Lemon monkey bread is everything we know and love in monkey bread, but with a seasonal twist. This fun pull apart bread features little pieces of homemade dough, tossed in a butter sugar mixture, topped with a simple icing, and no shortage of bright and fresh lemon flavor!
I've been on a bit of a bread kick these past few days (in case you couldn't tell after I recently shared recipes for small batch cinnamon rolls, baked raspberry donuts, and Biscoff cinnamon rolls!) So the natural next step in the saga had to be monkey bread. But not just any monkey bread. LEMON monkey bread!
what is lemon monkey bread?
Let's start by defining monkey bread! Monkey bread consists of little balls of dough that are traditionally dipped in melted butter then rolled in cinnamon sugar (for a classic cinnamon roll style monkey bread). The little dough nuggets are then arranged in a pan or skillet and then baked. The result is a gooey, soft, and bubbly bread that you can dig right into with your fingers to rip little pieces off.
Lemon monkey bread is just a summery twist on this classic! Instead of featuring warm cinnamon spice, this bread is packed with lemony goodness in the dough, sugar coating, AND icing!
how to portion out monkey bread
When it comes to portioning out the little bite sized pieces of dough, you have a few different options:
- Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface and use a knife to divide the pieces. This is a super quick and easy way to portion to dough!
- Pinch off pieces of dough. This is a bit more time consuming that option 1, but it's a great option if you don't have a surface to place the dough on.
- Use a small cookie scoop. Also a great option! The only downside is that the balls of dough will be a bit larger (unless of course that's what you're going for).
how to coat monkey bread
Traditionally, monkey bread is portioned out into balls, then each ball is individually dipped in melted butter then rolled in the sugar mixture. It's a very tedious way to do it.
Instead.... we're just tossing everything together! Throw your dough pieces into a large bowl (the bowl you mixed your dough in is fine!) then top with melted butter, sugar, and lemon zest. Gently toss everything together to coat. It's important to be gentle so that the portions of dough keep a relatively rounded shape.
The dough balls will get a little bit misshapen in this process, but you honestly won't even be able to tell after it's baked and puffed up. Like can you even tell in my photos that the dough was just all tossed together??
what pan can you bake monkey bread in?
Monkey bread is most traditionally served in a Bundt pan, but skillet monkey bread is also a very popular choice! Here are a few different pans that you can bake monkey bread in:
- 10 or 12 cup Bundt pan
- 11 or 12 inch cast iron skillet
- 9x5 inch loaf pan (8x4 is too small for this recipe)
- muffin tin for little monkey bread muffins!
The bake time will vary from pan to pan. Monkey bread made in a Bundt pan will need about 30 to 35 minutes in the oven. Cast iron skillet monkey bread will need about 25 to 30 minutes. Monkey bread made in a loaf pan will need about 38 minutes of baking and monkey bread muffins will need around 12 minutes.
Regardless of the pan, it should be filled no more than about ¾ of the way full to give the monkey bread room to rise without spilling out. It's also always a good idea to place a parchment or aluminum lined baking sheet underneath your monkey bread to catch any potential drips (it's NOT fun to clean caramelized sugar off the bottom of your oven).
To test for doneness, you're looking for the surface of the monkey bread to be golden brown and evenly puffed up. If baking in a loaf pan, it's best to also test the doneness of the bread with an instant read thermometer because the top has a tendency to look done before the center is baked through. A thermometer inserted into the center of your monkey bread should read around 195°F.
more lemon monkey bread tips
- temperature: Make sure the milk, egg, and butter are not too hot or too cold. When in doubt, err on the side of slightly cooler ingredients - it'll take longer for the dough to rise but it at least won't kill the yeast. The best temperature for yeast is around 110F or slightly warmer than "body temperature" - meaning if you dip your finger into the milk, you shouldn't feel a significant shift in temperature. It should feel a little warmer, but not hot!
- kneading: Over or under kneading dough can also cause rise problems later on in the recipe. If you're kneading the dough by hand, it's almost impossible to over knead it (you'll probably get tired waaay before that happens!) Perfectly kneaded dough should be smooth on the surface and slightly tacky but not sticky. It should also be soft but can hold a ball shape. If you poke the top, it should spring back - if the indent remains, it needs more kneading.
- serving: Homemade yeast doughs are always best enjoyed the same day they're made, but this monkey bread will technically keep for around 3 days. Keep it covered tightly to seal in the freshness as best you can. If desired, you can also reheat older monkey bread for about 5 to 10 minutes in a preheated 350F oven to bring it back to life.
check out these other lemony recipes!
• Lemon Poppy Seed Cupcakes
• Gooey Lemon Cookie Bars
• Fresh Lemon Tiramisu
• Lemon Raspberry Cake
• Lemon Brownies
• Lemon Curd Cake
Lastly, if you made this or any of my recipes, be sure to leave a comment and review below! I love hearing your thoughts! Also tag me on Instagram @eatsdelightfulblog so I can see what you're making.
