Orange Cinnamon Sweet Roll Monkey Bread Recipe: A Homemade Pull-Apart Treat

Orange Cinnamon Sweet Roll Monkey Bread

This Orange Cinnamon Sweet Roll Monkey Bread recipe takes those flavors so many of us grew up loving in a tube of refrigerated orange rolls and rebuilds them from scratch, right down to the orange scented yeast dough.

Instead of peeling open a can, you make a real sweet roll dough, dunk little balls of it in melted butter, roll them through orange cinnamon sugar, and bake the whole pile under a gooey brown sugar syrup in a Bundt pan.

The result is fluffy, sticky, and golden brown all over, with a simple orange glaze drizzled across the top while it is still warm. You can pull off pieces with your fingers or slice it like a coffee cake. I usually start with pulling and finish with slicing, because the slices hold together beautifully once it cools down a bit.

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One honest note before you start. This is a homemade yeast dough, not refrigerated biscuit dough and not frozen bread dough. That means two rises. The extra time is mostly passive, though. You mix, you wait, you dunk, you wait again, you bake. If you have made cinnamon rolls before, you are already ready for this one.

Plan for a little patience and you will be rewarded with the softest, stickiest pull apart bread your kitchen has ever produced.

“Fantastic” “OMG” “Amazing” “MMM” said our taste testers!!!

Every time I make this, the room goes quiet for a second and then somebody says it out loud. Fantastic. OMG. Amazing. MMM. Our taste testers have used all four, sometimes within the same bite, and I take that as a very good sign.

What they are tasting is a homemade version of the flavors you find in Pillsbury refrigerated orange rolls, rebuilt from the ground up. The dough is a real sweet roll yeast dough scented with orange zest.

Each piece gets a butter dunk and a roll through orange cinnamon sugar. Then a gooey brown sugar syrup goes over the top before the pan heads into the oven, and everything bakes until it is fluffy, sticky, and golden brown.

While it is still warm, a simple orange glaze gets drizzled across the whole thing. You can pull off pieces one at a time, which is the classic monkey bread move, or slice it and serve it like a coffee cake on a brunch table.

The one thing to know up front is that this is not a can of refrigerated biscuit dough and it is not frozen bread dough. It is homemade dough, so it takes more time. Most of that extra time is passive rising time, which means you can walk away and do something else while it works.

Steps to Make: Orange Cinnamon Sweet Roll Monkey Bread:

Here is the whole journey at a glance, so you know exactly what you are signing up for before you start measuring anything.

1. Mix and knead the dough.
2. Let the dough rise the first time.
3. Set up your rolling and dunking station.
4. Cut the dough and form the balls.
5. Dunk each ball in butter and roll it in cinnamon sugar.
6. Let the pan rise a second time.
7. Make the syrup and pour it over the dough.
8. Bake covered, then uncovered.
9. Rest the pan, then turn the bread out.
10. Make the glaze and drizzle it over the top.

Nothing on that list is difficult. It is just a sequence, and once you have done it one time you will know exactly how the dough should look and feel at every stage. The second time through, it feels almost effortless.

Ingredients

Gather everything before you start, because once the dough is mixed you will want to keep moving. Room temperature ingredients really matter here, especially the butter, eggs, and milk.

Sweet Roll Dough

• 540 grams (4 cups) flour, ideally a brand with 11.7 percent protein
• 1 packet instant or rapid yeast (1/4 oz, 7 grams, or 2 1/4 teaspoons)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup butter, cut into chunks, at room temperature
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup milk, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 teaspoons orange zest, from about 1 orange
• Oil for greasing the bowl used for rising

Cinnamon Sugar Coating

• Nonstick baking spray
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons orange zest, from about 1 orange

Syrup

• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 tablespoons orange juice, from the zested orange

Orange Glaze

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 to 3 tablespoons orange juice, from the zested orange

One good sized orange gives you both the zest and the juice you need, so buy a big one and use every bit of it. Zest first, then juice. Trust me on the order, because zesting a bald orange is a sad little job.

Instructions

Mix and Knead the Dough

You can do this in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook on speed 2, or by hand if you prefer. Hand kneading works just fine, it simply takes longer than the times listed below.

Combine the flour, yeast, sugar, and salt in a bowl and stir to mix. Add the butter, eggs, milk, vanilla, and orange zest. Mix to combine and form a shaggy dough, about 1 minute.

At this point I cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 15 to 30 minutes. If you do not have time, just proceed. Skipping the rest simply means the first rise may take a little longer.

After resting, knead for 3 to 4 more minutes. The dough will still be a bit sticky, and that is exactly right. Please do not keep adding flour to chase a perfectly clean bowl, because a soft dough is what gives you those pillowy dough balls later.

