Savoury Monkey Bread Made With Wholemeal Flour

Partial view of pull apart savoury monkey bread with bowl of dip in its centre.

5 from 1 vote

Savoury Monkey Bread Made With Wholemeal Flour

Pull apart this savoury monkey bread and eat it just as it is, dunk it into soup, mop up stews with it or use it to scoop up your favourite dip. It's made with wholemeal flour, yet is still soft and fluffy. And the classic Italian flavours of mozzarella, sun-dried tomatoes and basil give it a delicious Mediterranean twist. It's fun to bake and a joy to eat.

Prep Time30

Cook Time35

Resting Time2

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American, Italian

Keyword: basil, bread, mozzarella

Servings: people

Calories: 315kcal

Author: Choclette @ Tin and Thyme

Ingredients

Dough

300 ml milk
1 tsp dark muscovado sugar
15 g fresh yeast or 3 tsp dried active yeast (7g instant yeast)
500 g strong wholemeal flour
2 tbsp olive oil from sun-dried tomato jar
1 tsp sea salt
50 g sun-dried tomatoes chopped
200 g mozzarella ball that's just under 2 standard sized balls
15 g basil leaves

Finishing Oil

2 tbsp olive oil from sun-dried tomato jar
1 pinch fine sea salt
1 clove garlic minced, (optional)

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Unless using instant yeast, warm the milk in a pan over a gentle heat until it's lukewarm. Pour half of it into your mixing bowl, then add the sugar and yeast. Whisk until smooth, then cover the bowl with a plate or plastic bag and leave to ferment for fifteen minutes.
300 ml milk, 1 tsp dark muscovado sugar, 15 g fresh yeast
Once the milk is bubbly, add 250g of the flour and the remaining milk. Stir until well combined, then cover the bowl and leave for thirty minutes.
Add the remaining flour, oil and salt, then knead for six minutes if using a stand mixer or ten minutes if kneading by hand.
2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp sea salt
Add the cheese, tomatoes and basil and knead for a further minute or until the additions are thoroughly incorporated.
50 g sun-dried tomatoes, 200 g mozzarella ball, 15 g basil leaves
Cover the bowl again and leave the dough to rise until doubled in size (about 1 hour).
Meanwhile oil a bundt tin or 23 cm (8inch) round tin.
Scrape the dough out of the bowl and onto a work surface. Divide the dough into two, then carefully roll each piece into a sausage shape. Try not to press too much air out of the dough.
Cut each sausage into ten to fifteen pieces, then fold and roll each one into a ball. Again, try not to squeeze the balls so that they lose too much air.
Stir the salt into the oil. If you fancy a bit of garlic, grate it into the oil and mix well.
2 tbsp olive oil, 1 pinch fine sea salt, 1 clove garlic
Brush each ball lightly with the tomato oil, then lay on the tin, with a small gap between each one. There should be enough left over to glaze the loaf when it's out of the oven.
Place the tin inside a large plastic bag and leave the dough to rise until it's nearly doubled in size (about ½ an hour) .
Put the tin on the middle shelf of your oven and turn it on to 220℃ (200℃ fan, 425℉, Gas 7). Bake for 35 minutes. Check how it's doing after 25 minutes and if it looks as though the tops are browning rather too much, cover loosely with some tinned foil.
Remove from the oven and lightly brush the top with tomato oil. Turn the loaf out onto a wire rack to cool and brush the bottom and sides with any remaining tomato oil.
Ideally, tear and share whilst the bread is still warm. Though it's almost as delicious cold.

Notes

Wrap the bread well and it will stay fresh for at least three days.

You’ll find additional tips and info about this recipe in the main body of the post.

Please note: calories and other nutritional information are per serving. They’re approximate and will depend on serving size and exact ingredients used. Please refer to my nutrition disclaimer for further information.

Nutrition