Herb and Garlic Bubble Loaf
Bubble loaf, pull-apart bread, and monkey bread are all synonyms for the same delicious combination of soft, tender bread and sweet or savory decadent coating. This version will make you think garlic knot in loaf form; it's perfect for sharing with friends.
Ingredients
Dough
- 3 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast
- 2 tablespoons potato flour or 1/4 cup instant potato flakes
- 3 tablespoons Baker's Special Dry Milk or nonfat dry milk
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 cup soft unsalted butter
- 2/3 cup lukewarm water
- 1/2 cup lukewarm milk
Coating
- 1/4 cup melted unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons Pizza Seasoning or Italian seasoning
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
Instructions
- To make the dough: Combine all of the ingredients, and mix and knead — by hand, stand mixer, or bread machine set on the dough cycle — to make a soft, smooth dough.
- Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and allow it to rise for 60 to 90 minutes, until it's just about doubled in bulk.
- Gently deflate the dough, and transfer it to a lightly greased work surface.
- Divide the dough into 32 pieces by dividing in half, then in halves again, etc. Don't worry about making them exactly even or shaping them into balls.
- Pour a generous layer of olive oil into the bottom of a 10" monkey bread pan or tube pan.
- To make the coating: Combine the butter, seasoning, and garlic.
- To assemble the loaf: Dip each ball of dough into the coating mixture, then place in the pan in a single layer; you'll need to squeeze them in.
- Cover the pan, and allow the dough to rise until quite puffy, about 60 to 90 minutes. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Uncover the pan. Bake the bread for 30 to 35 minutes, until its surface is golden brown, and a digital thermometer inserted into the middle of the loaf registers 190°F.
- Remove the bread from the oven, and turn it out of the pan onto a rack. Serve warm.
- Yield: 1 loaf, about 12 servings.
Nutrition Information
- Serving Size 1 (74g)
- Servings Per Batch 12
Amount Per Serving:
- Calories 220
- Calories from Fat 70
- Total Fat 8g
- Saturated Fat 5g
- Trans Fat 0g
- Cholesterol 20mg
- Sodium 360mg
- Total Carbohydrate 31g
- Dietary Fiber 1g
- Sugars 3g
- Protein 6g
* The nutrition information provided for this recipe is determined by the ESHA Genesis R&D software program. Substituting any ingredients may change the posted nutrition information.
Tips from our bakers
- If you don't have a monkey bread or tube pan, a 9" round casserole dish or a 9" x 2" cake pan will work well, also.
Recommended For You
Reviews
This bread is so easy and great to bring to a party. It was such a hit. I'll be making it again to bring to a thanksgiving gathering.
I made this today and it is so tasty. I did sprinkle a healthy dose of Parmesan cheese on the dough balls before baking. The texture inside is great and it had a nice crunch on the outside. I am not sure it is going to survive until tomorrow! It was fun to make and came out looking beautiful. This recipe is a keeper.
Made this for a small dinner party and it was such a success I want to make it again for Thanksgiving. Can the recipe be doubled or should I make two batches separately?Yes: as a general rule of thumb, most yeast bread recipes can be easily doubled. You can simply double all of the ingredients, using anywhere from 1-2x the amount of yeast called for in the original recipe. The amount of yeast used can vary depending on your preference, with more yeast leading to a faster rise but less flavor development, and less yeast leading to more flavor development but a longer rise. We hope that helps, and happy baking! Kye@KAF
My kids (4 & 7) had a fun time making this recipe! It turned out really delicious, but somewhat lacking in salt. We used our own mix of garlic and herbs in the dipping seasoning. Next time we will add salt to the mixture.
Decided to try this recipe today. After I started, I discovered we are out of powdered milk. I had Vermont Cheese Powder so I substituted 2 tablespoons for the milk. It has been out of the oven 30 minutes and my wife and I have eaten half the pan! Highly recommend using the cheese powder. Will use this one often.
I absolutely love this recipe and the bread! I followed directions as written and cannot say enough about the bread! I do not have the tube pan but instead used a Bundt pan I have on hand. I will be adding this to my regular bread rotation (hint: it is great for ANY reason...breakfast, lunch, dinner, and/or walking through the kitchen just because....). I really appreciate the fact KAF has their blog open to reviews and suggestions. This recipe was fabulous and I will make it on a regular basis! :-)
I found this to be easy and delicious with one exception. The top did not brown well and had a dry quality. It seemed that the butter had mostly seeped down to the bottom of the pan. Can anyone guess what might have caused this. I would guess I could have brushed the top before baking, but wanted to follow the directions the first time.We're surprised to hear that with all that butter, the top was still somewhat dry. To prevent this, be sure you're using the right amount of flour; either measure by weight using a scale or fluff and sprinkle the flour into the measuring cup gently one spoonful at a time. You can try brushing some of the melted butter mixture over the top of the dough before baking to ensure it gets a generous coating, or for an extra-brown top, you could brush it with an egg wash. We hope this helps! Kye@KAF
Oh so yummy! I had to substitute Bread Flour (plus 2 Tbsp extra water), but the potato flakes kept the bread tender. I don't have the KA pan, so I baked it in a cast iron chicken roaster (molded with a center tube for holding liquid to steam the inside of the chicken). It worked great and the bread ring stayed together when unmolded! Delicious and crispy on the outside. I use "roasted" garlic. Here's a hint: Wrap a whole head of garlic in foil with a Tbsp of olive oil and put it in the oven to bake while the bread is also baking. Let it cool in the foil, then store in the fridge. You'll then have plenty of freshly-"roasted" garlic for other recipes.
Delicious, but I was unclear about whether to roll the pieces in the coating or just dip one side. I covered each in coating but ran out of coating before I was done. Clues?You should have enough coating for the pieces to be fully coated, but if you're struggling to spread the filling evenly across all the pieces, try giving the full pan a couple gentle shakes - this should help coat any previously uncovered areas. Mollie@KAF
I made this for dinner last night to go with a tomato meat sauce for pasta, and we loved it! The pieces pull apart easily, the inside is soft as a pillow, and the bottoms of the pieces get a slightly cracker-like crispness that provides a great contrast of textures. It was even better when dipped into our yummy tomato sauce. Having said that, I do think I could boost the flavor even more, perhaps by dipping each piece first in the seasoned butter, then in some of the pizza seasoning. I might even brush the pieces with a little more melted butter and sprinkle with a pinch of salt and a bit more of the pizza seasoning just before they go in the oven. But even as is, this recipe is good enough to make many times over.. I'm looking forward to trying a couple of the other monkey bread recipes on your site as well.
