You Don’t Have to be a Monkey to Enjoy This Bread

Okay, so the title is a little lame, but I think the point still gets across. About a year and a half ago when Pinterest first became popular there was one recipe that was floating around like crazy. It was Pepperoni Pizza Monkey Bread and everyone had their own adaptation. Yet, one thing intrigued me. No one was posting anything but the pepperoni one and those of us who find pepperoni pizza repulsive were left trying to figure out our own way of doing things. So, when that came to be, I decided to make my own version. Then, I realized that there were a few ways to make this pizza a little bit better for you and that is the recipe that I am about to post.

Please note a few things. I am posting the 2 cheese version. You can add whatever you like to this delicious monkey bread and make it your own. I’ve done turkey bacon, which was delicious as long as you make it crispy. I want to do it with roasted tomatoes, garlic, and spinach, but I know Jared won’t like it. There really is no limitation to what you can put in this pizza. I would recommend sticking with two or more cheeses because it adds an extra dimension, but that doesn’t mean you have to listen to me. Grilled pineapple and ham would also be very good in my opinion. All of that being said, just make sure that you cook whatever you put in each ball, otherwise you could end up with soggy dough, or uncooked fillings.

Okay, so here is what you will need for the basic, just cheese version:

5 cloves of garlic, minced.
1 package whole wheat monkey bread (you can, of course, make your own)
1/2 cup of diced up low-fat mozzarello (cut it into 1/4 inch cubes)
1/2 cup of low-fat cheddar (cut into 1/4 inch cubes)
1/2 cup of olive oil
marinara sauce for dipping (you can use any other sauce that you like though!)

Here’s what you do:

In a small sauce pan, heat up your oil and about half of your garlic.

While that is heating up, start making your balls. Take a small handful of the dough, form it into a ball, then flatten it out.

Add a little bit of garlic.

Add your cheese and any other fillings that you want in there.

Form the dough with the fillings inside into a ball. Do your best to make sure that all of the holes are sealed up. You don’t want cheese oozing out. Continue doing this until you are out of dough.

Place your bundt pan on a cookie sheet in case there is any over flow. Then, brush a little bit of the olive oil and garlic mixture into the pan. This will ensure that you can remove your monkey bread easily later.

Roll each of the balls around in the olive oil and garlic mixture.

Then, place it in the prepared bundt pan.

When you’re done. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and let the bread sit out while you are waiting for your oven to finish preheating. Then, when your oven is preheated, cook your bread for 30 minutes. 

After 30 minutes, take your bread out and let it sit for about 5 minutes. It’s okay if some of your cheese oozed out. It’s kind of inevitable.

To flip it onto a plate, put the plate on top, sit your hand of the top and bottom, and flip. BE CAREFUL. You do not want your fabulous monkey bread to end up on the floor.

Then enjoy!!

 

As always, a note. This bread will easily fill 4 people but it’s also GREAT reheated. That being said, let me know of any yummy combinations you make and I’ll feature them on the post!