I love making bread; there are so many fantastic varieties, from a basic white loaf to more complex and creative creations. Monkey bread definitely fits into the latter category. It is a rich loaf that uses eggs, butter/margarine, and has an interesting contrast between sweet and savoury ingredients such as fruit and cheese. What makes monkey bread so fun is not only the cheeky name, but also its tear and share quality, which makes it perfect for parties.
Preparation Time: 3 1/2 hours
Cooking Time: 35 minutes
Makes: 15 servings
Ingredients
500g wholemeal bread flour
2 tsp fast action yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp chilli flakes
100ml water
200ml soya milk
1 large egg
40g dried apricots
40g dried figs
50g margarine
200g shelled pecans
130g Red Leicester
Method
Mix the flour, yeast and salt in a bowl and create a well.
Melt the margarine and gradually beat into the egg along with the milk.
Beat the mixture into the flour.
Gradually add the water to form a dough.
Knead the dough for ten minutes, then put in a bowl, covered over with cling film, and leave to prove for about an hour.
Grate the cheese and mix with the chilli flakes.
Chop the apricots, figs, and pecans.
Take the bread dough and divide it into sixty small balls.
Work the pecans into fifteen of the balls, the apricots into another fifteen, the figs into another fifteen, and the cheese/chilli mix into the last fifteen.
Layer the balls in a loaf tin (in the order of one cheese, one fig, one pecan, one apricot, etc) and leave to prove for another hour.
Pre-heat the oven to 200 ༠C/ 180 ༠C fan/400 ༠F/6 Gas, and bake.
Categories
#Monkey Bread
#Bread
#Yeast
#Chilli
#Fruit
#Figs
#Apricots
#Nuts
#Pecans