Thursday, June 30, 2011

Alamak! I am a Toad! I leap before I look

Last week, I submitted my Sweet Potato Donut  to Aspiring Bakers #8 – Bread Seduction (June 2011)  hosted by Jasmine from The Sweetylicious. Jasmine informed me that the ingredients must include bread flour and/or yeast.  The ingredients for my sweet potato donut had neither. Although Jasmine said she will accept my entry, I really do not feel comfortable breaking the rules so I made this monkey bread to replace the wrong entry. Same thing happened when I submitted my entry for the picnic game hosted by Louise. I fumbled again and didn't format my entry correctly.  Louise was so kind to say that it might be she who did not explain the rules clearly, but the truth is this Quay Po is very "Mong Cha Cha"" (blur, blur) and leap like a toad before she looks.

Monkey bread has many other names, like, sticky bread, pinch me cake, bubble loaf to name the ones I've read.  Wikipedia says that Monkey bread is usually served at breakfast in the U.S. (though my hubby does not recall that). Monkey bread is usually sweet but since I still have so many desserts in my fridge I decided to make a savory monkey bread.  My monkey bread was flavorful but a little dense. I served it with a salad and the combo made a perfect simple lunch. My son came to visit last Sunday and his Dad brought out the balance of the monkey bread which they ate like snacks while watching TV. We all agreed, the flavor is wonderful.

Cajun Monkey Bread
Adapted from Cajun Chef Ryan with modifications
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Ingredients
2 ½ C high protein flour, divided into 2 C and 1/2 C
1 tsp Sugar
1 tsp Sea salt, fine grind
1 pkt Active dry yeast (1/4 ounce)
1 ¼ C Milk
2 tbs Olive oil
4 tbs Butter, melted, divided into 2 tbs each
1 Large Egg
¼ C Parmesan cheese, fresh grated
2 tbs Sesame seeds
4 cloves finely chopped Garlic
1 tbs ground paprika

Method:
In the mixing bowl, combine 2 cups flour, the sugar, salt and the yeast. Combine the milk with the olive oil and ½ of the butter in a sauce pan and bring to boil and butter is melted. Add the warm milk mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until just moistened. Add the egg and mix until smooth. Then mix in enough of the remaining flour to form soft but not too wet dough. Lightly flour the surface, turn out the dough, and knead until smooth and elastic for 5 – 6 minutes, adding more flour to keep the dough from sticking. Coat the with butter or cooking spray and leave in a bowl, covered loosely with a clean kitchen towel and keep in a warm area for 1-2 hours, or until the dough doubles in size. While the dough is rising, combine the parmesan cheese, sesame seeds, chopped garlic and paprika in a small bowl and reserve for later use. Once dough has doubled in size, punch it down and then cut into 30 small pieces and roll each into a ball shape. Coat the inside of a Bundt pan with butter or cooking spray and then gently roll each dough ball in the cheese mixture then add them into the pan in a layered fashion.  Let the dough stand for another 30 minutes. Before putting into the oven, drizzle the remaining melted butter on top of the dough and sprinkle any remaining cheese mixture. Bake in preheated oven at 350° F for 35 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for a few minutes before removing from the pan and let it further cool on the wire rack.

36 comments:

  1. Your monkey bread looks fantastic! I make monkey bread several times a year and I've never made a savory one. Ours is always a cinnamon sugar type that we do serve for breakfast. My boys adore it!

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  2. Ooh, I love monkey bread. It was such a staple growing up. Yours looks fantastic.

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  3. I dunno. I kinda think a yeastless doughnut is pretty cool.

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  4. I make monkey bread all the time...but this cajun twist sounds wonderful, will give it a try :)

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  5. We never had monkey bread for breakfast either, but my mom would make it. She called it pull apart bread. I would enjoy the savory one much better, you can't beat garlic and parmsan, with cajun spice too! Yummy! I'm going to try it!

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  6. I love your savory version of monkey bread! The cajun spices are all so delicious and I'm sure make this a terrific snack =)

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  7. An innovative idea! Savoury Monkey Bread! I heard so much about this one but have yet to try it.

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  8. Mong cha cha or not, this monkey bread gets my vote! Thumbs up! I never quite liked the cloying sweetness of regular monkey bread, I get so hyper each time just by looking at them.

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  9. so this is the savoury monkey bread you told me the other day huh..look so good and you have came with good and new idea. But i will try the sweet monkey bread first then only try this as my kids love sweet bakery except Lucas..

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  10. I've never taste or see a monkey bread before, so this is very new to me. I'll give it a try someday..:p

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  11. I'm new to monkey bread but it looks so flavourful and healthy!! Love to have it for breakfast.

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  12. What a charming looking bread! It would be perfect with cold cuts Italian meat. Or just as is freshly out of the oven! With a grilled fish... prawns... oh endless opportunities!

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  13. hmmm..dunno I ever tried it before but I thought there are cinnamon added. It looks like there are cinnamon..LOL
    Must be yummy!!

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  14. Nice shots! Lucky the monkey bread have stop monkeying around on the plate..~;).

