tag:dreamwidth.org,2009-08-24:440055culinary experiments and explorations... while trying to avoid burning the kitchen downkitchenklutz2014-01-25T13:03:13Ztag:dreamwidth.org,2009-08-24:440055:19803[Recipe] Monkey Bread!2014-01-25T12:16:57Z2014-01-25T13:03:13ZNPRcuriouspublic0I've got a great new cookbook that I picked up on the discount table some time back -- <a href="http://www.amazon.com/THe-Best-Ever-Book-Bread/dp/143512555X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1390649467&sr=8-2&keywords=best+ever+book+of+bread">The Best Ever Book of Bread</a>, by Christine Ingram and Jennie Shatter. Given my desire to learn how to bake a lot more, I thought it an excellent investment, and as I've been looking it over the past week or so it definitely looks like it's worth it.<br /><br />I've been paging through it and dog-earing recipes that look like they're particularly worthwhile, and the first one I tried out was <span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___1" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://kitchenklutz.dreamwidth.org/19803.html#cutid1">Monkey Bread.</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___1" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />Rising time: 1 - 2 hours<br />Total prep time: 2 - 2.5 hours<br />Cook time: 35 - 40 minutes<br /><br />Overall, I was pleased with the resulting monkey bread. (Side note: no one, even Wikipedia, seems to know where this name originated! Lots of theories, though.) It was sweet, sticky and tasty, with any number of chunks easily torn off for finger food. The coating-bits that popped free were incredibly delectable in and of themselves!<br /><br />However, regardless of the tastiness of the coating the dough itself was a bit on the dry side and was a bit plain. I may end up adding a little more water and milk to the initial dough to aim for a moister end product, and perhaps a little additional sugar to the starting dough to get it sweeter.<br /><br />Additionally, given my desire to use less in the way of throwaway materials in my cooking and baking, I'm curious to know what alternatives there might be to using plastic wrap/plastic bags during the rising process. I know I've heard of some just draping a damp kitchen towel over the top of the bowl/pan -- how has that worked for others?<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=kitchenklutz&ditemid=19803" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> comments