Gluten-free monkey bread, aka cinnamon roll bites, combine bite-sized pieces of cinnamon-sugar-coated dough, baked together until gooey and caramelized, and then drizzled with vanilla icing. Really, it's the best part of a cinnamon roll in the form of a pull-apart bread.
Gluten-free monkey bread, aka cinnamon roll bites, combine bite-sized pieces of cinnamon-sugar-coated dough, baked together until gooey and caramelized, and then drizzled with vanilla icing.
Rolling and forming gluten-free cinnamon rolls can sometimes be tricky because gluten-free dough is a lot more delicate than traditional wheat-based dough. This bread is a lot easier to make because you just need to scoop out small balls of dough and roughly shape - no rolling required. And since the middle of a cinnamon roll is the best part, this bread really is the perfect substitute!
A lot of monkey bread recipes use pre-made biscuit dough as a shortcut, which is not an option when baking gluten free, but don't worry, this bread is surprisingly simple to make! With the help of a stand mixer, the dough comes together easily, and the bread only requires one quick rise.
Pair with my ham, broccoli, potato and cheddar egg bake for the perfect brunch!
Ingredients
To bloom yeast:
- instant / quick-rise yeast
- milk, warm
- granulated sugar
Psyllium gel:
- psyllium husk
- water
Bread dough:
- gluten-free flour, all-purpose blend
- granulated sugar
- baking powder
- salt
- greek yogurt
- egg
- butter, melted
- water, room temperature
Cinnamon sugar coating and sauce:
- butter, melted
- granulated sugar
- cinnamon
- brown sugar
- vanilla extract
Icing:
- powdered sugar
- milk
- vanilla extract
See recipe card for quantities.
Ingredient Notes
Quick-rise instant yeast: This recipe uses instant / quick-rise yeast.
Psyllium husk: Psyllium husk is what gives the bread a better rise and a bit of chew. It’s really what makes the bread look, feel and taste like traditional wheat-based recipes. Unfortunately, it can’t be replaced with any other ingredient. I prefer to use whole psyllium husk, but you can also use psyllium husk powder. I find the powder can give the bread a slightly darker colour, depending on the brand you’re using. If you’re using the powder, you’ll need to use less, see note in the ingredient card below.
Gluten-free all-purpose flour blend: Use a blend that contains xanthan gum. This will also help with the structure and stability of the bread. Make sure your blend doesn’t contain any ingredients with strong flavours, such as bean flour. Refer to baking with gluten-free flour for more information.
Baking powder: Although not generally found in traditional wheat-based bread recipes, adding a little bit of baking powder helps to give the bread an initial boost when first rising, which helps create a nice airy crumb.
Greek yogurt: Using greek yogurt helps to give the dough a boost of needed protein. It also provides a bit of tang and acidity, which improves the overall flavour and texture of the bread.
Instructions
- Combine the warm milk, sugar and yeast in small bowl and let sit until bubbly, about 5 minutes.
- To make the psyllium gel, combine the psyllium husk and water in a small bowl and let sit about 2 minutes.
- Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix the gluten-free flour, sugar, salt and baking powder on low speed until combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the greek yogurt, egg, melted butter and water.
- Slowly pour the yogurt mixture, psyllium gel and yeast mixture into the flour mixture, and mix until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Increase the speed to medium and beat until the dough is sticky and uniform, about 5 minutes.
- Using a small cookie scoop or two spoons, scoop out tablespoon sized balls onto a lightly gluten-free floured surface. You should get around 30 balls.
- To make the cinnamon sugar coating, melt ½ cup of the butter and pour into a shallow bowl or dish. In another, shallow bowl or dish, mix together the granulated sugar and cinnamon. Grease a 10-inch springform pan. With lightly floured hands, roll a dough ball into a smooth ball, coat in melted butter and then coat in the cinnamon sugar and place in the pan. Repeat with remaining dough balls. Loosely cover the pan with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm spot for 30-45 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Remove the plastic wrap from over the pan. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining ¼ cup of melted butter, brown sugar and vanilla and pour evenly over the bread.
- To prevent the cinnamon sugar syrup from spilling into your oven, wrap the bottom of the pan in foil and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the bread is golden. Let the bread cool for about 15 to 20 minutes, still slightly warm, but not hot enough to melt the icing. Whisk together the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla and drizzle over the bread and serve.
