Experimenting On A Monkey

Day 74: What does it take for a recipe to be considered "original?" Certainly it requires more than changing the order in which ingredients are assembled, but when you substitute one item for another, the line starts to blur. When you go all out as I did this morning when I failed to find exactly what I wanted for an upcoming event, borrowing a measure of flour from one source, taking a dollop of sweetening from another, altering proportions, adjusting times and including a few secrets from my personal larder, it is tempting to say that the newly-created recipe merits the distinction of being called "original."

I've been hunting for a good Monkey Bread Pull-Apart loaf for years. I was not satisfied with the raised versions I found in professional cookbooks, and I steered widely away from the quick-and-dirty internet versions which all seemed to be based in biscuit dough. I wanted a raised, lightly sweet single loaf which could be equally good with or without fruit and/or nuts. As a long-time breadmaker, I finally realized the solution was at my fingertips: build my own. I settled into the serious lab work this morning, and if I do say so myself, the resultant Monkey came through the experiment with flying colours.