Golden Monkey Ring

This monkey bread starts from real yeast dough, not canned biscuits, and you can taste the difference. A rich, eggy dough gets torn into golf ball-sized pieces, dunked in melted butter, rolled in a cinnamon and brown sugar mixture, then stacked in layers with chopped nuts in a tube pan.

During the second rise, the dough balls expand and press against each other, creating that signature pull-apart structure. In the oven, the butter and sugar melt together and pool at the bottom, caramelizing into a sticky, crunchy coating that becomes the top when you flip it out.

Grease that tube pan heavily. The sugar mixture turns into candy during baking, and if the pan isn’t well-greased, you’ll leave half your monkey bread stuck to the sides.

Kitchen Tips

• Keep the dough balls roughly the same size so they bake evenly. Too small and they dry out, too big and the centers stay raw.
• Don’t pack the balls too tightly in the pan. They need room to expand during the second rise.
• Cover the top with foil if it starts browning too fast. The inside needs the full hour to cook through.
• Flip the pan onto a plate within 5 minutes of coming out of the oven. Wait longer and the caramel hardens and sticks.

Variations

• Toss in raisins or dried cranberries between layers for fruity bursts.
• Drizzle cream cheese icing over the top after flipping for extra sweetness.
• Add a teaspoon of cardamom to the cinnamon sugar for a Scandinavian-inspired twist.