Gluten Free Dairy Free Soft Dinner Rolls Recipe
Updated Nov 16, 2020, Published Nov 18, 2011
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For the last week and a half I have been working on a gluten free recipe for dinner rolls. And not just gluten free dinner rolls but SOFT gluten free dinner rolls.
You see for several years now I have prepared and served completely gluten-free Thanksgivings. Not a pie crust, cracker or bread product with a speck of gluten has graced my feasting table. My family, friends and I have been very happy – no complaints. My gluten free cornbread stuffing is fabulous (she says modestly), I’ve mastered gluten free pie crusts, and gravy and creamed spinach is wonderful gluten free and a breeze to make. But the one thing missing was dinner rolls. The bread basket was not empty, I have served cornbread and biscuits; all fine but not the yeasty, warm, SOFT dinner rolls I remember from way back when. I missed them. I know they are in no way the star of the show, in fact they are barely a supporting character but still, I missed them. But it was my own fault; I never took the time to figure it out – to get them right.
For the most part cooking gluten free is no more complicated than regular cooking but gluten free baking poses challenges. I find that when I take the time to understand a subject it is easier for me to conquer the challenges. And of course I like to pass along what I have learned along the way.
Gluten is sticky, it holds things together (remember mixing flour and water together as a kid and getting paste? That’s the gluten.) So we need to add sticky stuff to our flours to make up for the lack of “glue.” The sticky stuff comes in the form of starches (such as tapioca, corn or potato starch) and gums (xanthan and guar). I wanted traditional, soft dinner rolls so I stuck with rice flours instead of the heartier ones like Millet and Sorghum. All rice flours are not created equally; the gritty texture people associate with gluten free baked goods made with rice flour is due to the way it is milled. Whenever I use rice flours, I use Superfine or Asian rice flour. But don’t use Asian potato starch as it is usually made with sweet potatoes and that’s not what you want. I also made these with my own ALL PURPOSE, Pastry Quality Flour blend and they were fabulous. (If I do say so myself!)
Gluten is a protein molecule; it adds structure to baked goods – helps them stay put. When you add yeast to flours that don’t have protein this is especially a problem. Imagine that you tried to pump air into one of those big bouncy houses and there weren’t enough sides or walls in the bouncy house – it would fall down right? So we need to add protein to our dough to act as the structure. Eggs provide the perfect solution.
Just as with flours, not all eggs are created equally. I tested this recipe using generic supermarket eggs and eggs from Nature’s Yoke – egg producers who use only pastured eggs from small, local farms where the chickens are all free roaming – no horror house cages-and-eggs factories. All their hens are free of drugs and hormones and are fed vegetarian diets. Studies have shown that eggs from free-roaming chickens are higher in nutrition than eggs from caged hens. I think that anyone, including chickens, will produce better, higher quality products if they have happier lives! And since we are adding eggs to the this recipe, they should add flavor as well – the rolls made with eggs from Nature’s Yolk were not only better tasting, they had a better texture and a more beautiful brown color.
To make soft, yeasty, risen rolls we need, of course, to add yeast. Yeast must be “active” to work. If the yeast doesn’t foam up while “proofing” it isn’t active – get new stuff!
This roll recipe is dairy-free. I don’t personally have to be dairy-free but others in my family do. However, since I was testing I made a few batches with dairy products and guess what? It was unanimously agreed upon that the dairy free rolls tasted better. There wasn’t a huge difference and if you want to make your’s with dairy, go ahead. But I will tell you this – the rolls made with rice milk and Earth Balance were more tender and the flavor of the honey shone through better without the dairy masking the flavor.
As I explained with my gluten free French bread recipe, gluten free baked goods need a little extra help with structure. They should be risen, baked and cooled in muffin tins to get them that little extra help. I also made a few batches in cake pans – I scooped the batter into the cake pans with an ice cream scoop and let them rise, bake and cool in those. These were very soft and made “pull apart” rolls. I personally like the aesthetics of the individual rolls better but it is just an option. There was no difference in rising and cooking times.
If you, like me, don’t relish the idea of making your rolls while trying to cook an entire Thanksgiving meal I have good news! I made several batches ahead, I let them cool in the muffin pans, covered the pans with plastic wrap and then refrigerated for up to 2 days, reheated for a few minutes and they were just as fantastic! In fact they are even good cold so if you have left-overs, save them for gluten free turkey sandwiches the next day!
Click here to see my cooking demonstration of this recipe on Daytime TV!
Gluten Free Dairy Free Soft Dinner Rolls Recipe
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 superfine or Asian Sweet Rice Flour, (also called glutinous rice flour)*
- ¾ cup potato starch, (not potato flour)*
- ½ cup tapioca starch*
- 3 teaspoons xanthan gum
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher or fine sea salt
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 3 large eggs, divided
- ¼ cup butter or non-dairy butter substitute (Earth Balance recommended), (plus more for brushing the pans)
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Combine the yeast, sugar and warmed milk in a small bowl and whisk to dissolve the sugar. Let sit for 6-8 minutes or until the mixture is foamy and has 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 substitute (or butter), honey and vinegar. Mix on medium low until combined. Scrape 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 standard muffin pans with melted butter (or butter substitute) or spray with gluten free, non-stick cooking spray. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pans, filling about ¾ full. Alternately, you can use a small (#60) ice cream scoop and place 3 scoops in each muffin tin (like a clover leaf). Cover with a clean kitchen towel and place in a warm, draft free place to rise. Let rise for 35 minutes or until the dough has almost doubled in size.
- 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.
- Bake for 17-18 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool in the pans for 15 minutes.
