Garlic Monkey Bread
This homemade Garlic Monkey Bread is soft, fluffy, and completely irresistible.
Every bite is coated in garlicky butter, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, and lots of herbs. Made completely from scratch with an easy, yeast dough, it’s the perfect pull-apart bread to share at the table.
If you love my Ciabatta Garlic Bread, then you’re going to absolutely love this Garlic Monkey Bread. It’s everything you love about garlic bread and a whole lot more. The best part is that making it from scratch means you know exactly what goes into it!
Most monkey bread recipes have you buying some sort of store-bought dough. Whether it’s canned biscuits or pizza dough, you don’t really know what’s in it. If you’ve made my Semolina Bread or my Focaccia Genovese, you’ll know that homemade bread isn’t that hard. But don’t worry if you’ve never used yeast, this recipe is almost fail-proof, and I’ll walk you through step-by-step!
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Made from Scratch: Many recipes for monkey bread use store-bought dough, which certainly has its place. However, making the dough from scratch means bread with a soft texture, wonderful flavor, and an amazing aroma. Just like my Caramel Cinnamon Rolls, making it yourself is so rewarding!
- Crowd Pleaser: Whether it’s a family dinner, holiday feast, or weekend get-together, this is the kind of bread that draws people in. I know that my family loves to pull apart this warm, garlicky bread at the table.
- Pantry Staples: Who doesn’t love a recipe that looks impressive but isn’t that complicated? This Garlic Monkey Bread takes everyday staples and transforms them into a delectable pull-apart bread with loads of garlic flavor!
- Versatile: It doesn’t matter what else you’re serving; homemade Garlic Monkey Bread will pair perfectly. Try it with Chicken Vegetable Soup or Pork Ragu with pappardelle – delicious! Or serve as a stand alone snack with my San Marzano Tomato Sauce – yum!
If you are looking for an easy bread recipe, you will love my French toast with sourdough bread – it’s divine!
For complete ingredient quantities and full instructions, please scroll to the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page.
Ingredients.
- Garlic – Fresh garlic is best for this recipe. Jarred or powdered garlic just won’t be the same. I like garlic, so I use quite a bit. Reduce the quantity if you prefer, just remember to mince it so that it’s like a paste. Use a garlic press, microplane grater, or a knife.
- Salted Butter – This is a time when salted butter is best. Use unsalted if that’s all you have; just add a little extra salt.
- Parmigiano Reggiano cheese – This is similar to Parmesan cheese. If you only have Parmesan, use that. Either way, grate it from the block. I use a microplane grater so that the cheese is fluffy and light. This is the best way to get an even coating on each dough ball.
- Herbs – Fresh parsley and dried oregano are needed for this recipe. Use dried parsley if that’s what you have. However, the flavor won’t be quite the same.
- Dry active yeast – This is easily available at most grocery stores. It’s a granular form of yeast that keeps for a long time.
- Bread flour – This is available at most grocery stores and really does make a difference when baking bread. Try to get it. Flour keeps well (in the freezer if you live in a hot, humid climate), so it pays to get it.
- Whole Milk – The milk fats, proteins, and sugars assist in creating a soft and tender dough. Use reduced-fat milk if that’s what you have. Low-fat or fat-free milk isn’t quite as good for this recipe.
- Granulated Sugar – Just regular white sugar for this recipe. However, you can swap it out for another form of sugar if you like.
Once you’ve made and enjoyed this yeast bread, use the leftover yeast to make Italian Easter Bread. Your family will love it!
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Warm the milk, mix in the yeast and sugar, then stir it into the flour to form a rough dough.
Let the dough rest briefly, then work in the butter and salt and knead until smooth.
Shape the dough into a ball, place it in a greased bowl, and let it rise until doubled.
Melt the extra butter and stir in the minced garlic so the flavour develops.
Combine the Parmigiano Reggiano cheese with the parsley and oregano in a shallow bowl.
Press the risen dough into a square and cut it into 36 pieces.
Roll each piece into a neat ball.
Dip each dough ball in the garlic butter, then coat lightly in the cheese and herb mixture.
Layer the balls into a buttered bundt pan.
Allow the dough balls to rise until slightly puffy.
Bake until golden and cooked through. Turn out onto a plate while warm and brush or drizzle with leftover butter.
Marcellina’s Hint: Use a fork to lightly shake off extra garlic butter before coating in cheese. This keeps the bread from becoming heavy and helps each ball bake up soft instead of soggy.
Substitutions
- Parsley – Instead of parsley, try fresh chives or dill.
- Dried oregano – Use dried thyme or rosemary for a different flavor.
- Vegetarian – The Parmigiano Reggiano cheese can be replaced with a plant-based cheese to make this vegetarian.
Variations
- Extra cheesy – Insert a small cube of mozzarella cheese into each dough ball before dipping in butter and coating in Parmigiano Reggiano cheese mixture. What a delightful surprise your guests will have!
- Deluxe – Add spices and other additions to the cheese mixture like sesame seeds, red pepper flakes, or paprika.
