Gluten-free Pull-Apart Dinner Rolls {dairy-free option}
Gluten-free Dinner Rolls that taste like grandma’s holiday rolls! We enjoy these gluten-free rolls at the holidays and year-round! Be sure to read through the post for my tips! I think you’ll be adding these gluten-free buns to your go-to list of gluten-free bread recipes!
After I had to give up gluten, I tried making my own dinner rolls at home, using my old favorite recipes, just substituting gluten-free flour, and each time they failed miserably.
Thankfully, just a few months after my celiac diagnosis and transition to cooking & eating gluten-free, my local gluten-free store brought in Rachel (former owner of Gluten Free Mama) for a baking class. I sat there amazed as she whipped up super easy gluten-free dinner rolls, then when I got to sample them, I couldn’t believe it.
They actually tasted like real homemade dinner rolls! These don’t taste like cardboard, crumble like sawdust, require a knife to saw through, or need to be toasted to be palatable. What a relief, right?! I knew I had to make these!
Look at that texture:
After learning how to make these from Rachel, and buying her fabulous cookbook, In the Kitchen with Gluten Free Mama (now out of print, but sometimes used copies show up on Amazon here), I started making these at home regularly. These really are my family’s favorite gluten-free dinner rolls, and you will find them on our table at every holiday meal and at least once a month at dinner throughout the year.
While Rachel’s original recipe is no longer available online; you’ll find my adapted gluten-free roll recipe below, used with her permission.
I’ve cut the amount of time that the gluten-free rolls need to rise by about half by using instant yeast.The instant yeast I use is SAF Instant Yeast. You can buy Saf Instant Yeast from Amazon
and you might even find it at your local store. I love using this product to cut the rising time down in some of my yeast bread recipes. When using instant yeast, you do not proof the yeast in water. You add the instant yeast with your dry ingredients, and the water with the liquid ingredients. My directions in the recipe card below reflect this change.
If you haven’t worked with gluten-free yeast dough much yet, it is important to note that it is very different from regular yeast doughs. When making gluten-free yeast dough, the end result is typically a very wet, sticky dough. Do not be tempted to add extra flour! You will not be kneading the dough by hand at all. Your mixer does all the work mixing the dough well.
Once it is done mixing, then you use a large cookie scoop (about 2″ diameter) to scoop the dough in mounds in your baking pan. I recommend using a #16 scoop or a #20 scoop.
Another important thing to note is that your pans will actually help you shape your gluten-free dough. For example. if you were making regular dinner rolls, you could get by having the balls of dough spread out on a big baking sheet almost like cookies. If you did that with gluten-free dough, you would end up with very flat breads.
So here in this recipe, I definitely recommend you grab yourself a metal 9″ round cake or metal pie pan to bake your rolls in. I’ll talk more about your pans helping shape your dough when I share my french bread and hamburger bun recipes.
Here’s a pic that shows how the gluten-free rolls look at the different stages:
While some might like to brush their unbaked rolls with an egg wash, I prefer leaving them plain for baking, then after baking I brush on melted butter. Mmmm!
Here’s a look at the ingredients I use every time I make these gluten-free rolls:
Notes on Ingredients and Substitutions for these gluten-free dinner rolls:
- While I recommend you use SAF Instant Yeast to cut the rising time, yes, you can use regular, active dry yeast in this recipe. Use the same amount of yeast called for, but go ahead and proof the yeast in the warm water with a bit of sugar. Then you are going to need to extend the rising time for the rolls by at least double what I have listed here.
- I do not recommend using any flour blend with coconut flour in it!
I tried this recipe with Gluten Free Mama’s Coconut Flour Blend as well, but alas I didn’t have good results. I wouldn’t recommend using any flour blend with coconut flour in it for this recipe. The problem is that coconut flour really absorbs the liquids in a recipe, and mine turned out like hockey pucks. - Yes, you can make this egg-free if you need to. I have tried GFM’s egg free option and it worked well & tasted great! Gluten Free Mama recommends this egg free option: ¼ cup water + 1 Tbsp. ground flaxseed. Simmer water and flaxseed over medium low heat for about 5 minutes until thickened. Stir frequently. Allow to cool. This is equal to one egg.
