This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please visit the disclosures and privacy policy page.
Nov 9, 2021

Savory Monkey Bread

You are going to love the "oohs" and "ahs" you receive when you set this savory monkey bread down on the table. 

Monkey bread on a plate.



These little rolls are flavored with a hint of herbs and coated in seeds. They are delicious warm and spread with butter or dipped in your favorite gravy, soup, or stew. 

You can use any type of seeds you like for coating these rolls. I hunted through my freezer and found toasted sesame seeds, golden flax seeds, brown flax seeds, black sesame seeds, and poppy seeds. 

To coat the rolls, set up the seeds in little bowls and dipped the shaped rolls in the seeds and tuck the shaped rolls into and 8 inch by 8 inch cake pan. 

Seeds in bowls.



To get a random "monkey bread" look, cut your dough into 24 pieces that aren't all identical in size. For once, you don't have to worry about using a scale to make sure they are evenly sized. 

As you dip the shaped rolls in the seeds, just place them anywhere you like in the pan. You can have sections that are all one type of seed, or mix it up! They remind me of my checkerboard rolls that have gone wild!

Square of savory monkey bread removed from pan.



These rolls are super convenient to make. You mix and shape the dough the night before and bake the rolls the next day. If you are planning on serving them for dinner, you can refrigerate them up to 24 hours before bakng. 

For the herbs in these rolls, I added small amounts of dried parsley, ground poultry seasoning, dill seed, and ground thyme, plus a small amount of garlic powder. These smelled amazing when they were baking. 

The herbs and garlic don't really add a pronounced flavor. Rather, they contribute to the savory nature of these rolls. It's kind of hard to describe, but trust me on this. 

piece of savory monkey bread.



This bread is exceptionally soft and addictive, and it totally lends itself to being slathered in butter. I polished off three of them with a bowl of tomato soup for lunch the day I made these. 

Savory Monkey Bread variations:

You can roll the shaped dough all around in the seeds or just dip the tops. You can also roll the dough in butter if you like before dipping it in the seeds. 

You can also skip the seeds and coat the shaped dough in melted butter with herbs and Parmesan before refrigerating. 

Or... you could coat them in bran, wheat germ, or rolled oats. 

I'm looking forward to having fun trying different variations of these rolls over the holidays! 

Savory monkey bread pulled apart.



#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

Bread bakers logo


This month the Bread Bakers are making dinner rolls, a theme chosen by Swathi, a pretty amazing bread baker, of Zesty South Indian Kitchen


Seeded bread on plates.




Savory Monkey Bread

Savory Monkey Bread
Yield: 24 rolls
Author: Karen's Kitchen Stories
Prep time: 45 MinCook time: 40 MinInactive time: 10 HourTotal time: 11 H & 25 M
You are going to love the "oohs" and "ahs" you receive when you set this savory monkey bread down on the table.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
  • 2 1/4 teaspoons instant or active dry yeast
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 18 ounces (4 cups) bread flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground poultry seasoning
  • 1/2 teaspoon dill seed
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground thyme
  • 1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic or garlic powder
  • About 4 tablespoons of assorted seeds for coating

Instructions

  1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add all of the dough ingredients, with the exception of the seeds.
  2. Mix the dough with the dough hook on low until the dough just comes together. Scrape down the bowl and then switch the speed to medium low and mix for about seven minutes.
  3. Place the dough into an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes to an hour.
  4. Spray an 8 inch square cake pan generously with spray oil.
  5. Turn the dough out onto your work surface and divide it into 24 pieces of different sizes.
  6. Roll each piece into a ball and dip in the seeds. Place the dough balls in the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight and up to 24 hours.
  7. When ready to bake, remove the pan from the refrigerator and heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the bread for about 40 minutes, until golden and the interior reaches about 195 degrees F.
  8. Turn the bread out onto a wire rack to cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

88.45

Fat (grams)

1.33

Sat. Fat (grams)

0.66

Carbs (grams)

16.16

Fiber (grams)

0.58

Net carbs

15.58

Sugar (grams)

0.59

Protein (grams)

2.66

Sodium (milligrams)

87.52

Cholesterol (grams)

2.54
bread, rolls, monkey bread
dinner rolls
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @karenskitchenstories.com on instagram and hashtag it #karenskitchenstories


This recipe was adapted from Make Ahead Bread: 100 Recipes for Melt-in-your-mouth Fresh Bread Every Day (2014). You need this book. It's amazing and will help you make bread on your own schedule. 

Would you like to comment?

  1. Lovely Rolls Karen, different kinds of seeds look so beautiful and must be adding great crunch to the rolls. Ideal to dunk into hot soup for dinner.

    ReplyDelete
  2. These breads so beautiful and super tempting!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love this savory monkey bread looks delicious. I need to try this like the addition of seeds.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow! Who knew that dinner rolls could be centerpiece worthy!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I think you mean oohooh ahah....get it? Monkey bread? Oohooh, ahah? Never mind....I am oohing and aahing all over these savory rolls.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love everything about these rolls - the monkey bread approach so we don't need to weigh each ball of dough and all the lovely seeds!!! I'm totally making this bread!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. This is a very tempting one! Love the seeds on top and the rolls look super fluffy!

    ReplyDelete
  8. My one complaint about monkey bread is that it is always sweet and now you come up with this, Karen! You must have been reading my mind all these years. I love the way you use so many different seeds to create that beautiful random pattern. Brava!

    ReplyDelete

I would love to hear from you! If you comment anonymously, be sure to leave your name in your comment.