Gluten-Free Hawaiian Sweet Bread Rolls
Updated Feb 12, 2021, Published Oct 31, 2020
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The original Hawaiian sweet rolls were first baked up in a 1950s bakery in Hilo, Hawaii by Robert R. Taira. They became such a hit that the locals claimed they rarely made it home before being devoured. Fast forward to now and King’s Hawaiian rolls are flourishing in the marketplace. The only downside is that they don’t make gluten-free ones! And so, as I often do, I made my own version. Allow me to introduce you to my delicious Gluten-Free Hawaiian Sweet Bread Rolls recipe!
These delicious bread rolls are slightly sweet, not overly so. They are perfect for dinner rolls or for sliders with pulled pork/chicken. The use of duck eggs in these (I used Nature’s Yoke) make it so that you don’t have to add extra xanthan gum. If you choose to use chicken eggs instead, use extra-large chicken eggs and add 1½ teaspoons xanthan gum.
Aloha!
Gluten-Free Hawaiian Sweet Bread Rolls
Ingredients
- 3 duck eggs, , divided
- ¾ cup pineapple juice
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 2 ¼ teaspoons (1 packet) dry active yeast
- 6 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon sugar, , divided
- 4 ½ cups gluten free flour blend with xanthan gum, , plus more for dusting
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher or fine sea salt
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, , melted and slightly cooled
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- Gluten free non-stick cooking spray
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
Instructions
- Separate one of the duck eggs. Cover the yolk and refrigerate until needed. Whisk the white with the remaining two eggs. Set aside.
- Heat the pineapple juice and butter milk until warm to the touch but not hot – 110 degrees. Stir in the yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar. Let sit until foamy, about 5 minutes.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, remaining 6 tablespoons sugar, and salt. Mix on low to combine. Add the yeast mixture followed by the duck eggs with the extra white, followed by the melted butter and finally the vanilla. Gradually increase the speed to high and let run for 10 minutes. The dough should be smooth and a little sticky.
- Dust a work surface with some flour, scrape out the dough and knead a few times until no longer sticky. Spray a clean bowl with cooking spray, shape the dough into a ball, add to the bowl, turn a few times to coat, and cover with a towel or plastic wrap. Let sit in a draft free place until doubled in size, 2½ hours.
- Spray a 9 by 12 baking dish with cooking spray.
- Punch the dough down, place on work surface, cut into 15 equal sized pieces and roll into balls with slightly damp hands. Place in the baking pan, 3 across and 5 down. Cover with a cloth or plastic wrap and let rise again for 1 hour or until almost doubled in size. To bake later, cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate before letting rise. Remove from refrigerator, keep covered and let rise for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix the cream with the reserved egg yolk and lightly brush the tops of the rolls. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Do you have to use duck eggs?? Can I just use chicken eggs?
If you choose to use chicken eggs instead, use extra-large chicken eggs and add 1½ teaspoons xanthan gum.
As someone who raises both ducks and chickens, the general rule of thumb is that 1 duck eggs = 1.5 chicken eggs. The flavor won’t be great as rich as using duck eggs but it should work just fine.
Any particular GF flour you recommend? There are so many to choose from…. thanks!
Well, I might be a bit biased but I recommend my blend, Carol’s Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour! There are a lot of other good all-purpose blends out there too, just be sure to use one with xanthan gum for this recipe.
Hello, thank you for this recipe, my grandson is now gluten free and has a lot of food issues. These are his favorite rolls, so thank you! Also, I currently have the King Arthur gluten free blend, but it doesn’t have the xanthan gum in it. How much should I add per cup of flour?
Hi Tracy! You’ll want to use 4 1/2 teaspoons total. Rule of thumb is for recipes with yeast 1 tsp per cup of flour.