Buttery Garlic/Herb Bubble Bread

This bread was really good. We had it with Broccoli Cheese Soup. I don't think I added enough flour to this, as I was afraid of the dough being dry. Therefore, the dough balls kind of fused together when baked, so it wasn't easy to pull it apart like all of the other bubble/monkey breads I've made before. I think one could fix that with just a little bit more flour, though, and even if it happens to you, this bread is still super delicious, so it's not really a big deal. I might try to reduce the butter by a few tablespoons next time, as I had leftover butter after the dough-ball dipping. I just poured it over top of the whole thing before rising. It was good, but sooooo buttery.  

Buttery Garlic/Herb Bubble Bread

adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Dough:

1 ½ cups warm water

1 tablespoon instant yeast 

2 tablespoons sugar or honey

1 teaspoon salt

3 to 4 cups (426 to 568 g) all-purpose 

Butter Mixture:

½ cup (113 g) salted butter

½ teaspoon dried basil, lightly crushed between fingers

½ teaspoon dried oregano, lightly crushed between fingers

½ teaspoon garlic powder

1 cup (114 g) grated Parmesan, or Asiago cheese

1.  In an electric stand mixer fitted with the dough hook (or in a large bowl by hand), mix together the water, yeast, sugar, salt and one cup of the flour. Continue adding the flour until the dough just clears the sides of the bowl; knead for about three minutes. It should be soft and slightly sticky (not too sticky) without leaving a lot of residue on your fingers. Let the dough rest in the bowl for 10 minutes. Grease a bundt pan with butter or shortening.

2.  Melt the butter and stir in the seasonings and garlic powder. Pat the dough into a thick 8-inch square (doesn’t have to be exact). Cut into 8 strips and cut each strip into 8 pieces to end up with about 64 small pieces. Roll each piece lightly into a ball (should just take a second or two in the palms of your hands – it’s ok if they look kind of rough and misshapen). Dip each dough ball in the butter/seasonings mixture (or dump several in the butter mixture at a time) and place in a single layer in the bottom of a bundt pan. Two loaf pans can be used in place of the bundt pan.

3.  Sprinkle the first layer of dough with Parmesan cheese. Repeat the process adding layers of butter-dipped dough, sprinkling each layer with a little more Parmesan cheese. The layers won’t be super even or exact. That’s ok! Don’t stress. Sprinkle any remaining Parmesan cheese over the top of the last layer, followed by any remaining butter. Cover the bundt pan and let rise until very puffy, 45-60 minutes.

4.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the bubble bread for 30-35 minutes until golden and baked through. (If your pan has a very dark nonstick coating, watch the time carefully so the bread doesn’t burn.) Turn the bread out onto a serving plate or cooling rack (it can be served right side up or upside down). Pull off pieces of bread and enjoy!

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