Gluten-Free Monkey Bread

Name: Gluten-Free Monkey Bread
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 1 cup
Ingredients: 1 pouch (12.3 oz) Pamela's Gluten-Free Buttermilk Drop Biscuit Mix; 1 cup cold water; 1/2 cup granulated sugar; 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon; 1/2 cup butter, plus more for the pan; 1 cup packed brown sugar; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; Pinch of salt

on Aug 07 2024

Table of Contents

Monkey bread is a pile of dough balls rolled in cinnamon sugar, baked in a bundt pan under a caramel sauce, and turned out onto a plate so people can pull it apart with their hands. Nobody has ever eaten one slice.

It is also, almost universally, made from a tube of refrigerated biscuit dough. That is the shortcut every recipe assumes you have, and if you are gluten-free you do not, because no brand makes one.

Pamela's Buttermilk Drop Biscuit Mix gives you the same thing in about ninety seconds. You stir it with cold water, pinch off pieces, and roll them in cinnamon sugar. No tube to pop, no dough to tear apart along a seam.

One pouch fills a bundt pan and feeds eight to ten people, which is the right number for a holiday morning. So good, no one will guess they are gluten-free, the way Pamela's has done it since 1988.

Can You Make Monkey Bread Without Canned Biscuits?

Yes, and if you are gluten-free you have to. There is no gluten-free refrigerated biscuit dough on any shelf, from any brand, which is why most gluten-free bakers give up on this one.

The reason canned dough works for monkey bread is that it is already portioned, already leavened, and already the right texture. You tear it, roll it, and bake it.

A drop biscuit mix does all three. The leavening and salt are already balanced, the fat is cut in, and the dough comes together with nothing but cold water. The only difference is that you pinch the pieces off yourself instead of pulling them apart along a perforation.

The mix this is built on Pamela's Gluten-Free Buttermilk Drop Biscuit Mix Real buttermilk in the mix, just add cold water. GFCO-certified gluten-free and kosher.

There is no gluten-free monkey bread mix either, if that is what brought you here. A drop biscuit mix is the closest thing, and it is better than a dedicated mix would be because you can use the rest of the bag for actual biscuits.

If you would rather make the long version, our overnight monkey bread is a yeasted dough that rests in the refrigerator and comes out with a true bread texture. It takes two days and it is worth it when you have the time.

Working with a Sticky Dough

This is the one adjustment, and it is worth knowing before you start.

Drop biscuit dough is wetter than canned dough. It is meant to be scooped, not handled, and it will stick to your fingers if you go at it cold and dry.

Chill the dough 15 minutes before you portion it. Mix it, cover the bowl, and put it in the refrigerator while you make the cinnamon sugar and butter the pan. It firms up enough to handle.

Oil your hands, or use a small cookie scoop. A number 40 disher is about the right size and it means you barely touch the dough at all.

Toss, do not roll. Drop the pieces into a bowl of cinnamon sugar a few at a time and toss them gently rather than rolling each one by hand. Faster, cleaner, and the coating is more even.

If a piece is misshapen, leave it. Monkey bread is supposed to look like a pile of rocks.

Bundt Pan or Sheet Pan

A bundt pan is traditional and it is traditional for a reason. The center tube means heat reaches the middle, which is what keeps a dense pile of dough from staying raw in the center.

Butter it thoroughly, including the tube and every groove. Caramel sticks to everything, and a monkey bread that will not release is a sad thing.

A sheet pan works too and it has one real advantage. Spread the coated pieces in a single layer on a rimmed sheet pan, pour the sauce over, and bake 20 to 25 minutes. Every piece gets a caramelized edge instead of just the outer ones, and nothing stays doughy.

It is less dramatic to serve and easier to eat. For a brunch where people are standing up, the sheet pan version is arguably better.

A 9x13 pan is the middle ground. More caramelized edges than a bundt, more of a pull-apart than a sheet pan.