Equipment
The wonderful thing about this recipe is that you don’t need specialized equipment to make something truly special. This dough comes together easily by hand, though you can use a stand mixer if you prefer.
While I use a bundt pan, the bread will bake perfectly in other pans such as a loaf pan or baking dishes. Check the capacity first.
Storage
While Garlic Monkey Bread is best fresh from the oven, I have found that it freezes very well. Wrap the leftover portion in double layers of plastic wrap and freeze for up to one month. To reheat, remove the plastic wrap and rewrap in aluminum foil. Bake for 10-15 minutes in a preheated 300ºF (150ºC) oven.
Top tips
- For this recipe, it’s best to use kitchen scales for accuracy. If you don’t have a set, stir the flour to lighten then spoon it into the measuring cups without packing it in. Level the cup off with a knife. My recipes use US measuring cups and spoons.
- Because humidity plays a large part in how much liquid flour will absorb, I like to set aside some of the flour so I can add it if I need it. This dough should be soft but not sticky and hard to manage. Add reserved flour as you need it.
- Have the butter for the dough soft so that it’s easy to squish into the dough.
- Let the minced garlic sit in the melted butter while the dough rises. This lets the garlic flavor soften so that it’s not raw and harsh.
- As I mentioned above, use a fork to lift the dough balls out of the garlicky butter. Too much butter in Garlic Monkey Bread makes it heavy and soggy. Unless that’s what you’re looking for, of course!
- Don’t worry about the pieces being perfectly even. This is part of the charm of Garlic Monkey Bread.
FAQ
Just because you often see monkey bread in a bundt pan, it isn’t the only pan to use. You can use almost any pan you have as long as it’s large enough. A loaf pan is great but so is a baking dish. Even a skillet will work if it’s ovenproof. Garlic Monkey Bread doesn’t need to be turned out. In fact, you can eat it right from the baking dish or pan.
No, it’s not that good the next day. It’s not terrible, but not the same as when served warm from the oven.
Yes, I like to freeze it if I have leftovers. To reheat, wrap it tightly in aluminum foil to keep it moist and bake at 300ºF (150ºC) for 10-15 depending on how large the leftover piece is.
Serving Suggestions
Serve Garlic Monkey Bread warm straight from the oven and watch it disappear. While it’s delicious on its own, try it with my Sun Dried Tomato Pesto or Nut Free Basil Pesto for something extra.
Related
Italian Cheese and Herb Bread
Portuguese Sweet Bread
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Garlic Monkey Bread Recipe
Ingredients
Monkey Bread Dough
- 1 ⅔ (400 ml) whole milk
- 2 tablespoons granulated white sugar
- 2 ¼ teaspoons dry active yeast
- 4 cups (480 g) bread flour extra for kneading
- 3 tablespoons (45 g) salted butter at room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
To Assemble
- ½ cup (120 g) salted butter
- 4-5 garlic cloves minced
- 2½ ounces (70 g) finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
Instructions
- Warm the milk until just lukewarm (about 105–115°F / 40–46ºC). Stir in the yeast and sugar. Let sit for 5–10 minutes until foamy.
- Set aside ½ cup of flour. Place the remaining flour into a large bowl, and combine with the milk mixture. Mix until a rough dough forms. Let sit for 10 minutes.
- Add butter and salt, squishing with hands until worked in.
- Knead until smooth and elastic adding enough of the reserved flour to form a soft dough that’s not too sticky. Form the dough into a ball.
- Wash the bowl and grease with a little butter or oil. Place the ball of dough into the greased bow and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rise in a warm place, for 1 – 1 ½ hours or until doubled in size.
- In the meantime, melt the extra salted butter and combine with minced garlic in a small bowl.
- In a shallow bowl, combine the finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, chopped fresh parsley and dried oregano.
- Thoroughly butter a large bundt pan.
- When the dough has risen, tip it out onto a lightly floured work surface. Pat the dough into a 10 inch (25cm) square.
- Cut it into 6 long strips from top to bottom, then cut those strips into 6 pieces across to make 36 pieces.
- Roll each piece into a ball. Then one by one dip the dough ball into the melted garlic butter. Use a fork to remove the dough ball, allowing the butter to drain off before tossing it into the Parmigiano Reggiano cheese mixture to lightly coat.
- Arrange the balls evenly in the base of the prepared pan. Continue with of the balls of dough until all coated and arranged in the pan.
- Reserve any leftover butter or cheese to add to the bread after baking.
- Cover the pan with plastic wrap and allow to rise for ½ hour or until risen by about one third.
- In the meantime, preheat the oven to 350ºF/180ºC ensuring the racks are adjusted to accommodate the pan.
- Bake at 180C for 35-40 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to stand for 5 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack to cool.
- Brush with leftover garlic butter and sprinkle with leftover Pamigiano Reggiano mixture.
- Serve warm.
Nutritional Estimate Per Serving
Nutritional Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. For accurate results, it is recommended that the nutritional information be calculated based on the ingredients and brands you use.
