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You know those super squishy, soft-crusted rolls from Subway? Well, I made gluten free Subway-style sandwich rolls, and they're fantastic.
Table of Contents
These are maybe the softest sub rolls I have ever made (although the Hoagie Rolls from page 135 of Gluten-Free on a Shoestring Bakes Bread are still a big-time favorite of mine and I will make them again and again this summer, no doubt).
Believe it or not, I've been working on this recipe for weeks. Who knows if they really do have ground up yoga mats in their sandwich bread or not (urban myth?), but Subway rolls are just so, so soft and (frankly) delicious in their own way.
They're not the super crusty artisan bread that I do know and love (hello No Rye Rye Bread (page 101) for the perfect reuben (page 263)!). But I do adore them for what they are.
Other than the perfect balance of ingredients including our gluten free bread flour blend, the secret to the super soft crust of these gluten free sandwich rolls? Covering the warm rolls with a tea towel for 30 minutes right out of the oven. Steam heat!
Even though I finally settled on the perfect recipe for these rolls, I actually had something else planned to post today (I'm gonna be a brat and not tell you what it was, but I do love you still). And then?
Then I woke up to the New York Times Dining Section today. They're calling it “The Bread Issue.” I'm not gonna link to it because I'm too angry (don't worry—I know the Times does not need my referral pageviews, but somehow, I just can't … link).
They wax poetic all about the glory of slow-fermented yeast breads, including all kinds of lovely tidbits about flours. But do they mention artisan-style gluten free bread at ALL?? I won't keep you in mock-suspense. They do not.
In fact, the only mention of gluten free (okay I haven't read every single word of the whole section, but this is the only one I've found) is of the new “Wholesome Cup4Cup” all purpose gluten free flour blend (with ground flaxseed and rice bran—I'll give it a try when it comes out and let you know what I think).
But the real zinger?: “With the addition of cream of tartar, egg whites and more xanthan gum, you can also use it in yeast baking, but don't expect it to mimic wheat flour.” That's what they said. But that is not the best we can do…
Gluten Free Subway Rolls
Equipment
- Stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment
Ingredients
- 3 ½ cups (420 g) gluten free bread flour, plus more for sprinkling (you must use this blend; please click thru for full info)
- 2 teaspoons (6 g) instant yeast
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 3 tablespoons (42 g) packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon (6 g) kosher salt
- 1 ⅜ cups (11 fluid ounces) warm milk, (about 95°F)
- 4 tablespoons (56 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Instructions
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, place the flour blend, instant yeast, cream of tartar and brown sugar, and use a handheld whisk to combine well (working out any lumps in the brown sugar).
- Add the salt and whisk again to combine well. Add the milk and butter, and mix on low speed with the dough hook until combined. Raise the mixer speed to medium and knead for about 5 minutes.
- This is a lovely, smooth, enriched dough. It climbs up the dough hook during kneading but remains intact and smooth. Spray a silicone spatula lightly with cooking oil spray, and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl or proofing bucket large enough for the dough to rise to double its size, spray the top of the dough with cooking oil spray, and cover with an oiled piece of plastic wrap (or the oiled top to your proofing bucket).
- Place the dough in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours and up to 3 days. (See Recipe Notes)
Prepare the dough for shaping.
- On baking day, line a large rimmed baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper, and set it aside.
- Turn out the chilled dough onto a lightly floured surface and, using the scrape and fold kneading method and a very light touch, sprinkle the dough with more flour and knead it lightly, sprinkling with flour when necessary to prevent it from sticking, scraping the dough off the floured surface with a floured bench scraper, then folding it over on itself.
- Repeat scraping and folding until the dough has become smoother. Do not overwork the dough or you will incorporate too much flour and it will not rise properly.
Shape the rolls + the final rise.
- On a lightly floured surface, divide the dough into 4 equal pieces, each about 8 ounces.
- Working with one piece of dough at a time (covering the rest loosely with a moist tea towel to prevent it from drying out), pat into a rectangle about 1/2-inch thick and about 5-inches long.
- Fold the rectangle along the length from bottom to top, each fold halfway up the width of the rectangle. Fold the now smaller rectangle in half, each side just folded over one another.
- Roll the dough back and forth to seal the edges and to elongate it slightly until the dough is about 6-inches long.
- Place the shaped rolls about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet, and dust lightly with flour to give the dough a “cloak” to rise into.
- Cover the baking sheet with oiled plastic wrap (be sure to leave the dough room to rise under the plastic), and place in warm, draft-free location to rise only until about 1 1/2 times its original size (about 40 minutes). You don’t want a full doubling here.
Bake.
- As the dough is in its final rise, preheat your oven to 350°F.
- Once the dough has finished rising, uncover it, and slash each roll in 3 places with a lame or very sharp knife at a 45° angle, and about 1/2-inch deep (you want deep slashes).
- Place in the center of the preheated oven and bake for about 15 minutes, or until the dough is very puffy, just beginning to brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (the toothpick test is actually more useful here than an internal temperature test).
- Remove from the oven and immediately cover the entire baking sheet with a clean tea towel, tucking the ends of the towel under the baking sheet to create a loose seal.
- Allow the bread to cool for at least 30 minutes under the towel. This will soften the crust to the squishy, Subway-like texture we are looking for.
- Uncover, slice and serve with your favorite sandwich fillings.
Make the bread dough.
Notes
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I am so tired of the “trend” comments, I left a comment on the article.
