So I found a recipe on Pinterest for savory monkey bread a while ago and it floated back to the front of my mind when I started thinking about recipes that I could work fall herbs into. I like the idea of monkey bread here because the recipe lends itself to showcasing each flavor as part of an ensemble. I went with thyme, rosemary and sage, plus some Parmesan cheese as a flavor that goes with all three to tie it all together.
As for the decision to opt for muffins…I don’t own a Bundt pan that you would usually use for monkey bread. If anyone has other suggestions, please let me know, but I figured I would just get around it by making smaller versions.
I don’t have a whole lot of pictures this time due to technical issues, but I did manage to hang on to this one. This is how I set myself up for rolling the balls of dough. Going clockwise from the top right: Parmesan cheese, thyme, sage and rosemary.
And the final product. I’m sorry for the lack of pictures. Rest assured there will be no shortage of them for the next recipe! Speaking of recipes…
Ingredients:
- 2½ teaspoons dry active yeast
- ¼ cup warm water
- ¼ cup warm milk
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 5 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- About 3 Tablespoons each: fresh thyme; fresh sage; fresh rosemary; grated parmesan
- 1 stick plus ⅓ cup melted butter, divided
- 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
Directions:
- In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in warm water and set aside for two minutes. Add milk, ⅓ cup melted butter, sugar, eggs, salt and 3 cups of flour. Mix for about three minutes and then, using your hands, add by enough flour to form a firm dough. It’ll be 5 cups total, give or take.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Firm dough into a ball and place in a greased bowl. Turn the ball once to grease the top. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.
- Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray and preheat oven to 350̊ F. Punch the dough down and prepare your herbs and cheese. Stir minced garlic with the stick of melted butter. Pull pieces of dough off and roll into ½-¾” balls. Dip each ball in the garlic butter and then into an herb or cheese. Place in the muffin tin, trying your best to get each type of coating into each muffin. You should be able to get four or five balls into each muffin.
- Top each muffin with additional parmesan. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown and cool before serving.
A Baked Goods Blog 