Print
Lemon Monkey Bread
- Total Time: 1 hour 55 minutes
- Yield: 1 (12 inch) skillet
Description
Lemon monkey bread is everything we know and love in monkey bread, but with a seasonal twist. This fun pull apart bread features little pieces of homemade dough, tossed in a butter sugar mixture, topped with a simple icing, and no shortage of bright and fresh lemon flavor!
Ingredients
For the lemon monkey bread dough:
- 3 cups (360g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled (plus more for kneading)
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 & ¼ teaspoons (1 package) instant yeast*
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon zest (about 2 lemons)
- ¾ cup (180mL) whole milk
- ¼ cup (60g) unsalted butter, cut into 4 slices
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, or any neutral flavored oil
For the gooey lemon sugar coating:
- 10 tablespoons (150g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1 & ¼ cups (250g) granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
For the simple lemon icing:
- ¾ cup (95g) powdered sugar
- 1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- lemon zest (optional - for topping)
Instructions
lemon monkey bread dough:
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, yeast, salt, and lemon zest to combine.
- In a medium microwave safe bowl or cup, combine milk and sliced butter. Microwave in 10 second bursts until the butter just melts and the mixture feels warm but NOT hot**. You can also do this in a pot set over a stove burner on low heat.
- Add the egg to the milk mixture and whisk to combine.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture. Use a spoon to stir the mixture until it starts to come together into a rough, shaggy dough.
- Knead the dough (either directly in the bowl or on a lightly floured work surface) adding flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic. If you poke the top with a clean finger, none of the dough should stick to your hand and the dough should spring back. If an indent in the dough remains, it needs a bit more kneading.
- Form the dough into a rough ball and place it back into your large bowl. Brush vegetable oil on top so the dough doesn't form a skin.
- Cover with plastic wrap or a lint free tea towel and set aside to rise for about 45 to 60 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.
gooey lemon sugar coating:
- Preheat your oven to 350F. Butter an 11 or 12 inch skillet and set aside. ***(see notes for baking in a Bundt pan)
- Uncover the risen dough and punch down to release the air.
- Pinch off roughly ½ tablespoon sized portions of dough and roll into smooth balls. A little smaller or larger is fine. Repeat until all of the dough is portioned into bite sized pieces.
- In a large bowl (you can use the same one you mixed the dough in), combine the portioned dough balls and all the ingredients for the gooey lemon sugar coating (butter, sugar, and lemon zest).
- Toss together to evenly coat. They will misshape slightly, but try to be gentle to minimize it as much as possible. You won't even be able to notice the wonky looking ones once they bake up!
- Arrange the dough balls in your prepared skillet. You should be able to get them in 1 layer but it's ok if there's some overlap. If there's any of the lemon sugar coating leftover in your bowl, spread it on top of the dough.
- I recommend placing your skillet onto a parchment or aluminum lined baking sheet to catch any drips. Transfer the monkey bread to the center of your preheated oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown on top.
- Set aside the baked monkey bread to cool slightly while you prep the icing.
simple lemon icing:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice until smooth and combined. If it's still too thick, gradually whisk in more lemon juice until the icing reaches your desired consistency. If it's too thin, whisk in powdered sugar.
- Drizzle the icing over the slightly warm monkey bread. Top with lemon zest if desired then serve! Monkey bread is best served fresh but it will keep for about 3 days.
Notes
* If you want to use active dry yeast instead of instant yeast, the steps will change slightly because active dry yeast needs to be dissolved in liquid beforehand. Instead of whisking it directly into the flour, you first need to mix together the milk, sugar, and yeast to dissolve. Set aside the mixture for 5 to 10 minutes or until foamy on top then continue with the recipe as normal.
** Using liquid that's too hot can kill the yeast and using liquid that's too cold will make it difficult to "activate" the yeast. The perfect temperature is around 110F or slightly warmer than "body temperature". To test the temperature, simply dip your finger into the liquid - you shouldn't feel any significant shift in temperature (neither hot nor cold). It should just feel like warm tap water that you would wash your hands in.
*** You can also bake this bread in a 9 inch Bundt pan. Just make sure to pick a pan that doesn't have too intricate of a design or the bread can stick. The bake time in a Bundt pan will be closer to 30 to 35 minutes. You can serve the bread straight from the Bundt pan, but traditionally, monkey bread baked in a Bundt pan is flipped onto a plate. If you do decide to pull it out of the pan, allow the monkey bread to cool for about 5 minutes in the pan, then place an inverted rimmed plate on top and carefully flip. It's important to do this while the monkey bread is hot, otherwise the butter and sugar will set and will cause the bread to stick to the pan. Prep the icing and then drizzle it on top before digging in!
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Bake Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Breads
Enjoy!
Maggie says
Yummy. Never thought of lemon monkey bread. Thank you