Top Tips for Perfect Gluten-Free Monkey Bread
- Bloom your yeast: If you’re used to bread baking with wheat flour, you’re probably used to punching down the dough after the first rise, and then letting it rise again. Gluten-free bread doesn’t have the structure to support that; if you deflate it after it’s risen, it won’t rise again. Therefore, getting a good first (and only) rise is critical. You’ll generally get the best rise right after the dough has been mixed. Therefore, you want the yeast to act as quickly as possible. Even though we’re using instant yeast, which is generally added straight to the dough, blooming it before adding it to the dough gives it a head start, which can be really beneficially for gluten-free bread baking. I got this tip from “America’s Test Kitchen, How Can It Be Gluten-Free Cookbook Collection”.
- Don’t add too much flour when forming the dough balls: A lightly floured work surface and lightly floured hands should be enough flour to make the dough easy enough to handle when forming the dough balls. The dough is stickier/wetter than traditional wheat-based dough. Don’t let the feel of traditional wheat-based dough convince you to add more flour to your dough to get a more comparative feel, if you do, you’ll end up with a dry bread once baked.
- Serve warm: Let the bread cool slightly, so that the icing doesn't melt, but you want to serve monkey bread when it's freshly baked and still warm.
Storage
Monkey bread is best served freshly baked. Leftovers will keep loosely covered and stored at room temperature for up to 2 days.
Recipe Card
Gluten-Free Monkey Bread
Ingredients
To bloom yeast:
- 2¼ teaspoon yeast, instant / quick-rise
- ½ cup milk, warm, approximately 110°F (40°C)
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Psyllium gel:
- 2 tablespoon psyllium husk, note 1
- ½ cup water, room temperature
Dinner roll dough:
- 2¼ cups gluten-free flour, all-purpose blend (note 2)
- 2 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup greek yogurt
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoon butter, melted
- ¼ cup water, room temperature
Cinnamon sugar coating and sauce:
- ¾ cup melted butter, separated (½ cup plus ¼ cup)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Icing:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoon milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Combine the warm milk, sugar and yeast in small bowl and let sit until bubbly, about 5 minutes.
- To make the psyllium gel, combine the psyllium husk and water in a small bowl and let sit about 2 minutes.
- Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix the gluten-free flour, sugar, salt and baking powder on low speed until combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the greek yogurt, egg, melted butter and water.
- Slowly pour the yogurt mixture, psyllium gel and yeast mixture into the flour mixture, and mix until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Increase the speed to medium and beat until the dough is sticky and uniform, about 5 minutes.
- Using a small cookie scoop or two spoons, scoop out tablespoon sized balls onto a lightly gluten-free floured surface. You should get around 30 balls.
- To make the cinnamon sugar coating, melt ½ cup of the butter and pour into a shallow bowl or dish. In another, shallow bowl or dish, mix together the granulated sugar and cinnamon. Grease a 10-inch springform pan. With lightly floured hands, roll a dough ball into a smooth ball, coat in melted butter and then coat in the cinnamon sugar and place in the pan. Repeat with remaining dough balls. Loosely cover the pan with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm spot for 30-45 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Remove the plastic wrap from over the pan. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining ¼ cup of melted butter, brown sugar and vanilla and pour evenly over the bread.
- To prevent the cinnamon sugar syrup from spilling into your oven, wrap the bottom of the pan in foil and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the bread is golden. Let the bread cool for about 15 to 20 minutes, still slightly warm, but not hot enough to melt the icing. Whisk together the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla and drizzle over the bread and serve.
Notes
- Bloom your yeast: If you’re used to bread baking with wheat flour, you’re probably used to punching down the dough after the first rise, and then letting it rise again. Gluten-free bread doesn’t have the structure to support that; if you deflate it after it’s risen, it won’t rise again. Therefore, getting a good first (and only) rise is critical. You’ll generally get the best rise right after the dough has been mixed. Therefore, you want the yeast to act as quickly as possible. Even though we’re using instant yeast, which is generally added straight to the dough, blooming it before adding it to the dough gives it a head start, which can be really beneficially for gluten-free bread baking. I got this tip from “America’s Test Kitchen, How Can It Be Gluten-Free Cookbook Collection”.
- Don’t add too much flour when forming the dough balls: A lightly floured work surface and lightly floured hands should be enough flour to make the dough easy enough to handle when forming the dough balls. The dough is stickier/wetter than traditional wheat-based dough. Don’t let the feel of traditional wheat-based dough convince you to add more flour to your dough to get a more comparative feel, if you do, you’ll end up with a dry bread once baked.
- Serve warm: Let the bread cool slightly, so that the icing doesn't melt, but you want to serve monkey bread when it's freshly baked and still warm.
- Monkey bread is best served freshly baked. Leftovers will keep loosely covered and stored at room temperature for up to 2 days.
Nutrition
Nutritional information shown is an estimate only.
See full disclaimer here.
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