This is an old family favorite and one of the first recipes I started working on to make gluten free. It is similar to monkey bread but requires no yeast, so it is much quicker. I’ve made a few of the original steps easier than the original recipe. Also, I have tried this with a variety of flour blends and they have all worked. This time I happened to use a pre-made blend, but normally I blend my own flours. See notes below for suggestions.
Ingredients:
1/2 c. butter (Smart Balance non-dairy)
2- 8×8 pans or something of similar sizes
Dry:
4 cups flour (I used Arrowhead Mills’ Heritage Blend this time, but I have also made it with a mixture of other flours. See note below for other options.*)
1/2 tsp xanthan gum (if your flour blend doesn’t already contain some)
2 T. baking powder
2 tsp salt
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Wet:
1/2 c. canola oil (or vegetable oil)
1 1/2 c. coconut milk (from a carton)
Topping:
additional 1/2 c. sugar
additional 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Directions:
Melt 1/2 c. butter and use a little bit to grease both 8×8 pans. Stir together dry ingredients in a bowl. Add the oil and coconut milk and stir well. I usually whisk it briefly with a mixer just until combined.
In a separate bowl, mix together the additional sugar and cinnamon.
Pinch dough into about 1 T size balls and put in pans until all the dough is used. Most of them will be touching and that is fine. Spoon the butter over the balls in the pans and make sure to get a little butter on each ball. Sprinkle the cinnamon and sugar mixture evenly over all the balls and make sure to get the edges too.
Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes or until tops start to brown just slightly and dough springs back to the touch.
* This recipe is very flexible. The most important thing with any blend is to make sure you have a touch of xanthan gum in there- at least 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. That will replace the stickiness of gluten and help hold it together.
*I usually just mix and match whatever flours I have around to make this. Next time I make this I will try to write down exactly what I do. Here is an approximation of what I have done in the past: 1 1/2 c. brown rice flour, 1/2 c. oat flour, 1/2 c. amaranth, 1/2 c. potato starch, 1/2 c. tapioca starch, 1/2 c. teff, 1/2 tsp xanthan gum. Adding in some teff flour gives it a whole wheat flair which I really love. If you don’t have amaranth, you can just replace it with brown rice flour. The potato starch and tapioca starches help add some lightness to the flour so it is not as dense.
Old Favorites Made Gluten Free 