These super soft yeast free gluten free dinner rolls are ready for baking in the oven in 10 minutes. Never buy rolls again!
This bread dough can be made nonfat if you like, but be sure to bake the rolls in a well-greased skillet and brush the tops with more butter. It helps the underside brown into a thick, buttery crust, and the top form a thin, slightly crispy layer.
If you’re like me and you’re tired of the nightly rotation of either rice or pasta as your dinnertime carb, these incredibly simple rolls are sure to quickly become a family favorite.
Why bake yeast-free?
My interest in developing yeast-free gluten free recipes began kicking into high gear around 2011, when I was writing my second cookbook, Gluten Free on a Shoestring Quick and Easy. Simply put, it takes time for yeast bread to rise!
I should say that, if you do have a bit more time, you can try our recipe for soft and squishy, yeasted gluten free dinner rolls. They’re worth the time if you have it.
Baking bread without yeast, though, turns out to be a pretty significant time saver. That made it perfect for a book of recipes that were quick (and easy). And no matter how much you enjoy cooking and baking, we all need a quick win in the kitchen from time to time.
What’s missing from yeast-free bread baking?
Yeast development does provide a certain flavor to bread, though. And I found that I really missed that in yeast-free bread recipes.
Then came the recent popularity of so-called “2-ingredient” Weight Watchers-style bread recipes (you know, the recipes that call for self-rising flour + plain nonfat Greek yogurt). The tang of plain yogurt in those recipes really helps to add depth of flavor to yeast-free bread.
How else can you save time baking bread?
Of course, if you can’t bake with yeast due to an allergy in your household, yeast-free bread recipes like these yeast free gluten free dinner rolls and our yeast free gluten free pizza are your best option. But if you’re just in it for the time savings because you’re in a rush, don’t like to cook or bake, or just haven’t planned ahead like you wish you had (?♀️), you might like to have a look at our no-rise gluten free yeast rolls.
No-rise yeast bread recipes don’t require you to give the bread dough time to rise before placing it in the oven as soon as it’s been shaped. The rise happens entirely in the oven, the moment the yeast in the dough comes into contact with the heat of the oven.
How to make these yeast free gluten free dinner rolls
You can make the bread dough for these rolls with nothing more than one bowl, a whisk, a spoon, and just a few basic ingredients, and (ideally a cast iron) skillet. The dry ingredients are just a version of our homemade gluten free pancake mix.
However, here we’re using a traditional all purpose gluten free flour blend rather than our 3-ingredient gum-free blend. The higher xanthan gum content of a more traditional all purpose gluten free flour is what gives these rolls their bready texture and chew.
To those simple dry ingredients, we add plain Greek-style yogurt and plain seltzer water. Using Greek-style yogurt, which has much less moisture than traditional yogurt, allows us to use more plain seltzer water, which helps give these rolls their fluffiness and lift.
The dough comes together very quickly, and you should shape and bake it immediately since the dough will not maintain its texture if it’s allowed to stand. Try to handle the dough with a light touch, and don’t add too much extra flour during shaping as that will make for tougher rolls.
Ingredients and substitutions
Dairy
There are two types of dairy in this recipe. One is easy to replace, and the other is more challenging.
The butter in this recipe is used to coat the skillet, and then to brush on top of the raw, shaped rolls right before baking. You can replace the butter with a combination of melted Earth Balance buttery sticks and olive oil.
The bread dough itself calls for plain Greek yogurt, which is only slightly more difficult to replace with a dairy-free alternative. Like in our Weight Watchers-style gluten free bagels recipe, you can try using plain nondairy yogurt, strained until the texture resembles that of Greek yogurt.
My favorite type of nondairy yogurt is coconut-based, as it seems to have the best texture and most neutral flavor.
Sugar
This recipe calls for 1 to 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar. The sugar adds a bit of tenderness to the rolls, which is more important if you’re using nonfat Greek yogurt as both fat and sugar are tenderizers in baking.
You can use just one tablespoon of sugar, or omit it altogether. Using 2 tablespoons of sugar does add a slight hint of sweetness to the rolls. You cannot replace the granulated sugar with liquid sugar or coconut palm sugar.
Yeast Free Gluten Free Dinner Rolls
Ingredients
3 tablespoons (42 g) unsalted butter, at very soft room temperature
2 cups (280 g) all purpose gluten free flour (I used Better Batter), plus more for sprinkling
1 teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains it)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 to 2 tablespoons (12 to 24 g) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (120 g) plain Greek yogurt (0%, 2%, or 4% fat)
3/4 to 1 cup (6 to 8 fluid ounces) plain seltzer water
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 400°F. Using about 2 tablespoons of the butter, grease very well a 12-inch cast iron or another heavy-bottom skillet, and set it aside.
In a large bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar, and whisk to combine well. Add the yogurt and mix a bit to break it up, then add 3/4 of a cup of the seltzer. Mix until the dough comes together, adding more seltzer as necessary to bring the dough together without making it too soft. The dough should be moist to the touch, but not be weepy. Press the dough together with clean hands, then turn it out onto a lightly floured flat surface. Sprinkle the dough lightly with more flour, then knead lightly a few times to help smooth out the dough and press it into a disk. Using a knife or bench scraper, divide the dough into 8 roughly equal portions.
