I don’t know why this bread is called Monkey Bread, if someone can enlighten me that would be great! This recipe was on strong rotation when I was growing up and Mum would often make a batch or two when we had people coming over for dinner. My cousin Amy was particularly fond of it and Mum still makes it for Amy when she visits!
We had a couple of friends over for afternoon tea and I had a giant bunch of parsley in the fridge, so I decided to make Monkey Bread for the first time (on my own! no Mum!). Seriously, I can’t tell you how easy bread is to make – it really is – I encourage you to give it a go. Mixing the dough, kneading the dough, watching it rise (giving a fist pump when it does!), knocking it back and then baking it is really special. Fresh bread smells amazing and fresh bread you made yourself smells even better. Such a simple combination of ingredients – flour, water, yeast, time and something magic happens. The addition of the egg and milk in this recipe makes for a lovely and soft crumb which contrasts beautifully with the zing of the chilli.
You can find the recipe in an old post of mine here. I leave the seeds of the chilli in for extra heat but if you can’t handle the heat, then you can leave it out. I promise you that this bread will be demolished in no time – you won’t be able to wait for the bread to cool before the scent tingles your nostrils and your fingers make a move.
