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This sourdough monkey bread brings all the best parts of a cinnamon roll together in one pan. Each soft, buttery bite is coated in cinnamon sugar and caramelized in a rich brown sugar sauce that melts into every bite.
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Sourdough Monkey Bread is a great choice for breakfast, brunch, or a sharable dessert. And if you love this, the flavors are similar to my overnight sourdough cinnamon rolls, Sourdough Cinnamon Roll Cookies and sourdough cinnamon star bread.
Table of Contents
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Overnight rise: Let the dough rise overnight while you sleep, and then prep it in the morning to bake fresh.
- Great for gatherings: Monkey bread is always a crowd favorite thanks to its soft, bite-sized pieces made for sharing. For more crowd-sharing brunch recipes, be sure to try my sourdough coffee cake and blueberry coffee cake sourdough scones.
- Easy to make ahead: This monkey bread can be prepped in the Bundt pan and stored in the fridge until you’re ready to bake.
Important Ingredients and Substitutions
- Bubbly sourdough starter – This recipe uses bubbly active starter at its peak to help the dough rise.
- Butter – You can use salted or unsalted in the dough but I recommend salted.
- Milk – I prefer whole milk to get the softest roll but any milk will work. If you need a dairy-free alternative, I recommend full-fat coconut milk.
- Flour- This recipe calls for all-purpose flour but you can also use bread flour.
- Egg- If you have an egg allergy, the egg can be removed from the dough.
Instructions to make Sourdough Monkey Bread
The night before
Step 1: In a stand mixer bowl or large mixing bowl, add the milk, melted butter, egg, sugar, salt, active sourdough starter, and flour.
Option 1- Mix in a stand mixer: Mix the dough with a dough hook attachment on the lowest speed in a stand mixer for 4-5 minutes until the dough pulls away from the bowl and is pliable.
The dough will be a little sticky and stick to the bottom of the mixer; this is normal. If it is extremely sticky and sticking to the sides of the bowl, slowly add more flour until it comes together.
Option 2- Knead by hand: Mix the dough with a danish dough whisk or your hands until the dough begins to come together. Once you can no longer mix it in the bowl, place the dough on a lightly floured work surface and knead for about 5 minutes or until the dough forms a soft, smooth dough ball.
If it is extremely sticky and sticking to the sides of the bowl, slowly add more flour until it comes together.
Step 2: Place the dough in a medium-sized bowl or 2-quart straight edge container. Let the dough rise covered overnight at a temperature of 68℉-72℉ for about 8-10 hours or until doubled in size.
Note: if the temperature is warmer than 75℉, do not leave the dough overnight, it will overproof. The dough will likely double within 4-6 hours, depending on how warm the dough is.
The next morning
Step 3: Once doubled, punch down the dough and divide it into 3 sections.
Roll each piece of dough into a long rope by pressing your palms down and gently rolling back and forth to stretch it until it reaches 15 inches in length.
Step 4: Using a bench scraper or sharp knife, cut the dough into 1-inch sections, about 15, although it doesn’t have to be exact. Repeat with the other 2 sections.
Step 5: In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine ½ cup butter with brown sugar until a slightly thickened sauce forms. Let cool slightly but not too long that it no longer is pourable.
Step 6: Melt ½ cup butter in a small bowl.
Working with a handful of dough pieces at a time, toss the pieces into the butter.
Step 7: Combine sugar and cinnamon in a separate bowl. Move the buttered pieces to the cinnamon sugar and coat the entire dough ball.
Step 8: Grease a 10″ bundt cake pan with non-stick spray or brush generously with oil.
Add coated pieces to the greased bundt pan. Pour the brown sugar caramel sauce evenly over the top.
Step 9: Cover and let the dough rise in a warm spot for another 1–2 hours, until the dough balls are puffy.
Step 10: Bake in a preheated oven at 350ºF for 40-45 minutes. The internal temperature should reach 190ºF or higher.
Step 11: Let cool for about 10-15 minutes to let the caramel sauce slightly thicken. Don’t wait too long though or it will be hard to get out of the pan.
After baking, place a large plate on top of the bundt pan and flip the sourdough monkey bread onto the plate.
Step 12: If desired, mix the icing ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. Drizzle icing over the prepared monkey bread and enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- Grease the pan well: To ensure the monkey bread does not stick to the bundt pan it needs to be well greased. Heavily spray a bundt cake pan with non-stick spray ensuring to get the inner and outer rims. You can brush oil on the pan instead but I wouldn’t recommend greasing the pan with butter, as the milk solids can act like glue.
- Don’t flip immediately: If you flip the monkey bread right away, the caramel sauce will be very runny and slide right off (trust me, I’ve done it). Let the caramel cool slightly so it thickens and stays on the bread.