- Yes, you can make this dairy-free if you need to. Substitute the 2 Tablespoons of butter for a good dairy-free margarine or Spectrum organic shortening, melted. You can also either not brush the finished rolls, or brush with a good tasting dairy-free margarine.
I tried this recipe with Gluten Free Mama’s Coconut Flour Blend as well, but alas I didn’t have good results. I wouldn’t recommend using any flour blend with coconut flour in it for this recipe. The problem is that coconut flour really absorbs the liquids in a recipe, and mine turned out like hockey pucks.If you need to make other substitutions to make this recipe suitable for your diet, feel free to try them. I always recommend making only one new change at a time so that if things go wrong you can isolate the problem and refine from there. If you do make successful substitutions of any kind, please do come back and let us all know!
Which gluten-free flour blend should you use in these rolls?
I’ve tested many flour blends and the three that work best for these gluten-free rolls consistently are:
- Gluten-free Mama’s Almond flour blend – used in the recipe as written. This one is harder to find lately under the new ownership (no longer in any of my local stores), and even Amazon keeps running out of it. When it is available on Amazon, you’ll find it here. This is not the same as almond flour. This is a gluten-free flour blend that includes some almond flour, which helps the rolls have a great texture.
- Authentic Foods Multi-Blend Flour – It has xanthan gum already in it, but I recommend adding an additional 1/2 tsp. xanthan to the recipe. This is the flour blend that I’ve been using recently for these rolls and it works very well! I don’t notice any difference in results, and would highly recommend. I haven’t had any problems finding it in stock from Amazon here.
There are so many gluten-free flour blends out there, that I simply cannot test them all. I can’t say whether your homemade blend or your favorite store blend will work in this recipe. Using any other gluten-free flour blend means you are bringing in a different combination of flours & starches, and I can’t guarantee that will work well.
That said, please feel free to play with this and see if it works well with your favorite blend. I would recommend you be sure to measure your flour by weight, and be sure to use the same weight I have listed in the recipe.
Read through the reader comments below to see what flour blends have worked well for other readers! Also, if you are using a blend that already contains xanthan gum, try adding an additional 1/2 tsp when making this. Note that some people have had great success using their favorite flour blend, and just removing 1/2 cup of the flour and replacing it with 1/2 cup of real almond flour. This makes it similar to the original Gluten Free Mama’s almond flour blend that I use.
**UPDATE 4/2015. I tested these with Pamela’s artisan flour blend and they turned out okay. Not as fluffy as with GFM, but they worked. Cup4Cup also worked okay – again, not quite as good, but an okay choice for sure! Also tested with MANINIS Gluten Free Multi-Purpose Flour Mix
and boy oh boy did that dough rise! Super big, then collapsed after baking! But they tasted great and had great texture, so I would recommend that one too.
Update: 11/2018: My friend Chrystal uses Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-free 1-to-1 Baking Flour and says it works well in these. She says to be sure to measure by weight, with a scale, just as I recommend! Several commenters have said that has worked well for them too.
Update 5/2019: I do not recommend Namaste Flour blend for these. I do not recommend Pillsbury for these. Flour Farm worked pretty good for these I’d give it a B+. My friend gfJules flour does not work well in my recipe as written. If you’d like to use gfJules flour, go use gfJules rolls recipe here. I made this with Authentic Foods Multi-Blend Flour and it worked very well! This would be one I would recommend for sure!
If you’re using your own flour blend, if it doesn’t have xanthan or guar gum in it, use the 1 1/2 tsp. xanthan that I call for. If your blend already has xanthan or guar gum in it, use just 1/2 tsp. additional xanthan gum. These rolls just need more xanthan than what the default amount is in most flour blends.
If you would like to use a different flour blend, please read through the reader comments below to see what flour blends have worked well for other readers! Make sure you measure the flour by weight!
Common mistakes that would cause your rolls not to turn out well:
- Cutting out all of the sugar. I know some of you are avoiding sugar. I would not recommend cutting the sugar in these, but if you really think you need to, don’t cut down to less than 2 teaspoons. It is needed for helping activate the yeast.
