The optional brush-on glaze gives the monkey bread a lustrous finish and a crackly coating — like a glazed doughnut — but feel free to skip it.
Buttermilk Monkey Bread
Start to finish: 9½ hours (50 minutes active), plus cooling. Servings: 10 to 12.
For the dough:
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
2¼ teaspoons instant yeast
423 grams (3¼ cups) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
140 grams (1 cup) whole-wheat flour
54 grams (¼ cup) white sugar
1 teaspoon table salt
85 grams (6 tablespoons) salted butter, cut into 1-tablespoon pieces, room temperature
For the butter and sugar coatings:
141 grams (10 tablespoons) salted butter, cut into 6 to 8 pieces
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
214 grams (1 cup) white sugar
For the glaze (optional):
93 grams (¾ cup) powdered sugar
3 tablespoons buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
To make the dough, in the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk the eggs, buttermilk and yeast. Add both flours, the white sugar and salt; attach the dough hook and mix on low until a slightly sticky dough forms, about 5 minutes, scraping the bowl and pushing the dough off the hook once or twice. With the mixer running on medium-low, add the butter 1 piece at a time, mixing for 30 to 60 seconds before adding the next piece.
After all the butter has been added, mix on medium-low until the dough is smooth and elastic and begins to slap the sides of the bowl, 4 to 5 minutes; it will be sticky, slightly webby and cling to the bottom of the bowl. Detach the bowl from the mixer and use a spatula to scrape and gather the dough at the center. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature for 1 hour (the dough will not double), then refrigerate for at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours.