- Uniform shape: If you prefer a more uniform look, roll the dough balls into circles before dipping. I usually only reshape the ones that are very oblong.
- Add a sheet pan: Set a rimmed sheet pan on the rack below as a precaution for any drips.
Sample Schedule
These schedules are estimates but can vary from kitchen to kitchen. It is best to watch the dough and not the clock when deciding whether to move on from a step.
Overnight schedule
| Step | Time |
| Feed sourdough starter a 1:5:5 ratio (20 grams starter: 100 grams flour: 100 grams water). Leave at 72℉. | Day one: 12 pm |
| Mix dough & first rise (leave dough around 68℉-72℉) | Day one: 10 pm |
| Prepare dough and add to bundt pan | Day two: 8 am |
| Bake and make the icing | Day two: 10 am |
Same Day Schedule
| Step | Time |
| Feed sourdough starter a 1:1:1 ratio (70 grams starter: 70 grams flour: 70 grams water). Leave around 77-80℉. | 8 am |
| Mix dough & first rise (leave dough at 80℉) | 12 pm |
| Prepare dough and add to bundt pan (leave dough at 80℉) | 4 pm |
| Bake and make the icing | 5:30 pm |
Storage instructions for Sourdough Monkey Bread
For best texture, store the monkey bread covered at room temperature for 1–2 days. I like to keep mine on a cake stand with a lid, but a zip-top bag works too.
If you need to store it longer, you can freeze the bread for 2-3 months. After baking, cool completely, then place in a freezer-safe container or wrap in heavy-duty aluminum foil and freeze. Thaw at room temperature and warm slightly on a rimmed sheet pan at 350ºF to bring back its soft, buttery texture.
Recipe FAQ
Yes! You can freeze it for 2-3 months. After baking, cool completely, then place in a freezer-safe container or wrap in heavy-duty aluminum foil and freeze. Thaw at room temperature and warm slightly on a rimmed sheet pan at 350ºF to bring back its soft, buttery texture.
Yes it will be fine left overnight. The good bacteria in your sourdough starter will fight off any unwanted bacteria.
Yes, you can make a yeast and sourdough discard version of this dough to make it within 2-3 hours. To do this, use my sourdough discard cinnamon roll recipe for the dough. After kneading, immediately move on to cutting and dipping in the cinnamon sugar. Cover and let rise in a warm spot for 1-2 hours until puffy and bake. This may bake quicker, so keep an eye on it and check the internal temperature for doneness.
Yes, once the monkey bread is assembled in the Bundt pan, cover it and refrigerate for up to 12 hours. About 2–3 hours before baking, remove it from the fridge and place it in a very warm spot to come to room temperature and puff up. Bake as directed.
Alternatively, you can complete both rises before refrigerating. When you’re ready to bake, remove the monkey bread from the fridge and let it sit in a warm spot for about 30 minutes before baking as directed.
If you don’t have a bundt pan, you can make this in a 9×13 inch pan.
If you flip the bundt pan too early while the caramel sauce is still hot, it will run off everywhere. You want to let it cool for 10-15 minutes before flipping to let the caramel sauce thicken slightly.
More sourdough Brunch Recipes
Holiday Sourdough Recipes
Sourdough Cinnamon Star Bread
Sourdough Bread Recipes
Overnight Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls Recipe
Sourdough Discard Recipes
Quick Sourdough Discard Cinnamon Rolls (one hour rise)
Sourdough Breakfast Recipes
Sourdough Coffee Cake
Tried this Sourdough Monkey Bread or another recipe from the site? I’d love to hear about it! Drop a star rating and share your thoughts in the comments—can’t wait to see what you’re baking!