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  15. the name for this bread is so cute! (: and the bread look just as or more lovely than it sound. GREAT JOB! (:

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  16. Woah! Looks fantastic! And tasty! Good on you!

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  17. Ooo I love monkey bread and yours looks amazing!! I usually have sweet monkey bread but I am really liking your idea of savory. Beautiful photos too!

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  18. I love monkey bread but have only had the sweet kind. This savory taste is ever so appealing. I am thrilled you shared it.

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  19. I've heard of monkey bread before but have yet to try it or bake it. Yours looks beautifully done. I always do stuff like that too, Veronica. Except hubby doesn't call me mong cha cha. He calls me crazy because I'm so quick to jump into things without really reading through everything. Anyways, thanks for sharing the recipe. Hope all is well with you, my dear.

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  20. What a great post; we love monkey bread and Merci for that recipe.
    Rita

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  21. WOW!! I wanted to eat it right off your blog! Looks so delicious. Thanks for sharing! I am going to be trying this out!

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  22. I'm not a bread maker so I won't have even noticed! Love your pictures! Your bread looks so airy and light. Very nice Cajun twist for added flavor and color.

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  23. Oh, yum! This looks so very good. I look forward to getting home to our kitchen very soon.

    Big hugs,
    Lois

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  24. @Lois, When will you be back to your kitchen? Looks like you have been away for a long time. Hugs

    @Lin Ann, I am not a bread maker either but I did this to submit entry to support the Asipring Bakers event hosted by Jasmine of The Sweetylicious.

    @Tifanee, I am glad to hear that you will try this recipe out. Do come back to tell me how you like it.

    @Rita, You are very welcome.

    @LeQuan, I am doing fine, you and your hubby is such a cute couple. I like how you guys tease each other. Both of you have good sense of humor and that makes your life more colorful.

    @Comfy cook, Yes the original monkey bread is sweet and it is Chef Ryan which had so brilliantly came out with this savory monkey bread recipe.

    @Beth, Thanks for your compliment on the photos and I hope when you try this recipe, you will like it as much as I do.

    @chowwithchow, Thanks you for your visit and leaving such kind words.

    @Jasmine, Thanks for posting my sweet potato donut even tho there is no bread flour or yeast in the recipe. You are so sweet. Your comment on my monkey bread has made my day! Hugs.

    @Bananaz, Thanks for your witty comment, when the monkey sees bananaz, they usually keep still hahaha

    @ChrisAu, Yes the original sweet monkey bread always have cinnamon but this savory one had not. What you see like cinnamon is toasted shredded parmesan cheese.

    @PFx, It goes well with almost any main meal.

    @Food for Tots, I do not know if it falls in the the category of healthy food but definitely flavorful and this is suitable for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Can be eaten as snacks too. That was what my son and his Dad did with it.

    @Reese, Look forward to see your version of savory monkey bread. You are such a good baker, this is a piece of cake for you.

    @Sonia, Exactly! I am sure your kids will love it.

    @ping, I am like you, I am not a big fan of gluey sweet bread. I heard kids get hyper eating sugar but does that affect adults too?

    @edith, Unlike you, I only heard of monkey bread recently.

    @Peggy, Absolutely!:D

    @Lyndsey, If you like cajun cuisine and all the spicy stuff, you will definitely be happy with this savory monkey bread.

    @David, @Barefeet in the kitchen, Since you make sweet monkey bread all the time, this twist is good for a change.

    @That Girl, I think so too

    @yummychunklet, thanks dear.

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  25. ooo savory to the max! I love the cheese too. I have not heard of monkey bread so I have learned something new today!

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  26. I have seen the sweet versions with sticky caramelized sugar all over it...this savory version would appeal to my boys more!

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  27. @daphne, this will be your favorite bread :)

    @Jeannie, if your boys don't like sweet gooey bread, then this version will definitely appeal to them.

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  28. Haha I also leap before I look, have done it for years. Sometimes it works sometimes it does not!!
    This recipe looks fantastic, will give it a try. Have a good week,Diane

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  29. one, two, three
    a monkey on a tree
    lena's dropping by
    to steal a delicious recipe!!

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  30. @Diane, I am glad I am not alone. You too have a great week.

    @Lena, You crack me up. Hehe

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  31. I'm so glad I saw another post at Nasi Lemak Lover, because I had forgotten to go vote! It's taken care of now. :) GREAT music, btw. I really enjoyed the songs I was able to listen to. Please post when they have music available for downloading and purchase. Thanks!!

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  32. Never mind.. being mong-cha-cha has its goodness... the readers benefit from it cos you will produce another new recipe to replace the other.. :)

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  33. oh dear, I baru commented but I dont see it appearing here.. where did it go? Am I another moong-cha-cha? (blurred)
    I mentioned that being blurred has its goodness..at least it benefits the readers cos you have to produce another recipe to replace the other... :)

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    1. Claire, you are not mong cha cha in this case. It is because comments on post older than 3 months will be moderated before published. hehe

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  34. A speciality I have tried making yet. Your savory monkey bread loos amazing and sounds terrific. What great flavors!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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    1. Hi Rosa, so good to see you again. This is a nice bread to try.

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