rolls

Best Darn Dinner Rolls AND GF!

If you are searching for easy to make gluten free rolls for Thanksgiving, look no further. I made them for a holiday party and one of my guests asked for the recipe saying they were the best rolls he ever ate, gf or not!  They are very easy to make and taste just as good as any I have made with wheat flour in my past life as a gluten fiend.

You make a yeast slurry of milk, sugar and yeast and let it rise while you mix all the dry ingredients in the stand mixer bowl. Then dump the wet ingredients all together in with the dry ingredients.  Beat the sticky mess up, glop it into the sprayed muffin pans and let rise a bit. Bake them a few minutes and there they are,: golden, puffy and almost like a mini popover!

The flavor is fantastic, so is the texture and love that they keep well for a few days; could make them the day before your big meal and just warm gently.  I cut this recipe in half pretty easily.  For that I used 2 eggs and discarded the excess egg after I glazed the rolls.  I have used regular whole milk and 1 percent milk in my batch but you can use rice milk if you want it dairy free.  This is a keeper recipe for anyone, GF or not!

rolls

Soft Dinner Rolls -24 rolls

Ingredients

2 tablespoons dry active yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
2 cups rice milk (or milk) – warm but not hot
*1½ cups superfine or Asian White Rice Flour
*½ cup Sweet Rice Flour
*¾ cup potato starch
*½ cup tapioca starch
3 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 ½ teaspoons fine sea salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
3 large eggs – use divided
¼ cup butter plus more for brushing the pans
¼ cup honey
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

*in place of the various flours and starches you can use 3¼ cups GF flour blend.

Directions

Combine the yeast, sugar and warmed milk in a small bowl and whisk to dissolve the sugar. Let sit for 6 or 7 minutes or until the mixture is foamy and had increased in volume.

Combine the flours, starches (or all-purpose gluten free flour blend), xanthan gum, salt and baking powder in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Mix for 30 seconds on medium-low to combine and break up any lumps in the potato starch.

Add the yeast mixture, 2 eggs, melted butter, honey and vinegar. Mix on medium low until combined. Scrap down the sides of the bowl, turn the mixer on high and mix for 3 minutes. You should have a very thick, smooth batter.

Brush 2 twelve cup muffin pans with melted butter or spray with gluten free, non-stick cooking spray. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Spoon the batter into the sprayed muffin pans, filling about ¾ full. You can also use a small (#60) ice cream scoop and place 3 scoops in each muffin tin (clover leaf). That is my favorite way to form them! Cover with a clean ultra thin kitchen towel and place in a warm, draft free place to rise. Let rise for 30-35 minutes or until the dough has almost doubled in size.  I often put them in a 105 degree oven, uncovered for their rising time.

Beat the remaining egg with 1 teaspoon of water very well with a fork. Gently brush the tops of each roll with the beaten egg.  I used my finger to do the brushing as my brushes were too stiff. Sometimes I sprinkle the wet egg wash with poppy seeds.

Bake for 17 – 18 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool in the pans for 15 minutes.

Note: These rolls can be made ahead – bake them, let them cool in the pans, wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Warm them for a few minutes in a 350 degree oven.  I froze them for 2 days and then nuked the rolls for 30 seconds to warm up.  Leftover rolls are great with jam for a snack. Enjoy!

GF Skinny Burger Buns

Gluten free rolls for burgers or sloppy joes are a bit of a problem; store ones are too hard and too thick; can barely taste my burger for them and the price is ridiculous for what you get. I haven’t found a sandwich roll I truly like, not until last week.  So….I was reading the comments on line for a French bread recipe I use a lot; at food.com. I was looking at how others modified it, always curious.  I made several changes for my version.  So I wanted to see what else could be done.  Someone said they made rolls out of it!  Bingo.  A must try solution for the quandary of edible gf rolls for burgers. The base recipe always tastes great, is easy to create and I’ve been making my version of it for over three years.  Tasty  as dinner bread but what I need so often is a decent roll that takes the hot stuff like a burger or sloppy joes.  I use cloud bread for cold sandwiches and love it but burgers need something sturdier as cloud bread pretty much dissolves with contact to hot food.

The only addition I made for this burger rolls recipe is some flax seed meal and if you don’t want that; leave it out; flax seed bits adds flecks of tan color and a wholesome flavor.  Good for you too. I used olive oil instead of melted butter; worked fine and is healthier.  They aren’t high and puffy like store buns but I have to say they do the job of a burger bun very nicely with their great flavor and texture.  They may be skinny but they are a great solution for rolls.  Actually I think you could slice them in half right down the middle and use as an English muffin!

You really need the right baking pan; a muffin top pan; very shallow but wide depressions; about 1/3 inch deep; my pans are Teflon.  You can buy them on line from Amazon.

This dough is very easy and quick to mix up if you have a stand mixer as it needs a serious beating!  You need to keep an eye on the rising process; your pans should be in a warm but not hot location.  So I turn on my oven and let it heat to 105 degrees upon which I turn it off and put in the bread. Just opening the door to put in the pans will lower the temperature to about 90 degrees; perfect. Just warm enough and no drafts inside there.  Be watchful; as for all gf yeast doughs: don’t over rise it or your rolls will deflate; disaster! Once the pans are getting close to ready you need to preheat the oven; take the pans out first if yours is rising in there… I plan to keep working on this recipe and see if I can get the rolls to rise a bit higher…got some ideas.  Will update when I have an even better roll to share.

The rolls are still tasty the next day. I froze most of them. Actually, you can make a half batch; mix all the dry ingredients well in a bowl then remove half; 1 ½ cup plus 2 ½ tsp. of dry mix and put it in a baggie.  When you want to make each half batch add the wet ingredients and beat up per the recipe: ¾ cup warm water, 1 1/2 tsp yeast, 1 tbsp. olive oil, 1 egg, and ½ tsp vinegar.

