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Soft homemade gluten free dinner rolls that are quick and easy enough for busy weeknights, but still fit for any holiday table or celebration. Never go without bread again!
my take
Nicole's Recipe Notes
These rolls are highly enriched, which just means that they have plenty of butter and milk in the recipe. Plus, the addition of nearly 1 full cup of tapioca starch helps provide a lot of stretch to the rolls, as baked, and makes the dough very easy to shape with almost no added flour.
These gluten free dinner rolls are soft and squishy, so they're ideal for serving with any homestyle meal. Imagine them on the side of your plate of gluten free meatballs, since they're easy enough for a weeknight.
They're also perfect for your holiday table and are ideal for soaking up the last bits of gluten free gravy.
Recipe ingredients
Gluten free flour – Be sure to use a high quality all purpose gluten free flour blend that has finely ground rice flour and is designed to be used in yeast bread recipes.
Tapioca starch – Adding more tapioca starch, even though your blend already contains some, gives the rolls a lot of flexibility.
Instant yeast – Gives the rolls their rise.
Sugar – Feeds the yeast, and adds some gentle sweetness
Milk – Warm milk activates the yeast, adds moisture to bring the dough together, and adds richness.
Butter – Adds moisture and flavor and helps keep the rolls tender.
Egg whites – Add structure and help bind the rolls together.
Expert tips
Measure gluten free flour carefully
Measuring dry ingredients, especially flour, by weight is particularly important in gluten free baking, which is why I always measure it by weight, not volume. A simple digital kitchen scale should only cost about $25, and will ensure consistent results every time.
Use a stand mixer
To make a smooth, cohesive dough that rises evenly and makes soft, tender rolls, you should use a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can try using a food processor fitted with the plastic blade and pulsing only as much as necessary.
Rising tips
I usually place yeasted dough to rise on top of my oven (never inside), and turn the oven on to about 300°F. The ambient heat provides just enough warmth to help the dough rise uniformly.
The worst placement for getting rolls to rise is somewhere too hot. Slow-rising dough can be very frustrating, but a too-hot temperature risks killing the yeast and preventing any rise at all.
If you live in a dry climate, you can try adding a tablespoon of additional warm milk or water to the dough if you tend to struggle with getting yeast dough to rise. Don’t add too much, though, or the rolls are likely to overproof and then deflate as they cool (leaving them gummy inside).
Ingredient substitutions
Dairy free
If you can’t have dairy, try replacing the melted butter with melted vegan butter. Melt and Miyoko’s Kitchen brands are my favorite.
In place of dairy milk, any unsweetened nondairy milk should work. Avoid using anything nonfat, though, as richness is the goal.
Egg free
There are 2 egg whites in this recipe, and they provide structure to the rolls. You may be able to replace them with aquafaba, or the brine from a can of unsalted chickpeas.
Sometimes aquafaba is a perfect substitute for egg whites in baking, and other times it appears not to work. I’m afraid I’m not experienced enough in this sort of substitution to predict the likelihood of success.
Yeast
You can't eliminate the yeast in this recipe, but you can use active dry yeast instead of instant yeast. You'll need 15 grams instead of 12 grams, and be sure to proof it in some of the milk in the recipe first.
Tapioca starch
If you'd like to try to replace the additional tapioca starch in the recipe, you can try an equal amount of superfine glutinous rice flour, also called sweet white rice flour.
Gluten Free Dinner Rolls Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 ¼ cups (455 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend, (See Recipe Notes)
- 3 ¼ teaspoons xanthan gum, omit if your blend already contains it
- ⅞ cup (105 g) tapioca starch/flour, plus more for sprinkling
- 4 teaspoons (12 g) instant yeast, See Recipe Notes
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 ⅝ cup (13 fluid ounces) warm milk (about 90°F)
- 8 tablespoons (112 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled (plus more for brushing)
- 2 (50 g) egg whites, at room temperature
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (See Recipe Notes), place the flour, xanthan gum, tapioca starch/flour, instant yeast, and granulated sugar, and whisk to combine well. Add the salt, and whisk again to combine.
