Sourdough Pumpkin Pie Monkey Bread
Soft enriched sourdough dough balls dipped in warm pumpkin butter, rolled in pumpkin pie spice sugar, and baked in a Bundt pan until the coating turns to caramel, then finished with a pumpkin cream cheese glaze. Bulk ferment it in the morning or overnight, then bake it the same day or shape it the night before.
Servings: 12
Calories: 464kcal
Equipment
- - Stand mixer with dough hook
- kitchen scale
- 12 cup Bundt pan
- Small saucepan
- Two Medium Bowls
- bench scraper
- Instant read thermometer
- Sheet pan
- Hand mixer
Ingredients
Dough
- 100 g active sourdough starter at peak (scant 1/2 cup)
- 200 g buttermilk or whole milk 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon
- 55 g granulated sugar or packed brown sugar 1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon
- 5 g vanilla extract 1 1/4 teaspoons
- 100 g eggs 2 large
- 500 g bread flour 4 cups plus 2 1/2 tablespoons
- 10 g fine sea salt 1 3/4 teaspoons
- 50 g unsalted butter softened and cut into pieces (3 1/2 tablespoons)
Pumpkin Pie Spice Coating
- 150 g granulated sugar for the coating 3/4 cup
- 55 g packed brown sugar for the coating 1/4 cup
- 10 g pumpkin pie spice for the coating 4 teaspoons
- 1.5 g salt for the coating 1/4 teaspoon, skip if using my homemade pumpkin pie spice
Pumpkin Butter
- 15 g softened butter for greasing the Bundt pan 1 tablespoon
- 85 g unsalted butter for the pumpkin dipping butter 6 tablespoons
- 60 g pumpkin puree for the dipping butter 1/4 cup
- 40 g maple syrup for the dipping butter 2 tablespoons
- 2 g vanilla extract for the dipping butter 1/2 teaspoon
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Glaze
- 115 g cream cheese for the glaze softened (4 ounces)
- 120 g powdered sugar for the glaze 1 cup
- 45 g pumpkin puree for the glaze 3 tablespoons
- 30 to 45 g heavy cream for the glaze 2 to 3 tablespoons
- 4 g vanilla extract for the glaze 1 teaspoon
- 2 g pumpkin pie spice for the glaze 3/4 teaspoon
Instructions
Make the Dough
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the sourdough starter, buttermilk, sugar, vanilla, and eggs, and stir until the starter is broken up. If using brown sugar, break up any clumps.
- Add the bread flour and salt and mix with the dough hook on low speed until no dry flour remains. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.
- Mix on low to medium speed and add the butter one piece at a time, letting each piece disappear before adding the next.
- Knead for 10 to 15 minutes, until the dough is smooth and passes the windowpane test.
- Cover the bowl airtight and bulk ferment at room temperature, ideally 70 to 75°F, for 6 to 8 hours, until roughly doubled. For an overnight bulk, check it first thing in the morning so it does not go past doubled.
Prepare the Pan and Coatings
- Generously butter every groove of a 12 cup Bundt pan, including the center tube.
- Whisk the granulated sugar, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and salt together in a medium bowl.
- Melt the 85 g of butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Remove from the heat, let it cool for 1 to 2 minutes, then whisk in the pumpkin puree, maple syrup, and vanilla until smooth. Pour into a second medium bowl. It should be warm, not hot, when you start dipping.
Shape and Proof
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into 40 pieces of about 25 g each. Roll each piece into a smooth ball.
- Dip each ball in the pumpkin butter, let the excess drip off, and roll it generously in the spice sugar. Layer the coated balls loosely in the Bundt pan.
- Drizzle any remaining pumpkin butter over the top.
- To bake the same day, cover and proof at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours, until the balls are puffy and have grown together.
- To bake later, cover tightly and refrigerate overnight. When ready to bake, let the pan sit at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours, until the balls are puffy and have grown together.
Bake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) during the last 20 minutes of proofing.
- Set the Bundt pan on a sheet pan and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until deep golden brown and the center reads 190°F (88°C). Start checking at 30 minutes, and tent loosely with foil if the top browns before the center is done.
- Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto a serving plate.
Make the Glaze
- Beat the cream cheese with a hand mixer until completely smooth.
- Beat in the pumpkin puree, then the powdered sugar, until smooth.
- Add 30 g of the heavy cream along with the vanilla and pumpkin pie spice and beat until it reaches a drizzling consistency, adding the remaining cream if needed.
- Pour over the warm monkey bread and serve.
Notes
Starter
Use an active starter at its peak. Discard does not have enough strength to raise an enriched dough full of butter, eggs, and sugar.
Schedule
Bulk ferment first thing in the morning and shape in the afternoon, or bulk overnight and shape in the morning. Watch the dough rather than the clock, since a warm kitchen speeds everything up and a cool one slows it down.
Pumpkin Pie Spice
Four teaspoons is exactly one batch of my homemade pumpkin pie spice. The homemade blend already includes salt, so skip the salt in the coating if you use it. Keep the salt in if you use a store bought blend.
Pan Size
This recipe is sized for a 12 cup Bundt pan. A smaller pan will overflow, so bake any extra dough balls in a greased muffin tin.
Storage
Best warm on the day it is baked. Store glazed leftovers covered in the fridge for up to 4 days and rewarm in a 300°F oven. Freeze unglazed for up to 3 months and glaze after reheating.