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Yield 10

Serving Size 1 cup

Ingredients

1 pouch (12.3 oz) Pamela's Gluten-Free Buttermilk Drop Biscuit Mix
1 cup cold water
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, plus more for the pan
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

Shop Gluten-Free Original Buttermilk Drop Biscuit Mix

Directions

Empty the pouch into a bowl and add the cold water. Stir just until the dry mix disappears, about fifteen stirs. Cover and chill 15 minutes, which makes the dough much easier to handle.
Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a bundt pan thoroughly, including the center tube and every groove.
Stir the granulated sugar and cinnamon together in a wide bowl.
Pinch off pieces of dough about the size of a walnut, or scoop them with a small cookie scoop. Drop a few at a time into the cinnamon sugar and toss gently to coat. Do not roll them individually.
Layer the coated pieces into the bundt pan, staggering them rather than packing them down.
Melt the butter with the brown sugar, vanilla, and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until smooth. Do not let it boil.
Pour the caramel evenly over the dough.
Bake 32 to 38 minutes, until the top is deep golden and a skewer in the center comes out without wet dough on it. Start checking at 32.
Cool 10 minutes in the pan, then invert onto a plate. Scrape any caramel left behind over the top. Serve warm.

Back to blog

Gluten-Free Original Buttermilk Drop Biscuit Mix

Recipe Tips & Notes

Make-Ahead and Storing

Monkey bread is best warm, within an hour of baking.

To get ahead, coat the pieces and layer them in the buttered pan, cover, and refrigerate up to 12 hours. Make the caramel fresh and pour it over just before baking, adding 5 minutes to the bake since it starts cold.

Do not make the dough more than 12 hours ahead. The leavening starts working as soon as water hits it, and a long rest means a flatter result.

Leftovers keep 2 days at room temperature, covered. Reheat at 300 degrees F for 8 to 10 minutes, or 20 seconds in the microwave for a single portion.

It freezes baked, up to 2 months. Wrap tightly, thaw at room temperature, and reheat at 300 degrees F for 15 minutes.

Ways to Change It Up

Sheet pan monkey bread. Spread the coated pieces in a single layer on a rimmed sheet pan, pour the sauce over, and bake 20 to 25 minutes. Every piece gets a caramelized edge.

Pecans. Scatter half a cup of chopped pecans between the layers, or across the bottom of the pan so they end up on top.

Apple. Toss a cup of small-diced peeled apple in with the coated dough pieces.

Cream cheese glaze. Beat 4 oz softened cream cheese with half a cup of powdered sugar and enough milk to pour, and drizzle over the top.

More cinnamon. The recipe uses 2 teaspoons, which is moderate. Three is not too much.

A pinch of flaky salt over the caramel before serving, which cuts the sweetness and makes it taste finished.

What This Contains

This recipe contains milk and soy.

Milk comes from the buttermilk, butter powder, and whey in the mix, plus the butter in the caramel. Soy comes from soy flour and soy lecithin. This mix cannot be made dairy-free or vegan.

If you need dairy-free, our Biscuit & Scone Mix contains no milk and no soy and lets you add your own fat and liquid. You would use a plant-based butter in the caramel as well.

Eggs and tree nuts are not ingredients here, though the pecan variation adds tree nuts. Pamela's products are made on equipment that processes both.

Everything from Pamela's is certified by the Gluten-Free Certification Organization, made in a certified gluten-free, peanut-free facility, and certified kosher.

Recipe FAQs

Yes, and if you are gluten-free it is the only option, since no brand makes a gluten-free refrigerated biscuit dough. A drop biscuit mix gives you the same already-leavened, already-portioned dough in about ninety seconds with cold water. You pinch off the pieces instead of tearing them along a perforation.

No. Nobody makes a dedicated monkey bread mix in a gluten-free version. A drop biscuit mix is the closest equivalent and arguably better, since the rest of the bag makes actual biscuits rather than sitting in the pantry waiting for one occasion.

A bundt pan is traditional, and the center tube helps heat reach the middle so the inside does not stay doughy. A rimmed sheet pan also works and gives every piece a caramelized edge rather than just the outer ones. A 9x13 is the middle ground.

A dense pile of dough insulates its own center, so the outside browns before the inside is done. Use a bundt pan so heat reaches the middle, stagger the pieces rather than packing them down, and check with a skewer rather than going by color. If the top is browning too fast, tent it with foil.

Partly. Coat the pieces, layer them in the buttered pan, cover, and refrigerate up to 12 hours, then make the caramel fresh and pour it over just before baking. Add 5 minutes to the bake since it starts cold. Do not make the dough further ahead, since the leavening activates on contact with water.