- Not checking the temperature of your hot water before adding. Use a thermometer like this one that I have to be sure it is 105-110 before adding. Too cold and it won’t activate the yeast, too hot and it can kill the yeast.
- Not measuring the flour correctly or used a blend that just doesn’t work well in this. Please try again!
- Not mixing for a full 3 minutes – don’t guess; use a timer. Also a medium speed means not slow but not so fast your mixer is shaking and scooting!
- Using too much water to shape the rolls. I just wet my finger to smooth the rolls, actually less than in the video (sorry!).
- Not letting them rise enough. I depend less on the time and more on the actual look of the rolls. If your rolls haven’t risen fully at 45 minutes make sure you have it in a somewhat warm place but not too hot. I use my oven’s proof setting which puts it at 100 degrees. Before I had an oven with a proof setting, I would turn my oven to the lowest setting, let it warm up, then turn it off and my oven thermometer showed it was 100 degrees, I would put the covered rolls in to rise. Some of you live in more humid climates, and your rolls will likely rise quicker, and even just on the counter.
- Not using an oven thermometer to ensure the correct temperature of your oven. Many ovens are off by 25 degrees or so and you need to adjust accordingly. Or like my new oven, it beeps that it’s ready at the correct temperature about 5 minutes before it actually is. My oven thermometer showed me that!
- Not testing the finished rolls with a thermometer. Check them at the 24-25 minute mark really quickly and pull out if done. If not done, continue baking and check every 2 minutes until the finished rolls measure 200 degrees in the center.
Okay, enough details, I hope! Are you ready to grab one and dig in yet?
What should you serve these gluten-free rolls with:
We honestly like these with any gluten-free meals, but I definitely like making them when we have soups, stews and casseroles like these:
crockpot gluten-free beef stew
gluten-free cheeseburger soup recipe
gluten-free chicken rice casserole
I hope you and your family enjoy these gf dinner rolls as much as my family does!
If you make these and love them, please come back and give this recipe a 5 star rating in the recipe card! Feel free to comment with tips or to share any successful substitutions you made.
Gluten-free Dinner Rolls Recipe:
Gluten-free Pull-Apart Dinner Rolls
Gluten-free Dinner Rolls that taste like grandma’s holiday rolls! We enjoy these gluten-free rolls at the holidays and year-round!
Ingredients
- 2¾ cups (11½ oz.) very good quality gluten-free flour blend
- 1 1/2 tsp. xanthan gum
- 2 tsp. SAF instant yeast
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 cup warm water (105-110°)
- 2 Tbsp. butter, dairy-free margarine, or Spectrum shortening
- 1 egg (preferably room temp)
- 1 tsp. cider vinegar
Instructions
- In the mixing bowl of your electric mixer, mix together flour, xanthan gum, instant yeast, sugar, and salt.
- With mixer running on low speed, add in the hot water (be sure to test temperature with thermometer, melted butter (or substitute), egg, and cider vinegar.
- Mix on medium speed 3 minutes.
- Spray 8" or 9" round cake pan or pie plate with cooking spray. Using a 2" scoop or 1/3 cup measuring cup, scoop dough into 9 mounds in the pan. I place one mound in middle, then scoop 8 mounds of dough side by side all the way around the pan.
- Dip your fingertips into warm water and use to smooth out the tops of the rolls, continuing to wet fingers as needed.
- Cover with a dry towel and let rise in a warm place 45 minutes to 1 hour.
- During the last few minutes that the rolls are rising, preheat the empty oven to 400°. (if you were rising your rolls in the oven, remove and place on counter during oven preheat).
- Bake in 400° oven for 25-28 minutes. Tops should be golden brown and if you measure temperature of dough, it should measure 200°.
- Brush rolls with additional 1/2-1 Tablespoon of melted butter.
Notes
Please see blog post for information on egg-free and dairy-free substitutions. If you would like to use a different flour blend, please read through the reader comments below to see what flour blends have worked well for other readers! Make sure you measure the flour by weight!
I've tested many flour blends and the two that work best for this are Gluten-free Mama's flour blend - used in the recipe above as written, or Authentic Foods Multi-Blend Flour works very well in this as well. It has xanthan gum already in it, but I recommend adding an additional 1/2 tsp. xanthan to it. This is what I used recently and it worked very well!
