpkin Spice Monkey Bread

       "Ooh eeh, ooh ah aah, ting tang, walla walla bing bang! Ooh eeh, ooh ah aah, ting tang, walla walla bing bang!" Yes, it's true. Monkey bread makes me sing. =) It's just so fun! I mean, how can you not love something called "monkey bread"? And truth be told, that's the only reason why I decided to make it for our second post. I wanted to make something that would make people smile, because everybody deserves a little happiness in their life.  So when I came across Sugarcrafter's Pumpkin Monkey Bread recipe, I felt a little giddy inside...mainly because I haven't thought about monkey bread in forever. Shame on me. Anyway, I thought something pumpkin sounded tasty, but then I just wanted something really spicy. As in cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, etc. spicy. Not hot spicy. (Is there an easier way to explain that? I get so confused...) So I ended up adjusting the recipe a bit, and it was scrumptious. However, because I did add so many extra spices, I really couldn't taste a whole lot of pumpkin. So next time I want something pumpkiny, I'll just make the recipe "right".  


Recipe slightly adapted from Sugarcrafter
Pumpkin Spice Monkey Bread

Ingredients

For the dough

• 3 1/4 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves
• 2 tablespoon butter, melted
• 1/2 cup warm milk (about 110°F)
• 1/4 cup warm water (about 110°F)
• 2/3 cup pumpkin purée
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 ounce active dry yeast

For the coating

• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 3/4 stick butter, melted

Note: Because I "super coated" my dough I used double this. Also, the smaller the pieces you make, the more coating you need because you'll have more surface area to cover.

Directions
--In a large bowl, mix together the flour, salt and spices.

--In a separate bowl, pour in warmed milk and water. Sprinkle the yeast on top of the liquids and let sit for a few minutes, until the top is nice and frothy. (If you don’t get the froth, you either have bad yeast or you killed it, so start over.) Then mix in the pumpkin purée, melted butter, and sugar.

--Pour your liquid mixture into your flour mixture, a little at a time, stirring gradually until it is all combined.

--Once combined, knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic. Then place the dough into a bowl which has been sprayed with cooking spray. Cover the bowl with a clean, moist cloth, and let the dough double in size. This will take about an hour.

--When the dough has risen, stir together the cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl. Melt the butter in a separate microwaveable dish.

--Spray your Bundt pan with cooking spray.

--Remove the dough from the bowl and press it into a rectangle. Don’t bother with using a rolling pin since you’ll be cutting up the dough anyway.

--Using a sharp knife, or a pastry scraper, cut the dough into equal-ish pieces and roll said pieces into balls. How big you want your pieces will determine how many balls you get. I wanted small balls, so I ended up with sixty pieces.

--Once you have all your pieces rolled, dip them into the butter, shake off the excess, and roll them in the cinnamon-sugar. When I did this, I put several pieces of dough in the butter at a time, but took them out one at a time to roll in the sugar. I also made sure I had an excessive amount of coating on the balls. This way, I didn’t need to make a glaze at the end of baking because I’d already have a delicious sticky mess when I was done baking. Note: If you decide to do this, you will end up needing more cinnamon-sugar. Place the coated balls in the Bundt pan as you go.

--Once you’ve completed coating, cover the Bundt pan once more and let the dough rise for one more hour.

--Finally, before that hour is up, preheat your oven to 350°F. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown.

--Let cool for a little while before flipping your pan onto a serving dish.

--Serve warm and enjoy =)

Happy Baking!

--H