Dark chocolate chip monkey bread
It has been just a few days since coming back from Spain and getting back to normal has been a breeze, although a bit hectic. I am glad to be back in my own kitchen however I wish I was still in Spain :-)
I must confess to my followers and visitors that I have been thinking of decreasing the frequency of my posts. They will just not be as frequent as they had been before going on vacation. I have decided to slow down a bit and try to relax more often because with all of the things I am trying to tackle being stressed out is not something that I am planning on having any longer.
Being in the house with two kids, cooking, cleaning, exercising, studying etc takes a lot from me. Don´t get me wrong, cooking and baking is something that I adore, more like, I am passionate about, but because there are only 24 hours in the day….well…I don´t have enough time to do everything I would like.
I am thinking that one or two posts per week may do…will see how it goes….
Anyhow, this recipe I got to make at my mom´s while in Spain this summer. I had the recipe from a long time ago but never got around to it. I made some adjustments in the recipe, healthier adjustments of course, and this one is by far the best one, mainly because I add it the chocolate chips….. It is good with nuts as well so feel free to make your own variation.
The version I made in Spain used fresh yeast, which I liked much better, the result was more spongy like. I am going to need to get fresh yeast some place :-)
Anyhow, I also wanted to let you know that I will be using other healthier ingredients when it comes to baking. I have found a few things that you may be interested in purchasing for your own. The one that I am most excited about is sucanat, an unprocessed natural form of sugar :-)
The links to buy these products are from amazon although you can find these items at supermarkets.
Also if you know of any healthier ingredients you are using for your baking or cooking let me know, I would love to try them :-)
1. Sucanat or rapunzel: Organic whole cane sugar. Unprocessed and natural so a much better option than regular white sugar. When the recipe calls for white granulate sugar you more likely will be able to substitute with this healthier version.
2. Aluminum free backing powder and aluminum free baking soda: A much better option as well.
3. Organic brown rice syrup: Is a healthy, natural sweetener that makes it ideal for use in baking and desserts. Unlike simple sugars, such as monosaccharides and disaccharides, brown rice syrup is a polysaccharide, or a complex sugar which is very, very important.
I have not had a chance to experiment with it just yet but I will soon :-)
Anyhow, I think this is a super winner recipe so enjoy!!
Dough after letting do its work for 1 1/2 hours :-)
Left picture was monkey bread done in Spain. Much more spongy like with the fresh yeast although. The right picture is the one made here with the instant yeast although the picture was taken before the second rise of the dough so it doesn’t look to puffed up. I put a lot more chocolate chips on this one as well :-)
Dipping of the monkey balls in butter and cinnamon sugar.
The left monkey bread was the one done here the right one was the one done in Spain which used the fresh yeast. Both were really good!!
PrintDark chocolate chip monkey bread
Miryam's original recipe
Yield: 10-12 servings
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups unbleached white whole wheat flour, I run out of whole wheat pastry flour and this is what I had on hand
1 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
4 teaspoon instant yeast
1/4 cup sucanat, you can use regular brown sugar
1 cup milk
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup warm water
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 cup dark chocolate chips
Directions:
Hello there. My name is Miryam and I am the clinical dietitian and Physician Assistant behind Eat Good 4 Life. My wish is to inspire you to start cooking healthier so that you can live a longer and happier life. Thanks for stopping by (
I think it’s good that you slow down a bit. No sense in stressing out about getting posts out…I know I’m guilty of that one! Your recipes are always amazing and we’re just glad you’re back! :-) Plus, this monkey bread looks incredibly decadent. :-)
I always wondered how you were able to post so much. I mean, I was very happy about it, but I’m happy you’re going to take some more time for yourself. :)
I bought some brown rice syrup for a cookie recipe but the cookies came out rubbery. It was weird. I hope you can find something good to do with it! I also have barley malt syrup. You have any recipes with that? :)
I don’t know about Spanish flour, but the standard German flour is like American pastry flour, so stuff sometimes comes out differently. So maybe the flour also made your Spanish bread fluffier. Can you tell us how much fresh yeast to use? I tried converting it but I got 84 grams of fresh yeast and that sounds like a lot.
The bread looks yummy! I’ve actually never even had monkey bread so I should really try this soon.
Hi Miryam, I think it’s good that you’re giving yourself permission to step back from the stress of posting too often. I have always felt that if the blogging pace ever starts to feel like a chore, that’s the time to slow down. This recipe looks heavenly; I have never made my own monkey bread, and I love the chocolate variation. I also love your plan to use healthier ingredients in your baking. I have been trying that too, to some extent, and it’s usually a nice surprise to see how things turn out.
:) Jane
Thanks everyone for your understanding :-) much appreciated, will try to post goodies as much as possible!
Texanerin, I have no idea about the barley malt syrup but as far as the brown rice syrup is concern, I will find a way to incorporate it into some recipes so stay tuned.
About the question on the fresh yeast. I bought little packages of 2 at Carrefour, a chain of supermarkets they had in Europe. Each package of yeast suggested to use 500 gr of flour. I don’t remember how much they weight but I think the yeast package was each about 25 gr. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help. I will research here where I can find fresh yeast because I really want to use it!!
I love Carrefour! We stopped at every one we passed in Madrid. I especially like their huge bars of cheap Carrefour chocolate. :)
Anyway, thanks for your answer. I’ll try to find out about the yeast too and I’ll let you know if I’m successful! Supposedly, 42g of fresh yeast = 14g of dry yeast.
Texanerin,
cool….
thanks for the info :-)
I made this for breakfast! Only I somehow forgot all the butter. Whoops. It was still yummy! It was like a gigantic cinnamon roll. But I’m going to try it again with the butter. :)
Texanerin,
it will be a lot better with the butter next time around :-)
I am glad you liked it!
Sydney is full of surprises that will never disappoint the visitors taking Cheap flights to Sydney.