Gruyere, Rosemary and Honey Monkey Bread

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Serves 8-10

• 18 tbsp. unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
• 4 cups flour, plus more for dusting
• 1½ cups grated Gruyère cheese
• 1 tbsp. finely chopped rosemary
• 2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup milk
• ¼ cup sugar
• 2 (¼-oz.) packages active dry yeast
• 1 cup honey

Grease a 10" bundt pan with butter and dust with flour; set aside. Whisk flour, cheese, rosemary, salt, and pepper in a bowl; set aside. Heat 2 tbsp. butter with milk and ⅓ cup water in a 1-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat until an instant-read thermometer reads 115°. Transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a hook attachment. Stir in sugar and yeast; let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes. With the motor running, slowly add dry ingredients; beat until dough is smooth. Transfer to a lightly greased bowl and cover loosely with plastic wrap; set in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Melt remaining butter in a 2-qt. saucepan; whisk in honey and set aside.

Heat oven to 350°. On a lightly floured surface, pat dough out into an 8" square about 1" thick. Cut dough into 1-inch pieces and fit snugly into prepared bundt pan. Pour butter mixture evenly over dough; bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the middle of the bread comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving.

My Notes: I have never had real success with monkey bread--it never cooks right. This may be because I use an angel food cake pan instead of a bundt, but that seems illogical. So this was no different--the inner parts never cooked while the outer ring basically burned. Still--the taste was great. We ate most of it even thought it was charred. If I make it again, I should just lay them out on a cookie sheet to speed the cooking process.

MXF