Why "monkey" bread?

I started reading a book by Elisabeth Berg today- “True to Form”- and for the second time ran into characters eating Monkey bread. (the other book that mentioned it is “The Deep End of the Ocean”). Having no clue what it was, I looked it up. Bread with cinnamon, how exotic. Of course, neither of the recipes I looked at said why it’s called that…

Does anyone know? It can’t just be because it’s brown. Lots of breads are brown.

One theory:

From here.

Also, from James Beard’s book “Beard on Bread”:

If you ever have the time, make some. It’s deeeeelicious :smiley:

Curiously enough, I just saw a recipe for Nancy Reagan’s Monkey Break on FoodTV. It looked good.

The monkey bread recipe is here:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_14634,00.html

I always assumed it’s monkey bread because you eat it by picking at it with your fingers, like a monkey.

Hm, this is the traditional Christmas morning dish in our family, and we always called it “monkey brains.”

Clearly, I have nothing to add to this discussion. Carry on.

That’s always been the explanation given in my family, too. We also comment on how we tend to lick our fingers and smack our lips when we eat it, which are also simian traits.

I love monkey bread and I really shouldn’t eat it.