This gluten free monkey bread is soft and buttery and full of sweet brown sugar cinnamon flavor in every bite. It is a decadent pastry-like dish that can be enjoyed with breakfast or as a dessert!
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This homemade gluten free monkey bread recipe has been a work in progress for over a year. It has taken me that long to make it perfect. Gluten free dough behaves differently from a regular dough, and every gluten free flour blend behaves slightly differently.
My new gluten free monkey bread recipe is based on my popular Gluten Free Cinnamon Raisin Bread recipe.
If you are looking for this to be as dreamy as possible, you will need to use the same gluten free flour blend that I used. I talk about this below in the ingredient notes section. This gluten free flour blend is the hero in my Braided Gluten Free Challah and Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls recipes too!
Why This Recipe Is Great:
- This bread is soft and squishy like real bread.
- It is fun to pull apart and eat with your fingers.
- You can bake it in any pan, from a bundt pan, a loaf pan, to an angel food cake pan as I used.
- Make it with brown sugar and cinnamon, or add chopped apples to make it even better!
Ingredient Notes:
This Authentic Foods Steve's Gluten Free Bread Blend is hands down the best gluten-free flour for yeasted bread recipes. With this flour, you can braid, shape, and roll incredible bread, cinnamon rolls, and pizza crust. (Note, it doesn't work in a bread machine.)
- Gluten Free Flour Blend - For this recipe, I highly recommend using Authentic Food's Steve's Gluten Free Bread Blend Flour. It is the best gluten free flour blend for bread that I have found. You can shape it easily, and it rises perfectly. If you can't find that flour, use Cup4Cup. I suspect Better Batter will also work well. Not all flour blends rise well with yeast, so it may not turn out the same if you don't use one of my two preferred blends.
- Xanthan Gum - If your blend doesn't contain xanthan gum or guar gum, you must add 1 teaspoon.
- Yeast - I used regular active dry yeast. double-check the brand you use is gluten free. Red Star Platinum is NOT gluten free!
- Eggs - Size large.
- Butter - Use unsalted butter.
Recipe Step By Step Directions:
Step 1: Place the yeast, warm water, and one tablespoon of sugar into a small bowl and let it sit 5-10 minutes until it is frothy with lots of bubbles.
Step 2: Add the yeast mixture, eggs, and softened butter into the bowl of a standing mixer. Put on either the paddle attachment or the dough hook. Mix on medium speed until the wet ingredients are mixed together.
Add the gluten free flour and salt. Turn on the mixer to low speed. Slowly increase the speed until the flour is mixed in. To measure your gluten free flour I use one of two methods:
Spoon Method: You can also use a spoon to fill the measuring cup. Use a knife to level along the top to remove the extra flour.
Leveling Method: Put the measuring scoop into the flour and fill. Do not pack the flour. Use a knife to scrape along the top to remove the extra flour.
Step 3: Blend the ingredients until your dough is formed. With Steve's gf blend flour, the dough looks wet but very quickly begins to look like dough.
IMPORTANT: When making this gluten free monkey bread recipe, you only get one good rise when working with gluten free dough. You want to very quickly shape the dough and get it into the pan.
Step 4: Combine the brown sugar and ground cinnamon in a small bowl and whisk to blend it together. In another bowl, melt 2 tablespoons of butter.
Step 5: Grab small chunks of dough and roll it into balls. Dip each ball in melted butter and then into the cinnamon sugar mixture.
Step 6: Grease a bundt pan, loaf pan, 8x8 cake pan, or any pan you would like to use for this recipe. My bundt pan has a lot of sharp angles, so I decided to bake mine in an angel food cake baking pan. Use spray oil like coconut oil or another light oil to prevent sticking.
Step 7: Continue to toss the butter and sugar coated balls of dough into the pan. For best results, vary the sizes of the dough balls .
Step 8: Loosly cover the top of the pan with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for 45 minutes.
Dough Rising Tip:
Turn your oven on to 200º F. Turn it off keeping the door closed. Place the baking pan with the dough into the oven. I always rise my dough in a warm oven. Let the dough rise until they double in size, about 45 minutes.
Step 9: Bake the gluten free monkey bread for 30-40 minutes until it is done. The actual baking time will vary depending on how deep the pan you use is.
The top of the monkey bread will look a little golden and is firm to the touch.
Step 10: Remove the monkey bread. In my pan I was able to lift the monkey bread out. If you are using a bundt ban, tilt the pan upside down to release the bread onto a plate.
