The Best Gluten-Free Monkey Bread

Meaningful Eats

The Best Gluten-Free Monkey Bread

12 servings

This gluten-free monkey bread is made from the same EASY dough I use to make gluten-free cinnamon rolls.

It features fluffy dough balls layered with a gooey caramel sauce and chopped pecans. This is the perfect holiday or special occasion breakfast!

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine American

Diet Gluten Free

Prep Time 1 30

Cook Time 50

Total Time 2 20

Author Erin Collins

Ingredients

For the Dough:

4 ½ cups (680g) King Arthur Gluten-Free Bread Flour
⅓ cup (65g) granulated sugar
2 ¼ teaspoons 1 packet instant yeast
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 cup (236ml) water, warm
1 cup (236ml) whole milk, warm
2 large eggs
6 tablespoons (85g) butter, melted

Caramel Sauce

8 tablespoons (113g) butter
1 1/2 cups (320g) brown sugar
1/2 cup (120ml) heavy cream
large pinch of salt

Cinnamon-Sugar Topping

12 tablespoons (170g) butter
1 1/2 cups (300g) granulated sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
3/4 cup chopped pecans optional

Instructions

Make the Dough

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the gluten-free flour, granulated sugar, instant yeast, baking powder and salt. Mix to evenly combine.
With the mixer running on low, slowly add the water, milk, eggs and melted butter. Turn the speed up to medium and mix for 3 minutes until very smooth. The dough will resemble thick cookie dough. This is normal!
Use an oiled spatula to scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let rise for 45-60 minutes, until doubled in size.

Make the Caramel Sauce

Melt the butter, brown sugar, heavy cream and sauce in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and heat for exactly five minutes. Remove from heat.

Prep the Filling Workstation

Melt the butter in a small bowl. In another small bowl, mix together the granulated sugar and cinnamon. Spray a 10-12 cup Bundt pan generously with cooking spray.
Pour ¼ cup of caramel sauce into the bottom of the greased bundt pan. Sprinkle with ¼ cup of pecans, if using.
NOTE: If the caramel sauce cools and is too thick at any point, reheat it for 30 seconds or so in the microwave so it’s pourable.

Assemble the Monkey Bread

Once the dough has risen, pull small dough chunks and roll into 1-inch balls. You may want to use wet hands to get the dough balls as smooth as possible.
Dip each ball, one by one, in the melted butter and then generously roll in the cinnamon-sugar mixture to coat them well. You may not use all of the cinnamon-sugar depending how heavy you coat each ball.
Arrange ½ of the dough balls in the pan (about 20 dough balls - you’ll make 40-45 dough balls total), then pour over another ¼ cup caramel sauce and sprinkle ¼ cup chopped pecans.
Repeat with the remaining dough, finishing with another ¼ cup caramel sauce and ¼ cup chopped pecans. (Save the rest of the caramel sauce for serving.) Let the monkey bread sit for a bit while the oven preheats.

Bake the Monkey Bread

Preheat the oven to 350F. Bake for 45-50 minutes. Cover loosely with foil for the last 20 minutes of cooking if the top starts to brown too quickly.
Cool for 5-10 minutes, then invert onto a large serving plate. Warm up the caramel sauce again and drizzle over the bread before serving. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Notes

GLUTEN-FREE BREAD FLOUR: This gluten-free bread flour is key for these gluten-free cinnamon rolls to turn out correctly. Other gluten-free flour blends will not work in it’s place.

MIXING THE DOUGH: I prefer using a paddle attachment on my stand mixer when making this gluten-free monkey bread, rather than the dough hook attachment. I find kneads the dough more effectively!

OVERNIGHT RISE: This gluten-free monkey bread can be assembled the day before and baked the following morning. For an overnight rise, follow the recipe up until the “Assemble the Monkey Bread” section. Then cover the pan tightly and refrigerate for 8–12 hours. (16 hours max. 8–12 hours is best, but 16 hours is OK if absolutely needed. Do not exceed 16 hours.) The next morning, remove from the refrigerator and allow to rise on the counter for 30-45 minutes before baking. Bake at 350F for 45-50 minutes. Cover loosely with foil for the last 20 minutes of cooking if the top starts to brown too quickly.

DAIRY-FREE: To make this gluten-free monkey bread dairy-free, use cashew milk, almond milk, or another dairy-free milk in place of the whole milk in the dough. I like to use Elmhurst Unsweetened Cashew milk, which has a similar fat content to whole milk. Elmhurst doesn’t have any added gums or stabilizers that might interfere with the rise/crumb of the rolls. Use dairy-free butter in place of the butter and dairy-free heavy cream (I like Silk) instead of heavy cream in the caramel sauce.

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