Homemade Monkey Bread with Homemade Caramel Sauce

So as I stated in a previous post  I recently made some homemade monkey bread. And this bread comes with homemade caramel sauce. In case I haven't mentioned before I LOVE CARAMEL!! Like I really do love it! So sugar, cinnamon, bread, and caramel...this was a perfect recipe for me to try. I found the recipe on Sally's Baking Addiction. She has a ton of great pics of the bread she made. It sucked me in..I went to the store that afternoon and bought the ingredients I didn't have and got started! It is important to note that you have to make the dough ahead of time and let it rise overnight so take that into consideration when making this delicious gem! Here is the recipe and my results.

Final Product

Ingredients

Dough

• 1 package (2 and 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast 
• 1/4 cup warm water (110F-115F)
• 1 and 1/4 cups warm 2% milk (110F-115F, 2% or higher milk fat, no lower)
• 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
Easy Caramel Sauce
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 3 Tablespoons heavy cream (no substitutions)

 Cinnamon-Sugar Topping

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 - 1.5 Tablespoons ground cinnamon (depends on taste, I used 1.5)
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans (I didn't use these)

For the Caramel Sauce 

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter (or salted)
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 2 and 1/2 Tablespoons heavy cream (no substitutions)

 

Instructions

1. Make the dough: In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir it around a bit and let it sit for about 2 minutes. Add the milk, melted butter, sugar, eggs, salt, and 3 cups of flour, Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes. By hand, stir in enough remaining flour to form a firm dough. About 5 cups total.*Side Note: This was my first time using my standing mixer and I chose to ignore the advise to stir in flour by hand...I regret that choice...FYI*
2. Turn the dough onto a floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-7 minutes. Do not over-knead, which will lend tough and chewy bread. The dough is ready when it is smooth and when you can poke it with a finger and it springs back. Form dough into a smooth ball and place into a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. I greased the bowl with cooking spray. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.
3. Make the caramel sauce: The caramel sauce may be made ahead of time and heated in the microwave for 30 seconds before using. To make the caramel, melt the butter in a small saucepan. Once melted, add brown sugar and heavy cream. Stir constantly over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Allow to bubble for 3-4 full minutes, no more. Set aside.
4. Make the cinnamon-sugar topping: In a shallow bowl, combine cinnamon and sugar. In a separate small bowl, melt the butter. Set aside. Spray a 10-12 cup bundt pan with cooking spray. Set aside. Punch the cold dough down very gently to allow the air bubbles to release. Pull apart pieces and roll into balls, about 1.25 inches in diameter. You will need 40-45 balls total, so be modest with their size. Dip each ball, one by one, in the melted butter and then generously roll in the cinnamon-sugar mixture to coat them well. You may need more cinnamon-sugar depending how heavy you coat each bowl.
5. Arrange 20 dough balls into the bundt pan.  Cover the pan and allow dough balls to rise again for about 45 minutes at room temperature.
6. Preheat oven to 350F. When you are ready to bake, warm the caramel sauce up for about 30 seconds. Stir, and top the dough balls with 1/2 of the caramel sauce. Reserve the rest to pour on top after it is baked.
7. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown on top. Cover loosely with foil if the top browns too quickly. Cool for 5-10 minutes and invert onto a large serving plate. Warm up the caramel sauce again and drizzle over the bread. You may either cut the bread into generous slices or let everyone pick off the gooey pieces themselves.

In my handy-dandy standing mixer

Going into the fridge

Morning After...after being punched down

My balls of dough!!

Butter and cinnamon sugar mixture

Dough balls after being coated and taking time to rise

Fresh out of the oven...I just had to taste some of the bread!!

My thoughts and Opinions: I love this recipe!! I love the bread!! It was soo yummy! The only thing I would differently was use a different recipe for caramel. I will probably use a recipe from my Southern Caramel Cake post. But over all I would definitely encourage any and everyone to try it!!

Enjoy!!

 

Monkey Bread!!!