This very popular recipe for gluten free white rolls has been on my website for a long time. I based the recipe on one found in The Gluten Free Cookbook but with tweaks to make it gluten free, dairy free and refined sugar free.
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Last week I had four children to feed. Each of my children had a friend to play after school and the house was filled with peels of girly laughter and muddy boys!
I had decided to make bean burgers for tea using my tried and tested recipe and we had bought some gluten free rolls to have them in.
However, when I looked at the rolls, they looked rather large for small children and I knew there would be waste (I hate waste!).
As the kids were playing so beautifully, I picked up a cookbook and decided to try a recipe for gluten free white rolls.
The cookbook was ‘The Gluten-free Cookbook‘ by Heather Whinney, Jane Lawrie and Fiona Hunter.
I am seriously impressed by this book. My husband’s Aunt found it in Costco some time ago and I ‘borrowed’ it from her…so far not giving it back!
I can really recommend it as all the recipes I have made in it have been successful, although I have to admit I haven’t followed any of the recipes properly.
This particular one just needed a few tweaks to make it dairy-free, gluten-free and refined sugar-free.
How do you make gluten free white rolls?
This is a very simple recipe.
Normally I use my wholegrain gluten free flour blend. However, because I specifically wanted a white roll I made these using Doves Farm plain white flour. You don’t get the flavour that my flour provides but you get a white roll.
If you want this artisan gluten free roll recipe made with my gluten free flour blend then you’ll receive it free when buying my flour. That’s just one of the perks of buying my flour. You’ll get lots of other exclusive recipes and my baking expertise.
It is really important to stick to the flour blend that I’ve specified in a recipe. If you want to understand why then read this blog:
What on Earth is a Gluten Free Flour Blend?
You don’t need any special equipment to make these rolls. Just a large bowl, a means to heat the milk and something to mix the dough with.
I personally use my stand mixer because it makes the process very quick and easy. However, if you don’t have a machine you can do it all by hand.
How do you shape the rolls?
It’s a simple process to shape these gluten free rolls.
Divide the mixture into the number of rolls you require. Then roll each chunk of mixture into a smooth ball.
Place the ball of dough onto a lined or greased baking tray and flatten very slightly with the palm of your hand.
If you’d like smooth rolls, gently rub the top of each roll with water before leaving to rise.
You could scatter the top with seeds for a more professional finish.
If you love this recipe then sign up for my free ebook. In it you’ll get lots of simple gluten free recipes. You’ll also get my weekly newsletter of recipe inspiration:
Other gluten free roll recipes
Gluten free buns – sweet and savoury options
Gluten free cheese bread rolls
Save the recipe so you don’t lose it by pinning it to a Pinterest board:
Soft Gluten Free White Rolls (Dairy Free)
Ingredients
- 450 g gluten-free plain flour - I used Doves Farm
- 2 tsp dried yeast - (fast-action variety)
- 2 tsp xanthan gum - or psyllium husk powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 250 - 300 ml dairy-free milk
- 1 tbsp runny honey
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp olive oil - plus extra for greasing
Instructions
- Place the dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.
- Place the 250ml milk, honey and oil in a heatproof bowl and microwave for 1 minute, alternatively heat in a pan until warm.
- Add the egg to the liquid mix and beat to combine.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix to form a dough. If it is too dry add a drop more warmed milk.
- Bring the dough together, kneading in the bowl until smooth
- Divide the mixture into the number of rolls you require. I made 9 quite small rolls by rolling the dough into 9 balls.
- Place on a floured baking tray, or two and lightly press down on them to make them flatter.
- Cover with oiled clingfilm or a clean damp tea towel and place in a warm environment for an hour, or until doubled in size.
- Brush the rolls with dairy-free milk and dust with flour before baking them in a pre-heated oven at 200 degrees for 15-20 minutes.
Jane says
Hi
Just wondering if you could advise on alternative flours to use, as I have a wheat, potato, rice and soy allergy. I do use oat, millet and tapioca flour in a bread recipe, but not sure if would work in this receipt as it does come out as a firmer bread?
Many thanks
Vicki Montague says
Hi Jane, I’m afraid it wouldn’t be possible to adapt this recipe with the flours that you can use. It was made with Doves Farm flour which does contain potato and rice. If you use different flours then you’ll get a totally different result. I’m so sorry I can’t be more helpful.
Lydia says
Hi, I want to try this recipe, can you please advise whether there is a substitute for yeast? Thanks
Vicki Montague says
Hi Lydia, I’m sorry to say that these need the yeast to rise. However, a good alternative is my naan recipe. Use that but roll the mixture into balls and bake in the oven at 200 degrees C (180 degree fan) for around 15-20 minutes 🙂
Katherine Pritchard says
Made this with semi skimmed cows milk & flax seeds instead of eggs as suggested in the comments. Great flavour, a little denser and more chewy than rolls made the usual way, but good.