Sourdough Monkey bread
Ingredients
Sourdough Starter or Levain
- 20 grams active sourdough starter, heaping 1 Tablespoon
- 100 grams all-purpose flour, ¾ cup
- 100 grams water, ⅓ cup + 1 Tablespoon
Dough
- 310 grams milk, warm, 1¼ cups
- 57 grams butter, melted, ¼ cup
- 1 large egg, 50 grams
- 100 grams granulated sugar, ½ cup
- 5 grams salt, 1 teaspoon
- 200 grams active sourdough starter, scant 1 cup
- 650 grams all-purpose flour, 4⅔ cups
Coating
- 227 grams butter, divided, 1 cup
- 265 grams granulated sugar, 1⅓ cups
- 12 grams cinnamon, 1½ Tablespoons
- 165 grams brown sugar, ¾ cup
Icing
- 120 grams powdered sugar, 1 cup
- 30 grams milk, 2 Tablespoons
- 5 grams vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon
Instructions
Day 1
- Feed starter: About 10 hours before making the dough, make a levain or feed your sourdough starter and leave it covered at 72℉ to double or more in size and get bubbly. Skip this step if your starter is already activated and ready to bake with.20 grams active sourdough starter, 100 grams all-purpose flour, 100 grams water
- Mix dough: In a stand mixer bowl or mixing bowl, mix room-temperature milk, melted and slightly cooled butter, egg, sugar, salt, active sourdough starter, and flour until combined. 310 grams milk, warm, 57 grams butter, melted, 1 large egg, 100 grams granulated sugar, 5 grams salt, 200 grams active sourdough starter, 650 grams all-purpose flour
- Knead dough: Mix the dough with a dough hook attachment on the lowest speed in a stand mixer for 4-5 minutes until the dough pulls away from the bowl and is pliable.The dough will be a little sticky and stick to the bottom of the mixer; this is normal. If it is extremely sticky and sticking to the sides of the bowl, slowly add more flour until it comes together.Alternatively, place the dough on a lightly floured work surface and knead for about 5 minutes by hand or until the dough forms a soft, smooth dough ball. If it is extremely sticky, slowly add more flour until it comes together.
- First rise: Place the dough in a medium-sized bowl or 2-quart straight-edge container. Let the dough rise covered overnight at a temperature of 68℉-72℉ for about 8-10 hours or until doubled in size.
Day 2
- Divide dough: Once doubled the next morning, punch down the dough and divide it into 3 sections.
- Roll out: Roll each piece of dough into a long rope by pressing your palms down and gently rolling back and forth to stretch it until it reaches 15 inches in length.
- Cut dough balls: Using a bench scraper or sharp knife, cut the dough into 1-inch sections, about 15, although it doesn’t have to be exact. Repeat with the other 2 sections.
- Make caramel sauce: In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine ½ cup butter with brown sugar until a slightly thickened sauce forms. Let cool slightly but not too long that it no longer is pourable.227 grams butter, divided, 165 grams brown sugar
- Prepare coatings: Prepare two small bowls, one with ½ cup melted butter and the other with sugar and cinnamon mixed together. 227 grams butter, divided, 265 grams granulated sugar, 12 grams cinnamon
- Coat dough balls: Working with a handful of dough pieces at a time, toss the pieces into the butter. Then coat the pieces in the cinnamon sugar mixture.Note: If you prefer a more uniform look, roll the dough balls into circles before dipping. I usually only reshape the ones that are very oblong.
- Arrange in pan: Grease a 10″ bundt cake pan with non-stick spray or brush generously with oil. Add all the coated pieces to the greased bundt pan. Pour the brown sugar caramel sauce evenly over the top.
- Second rise: Cover and let the dough balls rise in a warm spot for another 1–2 hours, until the dough balls are puffy.
- Bake: Bake in a preheated oven at 350ºF for 40-45 minutes. Set a rimmed sheet pan on the rack below as a precaution for any drips. The internal temperature should reach 190ºF or higher, and the top should be lightly browned.
- Cool and flip: Let cool for about 10-15 minutes to let the caramel sauce slightly thicken. Don’t wait too long though or it will be hard to get out of the pan.Place a large plate on top of the bundt pan and flip the sourdough monkey bread onto the plate.
- Make icing: Mix icing ingredients in a small bowl if you want an icing on top. 120 grams powdered sugar, 30 grams milk, 5 grams vanilla extract
- Drizzle icing: Drizzle icing over the prepared monkey bread and enjoy!
Notes
- Grease the pan well: To ensure the monkey bread does not stick to the bundt pan it needs to be well greased. Heavily spray a bundt cake pan with non-stick spray ensuring to get the inner and outer rims. You can brush oil on the pan instead but I wouldn’t recommend greasing the pan with butter, as the milk solids can act like glue.
- Don’t flip immediately: If you flip the monkey bread right away, the caramel sauce will be very runny and slide right off (trust me, I’ve done it). Let the caramel cool slightly so it thickens and stays on the bread.
- Same day schedule: This recipe can be made start to finish in one day if desired. For timing and tips, see the sample schedule in the blog post above.
- No bundt pan? This recipe can be made in a 9×13-inch pan.
- Make-ahead instructions: Once the monkey bread is assembled in the Bundt pan, cover it and refrigerate for up to 12 hours. About 2–3 hours before baking, remove it from the fridge and place it in a very warm spot to come to room temperature and puff up. Bake as directed. Alternatively, you can complete both rises before refrigerating. When you’re ready to bake, remove the monkey bread from the fridge and let it sit in a warm spot for about 30 minutes before baking as directed.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
If the middle of the cinnamon roll is your favorite part you are going to LOVE this monkey bread! It’s so soft and gooey and delicious.