Gluten Free Monkey Bread Made From Pizza Dough
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Gooey, sticky, and delicious, Gluten Free Monkey Bread makes any brunch a fun success. With little balls of rolled dough, this baked good is as fun to make as it is to eat! Using Bob’s Red Mill Pizza Crust Mix makes it easy, with the perfect mix of gluten free flours!
What Is Monkey Bread?
Monkey Bread is a sweet layered bread, made by rolling balls of dough and cinnamon and sugar. It it traditionally baked in a round bundt pan. But where did this breakfast sweet treat originate from?
While doing some internet research, I landed on this article about Monkey Bread’s Journey to the US. According to this article from the Smithsonian, it is similar to a Hungarian dish called “aranygaluska.” Dating back to the 1880’s. this brunch staple was introduced to the US by Hungarian Jewish bakers.
What Ingredients Do You Use to Make Monkey Bread?
To create the fluffy bite-sized balls of dough, we need a dough that uses yeast. I use Bob’s Red Mill’s Gluten Free Pizza Crust Mix. All the flour, salt and other ingredients are mixed together. You just add the yeast (which comes with the mix), water, eggs and oil.
As for the topping, you’ll need butter, sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon. I like to use Relative Foods sugars and spices when I can. They’re a small family-owned Michigan business. And they’re produced in a dedicated gluten free facility. You can read more about them in my Gluten Free Cinnamon Roll post.
How Much Dough Does This Mix Make?
Once the dough is prepared, it creates approximately 32 ounces of dough. This is equivalent to two packages of Pillsbury refrigerated biscuit dough. While Pillsbury biscuit dough doesn’t contain yeast, we need it to make this dough rise.
This recipe for Gluten Free Monkey Bread is easy, although not quick. As it contains yeast, you do need to allow the dough time to proof in a warm place. Also, the dough takes time to roll into little balls. I highly recommend doing this with children and loved ones. As my husband’s Grandma Peg would say, “many hands make light labor.”
Can I Just Use A Biscuit Recipe?
I tried this with my homemade gluten free biscuit recipe, and it did not turn out well. The dough balls were dense and unsatisfying.
Can I Make This Without Eggs? Dairy? Yeast?
The mix for this recipe requires eggs. If you need an egg free recipe, I would try this Vegan Monkey Bread from Allergylicious. Her recipe is also yeast free. If you only need to avoid dairy, you can follow my recipe, and sub a dairy free butter, such as Earth Balance, for the coating.
What Kind / Size Pan Do You Use? I Don’t Have a Bundt Pan
Traditionally, Monkey Bread is baked in a 12 cup bundt pan. I recommend Nordicaware bundt pans, because they’re made in the United States. If you don’t have a bundt pan, you can use TWO large 9×5 loaf pans.
Important Tips for Removing Monkey Bread from Pan
One important word about plating your Gluten Free Monkey Bread. Most recipes I researched stated to NOT leave it in the pan more than 5 minutes. Why? Because the caramel glaze will cause it to stick to the bottom of the pan. The fun of monkey bread is pulling off a piece at a time. Can’t do that if it’s stuck in the pan.
Can I Make the Dough A Day In Advance & Bake The Next Morning?
I have never tried doing this. In An Oregon Kitchen’s homemade (non-gluten free) Overnight Make Ahead Monkey Bread recipe, she allows the dough to rise in the fridge overnight. (Instead of rising before rolling the dough.) So in theory, yes. However, I haven’t tried it. If do sometime, I’ll come back and update you!
Can I Make This The Night Before and Reheat it in the Morning?
Again, I have not tried this. On the Pillsbury website, they recommend reheating monkey bread at 200 degrees. Leave it in the oven for 10-15 minutes, checking on it after 10 minutes.
Other Recipes Made with Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Pizza Crust Mix
There are many things that you can make with Bob’s Pizza Crust Mix. For example, I use it for my Gluten Free Soft Pretzels. It can also be used to make gluten free cinnamon rolls. Or try this Apple Dessert Pizza. Want something savory? Use the dough from this mix to make Gluten Free Pizza Pull Apart Bread.
Presentation Doesn’t Have to be Perfect
When I took these photos, I didn’t own a cake stand. So, I improvised. I used a platter from our china set, and placed it on top of a candle holder. Recognize the pattern? I used the same china in the pictures for my Gluten Free Cashew Butter Chai Cookies. The set previously belonged to my husband’s grandmother, Merle. She baked extensively, and was widely known for her cake filled with homemade lemon curd.
Recipe
Gluten Free Monkey Bread
Equipment
Ingredients
For the dough
- 1 pkg Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Pizza Crust Mix
- 1 1/2 c warm water 105-110 degrees + pinch sugar
- 1 packet active dry yeast
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 tbsp oil
For the coating
- 1/2 c – 3/4 c white sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
For the sauce
- 1/2 c butter 1 stick
- 3/4 c brown sugar
- pinch cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
Instructions
- 1. Turn oven to 200 degrees. When it is finished preheating, turn the oven OFF and leave the door closed. Spray a bundt pan with oil cooking spray.
