Primate Bread

I told the boys I would make Monkey Bread today while they were gone.  (Mommy took them to Silverwood.)  The five year old told me that he was not a monkey so could I make "Dog Bread.""  I told him he wouldn't like bread made for dogs.

Daddy and I are saving the sticky bubbles for Mommy and the boys, but we've devoured a one pound loaf of swirled bread. with extra margarine.

I used my basic Whole Wheat Bread recipe.
2 cups lukewarm water
1 Tablespoon Molasses
1 Tablespoon Oil (canola)
1 Tablespoon Active Dry Yeast
1 teaspoon Salt
6 - 8 cups 100% Whole Wheat flour

Increased the Molasses and Oil to 3 Tablespoons each.
Added 2 eggs and 2 Tablespoons melted Margarine.

I beat 4 - 5 cups of flour with everything else for about 5 minutes in my 6 quart Kitchen Aid mixer.  Cover it up and let it rest for about an hour so the yeast gets working.  I just leave it on the mixer unless the kitchen is cold or drafty.

After it gets all bubbly and starts rising up the bowl I add another cup or three of flour and mix it until it forms a ball.  Give it a couple (2 -3 not more) minutes to build the gluten and take it off the mixer.

Topping:
For the Primate Bread I mixed:
1 1/2 cups finely chopped Pecans
1/2 cup fine shredded coconut
1 cup (packed) brown sugar
2 teaspoons allspice
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
Mix thoroughly.

Meanwhile I melted 1 1/2 sticks of dairy free soy margarine.

Assembly:
Spray a tube pan with cooking spray.  IF the pan has a removable bottom wrap it with heavy duty foil to prevent drips and place pan on baking sheet.

Pinch walnut (1 1/2 inch) sized lumps from the dough.  Dip into melted margarine  then roll in spiced sugar and nuts and place in prepared pan.  The pan should only be about  half full when you are done.  It's hard to describe how to lay the lumps into the pan  they should be touching each other without crowding.  remember they will rise about double in bulk.

I used about the recipe to make Primate bread.  The rest of the dough I turned into two small loaves - one plain, the other swirled with left over topping.

As usual, I preheated the oven to 185 F while I was shaping the bread.  Turned off the heat and turned on the oven light.  This makes a great place for yeast doughs to raise.  I left the two loaves and the Primate Bread alone in the warm for about 2 hours. then I turned the oven on to 350 F.  The loaves were done in about 40 minutes.  The Primate Bread took closer to an hour.

The eggs and the extra oil made a very soft dough.  The extra molasses gave it flavor that is often lacking in regular sweet doughs.