Savory Sourdough Sriracha Monkey Bread

Having seen clear evidence lately that my waistline cannot withstand repeated onslaughts from the Sriracha Danish, what do I do? Keep daydreaming about more ways to combine bread, fat and 'Rooster Sauce'.  So it was I had already hallucinated this monkey bread before I even saw the recipe for conventional sweet monkey bread from CHOW.

I decided to make it when I saw a way to see if it worked while not doing too much dietary damage: an off-site beer tasting party was the perfect way to get it consumed. And this does go pretty damn well with beer.

For the dough:

Take about a 3/4 cup wad of solid sourdough starter/levain which has been fed 8 hours prior (1 cup starter, 1 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup water). Tear into pieces and stir into 1 to 1 1/4 cup water until mostly dissolved. Add 2 tablespoons melted butter. Add enough all-purpose flour (about 2 1/2 to 3 cups) and about a half tablespoon sea salt until dough is still moist but easily kneaded. A half cup of this flour can be whole wheat.  This amount will not completely fill a Bundt pan....amounts of flour and water could be slightly adjusted upward to make more dough (don't increase the amount of starter).

Knead 10 minutes. Place in a lidded container sprayed with non-stick spray and refrigerate overnight. I didn't do any stretch-and-folds.

Alternatively, your favorite bread or biscuit dough could be used. Not everyone has a convenient herd of yeast and lactobacilli in their fridges.

For the Sriracha butter mixture:

Melt 1 stick of butter in a Pyrex measuring cup on low in the microwave. Add about 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, 1-2 tablespoons maple syrup, 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, and a generous grind or two of sea salt. Squirt in 4-5 tablespoons Sriracha. Taste and adjust. More Sriracha can be added, because exposure to the heat in the oven will blunt the flavor. When it reaches the desired sweet-sour balance and zinginess, you're done. Add about 2 tablespoons of finely chopped green onions. The flavor profile is somewhat similar to 'Chex' party mix. Only spicier.

Roll out dough into a roughly 12 by 8 inch rectangle and divide into approximate golf-ball size sections with a bench scraper. Smear a bit of the Sriracha butter in the bottom of a Bundt pan. Roll dough into spheres and dip each into Sriracha butter. Place evenly in pan. Reserve a tablespoon or two of the Sriracha butter.

Allow dough to rise until double. I got this done relatively quickly (about 2 hours) by placing it in a 100 degree oven.

Bake about 40 minutes at 350. Cool 5-10 minutes. Invert onto a serving plate/wax paper lined cardboard circle. Baste with remaining Sriracha butter. Admire briefly, then let the monkeyfest begin.

ETA 10/20/13: I made the dough with whole milk (a cup, plus 1/4 to 1/2 cup water) and an egg, so the texture is more like a dinner roll. It filled the bundt pan more completely.  I also let it proof overnight in the fridge. I gave it a final boost in a 100 F oven for about one hour. I also didn't add the green onions until sprinkling them on the top (which will become the bottom), and then garnishing the top (which was the bottom) after turning it out of the pan.