Existential Monkey Business

I had one of those “he has absolutely no idea who I am” moments the other night. Which, of course, led into “does he even hear me when I talk” frustration. Followed quickly by a series of blank stares, questioning looks, and dumbfounded silence. Then the entire brief episode (which existed only in my brain anyway) ended with a laugh and shake of the head. And all because of Monkey Bread. Monkey Bread!

You know…balls of enriched dough (usually), coated in butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar (usually), layered in a pan, baked, and served to barbarians (or monkeys) who pull apart the balls of gooey dough without benefit of utensils. Some people call it Bubbleloaf…but, come on, why would you call it Bubbleloaf when you could call it Monkey Bread?

So…Nik was in the family room watching a well-known southern cook/former agoraphobic make a savory Monkey Bread (cheese and herbs rather than sugar and cinnamon). Fine…I have no problem converting recipes from the sweet to the savory side of life; it actually sounded good. Hmm, interesting, she was using tube-based biscuits for the dough. No, I’m not getting all this-and-that about tube-based biscuits…what did it, what pulled the rug out from under me was that Nik suggested I make it that way too - using a store-bought, whap-against-the-counter short-cut like that! “Biscuits? Biscuits? Tube-based Biscuits?!” Yes...I realize, it probably would be good. And yes, it would be fast. But…but…but, it’s not about that.

Deep breath...When it's Process vs. Product, Process always gets my vote…doesn’t he know that by now? He’s surely eaten enough food from our kitchen where, with one bite and effortful swallow, he knew it was obviously a process-based experiment, as the product left something to be desired. And really, where is the process with tube-based biscuits? But over the next couple of days I thought about Nik’s gross oversight regarding my approach to both Monkey Bread and to life. After 19+ years I fear that Nik knows me pretty well, so I started to wonder…am I really all about the Process/Journey and less about the Product/Destination (as I like to think I am), or what was he implying? (I don’t mean to implicate Nik in my neuroses, in truth probably he wasn’t implying anything – he just thought that the Savory Monkey Bread sounded good.)

So I took an inventory:
Baking…definitely a Journey/Process activity for me. Feeding The Mother (my trusty sourdough starter) is all Journey, often with no Destination in sight.

Exercise…love the Journey/avoid the Journey…seek the Destination - but have yet to get there.

Travel...is all about the Journey.

Housecleaning…to hell with the Journey, I just want it done.

Theater... Rehearsal is the Journey; Performance is the Destination. I'm a director, I leave the Destination (Center-Stage in the Spotlight) for the actors.

Parties…Definitely Journey (planning, preparing, cooking, organizing) over Destination (the party itself).

So, if the parts make up the whole, it seems I should be a Journey kind o’ guy…but I’m really not. (See, Nik does know me pretty well...smart guy) My balls of dough (metaphorically speaking) are mostly journey-based, but I find I really have to work to enjoy/acknowledge/appreciate/live the lapses in between.

So I made Monkey Bread my way…sweet, from scratch, without the biscuits.
The Journey…bring the butter to room temp, start the dough, autolyse, finish mixing the dough, let it ferment in the ‘fridge for a few days, roll it, cut it, dip it, let it rise, bake it...and thus arrive at the Destination, which is briefly appreciated, tasted, and plans for an improved Journey immediately occur.

I will admit with some hope and relief, that the dough for this batch of monkies sat in the ‘fridge for two days longer than I had originally planned. Because I was busy...busy with other Journies, other Processes, and taking lots of deep breaths while the dough rose. I need to do more of that.

Monkey Bread
Dough
Milk.............................1 1/2 cup
Yeast...........................2 tsp
AP Flour........................2 2/3 cups
Eggs............................3
Salt.............................1 1/2 tsp
Sugar...........................6 Tbl
Butter..........................4 oz, room temp

White Sugar...................3/4 cup
Brown Sugar...................3/4 cup
Cinnamon......................3 Tbl

Pecans..........................approx 2/3 cup

1. Scald milk and let cool to room temp.

2. Combine yeast and milk in mixer bowl. Add flour and eggs. Mix with dough hook until combined. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 15-20 minutes.

3. Add salt to dough. When incorporated, add half the sugar. When almost incorporated add the remaining sugar. Add the butter in Tablespoon size pieces - continue to mix with dough hook until dough is smooth. It will be sticky and will not clean the sides of the bowl.

4. Put into clean bowl, cover and let chill overnight (or up to 3 days).

5. Combine the white sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.

6. Roll the dough into a rough rectangle. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, spritz with water (if dry), and roll up into a log-shape. Cut into 16 pieces.

7. Lightly butter a loaf pan. Cover the bottom with pecans and sprinkle with some of the cinnamon sugar. Slightly round each piece of dough, quickly dip into a bowl of water and toss in the bowl of cinnamon sugar, to coat. Place 8 pieces of dough in the bottom of the loaf pan, cover with some of the pecans, top with remaining 8 pieces of dough. Sprinkle with additional cinnamon sugar and pecans. Cover with plastic and let rise until it is above the rim of the pan.

8. Preheat oven to 325. Bake 50-55 minutes, until brown on top and baked throughout. Cool slightly, then turn out onto cooling rack. (I found that when I re-inverted it, it fell apart, so serving it gooey side up may be required.)