Herb and Garlic Monkey Bread
Dough
- 3½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2¼ tsp. instant yeast
- 2 Tbsp. potato flour or ¼ cup instant potato flakes
- 3 Tbsp. nonfat dry milk
- 1 Tbsp. sugar
- 1¼ tsp. salt
- ¼ cup soft unsalted butter
- ⅔ cup lukewarm water
- ½ cup lukewarm milk
Coating
- ¼ cup melted unsalted butter
- 2 tsp. Italian seasoning*
- 2 tsp. minced garlic
Make the dough: Combine all of the ingredients and mix by hand or with an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment to make a soft, smooth dough. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
Gently deflate the dough and transfer it to a lightly floured work surface. Divide the dough into 32 pieces using a bench knife by diving in half over and over. Pour a generous layer of olive oil into the bottom of a 10” monkey bread pan or tube pan.
Make the coating: Combine the melted butter, seasoning, and minced garlic. *If, like me, you do not have Italian seasoning, simply combine an even amount of dried oregano, dried parsley, dried rosemary, dried thyme, and dried basil in a bowl and measure out 2 tablespoons.
Assemble the bread: Dip each ball of dough into the coating mixture, then place in the pan. Continue until all the balls of dough are used up. If any mixture remains, pour it over the monkey bread. Cover the pan and let rise until quite puffy, about 60 to 90 minutes.
Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Uncover the pan and bake the bread for 30 to 35 minutes, or until lightly golden on the top. Remove the pan from the oven and let cool in pan for several minutes before turning out onto a rack.