Kids In The Kitchen : Charlotte's Monkey Bread

We've started a new tradition in our family. Each weekend the kids will pick one meal or snack to make by themselves (nearly). They choose the recipe, add ingredients to the grocery list if needed, and then practice their cooking skills.

I've been wanting to involve them more with cooking but I always seem low on time and patience on weeknights.


This week Charlotte decided to bake Monkey Bread. Monkey Bread

Topping
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
Dough
1/2 cup lukewarm water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons instant yeast
2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour (we used Whole Wheat and it worked great!)

Directions
1) Make the topping: Blend the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl, or shake them together in a small lidded container. Set aside.
2) Place water, vegetable oil, egg, salt, sugar, and yeast in a medium bowl and stir well.
3) Add 1 cup of the flour, stirring to blend.
4) Add the second cup of flour, stirring to make a cohesive dough. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes; this gives the flour a chance to absorb the liquid, making it easier to knead.
5) Knead the dough — by hand, mixer, or bread machine — till it's soft and smooth.
6) Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl or large measuring cup, cover it, and let the dough rise for 30 to 60 minutes, till it's doubled in size.
7) Gently deflate the dough, and place it on a clean, lightly greased work surface; a silicone mat works well here. Divide it into pieces about 1 1/2" in diameter; you'll make 16 to 18 pieces.
8) Lightly grease an 8" round cake pan (we used a 9" pan). Dip each piece in water(we used melted butter), then roll it in the cinnamon-sugar mixture to coat.
9) Place the pieces in a single layer in the prepared pan. Sprinkle any remaining cinnamon-sugar over the top.
10) Cover the pan, and let the bread rise for 30 to 60 minutes, till it's visibly puffy. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.
11) Uncover the pan, and bake the bread for 25 to 30 minutes, till it's golden brown and feels set. 12) Remove from the oven, and immediately turn the pan over onto a cooling rack. Lift the pan off the bread, and scrape any leftover topping in the pan onto the bread.
13) Pull the bread apart to serve. Serve warm, or at room temperature.
Yield: 8" round bread, 5 to 7 servings

**In order to have the bread ready for breakfast this morning, Charlotte did steps 1-9 yesterday and then we wrapped the pan with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge. I took it out of the fridge early this morning and let it rise a bit before baking it.

Here, Charlotte will show you how to coat the pieces of dough with cinnamon and sugar.

She did an excellent job baking and hardly needed any help from me at all. It's great reading and math practice for her. It also teaches her to appreciate how hard I work daily to make food for them.

This recipe is a great yeast bread recipe for kids to start with. It's a small amount of dough to work with and it's fun for them to dip the pieces in the sugar. I also doesn't hurt that it's delicious! We really enjoyed this with breakfast this morning.

Charlotte says, "I like how the Monkey Bread tastes. We made our own dough... not store bought dough. It was easy but it was hard to stir."