- 2. First, measure water in a glass measuring cup or place in glass bowl. Add a pinch of sugar to help the yeast have something to "grow" on. Add yeast and allow to proof 5- 10 minutes.
3. In a large bowl (or stand mixer bowl), add room temperature eggs and oil. Using the paddle attachment (if you don't have a stand mixer, just use a hand mixer), stir eggs and oil. Then add proofed yeast water.- 4. Finally, add the Bob's Red Mill Pizza Crust mix. Combine thoroughly.
- 5. Transfer dough to an large (preferably glass) bowl. Cover dough (either with towel or plastic wrap), and place in warmed oven to proof dough for 45 minutes. After dough has proofed, remove from oven, uncover, and allow to come to room temperature. (I stuck mine in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.)
- 6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a small bowl, combine sugar, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice. (If you don't have pumpkin pie spice, simply use more cinnamon instead.) - 7. Retrieve cooled dough. Using the tip of a spoon, drop bits of dough in sugar mixture and loosely roll into balls. Place rolled dough balls in bundt pan, and fill bundt pan.
- 8. After all dough has been rolled, melt butter in a small sauce pan. Add brown sugar, and a pinch of pumpkin pie spice if desired. Pour melted butter mixture over top of dough balls.
- 9. Place bundt pan on top of cookie sheet (just in case it cooks over!) and bake in preheated oven fr 30-35 minutes.
- 10. Once finished baking, remove from oven and allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes. (Not a moment longer, or the cooled sauce may cause it to stick in the pan!) Invert monkey bread onto serving dish. Serve warm.
Can’t find the Bob’s Red Mill pizza crust mix? Try one of the yeasted pizza dough recipes in my pizza blog post.
**This post is not sponsored, however it does include Amazon affiliate links.**
Originally Published December 2018
My kids just loved Monkey Bread and loved making it when they were little! I kinda love it too!
OMG. You have just given me a great idea. I love this recipe. Since we are low carbs, all I have to do is substitute the flour and just follow your tips. Thanks a million.
I would not suggest substituting the flour, because this started with a mix, that contains predetermined amounts of baking powder, salt, etc. If you are planning to do substitutions, I would suggest adapting Allergylicious’ recipe instead, as hers is made from scratch.
This was fantastic! Non-gf kid went out for donuts with dad. So GF kid and GF mom made this instead! Definitely putsy but worth it!
So glad to hear that you enjoyed it. What a great way to build memories together and show that following a gluten free diet doesn’t mean we have to miss out on delicious food!
NICE RECIPE! I haven’t had monkey bread in far too long – it was my standard for brunch contributions for a while. I’ll definitely keep the pizza dough version in mind next time…
Glad i can be of help!
I’m wondering if I could let the dough rest in the oven overnight, so it’s ready to roll first thing in the morning?
I haven’t always had luck with letting gluten free yeasted dough resting over night. If you try it, let me know how it works out.
Hi! This looks delicious. One question – what temperature do you bake the money bread for 30-35 minutes?
350. Sorry if that’s missing. I will go back and edit. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. 🙂
Just wondering if you could prepare it the day ahead and bake in the morning?
Sorry, I just saw this! I have never tried that, so I’m not sure. I think I have seen others prepare the dough the day before, and not put the topping on until you bake it.
Just wondering if you tried prepping it the day before and if it turned out. Thanks!
I think it should be doable, but I haven’t tried it. There is a recipe by “An Oregon Cottage” that does the first rise before rolling the dough, then refrigerated overnight. Then she allows it to come to room temp and rise again for 45 min, and then bakes. I don’t know if her dough is identical to my pizza dough, but it’s worth a gander.
https://anoregoncottage.com/overnight-make-ahead-monkey-bread/
Hi! Just wondering if you tried prepping day before? We like it on Christmas morning and I know kids will not want to wait through all the prep time….
I haven’t always had good luck prepping yeasted doughs the day before, and then baking them the day after. You can try it though.
I made this recipe tonight as a trial run for Thanksgiving. Love it! My daughter and I are the only gluten free eaters in the family, so we tend to just go without at gatherings. I decided to try some new recipes this year. Thanks!
Aw, I’m so glad to hear this! My goal with this blog is to make it so no ok no has to go without. And to make others see just how great gluten free can taste. Although, wouldn’t blame you if you chose not to share! ❤
You can also use the Bob’s Red Mill Pizza Crust following their website’s cinnamon roll dough recipe for making monkey bread. That’s what I have done in the past (and combined it with the old pillsbury monkey bread instructions). It’s nice to find more of it in one place. I’m going to attempt making some of it tonight, but baking it tomorrow morning – we’ll see how successful I am.
I’ve made cinnamon rolls with that pizza mix and they’re wonderful. Thanks for that tip!
Becki- How did it work to do it the night before? I was thinking it would be great for Christmas morning but would love to put to all tonight Christmas Eve and bake Christmas morning.