First Rise of the Dough

Grease the inside of a bowl with a little oil, about a tablespoon. Place your ball of dough into the bowl and turn it so the oiled side faces upward. This keeps the dough from drying out.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, waxed paper, or a clean kitchen towel and place it in a warm spot, around 80 degrees F, to rise.

Sometimes at this point I snap a quick photo of the dough on my phone so I can compare later and see exactly how much it has grown.

The dough is ready once it has doubled in size and a finger pressed into it leaves an indentation that stays put. This can take an hour or more depending on how warm your room is.

Rich yeast doughs with butter and eggs tend to take longer to rise, so give it the time it asks for. A cold kitchen is the number one reason people think their dough failed when it just needed another twenty minutes.

Forming the Monkey Bread

Set up your work area first. A floured surface, a sheet of parchment, or a silicone baking mat all work well.

Put your melted butter in a bowl you can dunk dough balls into, and in another bowl of the same size mix the sugar, cinnamon, and orange zest together. I use two forks to help with the dunking and rolling.

Spray your Bundt pan with baking spray, the kind with flour included.

Divide the dough into 4 portions. Take one portion and use your hands to roll it into a snake about 12 to 14 inches long. Cut the snake into 4 equal pieces, then cut each of those into 3 more pieces, which gives you 12 pieces from that portion.

Roll each piece into a ball, dunk it in the melted butter, roll it in the cinnamon sugar, and place it in the prepared pan.

I find I can put several balls in each bowl at once and stir them around, which speeds things up considerably. Repeat with the other 3 portions of dough, ending up with about 48 butter and cinnamon sugar coated pieces in the pan.

Your hands will smell like orange and cinnamon for the rest of the afternoon. Consider that a bonus.

Second Rise of the Dough

Cover the pan with plastic wrap and let it rise for about 30 minutes. It is okay if it does not double this time. You will see expansion happening where the cinnamon sugar coating forms cracks on the dough balls, and those little cracks are your signal that things are moving along nicely.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. The oven rack should be in the lower middle position.

Make the Syrup

In a small saucepan, combine the brown sugar, butter, and orange juice. Bring it to a simmer, stir, and simmer for a minute. Once all the brown sugar has dissolved, take the pan off the heat.

Bake at 350 Degrees F

When you are ready to bake, remove the plastic wrap and drizzle the syrup evenly over the monkey bread dough balls. Cover the pan with foil. The foil traps steam and helps the dough balls get really puffed and fluffy. Bake for 20 minutes covered.

Then carefully remove the foil, because hot steam will rush out. Continue baking for another 20 minutes, or until the top gets all golden brown. Total bake time is about 40 minutes.

Move the pan to a cooling rack and let it rest for 5 minutes. Place a heat safe platter on top of the Bundt pan and invert to release the hot monkey bread from the pan. It should slide out in one glorious, sticky piece.

Orange Glaze

In a small bowl, stir together the powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons of the orange juice. This also works well in a mini chopper. Add more juice as needed to reach the texture you want. Once the monkey bread has cooled part way, drizzle the orange glaze over the top.

How to Serve It

Warm is the move here. Set the platter in the middle of the table and let everyone pull pieces off with their fingers, or slice it into wedges and serve it like a coffee cake. Either way, a hot cup of coffee beside it is a very good idea.

Notes

The recipe notes point to a helpful guide on how to rise dough and how to test when it has risen enough. If your kitchen tends to run cool, that reading is worth a few minutes before you begin.

Recipe details

Approximate nutrition per serving, estimated with an online nutritional calculator: 458 calories, 70 grams carbohydrates, 7 grams protein, 17 grams fat, 10 grams saturated fat, 2 grams fiber, 34 grams sugar, 243 milligrams sodium, and 74 milligrams cholesterol.

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Orange Cinnamon Sweet Roll Monkey Bread

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Orange Cinnamon Sweet Roll Monkey Bread This Orange Cinnamon Sweet Roll Monkey Bread recipe takes those flavors so many of us grew up loving in a tube of refrigerated orange rolls and rebuilds them from scratch, right down to the orange scented yeast dough.

