Gluten-Free Dinner Rolls

Last week I mentioned I’d been testing a gluten-free pumpkin bar recipe for you and the results were, well, less than desirable to put it nicely. Gluten-free baking is notoriously tricky in the texture department, and often calls for expensive ingredients.

In contrast to the pumpkin bar recipe I was working on, Gluten-Free Dinner Rolls are simple, made with ingredients found at the regular grocery store, and require just one bowl and five minutes of prep time, plus they’re soft and satisfying like a good dinner roll should be.

I found the recipe from Gluten-Free Mama and just slightly adapted it to be dairy-free and fit our tastes. Long story short, they are ridiculous. My Dad, who usually doesn’t love gluten-free products, came over last week after I’d taken a batch out of the oven, took a bite and said “OH. MY!” THAT is how perfect they are!

These gluten-free dinner rolls are yeast-based but they’re made with the instant quick-rise variety so there’s no mixing the yeast with sugar and hot water then waiting for little bubbles to form on top before using. Because if you’re anything like me you’re always wondering how many bubbles is enough bubbles and inevitably screw something up. Just dump the quick rise yeast in with the other dry ingredients and away you go.

Another bonus is that since they’re yeast-based they have the flavor and doughy texture of traditional rolls. You know what that means don’t you? Thanksgiving is saved!!! A holiday just isn’t a holiday without a warm roll slathered in butter perched on the side of your dinner plate, and you better believe there will be a hot pan of these babies sitting in close proximity to my seat at the Thanksgiving table this year.

Although these rolls are perfect for the holidays, they make a great side dish to serve with dinner any night of the week. Ben and I both grew up in a household where bread and butter was served with supper and these soft, homemade dinner rolls take just 5 minutes of prep followed by a 45 minute – 1 hour rise and 25 minute trip to the oven. Trust me, they’re worth every single second!

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Start by adding the dry ingredients into the bowl of an electric mixer or a large glass bowl. That’s 11-1/2oz BY WEIGHT gluten-free flour blend without binders (like xanthan gum, etc,) 2 teaspoons instant quick rise yeast, 1-1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum, 3 Tablespoons sugar, and 1-1/4 teaspoons salt. Give ’em a mix to combine.

Note: It’s important to measure out the flour blend by weight vs measuring cup. I tested two different gluten-free flour blends for this recipe and while both weighed 11-1/2oz, one measured out as 2 cups while the other was 2-3/4 cups. You can imagine how dense the rolls with an extra 3/4 cup of flour were. I’ve had this OXO food scale for years and use it all the time. Definitely worth the investment (and/or inclusion on your Christmas/holiday list!)

By the way, I tested two different King Arthur flour blends (not a sponsored post I just love their products!) and got the best results with their Gluten-Free Multi-Purpose Flour which is what I recommend you use for this recipe to get the same results I did (note: this is different then their GF baking mix which I keep on hand for epic GF pancakes.) I also used Red Star yeast, which is gluten-free.

Ok! Now, with the mixer on low, stream in 1 cup hot water (think hot tub temp – not scalding) followed by 2 Tablespoons melted butter, vegan butter, or vegetable oil, 1 egg, and 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar. Mix until smooth then turn the speed up to medium and beat for 3 minutes, scraping the sides down once. The batter should resemble a thick cake batter when it’s done so don’t fret thinking you’re going to have to roll this dough out or anything.

Couldn’t resist sharing a picture of my little kitchen helper! He loves pushing and pulling the levers on the mixer!

Next spray a 9″ glass pie pan with nonstick spray then use a 2″ cookie/ice cream scoop to scoop out 9 dinner rolls – 1 in the center then 8 surrounding it.

Wet your fingers with water then gently smooth the tops of the rolls to help them brown evenly. Next, cover the pan with a towel then set in a warm place to rise, anywhere from 45 minutes to one hour. I popped my pan into the oven set to “bread proof” or my other favorite way to help yeast-based dough rise is to set the pan on top of a heating pad set to low. Works like a charm!

Last step is to bake in a 400 degree oven for 23-25 minutes or until the internal temperature of the rolls reaches 200 degrees. Check on the rolls at the 15-16 minute mark – if they’re browning too fast, place a sheet of foil gently on top.

Once the rolls are done, serve hot and fresh with TONS of salted butter (hold me!) or slather first with butter then finish with jam. Divine. These rolls are best eaten within an hour or two of baking so devour with gusto and enjoy!