Description
Gooey, pull-apart, delicious Vegan Monkey Bread is probably the most fun dessert to make and eat! Perfect for a holiday breakfast or dessert.
Ingredients
Scale
Dough:
- 750g flour (about 6 cups, see note 2)
- 1 ½ cup unsweetened non-dairy milk, warmed
- 2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast
- 3 tbsp organic cane sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 6-7 tbsp canned coconut milk or melted vegan butter
- 2 tbsp ground flaxseed mixed with 6 tbsp water
Coating
- ⅓ - ½ cup canned coconut milk or melted vegan butter
- 1 - 1 ¼ cup organic cane sugar
- 2-3 tsp ground cinnamon, to taste
Topping
- 3 tbsp canned coconut milk or melted vegan butter
- ⅔ cup organic brown sugar
- ¾ tsp pure vanilla extract
Icing, optional
- ¾ cup organic powdered sugar
- 1-2 tbsp unsweetened non-dairy milk
- ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Proof the yeast: Warm up your unsweetened non-dairy milk in the microwave or in a small saucepan on the stovetop. It should be warm, but not hot. Test it on your wrist, if it feels warm, but not uncomfortable, it’s perfect for yeast. If you have a thermometer, it should be between 100-110 degrees F (or 38-43 degrees C). Whisk the yeast, sugar, and warmed non-dairy milk in your mixing bowl and let it sit for 5 minutes. While you wait, mix the ground flaxseed and water in a small bowl and let it gel for a few minutes.
- Once the 5 minutes are up. If the mixture is foamy, your yeast is good. If not, the yeast is likely dead and you’ll need new yeast. It’s a lot better than making the dough and finding out later when it doesn’t rise! Start a small pot of water to boil. I use this in my rising method to keep the dough moist and soft while it rises.
- Mix the dough: Now add the flax eggs, 6-7 tbsp canned coconut milk or melted vegan butter, salt, and a ⅓ of the flour to the mixing bowl and mix it for 2 minutes at low speed with a paddle attachment (or mix by hand for a few minutes until well combined).
- Knead the dough: Add the remaining flour and switch to the dough hook (or mix by hand with a strong spoon, then by hand when it’s too hard to stir. Knead with hands if you don’t have a mixer). Knead for 2-4 minutes until the dough has come away from the sides of the bowl and holds onto the hook (or is a nice uniform ball, if not using a mixer). Your dough should be soft and moist, but not sticky or tacky. Just firm enough to hold together.
- 1st rise: Grease a large bowl with canned coconut milk (the solid parts are perfect for this part), vegan butter, or non-stick spray) and turn out your dough into this bowl. Flip the dough once so both sides are lightly coated. Place a damp kitchen towel over the bowl and put it in a warm place to rise. I put it in my oven with just the oven light on. I place the boiled water on the rack just below the bowl and shut the door. Let the dough rise for one hour, until doubled in size.
- Set up: When the hour is up, remove the bowl and punch down the dough. Set up a station on your work surface with the ball of dough, a medium bowl of canned coconut milk or melted vegan butter, a medium bowl of cinnamon sugar, and your greased bundt pan or other pan (see above). You may also need an extra plate or tray to hold the prepared dough balls (see below). If you’re working with someone (this is a great project for kids to help with!), you won’t need an extra plate, but if you’re doing this by yourself, I recommend to make all the dough balls first and place them on a plate or tray, then do the dipping.
- Make the dough balls: Pinch a fair portion of dough with your fingers and create a wad of dough (you may find it helpful to use kitchen shears to cut the dough). Roll it into a ball (it does not need to be perfect, the ball won’t really hold its shape anyway. Set aside (or hand off to be dunked).
- Dunk and roll: Dip each ball first in canned coconut milk or melted vegan butter, let the excess drip off, then roll it in the cinnamon sugar. You can roll it lightly or generously, your preference.
- Assemble: Place each ball in the lined pan. About 2 rows can fit in a standard bundt pan for each layer, an inner circle and an outer circle. We want the dough balls to touch. If they kind of mush each other, that’s OK. This recipe works out to about 3 layers for a 10 - 10.5” bundt pan.
- 2nd rise: Place the filled pan back in the oven with the light on. Cover with a cloth and rise again for about 20 minutes.
- Add the topping: Mix together the brown sugar, 3 tbsp canned coconut milk or melted vegan butter, and vanilla extract. Use a spoon to add it evenly to the top of the pan. This will help create a solid bottom, but it will also drip down and seal the balls of dough together.
- Bake: Bake your vegan monkey bread at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (or 177 degrees Celsius) for 40-45 minutes on the lowest shelf in the oven. If you find it’s getting too crisp or brown on top, add some foil to protect it while the middle cooks.
- Release from the pan: Let the bread cool in the pan for 15 minutes on a cooling rack. Then turn it over onto a plate or cake stand. You may need to thwack the bottom a bit, and then wait a few minutes for it to “drop” out of the pan (it took mine about 1 minute to drop). Coaks with a butter knife if needed.
- Add the icing (optional): Let it cool for approximately 30-40 minutes before adding the icing. The warmer it is when you add the icing, the more that icing will turn kind of invisible. You’ll still taste it. But if you want a bright white icing, I’d encourage you to wait till the monkey bread is completely cool.
- Serve: Serve in slices or pull apart style. Enjoy!
- Store: Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days, or freeze in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months.
Notes
- Note 1: Prep + cook time does not include rising time
- Note 2: Please measure your flour by weight for accuracy and consistency (see notes in article above, a heading titled “How to Measure Flour Properly.” This made a HUGE difference in my baking and how many of my attempts turn out well!
- Note 3: Want to make this gluten-free? I’ve used both Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Flour and King Arthur Baking Company Measure for Measure Gluten-Free Flour with success. Keep in mind your dough may require a bit more moisture to produce a nice soft moist dough, so keep extra non-dairy milk nearby!
- Note 4: While a stand mixer with a dough hook certainly makes this process faster, you can absolutely do this by hand in a large mixing bowl with a strong wooden spoon. You’ll also need a bit of arm and shoulder strength!
- Note 5: Virtually any other pan will work, but all will affect the cook time (so it will be different than what I’ve listed). You could use 2 pie dishes, a couple of 9” round cake pans, a 9x13 rectangular pan, or a couple of loaf tins. Keep in mind that the taller your pan, the longer it takes to bake, which could make the top start to burn if it dries out or hardens. If you start to notice it getting dried out or burnt, add some foil to the top. Shallow pans, like the 9x13 rectangular pan, will likely cook faster. In any case, keep an eye on your monkey bread to make sure it cooks thoroughly (especially in the center). It’s done when the top is dry (but not dried out), and firm.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Dessert, Snack
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Vegan, Oil-Free, Nut-Free, Soy-Free, Vegan Monkey Bread