Step 11: Mix the powdered sugar, vanilla, and water to make the glaze. This icing is optional, but my kids rave about how good the icing is with the cinnamon and buttery flavors. Drizzle the icing over the monkey bread.
This is the best gluten free monkey bread, ever. It is light and springy, with the perfect texture. I can't wait to hear what you think of this recipe!
Tips and Recipe FAQ:
Monkey bread gets its name because it is picked apart with your fingers. This is how monkeys eat and the name stuck.
No. You can make monkey bread in any pan. It is most commonly baked in a bundt pan, but this is not necessary.
This monkey bread will keep fresh for up to 4 days in the refrigerator. I like to warm it slightly in the microwave before eating it.
You can easily freeze monkey bread. I slice the bread into thick slices, then put them into a freezer bag. This monkey bread will keep fresh for up to 4 months in the freezer.
If you love a sweet breakfast, you may also love this Gluten Free Pumpkin French Toast Casserole recipe!
More Gluten Free Bread Recipes:
- Gluten Free Garlic Knots
- Fluffy Gluten Free Brioche
- Gluten Free Chocolate Babka
- Easy Gluten Free Panettone Bread
📖 Recipe
Gluten Free Monkey Bread
Ingredients
- 3 cups gluten free flour blend * see note
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 2 large eggs
- 3 tablespoons sugar
Yeast Mixture:
- 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast * see note
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 ⅓ cups warm water No hotter than 110º F
Rolling Mixtures:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Icing:
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons water
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the yeast mixture ingredients and let them sit for 5-10 minutes. The mixture will be bubbly when it is ready.
- Add the wet ingredients to a large standing mixer bowl. Pour in the yeast mixture. Put on either the paddle attachment or a dough hook. Turn the mixer on and mix the wet ingredients.
- Pour in the dry ingredients. Turn the mixer on low speed until the flour is mostly mixed into the wet ingredients. If the speed is too high, flour can go flying so for best results, increase the speed gradually!
- You only get one chance for a good rise when working with yeast recipes and gluten free. You need to do the next step quickly before rising the dough.
- In a small bowl, melt 2 tablespoons of butter. In another small bowl, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon.
- Tear small pieces of dough off the main dough and roll it into balls. Roll each ball in the melted butter, and then the brown sugar. Place each ball into a greased bundt pan (or another pan, see note).
- Fill the pan, then cover it loosely with plastic wrap. Place the pan in a warm place to rise for 45 minutes. I preheat my oven to 200º F then turn the oven off so it can rise there.
- Preheat the oven to 350º F.
- Place the monkey bread into the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes, depending on the size and depth of the pan. The top will become slightly golden and firm to the touch when it is done baking.
- Remove the bread from the pan and mix up the icing. The icing is optional.
Notes
- I used Authentic Foods Steve's Gluten Free Bread Blend flour. It is by far the best for gluten free bread. You can also use Cup4Cup or Better Batter. Other blends like King Arthur Measure for Measure and Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 do not work well with yeast.
- Xanthan Gum - If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain xanthan gum or guar gum, please add 1 teaspoon.
- Yeast - double check the brand you use is gluten free. Red Star Platinum is NOT gluten free!
- This monkey bread will keep fresh for up to 4 days in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.
SPECIAL NOTE
Please know that every gluten free flour blend has a different starch to grain ratio. If you use a blend I didn't test, you may need to adjust your moisture levels in your baked goods.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
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Susanna Myers
You mention milk in the directions but I don’t see it on the ingredients list. Am I missing it?
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Susanna, it should be just the water. Thanks for catching that. I do use milk in place of water, but since many are dairy-free I also tested the recipe with water.
Rachel
Hello! I made this bread today and it turned out amazing! I had to sub a couple of ingredients, I had instant yeast instead of active dry, and I used bobs red mill 1 to 1 because that's what I had. Anyway it turned out beautifully! I don't have a Bundt or angel food cake pan, so I used a bunch of small bread tins to make tiny loaves. Anyway, it rose beautifully, but did not get to double the size. Tasted delicious and baked well though. Thanks for your awesome recipes as usual!!
Sandi Gaertner
I am so glad you loved it. I am so glad it worked as small loaves. Thank you so much for the idea. This will be a big help for other readers who may not have a bundt pan.
Jessica
I hadneverbaked with yeast before but this was easier then I thought. Turned out amazing.
Sandi Gaertner
Now you can try some of the other yeast bread recipes on the blog :-). I am so glad you decided to give this recipe a try!