Cinnamon Pull Apart Monkey Bread

I have been looking into joining a CSA. In Googling, I came across a new acronym: CSB. Community Supported Baker(y). And it occurred to me, why am I not doing this? I could operate a very small CSB. Every time I make bread, I could just make two (I am quite space limited since my oven is smaller than the average American body habitus, also time and stress limited because I am a graduate student). I haven’t figured out my rates yet (maybe I’ll just charge in volumes of flour). But I’ll keep one spot open for anyone who wants to sign on as my guinea pig CSB client. And KP and Izzy, you both don’t count.

Cinnamon Pull Apart Bread, or Monkey Bread

(except I don’t Monkey around)

from Kelly Almon, my snazzy interaction designer friend from SPU

3/4 cup milk

1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

3 Tbs olive oil

1 cup of sourdough starter

1/2 cup warm water

5ish cups of flour (use half wheat flour)

Lots of butter (about 1/2 a cup)

Lots of cinnamon mixed with sugar (about 1/3 a cup)

More of each for the second method.

Make bread as you normally would (this is Kelly’s instruction to me– but if you’re like, what is normal?– mix the sourdough and water together, then add flour, sugar, milk and oil. Slowly add the the rest of the flour and salt, kneading at the end. Knead until the dough is smooth and silky)

After dough is made, you have two options– this post features option two:

  1. For cinnamon loaf: let rise once for about an hour. punch down and roll into a ball. Let set for about ten minutes, then roll out into a rectangle on a well-floured surface. Spread butter out generously over the rectangle, leaving 1/2 – 1 inch bare around the edges. Then spread the cinnamon sugar mixture generously over the buttered area. Roll the dough up, buttered side in. seal the seam with the unbuttered edge of dough. Press ends together to seal. Place into a greased loaf pan and bake at 350 for about 30-40 minutes.
  2. For pull-apart bread: let rise for about an hour. punch down and roll into a ball. Let set for about ten minutes. Portion the dough into small balls, around 1-1/2 inches large (larger pieces means less work, but smaller pieces means more gooey goodness). Roll the dough portions into balls and then coat in butter. Image Roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture and place into a lightly greased bundt pan. Image Do this with all the pieces until you are out of dough. ImageBake at 350 for about 20-30 minutes.

These were immensely tasty. We shared them with friends Tim and Alicia who are expecting their first baby in less than two weeks! I treasure knowing that some of the calories and atoms from these cinnamon buns were incorporated into the fetus. So essentially, I too helped make that baby. These buns in the oven helped make another bun in the oven…ha.

As feature on Sourdough Surprises, Feb 2014 – http://sourdoughsurprises.blogspot.com/

20 thoughts on “Cinnamon Pull Apart Monkey Bread

  1. LOVE the CSB idea, I hope you get a taker (and that people don’t get into fistfights over who gets to be the lucky one 😉 ). LOL at “buns in the oven” on multiple levels 🙂

    1. 🙂 Thanks Susan. I would love to see you as I am coming to the cities tomorrow– alas, at 4:30am 🙂 Of to Santa Fe!

  2. My boyfriend and I would like to sign up…we really like Hammer Baked Goods..(HBGs) (also stands for High Blood Glucose), but who cares? How much would it be to have it delivered?

    1. Hmm– it won’t be as fresh after a 2000 mile journey, but I looked into it. Depending on the size of the bread, I could get it to you and your boyfriend for $12-$16 a loaf. Little pricey 🙂 That’s why the C is in the CSB. Community means you don’t have to ship. I can still send you bread, though, Mom– if you really want it. Tonight I’m making Kaiser Rolls. Also, I’ll see you in a week. Just hang tight.

  3. Community is a relative term…global community, community of planets, community of man, community of the lactose free….I’ll wait.

    1. The difficulty is in the distribution–will continue to troubleshoot CSB business model and follow up on the idea…

  4. I try not to bake too many things with cinnamon sugar in it because I would just eat it all! Your loaf looks so puffy and soft. Beautiful!
    What a great idea of starting a CSB. Good luck to you! And thanks so much for your lovely comment at my blog 🙂

  5. CBS sounds like a great idea!! Your bread looks fantastic~ Lynn @ Turnips 2 Tangerines

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