- Add the milk, melted butter, and egg whites. Using the paddle attachment, beat vigorously. The mixture will come together in a clump and clear the sides of the bowl. Keep beating until it begins to look whipped, and sticks to the side of the mixing bowl again (about 6 minutes total).
- Transfer the mixture to a lightly oiled bucket or bowl with a very tight-fitting lid. The container should be large enough for the dough to nearly double (although it won’t double fully).
- Set the container aside for at least 2 hours at room temperature, and up to 24 hours in the refrigerator. Do not let the dough rest/rise for too long, or your rolls will rise much more irregularly after shaping.
- If you’ve let the dough rest in the refrigerator, remove it from the cold and place it, still covered, on the kitchen counter. Allow it to warm to room temperature before working with it.
- Grease a quarter sheet pan or multiple round cake pans for baking, and set them aside. You will later decide if you’d like to crowd the rolls, and have them rise then bake touching, or have them separate.
- Divide the dough into 16 equal portions, each 2 1/2 ounces in weight. Working with one piece at a time, knead the dough in your clean, dry hands, without adding any additional flour of any kind, pinching any seams that separate.
- Flour a clean, dry work surface very lightly with tapioca starch, and coax the dough into a round. The dough should be firm, but easy to work with.
- Place the shaped rounds of dough in your chosen baking pan either touching (they will rise mostly up), or a bit more than 1-inch apart, taking care not to crowd them (the will rise up and out).
- Cover the pan with lightly greased plastic wrap, place in a warm, draft-free location, and allow to rise until about 150% of their original size.
- This rise can take anywhere from 45 minutes to hours, depending upon the ambient temperature in your kitchen. Overproofing is not very likely, and can be detected when the surface of your raw rolls begins to take on a pockmarked appearance.
- When the rolls are nearing the end of their rise, preheat your oven to 375°F. Once the rolls are properly risen, remove the plastic wrap from the pan(s), and brush generously on all exposed sides with melted butter.
- Place the baking pan(s) in the center of the preheated oven and bake until an instant read thermometer inserted into the center of each roll reads about 190°F.
- If there is any space between the rolls after they’ve risen, they will take around 20 minutes until fully baked.
- If the rolls are touching one another, lower the oven temperature to about 350°F at 18 minutes and continue to bake for about another 5 minutes or until the proper internal temperature is reached in the center roll.
- Remove the pan from the oven, and with the rolls still in the hot pan, brush again with melted butter and serve immediately.
Video
Notes
If you’d like use active dry yeast in place of instant yeast, you’ll need to hydrate the yeast first in some of the milk. You’ll also need 15 grams active dry yeast to replace 12 grams of instant yeast. For the stand mixer
If you don’t have a stand mixer, I recommend making the dough in a food processor fitted with the plastic blade. I don’t recommend a hand mixer, or trying to mix by hand.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Storage instructions
Yeast bread is always best soon after it's made, but these rolls will stay fresh at room temperature for about 2 days in a sealed container. To refresh them before serving, sprinkle them lightly with lukewarm water and place in a 300°F toaster oven for about 5 minutes.
For longer storage, you can seal the baked and cooled rolls in a freezer-safe ziptop bag and squeeze out all the air. Freeze for up to 3 months and defrost at room temperature then refresh as as above.
To parbake the rolls, follow the recipe through baking (be sure to separate the raw rolls, leaving about 2-inches between one another), but only set the oven to 300°F. Bake for about 15 minutes or until the rolls appear puffed and are no longer wet inside.
Remove the rolls from the oven, and allow them to cool completely. Freeze in a single layer, and then wrap tightly in freezer-safe wrap. Eliminate as much air as possible, as air is what causes freezer burn.
When you're ready to serve them, defrost them at room temperature and then finish baking them at the original 375°F until fully browned and 190°F inside.
FAQs
there are a lot of reasons why your gf dinner rolls may not have risen. Most can be traced back to not following my recipe to a point. Here are some examples:
– Using too much flour will reduce the hydration ratio of the dough, preventing the yeast from activating; not using enough sugar won't give the yeast the food it needs to do its job.
– Improper temperatures: If your milk is too cold, it will slow down activation of the yeast; if it's too hot, it will kill it. You also won't get a good rise if you leave your gluten free yeast dough in the fridge without a tight-fitting lid or in a drafty part of the kitchen.
