SAVOURY MONKEY BREAD -1

Monkey bread is a soft, usually sweet gooey balls of dough served as breakfast in the US. Why it is called monkey bread is perhaps because it’s easy to pull apart and share as monkeys would
There is a lot of baking going on at home these days, but no one minds a home that smells divine with a fresh bake I guess.
Most of us do not want the added sugar in our meals these days so here is my version of spicy tomato pull apart savoury monkey bread !!

INGREDIENTS
1. All purpose flour 2 cups
2. Yeast 10 gms bloomed in tepid water with a tsp of sugar
3. Yoghurt / milk / eggs ( I have used 2 eggs and about a quarter cup milk. If you don’t eat eggs substitute with yoghurt or milk)
4. Parmesan cheese optional
5. Salt to taste
6. Olive Oil 1/4th cup for dough and some for greasing the pan.
7. Chilli flakes to taste
8. Thick Tomato paste, store bought
9. Semolina to dust about 1/4th cup
10. Oregano 1/2 tsp
11. Italian herbs 1/2 tsp
12. Cherry tomatoes, sliced in half for decoration.

PREPARATION METHOD :
1. In a large bowl take APF, bloomed yeast, salt to taste ( we will be adding more later so use sparingly) and not more than 1 pinch of chilli flakes, 2 eggs to knead a soft dough. Add water only if needed.

2. Use oil in the end once the dough gets sticky and difficult to work with. Grease the same bowl and allow to proof for at least an hour and half.

3. The dough should have become at least 3-4 times by now. Take it out on a clean counter top, and fold while sprinkling parmesan cheese, Italian herbs and oregano into it. Knead it well for at least 10-15 mins to make sure everything gets incorporated well. You might need to dust the work table with little semolina or flour. Do not use too much though.
Roll out the dough into a large squarish shape. Make sure the worktable was dusted. In a separate small bowl take 3-4 table spoons of thick tomato paste, Chilli flakes or freshly ground paste of red chilli, 1 table spoon oil and salt to taste. (dough already has some salt so be mindful of that)

4. Mix this well, and using a brush spread this mixture evenly over the rolled out dough.
Now start rolling the dough into a pinwheel from the bottom and work your way up. Gently folding as evenly as possible, till you reach the top and the dough looks like a log with filling inside.

5. Using a knife cut about 1 inch thick pieces and place them into a greased and dusted baking tray sideways so that the spiral is visible to see. There should be spaces left while setting this up as the dough will rise. Place the sliced tomatoes and push it in a little as and where the space allows. See the pic for reference.

6. Allow to proof for another 2 hours, before giving it a milk wash and baking at 180 deg C for about 30 mins till you get the desired colour. I have given it a second milk wash after 25 mins when the bread is almost done for a nice crust.

Spicy Tangy tomato Chilli, Pull apart bread is ready to share and enjoy