If you're using your own flour blend, if it doesn't have xanthan or guar gum in it, use the 1 1/2 tsp. xanthan that I call for. If your blend already has xanthan or guar gum in it, use just 1/2 tsp. additional xanthan gum. These rolls just need more than what the default amount is in most flour blends.
Old photo:
If you love these dinner rolls, make sure to try my new recipe for gluten-free garlic Parmesan rolls. They’re so good with Italian style meals. Take a look:
Make sure you check out my gluten-free pull-apart cinnamon rolls recipe! Perfect for holiday brunch!
Also, at Easter time, you can make my gluten-free hot cross buns recipe too!
Happy Baking!!
These smelled amazing in my kitchen at 23 min into the bake & at 25 min in I checked the internal temp, it was 206. The “Pull Apart Rolls” are definitely well named. Browning was excellent. I put them on a cooling rack immediately so the internal temp would slow & then tasted one. I had to give a taste to my GF hubby (I am not GF, nor have I eaten GF other than to test recipes that I make for him). We both thought the taste was amazing. I ate a second! He would have but he had just finished a big lunch. These turned out very, very soft, moist and delicious. Forget “once a month & holidays”. These are easier & quicker to make than Hubby’s GF cookie recipe. This recipe will be a staple in this house for sure! DAIRY FREE CHANGES: Instead of butter, I used refined cocnut oil. In place of the egg, I used 3Tbs Aquafaba (liquid from a can of chic peas). The flour I used: 8.5 oz Bob’s GF 1 to 1 plus 3 oz fine almond flour. I forget the brand but I don’t think it matters, nor do I think it would matter blanched or unblanched as another reader inquired. When it gets down to it, some things are probably just a matter of personal preference. Yeast: I just used what I had, a jar of Fleischmann’s instant bread machine yeast & although I wasn’t disappointed in the least, the SAF brand yeast that was recommended could have maybe (?) done a better job on the raise. I combined well all the dry ingredients into my stand alone mixer, then I combined all the wet ingredients into a 2 cup measuring cup & made sure the oil was melted & the final temp was proper at 105-110 degrees. If using an actual egg, be sure it is room & add it last to the measuring cup. You will not want to use the microwave to adjust the temp of the egg along with the other liquid ingredients. If you forget set it out & you do not want to wait, just immerse it into a cup or bowl of warm water for several minutes. I love this recipe & cannot wait to try the Hot Cross Buns next. Thank you Michelle! Well done!
Update: The rolls have cooled completely and my Hubby just had another one. I had a bite of it and I can tell you that it is even better after completely cooling as far as texture goes bc the bit of ‘gummy-ness’ I found before was no more. One thing that I forgot to mention is that this roll, as opposed to every other GF bread that I have made is actually flavorful. Talking really, really good. Left us both with a want for more!
Flavor is good but unfortunately dry.
We tried these twice and both times they turned out super yummy straight from the oven. Any tips on keeping them moist and soft for leftovers the next day? We have tried heating them with a wet paper towel in the microwave, plain, and toasted in the toaster oven but each time they end up dry and crumbly.
Fabulous recipe. I used America’s Test Kitchen gluten free flour blend and it works great. I also made flatbread by dolloping large, heaping tablespoons of dough into parchment paper. Then sprayed a sheet of saran with spray oil and laid oil side down on the dollops. The saran made it possible to pat the dollops out flat. Removed saran and baked at 400 degrees for 17 minutes. These made lovely soft flatbreads to eat with kofte.
Imade multiple substitutions including 1 Tablespoon of grass fed beef gelatin and 3 Tablespoons of water instead of the egg, Ryze blue bag rice flour, and sunflower oil instead of melted butter. I ended up forgetting to add the sugar so they didn’t rise. However, they did bake up with a really nice crust and were all moist and soft on the inside. I ended up dipping them in maple syrup. I will definitely try this recipe again!