- The 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 for a few minutes in a 350 degree oven.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I offered to make rolls this year for Thanksgiving, and my boyfriend’s uncle is gluten intolerant. I just gave your recipe a try, using a mixture of all purpose gluten free flour and white rice flour I got at my local health food store. The AP flour contains xanthan gum, and I used 3 teaspoons as the recipe stated. The only real complaint I have is that they taste somewhat gummy (granted, they are still warm from the oven). Anything I could do to remedy that? Also, I used rice milk, but real butter, since we’re not dairy intolerant. Would it change the texture if I tried regular milk? Also, instead of the egg on top, could I use add butter on halfway through cooking or so, maybe with a bit of sugar mixed in? I appreciate your help (if you get this before tomorrow)! Today was my trial run. :)
Probably the gumminess is that there is from the xanthan gum in the flour – if there is a way to figure out the precentage then you could cut back – otherwise my best guess is to cut the xanthan gum to 2 teaspoons. I made these with my flour which does contain a little bit of xanthan gum and didn’t need to adjust but I can’t tell you about other brands. Of you are going to brush with melted butter, do it after rising, before baking for the best result and of course you can sprinkle with some sugar! I make mine with rice milk and real butter too when I don’t have anyone around who is dairy free. It is totally fine with regular milk – it was a very subtle difference and not in the texture. Good luck!
Thanks so much for your speedy reply! The flour is by Swan Bakery, which I think is probably somewhat local (Bellingham, WA), and the ingredients are brown rice flour, potato starch, tapioca flour, xanthan gum. In that order. Following the advice that you gave to another poster in an earlier comment, I cut the AP flour with white rice flour. I also halved the recipe, and ended up using 1 3/8 cup AP and 1/4 cup white rice, if memory serves. The taste and texture improved each time I sampled it, but the outer crust was still a bit chewy, gummy, elastic? Not sure how to describe it. I will try decreasing the xanthan gum to 2.5 or 2 teaspoons, and hope is doesn’t destroy my structural integrity. Also, is the dough supposed to be really sticky, or should I add a bit more flour in so I can shape it better into balls? My boyfriend’s main comment was that they looked funny. =/ Thank you so much! Happy Thanksgiving!
Haha – I struggled so much with trying to make them look more like regular rolls that were shaped instead of scooped so I do understand your boyfriends comment :)
These are absolutely amazing! They are definitely the best bread product I’ve had since going gluten free! I’m excited. I have another batch cooling now. I’ll definitely be trying additional recipes on your blog. Thank you so much!
My pleasure Kim!
Thank you so much for this recipe. I was craving the fresh dinner rolls with our gluten free Thanksgiving dinner and feared a “cheat” coming on. I am very thankful for you and your web site. I hope you have had a blest day
So glad you didn’t have to cheat! It is never ever good to cheat on your gf diet. Thank YOU!
Thank you for this recipe! My rolls are cooling now, soon to be on the table for Thanksgiving dinner. I’ve never seen a GF bread bake up so airy. My dad, who has been to culinary school, was jealous. :)
Yay! I really hope you all enjoyed!
I have tried making these rolls 3 times and every time they raise and look beautyful when they come out of the oven then I look back and they fall. can you give me a hint what I am doing wrong. I gring my own rice flowr and make other bread and no trouble but this has me stumped.
Hmmm, I am not sure – did you add the starches to the rice flour your ground? I made these so many way but I always used superfine rice flour and the starches I listed – they held up best with addition of the potato starch – I had tried without and they fell as well. Need a little more info from you to de-bug. I can imagine how dissappointing!
These were fabulous! The only problem was my own mistake – in my excitement to sink my teeth into some soft pillowy rolls, I forgot to put my muffin tins on a baking sheet. The tops of the dinner rolls looked perfectly golden, but the sides and bottom were all burnt (how disappointing!). Even so, I’ve had quite a few slathered with some Earth Balance or jam. Guess it means I just have to make them again!
Ha ha – I guess so! :)
Elsie,
I am going to make these next week for my Celiac son. I am so excited that I can hardly wait. He really misses regular bread, but at 10 years old, he is a trooper !!!!
Thanks,
Melissa
Glad to hear your son is a tropper – good for him! I hope he ejoys the rolls.
My 17 yo daughter has recently discovered she feels much, much better gluten free. I want to support her health so we’ve been experimenting with gluten free cooking but as Thanksgiving approached she was a little sad that some of her favorite things would be off limits. Fortunately, thanks to sites like yours I was able to make gluten free versions of the things she wanted. In fact, everything that I brought to our family dinner was gluten free and I made her a small amount of GF gravy and these dinner rolls. These rolls were so good that we ate half of them before we ever got to the dinner! My sister made wheat rolls (that are admittedly good) but even with that my non-gf mother was sneaking our rolls into her ziploc baggie to take home! Thank you so much for this recipe. My family being newly GF realized we won’t have to sacrifice the things we love to feel better. :)
Dear Fran, thank you so much for letting me know – I am glad you were able to give your daughter a lovely Thanksgiving! Love it that your Mom was sneaking the rolls into her ziplock :)
any suggestions on where to find the Asian rice flours (superfine). These look great!
I buy it at my local Asian market – if you have one in your area check with them or you can buy it on line – here is one place that carries the rice flour, sweet rice flour and tapioca starch – https://www.philamfood.com/ERAWAN-RICE-FLOUR-RED-16OZ.html
Carol, could you use coconut milk instead of the rice milk? Thanks.These look so good!!
Hi Sherry I see no reason why coconut milk wouldn’t work just fine. Enjoy!
I used coconut milk, worked great. Has anyone tried freezing these?
Good to know! They should freeze well. I haven’t tried it because we always eat them up too fast but I see no reason why they wouldn’t freeze perfectly well.