Homemade Eggless Monkey Bread

This Egg-Free Monkey Bread Is

• Sweet, sweet, gooey, and tender.
• Made completely from scratch – no canned biscuit dough here!
• Super easy to make, even though from-scratch monkey bread takes longer to prepare than a shortcut version made with canned biscuit dough, the results in taste and texture are worth every second of extra time.
• Made with pantry staples.
• Basically, a giant Bundt pan of gooey cinnamon rolls!
• Perfect for a fun breakfast or dessert.

Let’s get baking!

Ingredients You’ll Need

Please check the recipe card at the bottom of the post for exact quantities and detailed instructions (scroll down).

You’ll need:

Ingredients Notes & Substitutions

For the Dough:

• Flour: Standard all-purpose flour works best here. Make sure to measure it accurately, so your bread doesn’t end up too dense.
• Yeast: I recommend and use instant yeast since it doesn’t need to be activated; just mix it with the dry ingredients.
• Sugar: Regular white granulated sugar o caster sugar. I do not recommend reducing the amount of sugar or changing the type of sugar, as it will change the texture of the monkey bread.
• Salt: I prefer kosher or sea salt. If you only have table salt handy, I recommend reducing the amount to half.
• Custard powder: Instead of custard powder, you can use golden flaxseed meal or evaporated milk. Flaxseed: Mix 2 tablespoons of flaxseed with 6 tablespoons of water. Let it rest for 5 minutes to thicken. Add the mixture in step 2 instead of the custard powder. If using flaxseed, skip the 4 tablespoons of water. Evaporated milk: Skip the custard powder and use 4 tablespoons (60 ml) of evaporated milk instead. If using evaporated milk, skip the 4 tablespoons of water.
• Milk: For baking, I like to use whole milk. However, you can use any milk you have handy.
• Butter: I prefer to use unsalted butter, but if you only have salted butter handy, you can use it. In this case, skip the salt called in the recipe.

For the Coating: You’ll need butter (unsalted butter preferably), granulated sugar, ground cinnamon, brown sugar, and vanilla extract.

Step By Step Recipe Photo Tutorial

Step 1 – Make the Egg-Free Bread Dough

• Mix flour, yeast, sugar, and salt in a bowl.
• In a mixing bowl, combine warm milk, custard powder, water, and melted butter.
• Add the milk mixture to the bowl with the flour mixture.
• Knead until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl and is no longer sticky.

Oriana’s Tip: To know if the dough is well kneaded, the dough must be not too sticky, not too dry, and not too springy. If your dough feels tight and springy, continue kneading until the dough is completely smooth, slightly tacky to the touch, springs back when pressed on with your fingers, and is no longer sticky. You can also test it with the windowpane test: To do so, pull off a golf-ball-sized piece of dough and stretch it gently from the center outward with your fingertips. If it tears, keep kneading. It should stretch into a paper-thin film, and you should be able to see the light pass through it, like a window.

Step 6 – Bake

Bake until the monkey bread is golden brown. If the bread is browning too much, about halfway through the bake time, cover the baking pan loosely with aluminum foil.

Oriana’s Tip: To know if my bread is done baking, I like to use a thermometer to check if my bread is fully baked. Introduce the thermometer to the middle of the bread, and if it reads a temperature of 190° F (87º C) at the center, it’s fully baked but still soft and moist. If a thermometer is not an option, you can also use a long wooden skewer and pierce through the center of the bread, making sure my skewer doesn’t come out doughy.

Overnight Monkey Bread Instructions

Prepare the recipe through step 3. Cover the dough tightly and refrigerate overnight. At least 3 hours before you serve the monkey bread the next day, remove the dough from the refrigerator, keep it covered, and allow it to rise on the counter for about 1-2 hours. Continue with the recipe instructions.

Variations You Can Apply to This Recipe

• Nuts & Dried Fruits: When arranging the dough balls into the Bundt pan, add walnuts and raisins among the dough pieces. You can also use dried cranberries, dried cherries, chopped pecans, almonds, or cashews—any combo is delicious.
• Spices: Instead of coating the balls with cinnamon sugar, use pumpkin spice, apple pie spice, gingerbread spice mix, or a blend of your favorite spices.
• Glaze: Instead of sugar glaze, drizzle your monkey bread with salted caramel, chocolate sauce, strawberry sauce, or even better, cream cheese frosting.
• Dairy-Free Option: To make this monkey bread recipe dairy-free, substitute the butter and milk with plant-based alternatives. Make sure to use an unflavored, unsweetened variety of non-dairy milk. Soy and oat milk have the best consistency and very neutral flavors.
• Gluten-Free Option: To make this monkey bread recipe gluten-free, substitute the flour with gluten-free flour alternatives. This one is my favorite.

Storing & Freezing Instructions

Store: Monkey bread tastes best served on the same day. Cover leftovers tightly and store it at room temperature for 1 day or in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Reheat: Reheat leftovers in a 300º F oven until warmed through, about 5 – 8 minutes, or in the microwave for 15 – 30 sec.

Freeze: Prepare the dough as instructed in the recipe and let it rise. After the dough rises, punch it down to release the air, then roll it into small balls. Do not coat the balls. Place shaped dough balls on a baking tray, and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes. Once the dough balls are cold, they won’t stick together. Place the cooled balls in a freezer bag or freezer-friendly container, then freeze them for up to 2 months. When ready to assemble, thaw dough balls in the refrigerator or at room temperature, prepare the coating and baking pan, then coat the dough balls as instructed in the recipe. Continue with the recipe.