Working with one piece of dough at a time, sprinkle it very lightly with more flour. Form it into a ball by press it together in the palm of your hand, then pinching the ends underneath and rolling it with the side of your palm pressed against the surface and guiding it with your fingertips into a round about 1 1/4-inches in diameter. Place the rounds close to one another in the prepared skillet. Brush the tops and sides with the remaining butter. Place the skillet in the center of the preheated oven and bake, rotating once, for about 25 minutes or until the rolls are dark golden brown on the underside, very lightly golden brown on top and spring back when pressed lightly in the center. Remove from the oven and serve warm.
Nancy says
Can I bake these in a glass pyrex pan? I don’t have a cast iron skillet.
Nicole Hunn says
Hi, Nancy, normally I don’t recommend baking in glass since foods baked in glass absorb more heat and bake faster. But in this instance, I think glass would work well since it should mimic cast iron better than a regular aluminum pan.
Max says
These are great and so easy, I’m so impressed, I’ve just made them and have already eaten 4, Thank you, Nicole, your recipes are the best out there, I am in the UK and used Doves GF bread flour, worked really well
Nicole Hunn says
Hi, Max, I’m thrilled that the recipe worked so well with Dove’s bread flour. That will be very useful information for others. Thanks for letting us know.
Mary says
Mine did not rise. I cut in half and baked at low temp to cook inside. Tasted good. Think I rolled too much. Will try again. Did not want to waste. Thanks for receipe. Crust was good. I want mine to look like yours
Nicole Hunn says
I’m afraid I can’t know where you deviated from the recipe as written since I’m not right there with you, Mary, but I would always look to whether you weighed by weight, instead of by volume (which is unavoidably inaccurate), whether you made any ingredient substitutions (especially the flour blend), and how you handled the dough during shaping (which is what you seem to suspect). Also, check your baking powder and baking soda for freshness!
Diane says
I’m looking for a GF soft bread recipe that I could use to make pepperoni rolls. This West Virginia girl is missing her pepperoni rolls very badly! Think these would work??
Nicole Hunn says
I think you’d be better off using one of my pizza dough recipes, Diane. Just put “pizza” into the search function, and they’ll all come up!
Terry says
These were amazing! Even my very fussy hubby was enthralled by them. Thank you so much!
Nicole Hunn says
Love it, Terry!
wendy says
How will they turn out if I don’t have a cast iron skillet or heavy bottom pan? Can I use a round cake pan?
Nicole Hunn says
I’m sure that would work, Wendy, but you won’t have the crisp bottoms. Not a huge deal. :)
Dana Gerstlauer says
I thought these were great! Super easy to mix up and bake too.
Nicole Hunn says
I’m so glad, Dana. They’re a great last minute option.
Alice says
These rolls look amazing! Do they freeze well?
Nicole Hunn says
That’s actually one thing I haven’t tried yet, Alice, but I bet they’d freeze well after being baked and cooled completely. A good way to refresh bread is to moisten it before popping in a toaster or oven. You could try that!
Mishka says
Hi,
What is seltzer water or can I just use normal water?
Nicole Hunn says
Hi, Mishka, seltzer water is just water with gas. It helps give the rolls lift, and you need to use it in this recipe.
Caroline says
I made these yesterday and the taste was phenomenal! I had a problem with the insides being gummy but that improved when they were completely cool. I popped a couple of them in the microwave this morning and the texture and taste held up well. AND they tasted better than any of the store bought gluten free rolls.
It’s lovely to have bread in my life again.
Nicole Hunn says
So glad you enjoyed the rolls, Caroline, and that they held up well the next day. Very good to know! If they were gummy inside when warm, you may have packed the dough too tightly, so just be sure to have a light touch when shaping.
LaKeshia Brooks says
Thank you for this recipe! I’m super excited to try it
Jen says
How about omitting xanthum gum?
Many thanks for ALL your recipes!
Nicole Hunn says
I’m afraid you can’t just omit the xanthan gum, no, Jen. Sorry!
Sandra Mosolgo says
A quick tasty roll, especially liked the crisp bottom cooked in an iron skillet.
Nicole Hunn says
Me too, Sandra! So glad you liked them.
Lori says
How can I make these without yogurt? I can’t have any dairy.
Nicole Hunn says
Please see the Ingredients and substitutions section of the post, Lori.
DANA says
I almost picked up greek yogurt at the store yesterday, but I didn’t. I’ll have to get it next week! Thanks for all you do, you are helping the gluten free community so much!. The soft white bread recipe of yours has saved my life as my food allergies have gotten worse. I make it with chickpea, oat, millet and tapioca flour and it’s great!
Nicole Hunn says
Thank you so much for the kind words, Dana. I’m so glad you were able to make the soft white bread recipe with those flours. That’s quite a different blend, but I’m really glad it worked for you!