Wonderful, so once again, my disease ( celiac) is considered a TREND. SHAME on you. But that is ok, because my source of gluten free baking includes multiple types of flour, wet dough, a long rise time of up to 5 days and a fabulous tasting crusty bread with lots of air pockets. Maybe you should check out Gluten Free on a Shoestring Bakes Bread. Now there is an artist. Thank goodness because the rest of the world continues to believe our disease is a trend. I suppose peanut allergies should be considered a trend as well?
That’s a great comeback! well done!
You sing it, sister! Well said indeed, Dawn. :)
Yes “gluten free” is a fad to some….but how is it fair to exclude those with real food allergies and digestive issues? Scuse us dude, but they estimate it at something like one out of a hundred people have celiac disease. Uhhhhhh….sort of hard to ignore. It’s just plain bad business to ignore a market that is ready to buy. People have cash in hand like “yeah we want to give you money for delicious bread.” To me, saying it’s not possible and that it’s a fad is another way of saying you’re not capable. But that doesn’t mean nobody is.
So Nicole, when you comin’ out with your own line of gf bread? I’ve got all your books and I do love to bake, but I would totally give you my money sometimes for you to make stuff for me. :P
I would be a costumer! Please make it available in Canada!
Seriously, Kristy! So stupid. And what’s his damage anyway? Why so angry? That is one thing I’ll never ever get. If I’m not imposing myself on you in any way, why in the world do you care what I eat or don’t eat, and why?
Honestly, it’s been many, many years since I had any desire to open a GF bakery, but this article makes me feel like opening a GF bread bakery would be the only way to make our point!! (I’m still not going it, but I do appreciate the sentiment ;)
It would be so awesome if you did open a Bakery, but we would all lose out because you wouldn’t have time to try all the tasty breads, etc that you take the time to make and share with us. I love and have all three of your cookbooks.
Thanks, Carol! I so appreciate the kind words, and that’s basically why I don’t plan to open a bakery. I’m happy doing just exactly what I’m doing! And super grateful that you’re here doing it with me.
I generally love the NY TImes, but they definitely need to get with the program. That’s an outrage, really.
They’ve proven incredibly lazy with gluten free, on occasion after occasion. I honestly think they just know of a few, extremely limited sources of information, and throw to them again and again, regardless of how knowledgeable they are or are not. It’s an outrage, Brad. I couldn’t agree more.
I am not a fan of the soft Subway bread. I grew up in NJ, pre-Subway, when subs were on crusty bread, so your GF Hoagie rolls are what I need (and need to make–this weekend for sure)! But, for those who are missing Subway, make this recipe and get some Boars Head GF cold cuts and have at it!
Now, I think we all need to start a letter writing campaign to the NY Times editor!
Hear hear, Mare!
Agreed, we need to have our facts straight!!!
Nicole, I loved reading your post today! Really! Doesn’t “New York Times” have editor’s or do they fly by the seat of their pants… maybe Gadi Peleg should become CD and she what kind of trend gluten free bread is all about… now I’m MAD as well…
On the other note…. love, love the subway subs… yummy! my girls love the flat bread have you copied that too?
Have a great day!
Lucy
Hi, Lucy,
Is it wrong that I’m happy you’re mad, too? I can’t say the Times was dead wrong to quote him, as that’s what he said and it’s his business he’s representing (to his detriment!), but why no contrary perspective??
I haven’t copied the Subway flatbreads, no, but that’s a great idea! Here’s a post with all the gluten free flatbread recipes on the blog to date. :)
Thanks Nicole on my way…:)
Looks wonderful! My daughter was a huge Subway fan pre-diagnosis, and I’ve made the Hoagie rolls but they weren’t soft enough for her. Is this a case where using my couche would be a good idea during the final rise? I bought the thing and just want to use it more! :) Also, next request would be for a Subway “wheat roll” copycat! You’re the best!!
Sure, Linda, you could definitely use a couche for the rise. It would help coax the rise up more than out. The Subway “whole wheat” roll is definitely on the list. ;)
I can’t just use the Better Batter alone? I have to add the oher 2 items to make it into bread flour? Thanks.
Moe Moe — it looks like you might want to explore the blog a bit to read about Nicole’s revolutionary bread baking technique, which relies completely on the additional ingredients for the bread flour. I’d suggest following the links up top for “New? Start Here.” All the info there should help explain everything. Trust me when I tell you that the new method is totally worth the extra ingredients and the learning curve!
Thank you so much, Anneke! Moe Moe, you cannot use just Better Batter. The recipe will not work.
Not “too much!” Do I see a letter to the editor in your future? We’ll just keep baking the revolution, one Subway sandwich roll at a time!
LOL, Anneke! I like that. “Bake the GF Bread Revolution, one Subway sandwich roll at a time!”
Great, now we’re going to get the Subway people all up in arms. Jared is not going to like this.
I see a t-shirt in our future, though???????
NYT lost cred years ago. Why anybody still reads it is beyond me. Keep it rockin Nicole!
They still have such reach, though, Susan! But their laziness w/r/t gluten free is just … maddening!!! Thanks for the fist bump. ;)
I have to smile every time I see someone comment on your blog asking if they can substitute regular wheat flour for the GF flours called for. Your new response can be, “You can use wheat flour in baking, but don’t expect it to mimic GF flours.”
Okay now that would be rich, wouldn’t it, Donia?! (good one)