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Pecan and cinnamon monkey bread

Name: Pecan and cinnamon monkey bread
Prep time: 3 h 30 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 4 h 5 min
Yield: Serves 10
Cuisine: American recipes
Ingredients: 80ml whole milk; 30g unsalted butter at room temperature, plus extra to grease; 240g strong white bread flour; 2 tsp caster sugar; 1 scant tsp fast-action dried yeast; 1 large free-range egg; For the filling; 50g pecans, roughly chopped; 60g butter; 80g light muscovado sugar; 2 tsp ground cinnamon; ½ tsp mixed spice; For the drizzle; 100g icing sugar; ¼ tsp vanilla extract; 1 tbsp butter, melted; You’ll also need; 900g loaf tin lined with compostable baking paper; Useful to have; Stand mixer

By: Sophie Austen-Smith
Former deputy food editor, delicious.

Published: 28 Jan 21
Updated: 18 Mar 24

Studded with pecans and drizzled with vanilla icing, this soft, stickily sweet cinnamon monkey bread is irresistible as part of a weekend brunch. It’s so good that this is one tear-and-share loaf you won’t want to share…

Alternatively, try this banana monkey bread doused in cinnamon syrup. It’s what weekends were made for.

Medium
January 2021

Test kitchen approved

Serves 10
Hands-on time 30 min, oven time 30-35 min, plus rising, proving and cooling

Alternatively, try this banana monkey bread doused in cinnamon syrup. It’s what weekends were made for.

Vegetarian recipes

Nutrition: per serving

Calories: 293kcals
Fat: 13.4g (6.2g saturated)
Protein: 4.4g
Carbohydrates: 37.9g (19.4g sugars)
Fibre: 1.6g
Salt: 0.2g

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Ingredients

80ml whole milk
30g unsalted butter at room temperature, plus extra to grease
240g strong white bread flour
2 tsp caster sugar
1 scant tsp fast-action dried yeast
1 large free-range egg

For the filling

50g pecans, roughly chopped
60g butter
80g light muscovado sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp mixed spice

For the drizzle

100g icing sugar
¼ tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp butter, melted

You’ll also need

900g loaf tin lined with compostable baking paper

Useful to have

Stand mixer

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Method

Gently warm the milk and butter in a small pan until the butter has just melted – don’t let it bubble (the milk musn’t be warmer than finger-hot). Put the flour, sugar, yeast and a pinch of salt in a stand mixer and stir well. Make a well in the centre, then pour in the milk mixture and egg. Mix on medium speed with the dough hook for 15 minutes until smooth (or see tip).
Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel and leave to rise at room temperature for 1½-2 hours until the dough has nearly doubled in size.
Meanwhile, make the filling. Put the pecans in a small pan and gently heat until just beginning to toast, then remove from the pan and set aside. Add the 60g butter and muscovado sugar to the pan and gently heat until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Add the spices and stir until well combined. Remove from the heat and leave to cool but not set.

Arrange half the toasted pecans in the prepared loaf tin, then drizzle over 2 tbsp of the cooled spiced butter mix.
Divide the dough into quarters, halve each of these, then cut each eighth into 3 roughly equal-size pieces so you have 24 pieces in total. Roll each into a ball, then roll in the remaining spiced butter and loosely cover the base of the tin, making sure not to squash any. Spoon over some more nuts (don’t worry about any gaps as these will be filled when the dough is proving). Repeat rolling, coating and layering the balls until the tin is full. Scatter over any remaining nuts and pour over any remaining spiced butter.
Cover loosely and leave in a warm place to prove for 30-45 minutes. The dough is ready to bake when it’s puffed and a gentle prod from your finger leaves a slight indentation. Heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas 4.
Bake the monkey bread for 30-35 minutes until golden and crisp. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out and cool completely on a wire rack.
Whisk the drizzle ingredients with 1-2 tsp water, then drizzle over the monkey bread to serve.

Recipe from January 2021 Issue

Nutrition

Nutrition: per serving

Calories: 293kcals
Fat: 13.4g (6.2g saturated)
Protein: 4.4g
Carbohydrates: 37.9g (19.4g sugars)
Fibre: 1.6g
Salt: 0.2g

delicious. tips

To make the dough without a stand mixer, follow the method in step 1 using a large mixing bowl. Bring the dough together using a wooden spoon, then turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 15-20 minutes by hand. It will be sticky to begin with but will get stiffer and smoother the longer you knead.
This is best eaten on the day it’s made, but it will keep for up to 24 hours, well wrapped. Serve at room temperature or gently reheat.