Monkey Bread
For the Bread Dough:1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup sugar Scant 1 Tablespoon (1 package) dry active yeast
4 cups bread or all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
12 Tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled
For Dipping and Rolling:
8 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Butter and flour your cake, tube or bread pan(s) - do not use springform pans as the butter will leak out onto your oven floor.
Warm the milk and sugar to about 105 degrees F - just slightly warmer than body temperature. Place in your mixer bowl and whisk in the yeast. Let the mixture stand until the yeast is activated and creamy (about 10 minutes). Add 2 cups (280 grams) flour and the salt and beat with the paddle until you have a smooth batter. Add the eggs and blend well. Add the remaining flour and knead - when the dough gets too thick for your paddle, switch to your dough hook. Knead for two minutes. Then slowly add the melted and cooled butter to the dough while it is kneading. It will gradually absorb the butter, though at times it may look oily and even broken. Continue kneading until the dough becomes soft and smooth, about 4 - 5 minutes on medium speed. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl that will hold twice the volume of the bread (use melted butter or a flavorless vegetable oil). Lightly oil the surface of the dough, cover the bowl with plastic, and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours (depending on the warmth of the room). While the dough is rising make the cinnamon - sugar mixture: Blend the cinnamon and sugar in a bowl. When the dough has risen, remove from the bowl and turn out onto a surface lightly dusted with flour. To cut the balls of dough, gently punch the dough down and shape it into a rectangle. Using a knife, divide the rectangle lengthwise into four strips of dough. Stretch each strip to lengthen and thin it, then cut it into pieces the size you desire - 15 to 20 pieces per strip. Roll each piece into a ball using lightly floured hands. Have your melted butter (placed in a small bowl) and cinnamon-sugar mixture ready. Take each piece of ball of dough and dip it in the butter to coat thoroughly, then roll it in the sugar mixture and place it in your prepared pan. Continue until all the balls have been coated and the pans have been filled. (Be sure to just lightly coat the balls of dough with the cinnamon-sugar mixture - too much and the buns will be hard.) If you are using odd-sized pans, be sure the dough balls do not fill the pan more than halfway since there needs to be plenty of room for rising. Cover the pan(s) with plastic and set aside (or else place in the refrigerator overnight) to rise until almost doubled (the dough should be at or near the top of the pan). Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for about 45 minutes (if you're not sure whether it's done, just pull a piece off the top and test it). Cool on a rack for 15 minutes, then turn out the pans and allow to cool on a rack or serving plate.
This is best served warm.
Makes 1 to 2 loaves, depending on pan(s) used.