This is a sourdough focaccia take on monkey bread with a gooey cinnamon sugar bottom and soft, sweet, fluffy dough. It’s everything you love about classic monkey bread, but made with naturally leavened sourdough focaccia dough. The outside gets caramelized and sticky, the inside stays pillowy and tender, and every bite pulls apart beautifully.
It feels fancy.. but it’s surprisingly simple.
Ingredients
For the Dough
- Sourdough starter
- Water
- Olive oil
- Honey or sugar
- Bread flour
- Salt
For the Coating
- Melted butter
- Brown sugar
- Cinnamon
Optional Icing Dip
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Melted butter
- Milk
How to Make the Dough
You can make this in a stand mixer or just a mixing bowl with a spoon and your hands.
- Combine the sourdough starter, water, olive oil, and honey (or sugar).
- Whisk until the mixture looks milky and fully combined.
- Add the bread flour and salt.
- Mix until everything is fully incorporated and a shaggy dough forms.
Cover the bowl and let it rest for one hour.
After the rest, perform a round of stretch and folds. This helps strengthen the dough structure, but I’ll be honest, this dough is very forgiving. Sometimes I skip the stretch and folds entirely and it still turns out beautifully. I just like to do at least one if I can.
Recover the dough and allow it to bulk ferment on the counter for about eight hours. I love starting this the night before so it’s ready to shape in the morning.
Preparing the Cinnamon Sugar Coating
In the morning:
- Line a 9×13 pan with parchment paper on the bottom.
- Melt the coating butter in one small bowl.
- In another bowl, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon.
Now comes the fun part.
Shaping the Monkey Bread
Using a cookie scoop or buttered hands, grab about a 2-inch piece of dough.
- Dunk it into the melted butter and let the excess drip off slightly.
- Roll it in the brown sugar cinnamon mixture until fully coated.
- Place it into the prepared pan.
Repeat with the remaining dough, placing each dough ball very close together so they’re slightly squished. This is what gives that classic pull-apart texture.
Once all the dough is in the pan, pour any remaining melted butter over the top.
Cover with plastic wrap and allow it to rise for two more hours, until puffy.
Baking
Preheat your oven to 425°F.
Before baking, pour a couple tablespoons of melted butter over the top. You can dimple the dough like traditional focaccia , this step is optional, but I love doing it because it gives those buttery pockets and a more rustic look.
Bake uncovered for about 25 minutes, until golden brown and bubbling around the edges.
Let it cool slightly before serving (if you can wait).
Optional Vanilla Icing Dip
Whisk together powdered sugar, vanilla extract, melted butter, and milk until smooth and pourable.
This makes the perfect dipping glaze for each fluffy piece. The warm cinnamon sugar bread paired with sweet vanilla icing is absolutely irresistible.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Naturally leavened with sourdough
- Gooey caramelized bottom
- Soft, fluffy interior
- Make-ahead friendly
- Perfect for holidays, brunch, or cozy weekends
It’s the best of two worlds: focaccia texture meets classic cinnamon monkey bread flavor. Start it the night before, wake up, coat it in cinnamon sugar, and bake — your house will smell incredible.
And trust me… this one disappears FAST
Ingredients
Method
- In a stand mixer or mixing bowl, Combine the starter, water, olive oil, and honey and whisk until milky, then add the flour and salt and mix until fully combined. I recently started using my stand mixer, but a bowl with a dough whisk works fine too!
- Once fully combined, cover and rest 1 hour and preform a round of stretch and folds. This is the only round I do. Sometimes, I do none. It is very forgiving.
- Next, re-cover and allow to bulk ferment for about 8 hours. I love starting this the night before so it's ready to go in the morning.
- Line a 9×13 pan with parchment on the bottom.
- In a small bowl, melt your butter. In another bowl, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon.
- when bulk fermentation is done, use a cookie scoop or buttered hands and grab a 2in piece of dough, dunk it in melted butter let it drip off a little then roll it in the brown sugar cinnamon mixture until fully coated, then place in the prepared pan. Repeat with the rest of the dough, placing each ball next to each other so they're squished together. Pour any remaining melted butter over them.
- Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for 2 more hours to get puffy.
- Preheat oven to 425° pour a couple tablespoons of melted butter over top and dimple the dough like focaccia. this is optional, but I love doing it.
- Bake uncovered for 25 minutes.
- You can dip them in a simple glaze if desired.
- Whisk together all ingredients adding a little milk at a time until it is your desired consistency.
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