Gluten Free French Burger Rolls

Makes twelve rolls

Ingredients:

1 cup white rice flour

1 cup brown rice flour

1 cup tapioca flour

3 tsp. xanthan gum

3 tbsp. flax seed meal

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp. sugar

1 ½ cups lukewarm water; about 90-95 degrees

1 tbsp. yeast

2 tbsp. melted butter or mild olive oil

2 eggs, room temp.

1 tsp. cider vinegar

Poppy or sesame seeds for sprinkling (optional)

Directions: Put the flours, gum and salt in bowl of stand mixer, blend.

In two cup measuring cup or small bowl dissolve yeast and sugar in the lukewarm water; let stand 3-5 minutes until foamy.

Dump into the dry ingredients; add the butter or oil, eggs, and vinegar.  Beat on high for 3 minutes.

Spray depressions in your pans with cooking spray and dust with yellow cornmeal.

Glop in the bread dough; it will be like soft putty.  Smooth the top with your fingers that you dampened in water.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds or poppy seeds if desired.

Let rise for 30 to 40 minutes until doubled.  Bake in pre-heated 400 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes. They won’t be hugely high but enough for slicing in half for sandwiches or burgers.  Cool before slicing.  The rolls don’t have to be stone cold to slice but cutting any gf bread hot is a bad idea; gets all gummy….not a good thing.  They work quite well as gf English muffins.

Soft Rolls A Popping… Perfection Yet GF

These yeast rolls would be great for Easter dinner!  They are very easy to make and taste just as good as any I have made with wheat flour in my past life as a gluten fiend. I have made them several times and they never fail to please my company. They are light with a crunchy exterior and a lovely popover like consistence.  Best of all they are so so simple, would be an excellent choice for a first gf yeast baking experience.

rolls

You make a yeast slurry and let it rise while you mix all the dry ingredients in the stand mixer bowl, and dump the wet ingredients all together in with the dry ingredients.  Beat well, glop it into the sprayed muffin pans and let rise a bit. Bake and there they are, golden, puffy and almost like a mini popover! Just one rising, in the baking pan, no tricky shaping.  Simple yet as delicious a gf roll as I have ever tasted.

The flavor is fantastic, so is the texture and  love that they keep well for a few days; could make them the day before your big meal and just warm gently. Makes 2 dozen so freezing a few is a great option.  I often cut this recipe in half; pretty easy.  I put the half ingredient list at the end of this post so you can easily halve the recipe.  For that I used 2 eggs and discarded the excess egg after I glazed the rolls.  I have used regular whole milk and 1 percent milk in my batch but you could use rice or almond milk and part of a vegan baking stick if you want it dairy free.  This is a keeper recipe for anyone, GF or not!

Soft Dinner Rolls – makes 24 rolls

Ingredients

2 tablespoons dry active yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
2 cups rice milk (or milk) – warm but not hot
*1½ cups superfine or asian white rice flour
*½ cup sweet rice flour
*¾ cup potato starch
*½ cup tapioca starch
3 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 ½ teaspoons fine sea salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
3 large eggs – use divided
¼ cup butter plus more for brushing the pans
¼ cup honey
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

*in place of the various flours and starches you can use 3¼ cups GF flour blend.  I haven’t tried that yet.

Directions

Combine the yeast, sugar and warmed milk in a small bowl and whisk to dissolve the sugar. Let sit for 6 or 7 minutes or until the mixture is foamy and had increased in volume.

Combine the flours, starches (or all-purpose gluten free flour blend), xanthan gum, salt and baking powder in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Mix for 30 seconds on medium-low to combine and break up any lumps in the potato starch.

Add the yeast mixture, 2 eggs, melted butter, honey and vinegar. Mix on medium low until combined. Scrap down the sides of the bowl, turn the mixer on high and mix for 3 minutes. You should have a very thick, smooth batter.

Brush 2 twelve cup muffin pans with melted butter or spray with gluten free, non-stick cooking spray. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Spoon the batter into the sprayed muffin pans, filling about ¾ full. You can also use a small (#60) ice cream scoop and place 3 scoops in each muffin tin (clover leaf). That is my favorite method although I just use a big kitchen spoon to dollop it into the muffin pans! Cover with a clean ultra thin kitchen towel and place in a warm, draft free place to rise. Let rise for 30-35 minutes or until the dough has almost doubled in size.  I often put them in a 105 degree oven, uncovered for their rising time.

Beat the remaining egg with 1 teaspoon of water very well with a fork. Gently brush the tops of each roll with the beaten egg.  I used my finger to do the brushing as my brushes were too stiff. Sometimes I sprinkle the wet egg wash with poppy seeds.  You can leave off the egg wash but they won’t be as golden or as shiny.

Bake for 17 – 18 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool in the pans for 15 minutes.

Ingredient List for a Half recipe

1 tablespoon dry active yeast
1 teaspoons sugar
1 cup milk)– warm but not hot
¾ cups superfine or Asian White Rice Flour
1/4 cup Sweet Rice Flour
a touch more then 1/3 cup potato starch
1/4 cup tapioca starch
1.5  teaspoons xanthan gum
3/4 teaspoons kosher or fine sea salt
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
2 large eggs – use divided *(pick small eggs)
2 tbsp.  butter plus more for brushing the pans

2 tbsp. honey

1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Note: These rolls can be made ahead – bake them, let them cool in the pans, wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Warm them for a few minutes in a 350 degree oven.  I froze them for 2 days and then nuked the rolls for 30 seconds to warm up.  Leftover rolls are great with jam for a snack. Enjoy!

I honestly cannot remember where I found this recipe or I would give credit to the original author.