Monkey bread used to be a Christmas brunch tradition until we added in-laws and had others with health issues. Made this for Christmas morning, used egg replacer so everyone could enjoy it. It’s a keeper!
So glad I could help you enjoy this again. Merry Christmas!
Will this work for pizza stuffed monkey bread?
I’ve never tried it for that, but it should theoretically work. Let me know if you end up trying it!
What kind of oil did you use, and what kind could we use(options)?
I use canola oil.
Have you had any success making the recipe, say up to step 8, a day ahead and then baking the next day?
I have not tried doing that, so i can’t say how it wil turn out. If you try it, I would recommend letting the dough come to room temperature before baking it.
When proofing, do you stir the mix then let it proof or just dump and wait? Also, have you tried making rolls out of this dough?
I activate the yeast in water + sugar, mis the dough together, and then let it rise in a warm spot, covered. I have not tried making rolls out of this. Bob’s Red Mill has a recipe on their website for using their pizza dough mix to make cinnamon rolls. If you want to make dinner rolls, I would use their Bread mix.
Did anyone try this the night before and have success? Even cooking it and re-heating it the next day? Hoping to use this for Christmas morning but don’t want to do all the cooking that morning. Thanks
I have not tried this the night before, sorry. I’m afraid that the rise from the yeast would deaden after being in the fridge.
Wondering if I could add small chunks of apple to this…..make it kind of like an apple fritter monkey bread?
I’ve never tried it but it would likely work.
Would it make a difference if I
didn’t have pizza crust flour??
I have only made this with Bob’s Red Mill Pizza crust mix. Their pizza crust mix includes yeast, which is necessary for this recipe to work. If you can find a recipe for a yeasted pizza dough, I theoretically believe it would work. But I can’t guarantee results if changes are made from what I’ve written.
when proofing the dough is the dough supposed to be liquid
no. did you accidentally use the melted butter, meant for the sauce, in the batter?
I noticed all these comments are from 2-3 years ago so you might not still be online to answer. But I make monkey bread in a dutchoven using charcoal on the lid and underneath to bake. We make it at an adult Girl Scout Leaders campout. But one of the leaders can’t eat it because she has to eat Gluten Free baked goods. How would I adapt this for a outdoor campout. If I made the dough ahead of time at home would it still work when I get to camp and cut it into pieces for the dutchoven?
I’m still online. 🙂 I’ve never baked anything under charcoal, like you are recommending, so I can’t say to how adjust this recipe for that method. To be honest, I don’t think this would do well if you made the dough ahead of time and tried to bake it later. The yeast needs to be “fresh” in the dough when baking. I would recommend baking it all ahead of time, and then rewarm it under the charcoal.
Could you use the dough hook attachment on a kitchen aid mixer?
Going gluten free, one of the things I miss the most is monkey bread and I’m excited to try this! Thanks for sharing.
I think you should be able to use a dough hook.
I’m so not a bread/dough maker! How much larger should the dough be when you let it rise in the warmed oven after 45 min? Mine isn’t that much bigger. Maybe a third bigger?
Theoretcally it should double. Mine doesn’t always rise that much.
I have missed monkey bread. This was AMAZING!!!!!! Even my husband loved it.
So glad to know your family loved it!
Eating gluten free I often miss being able to enjoy fun desserts like Monkey Bread. I saw this recipe and decided to give it a try.
The recipe was very easy to follow and the Monkey Bread came out so delicious!
Thank you so much for this feedback. I’m so glad that you’re able to enjoy something you missed, again!
What adjustments, if any, are needed for using glass loaf pans? I don’t have a bundt pan, but I do have 3 glass loaf pans. How many loaf pans are needed? Would cooking time and temp be the same?
I’ve never made it in one of those pans, so I can’t say. This is what Pillsbury says on their website. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake 19 to 25 minutes or until deep golden brown and center is baked through. Cool 2 minutes. Loosen edges; remove from pan. Place on serving plate. Serve warm.
I didn’t have another yeast packet to use so maybe that was my issue but my dough didn’t really rise much and was kind of gritty. Think I did something wrong? Would new yeast help that much?
Yeast would only impact how well the dough would have risen. It shouldn’t be gritty. Did you follow the recipe exactly as written?
I proofed the dough about 2 days before I made the monkey bread and cooked it. The dough is super dense and didn’t rise. Do you think it’s because I proofed the dough too early?
Dear Molly, Yes, I believe the reason it didn’t rise if because you proofed the dough too early.
Has anyone made this recipe and baked it the night before serving? I would like to serve it for a Christmas morning brunch but don’t want to get up and bake at the crack of dawn!
I find that recipes that use yeast don’t rise as well after having refrigerated overnight. You could possibly bake it the night before, and rewarm it in the oven in the morning?
Could you give reheating instructions? I want to serve this at Christmas breakfast/brunch, but will be taking it to someone’s else’s home so I won’t be able to bake it the morning of. Thank you!
I’ve never reheated it, so I don’t have instructions for that, sorry. The website Baking a Moment suggests the following – “Place the wole thing in a 170 degree F oven, covered tightly in foil, for about 20 minutes.”