Soft and buttery, with a light crumb, and just the right balance of sweet and salty. Cloverleaf-style gluten-free dinner rolls! Easy to make, and sure to be the star of any meal.
If making gluten-free yeasted bread intimidates you, you need to try these gluten-free dinner rolls. They’re soft and fluffy, with an airy- light crumb and rich buttery flavour, and surprisingly simple to make!
With the help of a stand mixer, the dough comes together easily, and they only require one quick rise.
They’re a cloverleaf-style roll, which I’ve always liked the look of, plus making them in a muffin tin gives the gluten-free dough a little added structure to help them rise up, rather than spread out.
Pair with soup or a salad for an easy weekday meal, or add as a special side for your next holiday meal.
Ingredients
To bloom yeast:
- instant / quick-rise yeast
- milk, warm
- granulated sugar
Psyllium gel:
- psyllium husk
- water
Dinner roll dough:
- gluten-free flour, all-purpose blend
- granulated sugar
- baking powder
- salt
- greek yogurt
- egg
- butter, melted
- water, room temperature
Egg wash:
- egg
- salt
- water
Honey-butter glaze:
- butter, melted
- honey
See recipe card for quantities.
Ingredient Notes
Quick-rise instant yeast: This recipe uses instant / quick-rise yeast.
Psyllium husk: Psyllium husk is what gives the rolls a better rise and a bit of chew. It’s really what makes the rolls look, feel and taste like traditional wheat rolls. Unfortunately, it can’t be replaced with any other ingredient. I prefer to use whole psyllium husk, but you can also use psyllium husk powder. I find the powder can give the rolls a slightly darker colour, depending on the brand you’re using. If you’re using the powder, you’ll need to use less, see note in the ingredient card below.
Gluten-free all-purpose flour blend: Use a blend that contains xanthan gum. This will also help with the structure and stability of the rolls. Make sure your blend doesn’t contain any ingredients with strong flavours, such as bean flour. Refer to baking with gluten-free flour for more information.
Baking powder: Although not generally found in traditional wheat-based bread recipes, adding a little bit of baking powder helps to give the rolls an initial boost when first rising, which helps create a nice airy crumb.
Greek yogurt: Using greek yogurt helps to give the dough a boost of needed protein. It also provides a bit of tang and acidity, which improves the overall flavour and texture of the rolls.
Instructions
- Combine the warm milk, sugar and yeast in small bowl and let sit until bubbly, about 5 minutes.
- To make the psyllium gel, combine the psyllium husk and water in a small bowl and let sit about 2 minutes.
- Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix the gluten-free flour, sugar, salt and baking powder on low speed until combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the greek yogurt, egg, melted butter and water.
- Slowly pour the yogurt mixture, psyllium gel and yeast mixture into the flour mixture, and mix until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Increase the speed to medium and beat until the dough is sticky and uniform, about 5 minutes.
- Using a small cookie scoop or two spoons, scoop out 30, roughly tablespoon sized, balls onto a lightly gluten-free floured surface.
- Grease 10 of the 12 cups of a 12-hole muffin tin. With lightly floured hands, roll each ball into a smooth ball and place 3 dough balls into each of the 10 greased muffin cups. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm spot, until the dough fills up the muffin cup and the top of each roll has risen roughly ½ inch above the top of the pan. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and place the kettle on to boil.
- Remove the plastic wrap from over the rolls. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, water and salt and brush the top of each roll with the egg wash using a pastry brush. Fill the remaining 2 empty muffin tins half way full with boiling water; the steam will give some added oven spring. Bake for 25 minutes, until the rolls are golden brown.
- In a small bowl, combine the melted butter and honey. As soon as the rolls are removed from the oven, brush the top of each roll with the honey butter. Let the rolls cool for 5 minutes, then remove rolls from the muffin tin and place on a cooling rack to further cool for another 5 minutes. Serve warm.
Top Tips for Perfect Gluten-Free Dinner Rolls
- Bloom your yeast: If you’re used to bread baking with wheat flour, you’re probably used to punching down the dough after the first rise, and then letting it rise again. Gluten-free bread doesn’t have the structure to support that; if you deflate it after it’s risen, it won’t rise again. Therefore, getting a good first (and only) rise is critical. You’ll generally get the best rise right after the dough has been mixed. Therefore, you want the yeast to act as quickly as possible. Even though we’re using instant yeast, which is generally added straight to the dough, blooming it before adding it to the dough gives it a head start, which can be really beneficially for gluten-free bread baking. I got this tip from “America’s Test Kitchen, How Can It Be Gluten-Free Cookbook Collection”.
