Monkey Bread

Ingredients

• For the dough:
• 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 package rapid-rise or instant yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• Brown Sugar Coating
• 8 tablepoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 1/4 cup packaged light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• For the glaze:
• 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
• 1 tablespoon whole milk
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Add the flour, yeast, and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir them together thoroughly with a spoon, then fit the mixer with the dough hook. Heat the oven to 200 degrees F; when it gets there, shut it off. Coat a large bowl with cooking spray and keep it nearby. If your Bundt pan is metal, butter it very generously and set it aside; if it is silicone, skip the butter.
2. In a small saucepan, combine the milk and water, and heat them to 110 to 115 degrees F. Transfer the warm mixture to a large measuring cup. Stir in the sugar, butter, and vanilla until everything is well blended.
3. With the mixer running on low, drizzle in the milk mixture slowly. When a dough has formed, raise the speed to medium and let it knead until the dough looks smooth and glossy, about 7-8 minutes. Move it to a lightly floured work surface, knead it briefly, and shape it into a ball. Set the dough in the prepared bowl, mist the top with more cooking spray, cover the bowl snugly with plastic wrap, and put it in the warm, turned-off oven until doubled, about 1 hour. Check that the oven is truly off first, since too much heat will harm the yeast.
4. While the dough rises, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in one bowl and set it aside. Pour the melted butter into another bowl and set that aside too. When the rise is done, take the dough from the oven and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Press it into an approximately 8-inch square, then cut it with a knife or pizza cutter into 64 pieces, each 1-inch square.
5. Shape each piece into a ball. Dip each one in the melted butter, coat it in the brown sugar mixture, and place the pieces in layers in the prepared Bundt pan. Offset the balls as you go rather than lining them up directly; that staggered arrangement helps the bread lock together.
6. Cover the Bundt pan snugly with plastic wrap and place it back in the turned-off oven. Let the dough balls rise until puffed and sitting about 1 inch from the pan’s top rim, about 1 hour. Take the pan out of the oven and set it aside. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
7. Once the oven is hot, peel off the plastic wrap and bake the bread until the top turns a rich brown and caramel bubbles around the sides of the pan, about 30 to 35 minutes. Let it rest in the pan for 5 minutes, then invert it onto a serving plate. Cool another 8 to 10 minutes before serving.
8. In a medium bowl, whisk the confectioners sugar, milk, and vanilla until the glaze is smooth, thinning it with a splash of additional milk if you like it looser. Drizzle the glaze over the monkey bread and serve warm.