Monkey Bread

Over low heat, begin melting 1/2 cup butter along with the buttermilk, nutmeg, cinnamon, sugar, salt and raisins. Be careful not to use high heat, the milk will curdle and... its just not nice. When melted and combined, remove from heat. Allow to cool to the point where you can stick your finger in and its warm but not hot. Or... 120 F.

When the solution has reached an acceptable temperature, add in the package of dry yeast. When you’re sure that the yeast is in face alive, add it into the flour. Mix until you acheived a dough. (If you noice your dough is too dry, warm 1/4 cup buttermilk and add slowly until absorbed. I had to do that. You don’t want a crumbly dough or overly sticky). Cover dough with plastic wrap or damp towel. Allow to rise for 1 1/2 hours.

When the dough is done rising, you’ll need to slice it like a pizza. At the time, it was the best way I could divide it evenly. The plan is to make dough balls roughly 1.5 inches in diameter. When I sliced it into 8 pieces, it seemed to be the perfect size.

With the remaining 1/4 cup of butter, melt it. Then, using tongs, or abandoning the tongs and using your hands because they’ll be too slippery, dunk each ball in the melted butter until fully coated. Place into your baking vessel. If you don’t have this particular one, a Bundt pan would be the best option. Layer the balls as shown. Cover and allow to rest for 45 minutes.

Place into a preheated 375 F oven for roughly 25 minutes. It should be browning. If you flick it with your finger, it should sound sound almost hollow. If your finger dents the bread, its not done... or you’re strong.

Allow to cool for five minutes and flip out of pan. You shouldn’t have to worry about buttering your pan since you slathered so much butter on the bread itself. This bread is not sweet. Honestly, I think it would be best with tea. If you want it sweeter, adjust. I also see a lot of people do a glaze for it. I’m not the boss, you can do as you please. Maybe even a glaze with nuts. Regardless, tear, eat, enjoy.

Here is another rendition with slightly different ingredients in a different pan.