Monkey Bread Recipe (Frozen Bread Dough)
This monkey bread recipe with frozen bread dough has pockets of delicious gooey brown sugar and butterscotch. Each piece of bread is rolled in cinnamon sugar and piled on top of a buttery brown sugar mixture. It's baked to perfection and flipped out onto a serving plate.
This post is sponsored in conjunction with #EasterBrunchWeek #ad. I received products for recipe development and the sponsors supplied fun prizes you can win. As always, all opinions are honest and my own.
If you've never had Monkey Bread with butterscotch pudding, you need to! It makes this monkey bread all the more amazing with pockets of gooey wonderful all throughout the bread. It adds a nice flavor too!
Monkey bread was probably my very favorite childhood dessert. Let's be honest, it's pretty high up on my favorites as an adult too. I've made canned biscuit monkey bread and crockpot monkey bread, now I'm whipping up this easy monkey bread recipe with frozen bread dough.
I almost forgot that I've made a pecan pie monkey bread too! I adore this unique cranberry orange pull-apart monkey bread too.
What I like most about using frozen bread dough is that I don't have to pop those cans of biscuits. I am literally scared to death to pop them. I suck it up and do it, but like that I can also avoid it.
Monkey Bread Ingredients
- sugar - both granulated sugar and light brown sugar are needed for this recipe. You can also use dark brown sugar if that's all you have available.
- butterscotch instant pudding mix - the secret ingredient to a gooey monkey bread
- butter - I prefer using salted butter for this easy monkey bread recipe.
- Rhodes frozen bread dough - You can find it in 5lb bags in the freezer section of your Walmart.
- cinnamon - don't skimp on the ground cinnamon. We want all of the pieces of bread to be thoroughly coasted. Also, make sure your cinnamon isn't expired. That stuff can sit around for years and years if you're only an occasional baker.
How do you make Monkey Bread?
The very thing you want to do to make this monkey bread recipe is thaw that frozen bread dough. I let it sit out for about 2 hours at room temperature so it's still cold, but not frozen. You can also let it thaw in the fridge overnight.
I let it sit out at room temperature. To do this, I greased a baking pan, laid two loaves of bread on it, sprayed the top with nonstick cooking grease, and loosely covered the bread with plastic wrap. Depending on how warm or cold your kitchen is, it could take a little longer than 2 hours or a little less. Just check on it occasionally.
In a small bowl, add in the brown sugar and the dry butterscotch pudding mix. Stir to combine. Set aside ยฝ of a cup and sprinkle the rest into the bottom of a greased bundt pan. Pour melted butter on top of the brown sugar/butterscotch that's in the bundt pan.
In a shallow bowl, add in the ยฝ cup of remaining brown sugar/butterscotch mixture, granulated sugar, and cinnamon. Stir to combine.
After the bread has thawed, start cutting it in ยฝ-inch strips. Each strip should be cut into 6 to 7 pieces. Throw the pieces into the shallow bowl and them around until they're coated with the sugar mixture.
Scatter the bread on top of the brown sugar/butterscotch mixture that's in the bundt pan. Once all of the bread is in the bundt pan, pour the rest of the cinnamon sugar mixture into the bundt pan. Tap the pan to spread the sugar out between the layers of bread.
Pour some more butter on top of the bread. Place into the oven and bake for about 45 minutes or until it's done. As soon as the monkey bread comes out of the oven, Place a plate with a lip on it on top of the bundt pan and flip it so the plate is on the bottom holding the monkey bread.
How to tell when monkey bread is done
I like to pull a few pieces of the bread up from the center of the bundt to make it pulls apart and looks baked all the way. You can do this 2 pieces deep and that should give you a pretty good idea.
What pan do you use for monkey bread?
I used a 9-inch bundt pan.
Is monkey bread good the next day?
Yes! Make sure that the monkey bread is covered with plastic wrap to help keep it from drying out. You can always pop it in the microwave for about 20 seconds to 25 seconds to soften the monkey bread.
Can monkey bread be made ahead of time?
Yes! Follow the recipe all the way through until you come to the baking part. Stop at this point, cover with plastic wrap, and immediately place into the fridge. Don't bake it directly out of the fridge. I would let the pan come back up to room temperature before baking. That will take maybe 30 minutes.
How long will monkey bread last?
Monkey bread can last about 4 days before it gets hard and unpleasant.
Monkey Bread Recipe (Frozen Bread Dough)
Ingredients
Topping
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- 3.4 ounce box butterscotch instant pudding
- ยฝ cup salted butter melted
Monkey Bread
- 2 lbs frozen bread dough
- ยฝ cup granulated sugar
- 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ยผ cup salted butter melted
Instructions
- Place the frozen bread out on a greased baking sheet. Spray the tops of the loaves with nonstick cooking spray. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let it unthaw. The dough should be cold but thawed. It took about 2 hours for me.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9-inch bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, add in the light brown sugar and the dry butterscotch pudding mix. Stir to combine. Set aside ยฝ cup of the brown sugar/butterscotch mixture.
- Pour the brown sugar/butterscotch mixture into the prepared bundt pan. Drizzle the ยฝ cup of melted butter on top.
- In a shallow dish, add in the remaining ยฝ cup of brown sugar/butterscotch mixture, granulated sugar, and cinnamon. Stir to combine.
- Cut the thawed dough in ยฝ-inch slices. Each slice should be cut into 6 to 7 pieces.
- Roll the pieces of dough into the shallow dish of cinnamon and sugar.
- Try to evenly spread the pieces of dough out on top of the mixture brown sugar/butterscotch inside the bundt pan.
- Once the bread is all in the bundt pan, pour the rest of the cinnamon and sugar on top of the bread. Tap the bundt pan on the countertop to distribute.
- Pour the ยผ cup of butter on top of the monkey bread.
- Place into the preheated oven and bake for about 45to 50 minutes. Pull a couple of pieces up by the center of the bundt pan and if it comes out looking like bread instead of bread dough, it's done.
- Immediately after the monkey bread is removed from the oven, place a plate with a lip on it on top of the bundt pan. Turn the monkey bread so the plate is on the bottom and the monkey bread is on top. Pull the bundt pan off and let cool.
- Cover with plastic wrap and store for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
(Nutrition facts are an estimate and not guaranteed to be accurate. Please see a registered dietitian for special diet advice.)
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This recipe calls for INSTANT pudding mix - As you can see in the photo, her "syrup" does not develop and does not make a good caramel. Use the cook-and-serve pudding mix - NOT INSTANT and up the butter to 1/2 cup. Then you will have excellent results.