Sourdough monkey bread is a tangy, sticky-sweet cinnamon pull-apart bread made with pieces of sourdough rolls tossed in cinnamon sugar and caramelized with a buttery homemade syrup.
Growing up, monkey bread was a common and much-loved treat. There was something about picking apart these gooey pieces of cinnamon roll that made it such a fun dessert.
Making this for my family, I used our favorite easy sourdough dinner rolls recipe for the fluffy, tender texture and tangy sourdough twist. We loved these rolls before ever adding cinnamon, sugar, and buttery caramel sauce, so I knew we had a winner.
You take little dough balls and roll them in a cinnamon sugar mixture, place them in a greased bundt pan, and smother them in a smooth, buttery syrup. After baking, the whole dish is turned out of the bundt pan onto a serving plate and drizzled with a simple glaze.
It’s an addictive dessert that reminds me of bite-sized sourdough cinnamon rolls in one lovely dish. Kids and adults love pulling small pieces off for the perfect bite.
It’s a great addition to any special occasion, whether it be a birthday breakfast, Christmas morning, or Saturday brunch. It’s nostalgic, crowd-pleasing, and incredibly tasty.
I like to serve it alongside a savory ham and cheese frittata or a dish of homemade Greek yogurt with fresh fruit.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Deliciously gooey – Served warm, you’ll see why this sourdough monkey bread recipe makes you want to take just one more bite. The tangy sourdough flavor, buttery caramel sauce, and sticky, gooey texture are mouth-watering!
Perfect for prepping – The dough can be prepared the day before and long-fermented overnight, then assembled the next day with a short rise time to be ready in time for brunch.
Sourdough flavor and benefits – The long fermentation time provides a deep sourdough tang as well as the nutritional benefits of sourdough. Long fermentation breaks down phytic acid, making grains more bioavailable while also lowering the gluten content, offering easier digestion, increasing mineral absorption, and developing a richer flavor overall.
Ingredients
Sourdough starter – Use a recently fed, bubbly, active sourdough starter.
Melted butter – Melted, but cooled. Hot butter may kill the yeast.
All-purpose flour – All-purpose flour is convenient, affordable, and produces a soft, light texture. I like to use unbleached.
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
How to Make Sourdough Monkey Bread
Step 1: Beginning with a recently fed, active starter, add the sourdough starter, sugar, warm water, melted butter, salt, and flour to the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment. Mix for 10-15 minutes at medium speed using the dough hook, until the dough is smooth and stretchy. Check gluten development with the windowpane test (see the Tips section below).
Step 2: Place the dough in a large greased bowl and cover with a lid or plastic wrap. Allow to ferment overnight (8-12 hours) for the best flavor and fermentation benefits.
Step 3: The following day, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and divide the cold dough into eight equal parts. Divide again until you you get about 32-40 equal sized pieces. A bench scraper or sharp knife makes this part a breeze. Shape each piece of dough, creating tension against the countertop.
Step 4: Prepare the cinnamon sugar mixture by stirring sugar and cinnamon in a medium-sized bowl or gallon-sized bag. Roll each of the dough pieces into the cinnamon sugar mixture, then layer them into a greased bundt pan.
Step 5: Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for 1-2 hours or until doubled in size and pillowy to the touch. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Step 6: In a small saucepan on the stovetop, melt the butter and whisk in brown sugar until dissolved. Remove from heat. Be careful not to overcook.
Step 7: Pour evenly over the top of the rolls.
Step 8: Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes. Time may vary, so keep a close watch. The roll pieces should be golden brown and bubbly.
Step 9: Remove from the oven and turn over onto a serving platter while still hot.
Step 10: Combine powdered sugar and milk until a glaze forms, then drizzle over the warm monkey bread. Serve and enjoy right away!
Tips
- Perform the windowpane test by taking a small piece of dough, stretching it into a square, and observing whether it can be stretched thin enough to see through without breaking. If so, the gluten has been developed properly. If it breaks, continue kneading for a few more minutes.
- Bake with a sheet pan underneath to catch any drips from the syrup.
- Remove from the bundt pan immediately after baking to avoid the syrup and monkey bread sticking to the pan.
- If you notice the monkey bread browning too quickly before it is fully baked, cover the top with a piece of aluminum foil.
- Add some vanilla extract to the icing at the end, or drizzle with a cream cheese icing instead. Sprinkle in nuts or dried fruit, like raisins or chopped apricots, to heighten the texture and flavor.
