Persimmon Monkey Bread

This is a catch-up post. I made this Christmas morning and forgot to post it...until now. Whoops.

I had never made monkey bread. I don't even really know what it is...but I figured it sounded like an easy thing to pop in the oven and bake while we all opened presents, chugged eggnog, and lounged around in our pajamas till we had to go to the larger Mateo family celebration in the afternoon. I tossed in some roasted, peeled chestnuts and used the last of my Hachiya persimmons from my friend Shiho to make ours a little bit more festive.

As I mentioned, I really had no idea what monkey bread was made from, so I made a cinnamon roll kind of dough.

1 T active yeast

2 t organic granulated sugar
pulp from 2 Hachiya persimmons

2 C white whole wheat flour

pinch salt
1 T olive oil

1/2 stick butter
2 C roasted, peeled chestnuts

3/4 C organic turbinado sugar
1 T pumpkin pie spice

Combine yeast, 1/2 C warm water and granulated sugar together in a mixing bowl. Stir gently and let stand till the yeast blooms, about 3 minutes. Stir in persimmon pulp, flour and salt until a sticky dough forms.

Knead dough on a floured surface for 4-5 minutes or until very elastic. Pour the olive oil into a mixing bowl and transfer dough to the bowl. Turn dough over to make sure the oil coats it completely. Cover bowl with a clean dish towel and place in a warm spot for 45-60 minutes.

While dough rises, melt the butter and combine the turbinado sugar and pumpkin pie spice. Butter a bundt pan.

Once dough has risen, punch dough down. Tear off chunks of dough and roll them in melted butter. Then roll them in the sugar-spice mixture and place them in your buttered bundt pan.

Continue making dough balls and layering dough with chestnuts. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Once you have everything assembled, whisk the remaining sugar and spice mixture into the melted butter and pour over the dough balls.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until edges have turned golden-brown. Let cool slightly, invert, and serve warm.

Though this was a hit with my boys, I think I'll make Homemade Panettone for next year's Christmas morning.

Comments

Hot Chocolate Agasajo-Style {Spice It Up!}

photo by D For my Spice It Up! kiddos this week, I was looking for an exotic drink to serve while we learned about saffron. I found a recipe from food historian Maricel Presilla that mimicked traditional Spanish hot chocolate from the 17th century where it was served at lavish receptions called agasajos . When I teach, I don't always get to shoot photos. Thankfully, D grabbed my camera and snapped a few. Ingredients serves 14-16 1 gallon organic whole milk 3 T dried rosebuds - or 2 t rosewater 2 t saffron threads, lightly crushed 3 T ground cinnamon 3 whole tepin chiles, crushed 2 vanilla beans, split lengthwise 1 C organic granulated sugar 1 lb. bittersweet chocolate Procedure In a large soup pot that can hold a gallon plus, combine milk, dried rosebuds (or rosewater, if you are using that), saffron threads, ground cinnamon, chiles, vanilla beans, and sugar and warm over medium heat till it steams. Whisk to dissolve sugar, then lower heat an...

Frozen Art Gourmet Ice Cream

As we headed inland from the coast, I cringed as the temperature gauge in the car for outside temp climbed into the triple digits. Ugh. I'm a rather wimpy central coastal Californian who begins to wilt when it's 70 degrees outside. Thank goodness for air conditioning and a planned ice cream stop. When I parked the car outside Frozen Art Gourmet Ice Cream in Santa Rosa, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. We knew that we still had to get to the campsite...and set up our tents in the heat. But we were going to enjoy the cool, sweet treats from Frozen Art first! Michoacana ice creameries are the equivalent of Starbucks in Mexico; they're ubiquitous. Purists, however, claim that operating a true Michoacana ice cream shop require ties to Tocumbo. It's estimated that almost ninety percent of the Tocumban population is currently employed in the ice cream business from making ice cream itself to making equipment. But the real art of Tocumban ice creams: imaginat...

A Cheese Board Anchored on a Trio of Italian Cheeses + A Pinot Nero from Alto Adige #ItalianFWT on CulinaryCam.Com

I am in the process of migrating over to my new domain. Come on over to read " A Cheese Board Anchored on a Trio of Italian Cheeses + A Pinot Nero from Alto Adige " for December's #ItalianFWT.

Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Search This Blog