Savory Romano & Herbed Monkey Bread

There are many kinds of monkey bread, bubble loaf, or pull-apart bread as it is often called. Most of them start with canned biscuit dough and are a sweet treat for breakfast.

This is a little different in that the recipe starts with homemade roll dough and then is dipped in melted butter and rolled in a mixture of mixed spagetti herbs (from Frontier), Romano cheese, and onion powder. The result is a delicious savory pull apart bread that stands in for garlic bread at any meal.

This makes a very large bread. You may be able to get two smaller loaves from it by using a ring mold rather than a bundt pan. Feel free to experiment with the herbs..I have rolled it in mesquite seasoning, in cinnamon and sugar, in garlic butter, green onion and cheddar, and in chipotle. The basic dough is a quick and tender dinner roll on its own without making it into monkey bread.

The Romano cheese gives a good sharp contrast to the Penzey’s Roast Onion spice and the Spagetti Herbs.

Savory Monkey Bread from Scratch

3 packages dry yeast

2 cups lukewarm water

2 Tbs sugar

1/4 c oil

1/4 tsp salt

1 egg

5 cups flour, or enough to make a soft dough.

Mix yeast and water and allow to stand for 5 minutes.

Add sugar, salt, oil and egg.  Mix well.

Add flour, a cup at a time until the dough leaves the sides of the bowl.  Knead lightly.  Place in greased bowl, turn to grease top and allow to rise for 1 1/2 hours-or until the dough doubles in bulk.

Punch down.  Form into golfball size balls, or slightly smaller.

Melt 1/2 c butter.  Set aside.

Mix 1/2 c Romano cheese, 1 tbs Penzey’s roast onion powder, and 2 tbs Frontier spagetti seasoning.

Dip balls in butter and then roll in Romano mixture.  Place balls of dough close together in a bundt pan making as many layers as needed to use all the dough.

Allow to rise 30 minutes.

Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes, or until done. Cool for 5 minutes and turn out of pan.  Serve warm.

Images: Marye Audet 

Content:Marye Audet for Baking Delights