• Total Time: 190 min
• Yield: 12 servings 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Sweet Roll Dough
540 grams grams flour (4 cups) I used King Arthur Flour – (11.7% Protein)
1 packet packet yeast, instant/rapid (1/4 oz. or 7 grams or 2 1/4 teaspoons)
1/4 cup cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cup butter – cut into chunks, room temperature
2 large large eggs, room temperature
1 cup cup milk, room temperature
1 teaspoon teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoons teaspoons orange zest from approx. 1 orange
oil for greasing bowl for rising

Cinnamon Sugar Coating
non-stick baking spray
1/2 cup cup butter, melted
1 cup cup sugar
4 teaspoons teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons teaspoons orange zest from approx. 1 orange

Syrup
2/3 cup cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cup butter
2 tablespoons tablespoons orange juice from zested orange

Orange Glaze
1 cup cup powdered sugar
2–3 tablespoons tablespoons orange juice from zested orange

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Instructions

Mix and Knead Dough
1-Combine the flour, yeast, sugar and salt: Combine the flour, yeast, sugar and salt in bowl, stir to mix.
2-Add butter, eggs, milk, vanilla and orange: Add butter, eggs, milk, vanilla and orange zest.
3-Mix to combine and form a shaggy: Mix to combine and form a shaggy dough – about 1 minute. (at this point I cover and let the dough rest 15-30 minutes) but if you don’t have time, just proceed – the 1st rising time may just be a little longer.
4-After resting, knead for 3-4 more minutes: After resting, knead for 3-4 more minutes. Dough will still be a bit sticky.

First Rise of Dough
5-Grease the inside of a bowl with: Grease the inside of a bowl with a little oil (about a tablespoon). Place your ball of dough into the oil, then turn it so the oiled side is upwards (this helps the dough from drying out.) Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, waxed paper or a clean kitchen towel and place in a warm spot (80 degrees or so) to rise. (Sometimes at this point I’ll snap a quick picture of the dough on my phone to help determine later when it has risen and doubled in size)
6-Once it’s doubled in size (check your: Once it’s doubled in size (check your photo if you took one) and you can push a finger into the dough, pull out the finger and if the indentation remains, it’s risen enough. Can take an hour or more depending upon how warm your room is and other factors too. Rich yeast doughs with butter and eggs tend to take longer to rise.

Forming the Monkey Bread
7-You’ll need an area to work with: You’ll need an area to work with the dough. A floured surface, a sheet of parchment or a silicone baking mat work well. You’ll want your melted butter in a bowl you can dunk dough balls into. (I use a cereal type bowl) In another same size bowl mix up you sugar, cinnamon and orange zest. I use 2 forks to help with the dunking and rolling.
8-Spray your Bundt pan with baking spray: Spray your Bundt pan with baking spray. (the kind with flour included)
9-Divide the dough into 4 portions: Divide the dough into 4 portions.
10-Take one of the 4 portions and: Take one of the 4 portions and use your hands to roll it into a snake shape – about 12-14 inches long. Cut the snake into 4 equal pieces. Cut each of the 4 pieces into 3 more pieces, you should have 12 pieces.
11-Roll each piece into a ball shape,: Roll each piece into a ball shape, dunk in melted butter and roll in cinnamon sugar, then place in prepared Bundt pan. I find I can put several balls in each bowl at once and stir them around. Repeat the process with the other 3 sections of dough. So you’ll end up with about 48 total butter and cinnamon sugar coated pieces of dough in your pan. YUM!

Second Rise of Dough
12-Cover your pan with plastic wrap and: Cover your pan with plastic wrap and let rise for about 30 minutes. It’s okay if it doesn’t double. You’ll see some expansion happening where the cinnamon sugar coating forms cracks on the dough balls.
13-Preheat oven to 350 degrees F: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Oven rack should be in lower-middle position.

Syrup
14-In a small saucepan combine brown sugar,: In a small saucepan combine brown sugar, butter and orange juice. Bring to simmer, stir and simmer for a minute. Once all the brown sugar has dissolved – take off heat.

Bake: 350 Degrees F
15-When ready to bake, remove plastic wrap: When ready to bake, remove plastic wrap and drizzle syrup evenly over the monkey bread dough balls. Cover pan with foil. The foil is going to trap steam and help the dough balls get really puffed and fluffy. Bake for 20 minutes covered. Then carefully remove the foil – hot steam will come out. Then continue baking for another 20 minutes or until the top gets all golden brown. (Bake time total about 40 minutes)
16-Remove the pan to a cooling rack: Remove the pan to a cooling rack and let rest 5 minutes.
17-Place a heat safe platter on top: Place a heat safe platter on top the Bundt pan and invert to release the hot monkey bread from the pan.

Orange Glaze
18-In a small bowl stir together (also: In a small bowl stir together (also works well in a mini chopper) powered sugar and 2 tablespoons of the orange juice. Add more juice as needed to reach desired texture. After monkey bread has cooled part way. Drizzle with the orange glaze.

Last Step:

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• Prep Time: 30 min
• Cook Time: 40 min
• Method: bake

Nutrition

• Calories: 458kcal
• Sugar: 34g
• Sodium: 243mg
• Fat: 17g
• Saturated Fat: 10g
• Carbohydrates: 70g
• Fiber: 2g
• Protein: 7g
• Cholesterol: 74mg