- Don’t add too much flour when forming the rolls: A lightly floured work surface and lightly floured hands should be enough flour to make the dough easy enough to handle when forming the rolls. The dough is stickier/wetter than traditional wheat-based dough. Don’t let the feel of traditional wheat-based dough convince you to add more flour to your dough to get a more comparative feel, if you do, you’ll end up with dry rolls once baked.
- Don’t skip the honey butter glaze: The glaze is optional, but it really does add a nice sheen, with a hint of sweetness, to the rolls.
- Serve warm: These rolls are best served warm. Unlike many other gluten-free breads, you don’t need to let them fully cool before digging in. Even warm, these rolls have a soft, light crumb. No gumminess to worry about!
Storage
The dinner rolls are best served the day they are made. Leftovers will keep, covered and stored at room temperature for up to 2 days. Reheat to serve.
Recipe Card
Gluten-Free Dinner Rolls
Ingredients
To bloom yeast:
- 2¼ teaspoon yeast, instant / quick-rise
- ½ cup milk, warm, approximately 110°F (40°C)
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Psyllium gel:
- 2 tablespoon psyllium husk, note 1
- ½ cup water, room temperature
Dinner roll dough:
- 2¼ cups gluten-free flour, all-purpose blend (note 2)
- 2 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup greek yogurt
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoon butter, melted
- ¼ cup water, room temperature
Egg wash:
- 1 egg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon water
Honey-butter glaze:
- 1 tablespoon butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon honey
Instructions
- Combine the warm milk, sugar and yeast in small bowl and let sit until bubbly, about 5 minutes.
- To make the psyllium gel, combine the psyllium husk and water in a small bowl and let sit about 2 minutes.
- Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix the gluten-free flour, sugar, salt and baking powder on low speed until combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the greek yogurt, egg, melted butter and water.
- Slowly pour the yogurt mixture, psyllium gel and yeast mixture into the flour mixture, and mix until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Increase the speed to medium and beat until the dough is sticky and uniform, about 5 minutes.
- Using a small cookie scoop or two spoons, scoop out 30, roughly tablespoon sized, balls onto a lightly gluten-free floured surface.
- Grease 10 of the 12 cups of a 12-hole muffin tin. With lightly floured hands, roll each ball into a smooth ball and place 3 dough balls into each of the 10 greased muffin cups. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm spot, until the dough fills up the muffin cup and the top of each roll has risen roughly ½ inch above the top of the pan, around 45 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and place the kettle on to boil.
- Remove the plastic wrap from over the rolls. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, water and salt and brush the top of each roll with the egg wash using a pastry brush. Fill the remaining 2 empty muffin tins half way full with boiling water; the steam will give some added oven spring. Bake for 25 minutes, until the rolls are golden brown.
- In a small bowl, combine the melted butter and honey. As soon as the rolls are removed from the oven, brush the top of each roll with the honey butter. Let the rolls cool for 5 minutes, then remove rolls from the muffin tin and place on a cooling rack to further cool for another 5 minutes. Serve warm.
Notes
- Bloom your yeast: If you’re used to bread baking with wheat flour, you’re probably used to punching down the dough after the first rise, and then letting it rise again. Gluten-free bread doesn’t have the structure to support that; if you deflate it after it’s risen, it won’t rise again. Therefore, getting a good first (and only) rise is critical. You’ll generally get the best rise right after the dough has been mixed. Therefore, you want the yeast to act as quickly as possible. Even though we’re using instant yeast, which is generally added straight to the dough, blooming it before adding it to the dough gives it a head start, which can be really beneficially for gluten-free bread baking. I got this tip from “America’s Test Kitchen, How Can It Be Gluten-Free Cookbook Collection”.
- Don’t add too much flour when forming the rolls: A lightly floured work surface and lightly floured hands should be enough flour to make the dough easy enough to handle when forming the rolls. The dough is stickier/wetter than traditional wheat-based dough. Don’t let the feel of traditional wheat-based dough convince you to add more flour to your dough to get a more comparative feel, if you do, you’ll end up with dry rolls once baked.
- Don’t skip the honey butter glaze: The glaze is optional, but it really does add a nice sheen, with a hint of sweetness, to the rolls.
- Serve warm: These rolls are best served warm. Unlike many other gluten-free breads, you don’t need to let them fully cool before digging in. Even warm, these rolls have a soft, light crumb. No gumminess to worry about!
- The dinner rolls are best served the day they are made. Leftovers will keep, covered and stored at room temperature for up to 2 days. Reheat to serve.
Nutrition
Nutritional information shown is an estimate only.
See full disclaimer here.
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