Vicki Montague says
Glad it worked with flax eggs. I’ve never tried that!
Clarissa says
Hi Vicki do you have a recipe using your own flour for rolls I can’t seem to find one and am loving your bread flour and recipe already after receiving it last week! I took my bread into my nutrition course for the ladies to taste they were all very impressed!
Vicki Montague says
Hi Clarissa, that’s great news! It’s funny you should ask because I don’t think I have published one and realised that the other day. You could try my hot cross buns recipe..https://freefromfairy.com/free-hot-cross-buns-gluten-free-dairy-free-refined-sugar-free/ without the rice syrup and spices etc. It’s lovely and soft (just made it). But does use potato starch as well as my flour to make a more squidgy bun!
Sian says
Hi how many rolls does this recipe make?
Hoping to bake with my class of 30.
Is there anything I could replace the egg or yeast with?
Have multiple intolerances to cater for and this is the closet recipe I’ve found.
Thanks
Vicki Montague says
I made 9 quite small rolls with this amount of mix. As for replacing the egg…I’m not sure it will work (I haven’t tried it) but you could try using flax egg…1 tbsp ground flax seeds with 3 tbsp water mixed and left to create a gel before adding as an egg. Please let me know how you get on, I’d love to hear!
Nora says
Hi Vicki,
Iam so glad I ran into your blog while on my hunt for perfect gluten free recipes. I had an attempt at making these using Dove farm “white bread flour” and had couple of issues with them. They turned out very crusty from the outside and very dense and heavy from the inside. they tasted really well tho! But no where near a fluffy bun..
Any suggestions.
Many thanks.
Vicki Montague says
Hi Nora, thanks for your comment. The Doves plain flour and bread flour are quite different which is why you wouldn’t have got the result that I did. For example the bread flour includes xanthan (and therefore you wouldn’t want to add more) whereas the plain flour doesn’t. It’s always important with gluten free baking to use the exact flour (and brand if possible) specified in the recipe because the blends are all so different. Glad they tasted nice though!
Nora says
Hi Vicki,
Thanks for getting back to me. I didn’t use any xanthan gum because I knew the flour I used had some already. But every time I attemp to do any bread recipe from different other websites or even books I end up with a very crusty and heavy bread. Could it be my oven (fan ) or yeast as I use the “Allinson dried active yeast”. I have no trouble backing all sorts of cakes and biscuets, but it’s the bread that I canot get right..
Vicki Montague says
OK…this helps a bit. The yeast I always use in the Easy Bake Allison yeast…you can add it directly to the ingredients without needing to pre mix it. The dried active yeast needs adding to warm water and activating before adding to the ingredients. Perhaps you do that but if not that may help. The flour is also super important. Baking with the white refined starch blends is pretty hit and miss. That’s why I created my own flour blend. However, it may be your expectations? Gluten free bread is much more dense than gluten containing. I hope this helps?
Nora says
Yes, I wasn’t activating the yeast, and instead adding it directly to the dry flour. I will also give your flour blend a try once I get my hands on one.
Many thanks for the tips!!
Vicki Montague says
You’re very welcome Nora. Ask away any time 🙂
Joyful says
Would there be a flour blend that I could use instead of the self-rising flour?
Vicki Montague says
Hi there, I’m not sure what you mean because this recipe uses plain flour?
Kelly Leal says
I am on the FODMAP diet and cannot have honey. What could I use as a suitable substitute?
Many thanks
Vicki Montague says
Hi Kelly, you could use maple syrup instead…
LearnerMother says
We keep saying we are going to try and bake bread and bread products to save money, but I have been put off by all the faff, waiting for them to rise etc…but this looks really simple! Job for this week I think, I’ll let you know how I get on 🙂 #blogclub
Admin says
Great! Do let me know how you get on…they are very easy!
Nell@PigeonPairandMe says
I’ll have to recommend this book to my friend who has a 2 year old coeliac daughter, who has just been diagnosed. She’s on the lookout for inspiration….
Admin says
Oh yes, and I hope you have recommended my site too!! 😉
Vicky (@aroundandupsidedown) says
Mmmm….I had wondered how to do soft rolls at home, as I always find home made bread very dense and crusty, especially gluten free (as nice as it is and I could sit with a warm loaf a knife and the butter quite happily). Will have to give these a whirl 🙂
Admin says
Oh do, and let me know how you get on!
Sonia says
I’m so impressed! I am useless in the kitchen – I should probably try harder! Makes me wonder how I’d cope if we had to go gluten free etc – I expect I’d have to kick my self up the bum and start being good in the kitchen 😉
Mel says
This looks like a perfect recipe for the children. Jumpy’s dietician has finally asked our GP to prescribe her an egg replacement, so I will probably try making them soon! x Mel
Admin says
Excellent! Let me know how you get on. I used to use egg replacer and it always seemed to work ok. Luckily my daughter grew out of that allergy although she hates anything made with egg (apart from sweet things of course!).