– Expired yeast: Bad yeast can also be a culprit. If you're not sure whether yours is good, add a bit to a mixture of warm water and sugar. If it's not frothy after 10 minutes, your yeast is no good
No! The recipe calls for both the amount of flour blend stated plus additional tapioca starch as an additional ingredient. You can never just leave out any ingredient in any recipe and expect results, unless that ingredient is listed as optional. All good quality all purpose gluten free flour blends contain tapioca starch; this recipe calls for more than the average, all purpose amount.
No, these rolls will not hold their shape if you shape and then let them rise for that long, even in the refrigerator.
Hooray! I have been longing to make these, but as there are only 2 of us and we are stay at home 79year old pensioners. I have been apparently using an earlier recipe and trying to work out 1/2 recipe in cups I have been ready to give up trying. We can’t afford to throw anything out.
Anyway now it’s all weight measurements (we are Aussies) I am going to give them a try!
Thank you Nicole for all your work. As I’ve not baked the rolls, the 5 stars are for your diligence and grace you show us all.
Is your Best multipurpose blend recipe available Online? I am in Canadá and unable to order.
Hi, Anne, I’m afraid I don’t ship outside the continental U.S. as of yet. Hopefully one day!
I just made these tonight. I took the whole flour amount, including the tapioca, and split it half Cup4Cup and half mama’s almond blend. No xantham gum. (This combination works very well in a lot of recipes.)
If you’re new to gf baking, don’t worry that the dough seems wrong. It’s totally different. After the first rise, I wet my hands with cold water and “punched” down the whole ball of dough without removing it from the bowl. Then I kept the cold water running and re-wet my hands after shaping every couple rolls. I tried the author’s trick of letting it raise on the oven top. They rose a lot quicker than I thought. I think this is a recipe that requires flexibility and attention.
I must say, I’m very pleased with the result. Very good. I’m curious to see how they’ll be tomorrow. My whole family liked them, even those who do not need to eat gluten free.
And I’m excited to try this dough for cinnamon rolls sometime soon. I think it would work really well! I’ve been searching for years for the perfect gf cinnamon roll recipe.
Thanks! I’ve used so many of your recipes over the years!
Hi, Emmy, you’re very welcome. For others’ benefit, I do want to point out that I recommend against “punching down” gluten free yeast bread dough. It just doesn’t have the surface tension that that requires, and it actually tends to inhibit later rise.
Do these freeze or store in fridge for a couple days?
Yes, you can freeze them, Aleta, but I don’t ever recommend refrigerating bread. Please see the text of the post under the heading “Gluten free bread rolls: storage tips” for details.
Question: can Psyllium husk be added to the existing recipe?
If you’re using a gluten free flour blend that doesn’t contain xanthan gum and you want to use ground psyllium husk in its place, you can try using about 20 grams ground psyllium husk powder in this recipe. I haven’t tried it yet, though, so I can’t promise results. Bread made with psyllium husk instead of xanthan gum typically gets stale much faster, though, so keep that in mind.
Thank you so much for the quick response. I won’t be using it.
My sister in law is gluten free and processed sugar free. Is there anyway that I can substitute honey for the sugar in this recipe without messing it up?
Hi, Melissa, you can try using about half as much honey, by volume, but that will add more moisture to the dough and the dough will likely be more sticky. If you are able to, I’d really recommend sticking with the granulated sugar, especially if you’re not that experienced in gluten free yeast bread dough.
Thanks for another great recipe, Nicole! Which brand of yeast do you recommend? Also, I’ve just ordered your flour blend and Xanthan Gum. Would you recommend that over Better Batter for this recipe? Thanks in advance:)
Hi, Katie, so glad you enjoyed the rolls! I usually use Red Star brand yeast. Better Batter will always work in all of my recipes that call for an all purpose gluten free flour blend. Nicole’s Best will always produce superior results, though. Thank you for giving my flour blend a try!
Thank you, Nicole! I am looking forward to trying this recipe. I am wondering if I can make these rolls using a bread machine?
I don’t generally recommend using a bread machine, Lisa, and I’m honestly not sure how you would for shaped bread like these dinner rolls.