Recipe FAQs
While monkey bread is typically made in a bundt pan, you can easily swap that out for a loaf pan, tube pan, muffin tins, or even a 9×13 with some adjustment to the bake time.
Yes! Prepare the monkey bread through step 4, then store it in the refrigerator covered. The next day, let rise at room temperature – making sure it is puffy, soft, and doubled in size – prepare and pour the sauce, then bake.
Monkey bread is best enjoyed on the same day. If you have leftovers, keep them in an airtight container at room temperature or in the fridge for 3-4 days. Warm up the leftovers for the best results.
If there are still pieces of raw dough, it was not baked long enough. You should be able to pop it back in the oven to finish baking.
While biscuit dough is popular, I chose my sourdough dinner rolls for their pillowy soft texture and tangy flavor. They are soft and sweet, making them the perfect carrier for cinnamon sugar and caramel syrup.
Baker’s Timeline
1:00 to 3:00 pm: Feed starter.
7:00 pm: Mix ingredients and knead dough.
7:20 pm: Begin first rise/bulk fermentation.
7:00 am: Shape and assemble rolls.
7:20 am: Second rise until doubled.
9:20 am: Prepare and apply syrup. Bake.
More Sourdough Recipes from the Farmhouse
- Sourdough Chocolate Chip Bread
- Sourdough Strawberry Cream Cheese Cobbler
- Sourdough Brownies
- Sourdough Snickerdoodle Cookies
- Sourdough Lemon Pound Cake
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love it if you could come back and give it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone.
Sourdough Monkey Bread
Equipment
Ingredients
Rolls
- 3/4 cup sourdough starter, active and bubbly
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 1/4 cup warm water
- 6 tablespoons melted butter
- 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
Coating
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
Topping
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
Icing
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1.5 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Beginning with a recently fed, active starter, add the sourdough starter, sugar, warm water, melted butter, salt, and flour to the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment. Mix for 10-15 minutes at medium speed using the dough hook, until the dough is smooth and stretchy. Check gluten development with the windowpane test (see the Tips section).
- Place the dough in a large greased bowl and cover with a lid or plastic wrap. Allow to ferment overnight (8-12 hours).
- The following day, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and divide the cold dough into eight equal parts. Divide again until you you get about 32-40 equal sized pieces. A bench scraper or sharp knife makes this part a breeze.
- Shape each piece of dough, creating tension against the countertop.
- Prepare the cinnamon sugar mixture by stirring brown sugar and cinnamon in a medium-sized bowl or gallon-sized bag. Roll each of the dough pieces into the cinnamon sugar mixture, then layer them into a greased bundt pan.
- Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for 1-2 hours or until doubled in size and soft to the touch. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a small saucepan on the stovetop, melt butter and whisk in brown sugar until just dissolved. Pour evenly over the top of the rolls. Be careful not to overcook.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes. Time may vary, so keep a close watch. The monkey bread should be golden and bubbly. Remove from the oven and turn over onto a serving platter while still hot.
- Combine powdered sugar and milk until a glaze forms, then drizzle over the warm monkey bread. Serve and enjoy right away!
Notes
- Perform the windowpane test by taking a small piece of dough, stretching it into a square, and observing whether it can be stretched thin enough to see through without breaking. If so, the gluten has been developed properly. If it breaks, continue kneading for a few more minutes.
- Bake with a sheet pan underneath to catch any drips from the syrup.
- Remove from the bundt pan immediately after baking to avoid the syrup and monkey bread sticking to the pan.
- If you notice the monkey bread browning too quickly before it is fully baked, cover the top with a piece of aluminum foil.
- Add some vanilla extract to the icing at the end, or drizzle with a cream cheese icing instead. Sprinkle in nuts or dried fruit, like raisins or chopped apricots, to heighten the texture and flavor.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Such a delicious sweet treat! It turned out so fluffy and soft. Will make again!
I love your recipes. If I could spend my time baking I would. This is by far the best set of receipes for sour dough I have ever seen. Thank you so much!!
What’s the trick to getting brown sugar to melt? Always end up with grainy caramel!
Sometimes you can add a touch of water before heating it to prevent the graininess.
Would you use the same recipe with whole grain?
Fantastic detail and walk through. Taste was on point. Thank you. Enjoyed making it and eating it.
Yummy
Do you leave on counter or refrigerator overnight?
Counter!