Erin McDowell's Guide to Pull Apart Bread Perfection

BUBBLE BREAD / MONKEY BREAD / PULL APART BREAD:
In this episode of Bake It Up A Notch, we talk all things monkey bread. Here is what Erin has to say about each of the five iterations featured today:

CLASSIC CINNAMON: What do you get when you combine the goodness of sticky buns with a buttery cinnamon monkey bread? This show stopping loaf that is sure to be devoured in no time. My monkey bread dough is gorgeously soft and and immensely fluffy, thanks to a few enrichments like milk, sugar, eggs, and dry milk powder. Dry milk powder has a beautiful ability to make soft doughs their absolute softest, by adding some of the benefits of milk without adding any more hydration to the dough. In fact, youll find this ingredient in a lot of my soft bread recipes, because I turn to it time and time again. But this particular dough is so special, I use it to make all kinds of pull apart breadsboth sweet and savory.

GOOEY CHEESY: A savory twist on monkey bread, it starts with rounds of soft and fluffy garlic-spiked bread dough. The dough is divided into pieces, and then each individual piece is stuffed with a cube of cheese. Its best to use a melty, low-moisture cheese like mozzarella or brick cheese - but its also delicious with other cheeses like sharp cheddar or gruyere. The rounds are lined up into rows in a square baking pan to help them bake, brown, and crisp up evenly.
They emerge from the oven like fluffy cheese-stuffed garlic knots, which is why I love to serve them with warm marinara sauce, for dippingbut other sauces like tapenade, pesto, or romesco would also be delicious!

GARLIC HERB: Garlic-herb compound butter is spread evenly over a slab of soft, fluffy yeast-raised dough. Then, the dough is cut into bite size pieces and piled into the buttered pan. Inside the skillet, it bakes to be crisp and crunchy on the outside, while staying gloriously soft and fluffy inside. All those beautiful dough textures are speckled and swirled all over with that gorgeous herb butter.The loaf smells incredible while it bakes, and then the smell wafts and carries all over again when it sits out on the counter waiting to be devoured.

CITRUS SUGAR: Its truly such a comforting sweet dessert, and Ive been daydreaming about it ever since I devoured the last bite of the last loaf I made. Its made with a simple combination of flavors: lemon, orange, and vanilla. It emerges from the oven fairly humblea lovely, albeit rustic loaf baked in a round cake pan. But it is packing a serious punch, which is revealed as soon as its unmolded. Once you flip it onto a serving plate: its true glory is revealed.

CARAMELIZED ONION: This is the savory pull apart bread of my dreams, filled with a creamy blend of caramelized onions, cream cheese, and parmesan cheese. Unlike many pull apart loaves, this isnt about a saucy, buttery exterior and a fluffy bread interior. Instead, this loaf is shaped in a way that makes it easy to pull apart each doughy piece, and all the incredible flavor is inside each piece.

CHAPTERS:
00:00 - Introduction
00:45 - The Dough
03:58 - The Finishing Elements
04:45 - Building the Breads
06:50 - Baking it Up a Notch
08:49 - Playing With Shape
10:28 - Rising and Baking!

GET THE RECIPES:
Citrus Sugar Pull Apart Bread: https://f52.co/4a0S3mr
Garlic & Herb Skillet Pull Apart Bread: https://f52.co/3GqdSy7
Gooey Cheese-Stuffed Monkey Bread: https://f52.co/3T6SFRm
Sticky Cinnamon Monkey Bread: https://f52.co/3sTdlBV
Caramelized Onion Stuffed Parmesan Pull-Apart Bread: https://f52.co/480U0NT

PRODUCTS FEATURED IN THIS VIDEO:
Food52 x Dansk Kbenstyle Butter Warmer: https://f52.co/46D87aX
Crow Canyon Home Enamel Ramekin Condiment Dishes: https://f52.co/46GI8zz

MORE ABOUT BAKE IT UP A NOTCH:
In this technique-driven series, Food52 Resident Lucas Sin dives into the reasoning behind the culinary methods he uses in the kitchen. We'll learn why certain Chinese cooking techniques work and how they can be applied beyond their traditional recipes. If you're looking to level up in the kitchen, this skill-centered series is a great place to start!

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