Made these for dinner. Didn’t rise as much as I thought they would, but I would say that’s my fault for misreading and adding 2 cups of water instead of the one..so big rush to double the batch lol. That being said, I’m a gluten guy, not a big believer in the gluten free thing unless you have a diagnosed condition. My wife on the other hand does try to do gluten free as much as she can and I do support hence why I tried this recipe. Now with that said and the mix up I made in the recipe, I have to say these were great tasting and if I hadn’t made would never have known they were gluten free. My wife loved them as well, which is the best thing. Next time I will make them properly and foresee the fluffyness shown as it was they turned out a little denser like a biscuit but great tasting none the less.
I just cooked it with an egg wash and cornmeal crust instead of brushing with butter. Used cloud nine gluten free with 1/2tsp extra of xanthan gum. Really great (and I’m saying that as a pro-gluten enthusiast)
Can you use 100% ALMOND flour versus a blend? I’m keto and need as little carbs as possible. TIA
That substitution won’t work in this recipe. Bummer! I’d suggest googling for a low carb roll recipe.
Can I use Jules flour
To make these.
Unfortunately, hers doesn’t work exactly in this one, but go to her site as she made one that is similar with her flour!
aloha,
I used a different flour mix and it came out crumbly instead of soft. so the tools were more like bisquits.
But when I went to order the Mama’s almond flour , I noticed some complaints about it. so People who have ordered it for years noticed lately that it wasn’t working as well. so they read the back of the bag and it is NOW mostly
RICE FLOUR???
so I didn’t order it. do you have any other flours you have tried??
Mahalo
I still buy and use that flour and it still works well in this recipe. Also, King Arthur Measure for Measure Flour works well in this as well. Feel free to try either or any of the ones that other commenters have recommended!
I don’t have a stand mixer so I used my hands to mix. I couldn’t scoop “mounds” of dough into the baking pan after mixing. It was so liquidy that there was no shape to it at all. I just poured all the batter into the pan. Is this just because I’m not using a stand mixer? Thanks!
Yes, it’s definitely because of this. You absolutely need to be able to have a mixer beat this dough for 3 minutes. Hopefully you can get one or borrow one soon!
Mine look more like biscuits but I didn’t use the same flour mix so that could be it. I just decided to make them today so I didn’t have time to buy and wait for it. Next time!
I tried this recipe first with King Arthur GF All Purpose flour only and they came out dense like others have posted. I then tried it with 3/4 KAGFAP and 1/4 Kirkland 100% Almond flour and weighed it vs measuring with cups like instructed. The dough was stickier and the rose more within the 1 hour rise time. When they came out they were spongy soft. I used Miyoko’s Vegan Butter and was surprised how much it tasted like butter. When I tasted the 2nd batch now with Almond flour added, it was then I knew I found my Vegan Gluten Free Yeast Rolls recipe going forward. Thank you, Michelle!!!
Wonderful! I used 3.5 oz Trader Joe’s almond flour and the rest (to make 11.5 oz) Trader Joe’s Gluten- free all-purpose flour blend, which is rice flours, tapioca starch and potato starch. Turned out perfect! I used the 1/3 measuring cup but it was hard to make them into roll shapes, so I used the ice cream scooper. So good!
These rolls are amazing. My husband was worried they were regular gluten rolls. I used 9 oz Trader Joe’s gluten free flour mix and 2.5 oz of fine ground almond flour, I doubled the butter and the yeast and increased the sugar to 1/3 cup. There are high and fluffy and really unbelievable for gluten free rolls. With the additions I had an extra roll which I cooked at the same time in a pyrex ramekin. It was perfect and might be the way to make them if you want the smooth outer surface of an individual roll rather than the torn edge of the ones cooked together in the pie pan. the ones in the pan taste just as amazing.
I made this recipe this evening with Authentic Foods’ Classical Blend. It’s a blend of brown rice flour, potato starch, and tapioca starch. When I measured out 2 3/4 cups of flour, it had a weight of 12.5 oz, so I took out one ounce for my batter. I used active dry yeast and dairy-free margarine in my batter and I used an 8 inch pan and scooped out 8 rolls instead of 9. I could’ve gotten 9 but I didn’t want to crowd my pan. I also used guar gum instead of xanthan gum, but used 2 tsp. because I’ve found that guar gum needs a bit more to do the same job. The results were absolutely fantastic! I wish I could post pics because the rolls were lovely, had a nice rise, and had a soft, pillowy texture. This recipe is a keeper!
I’m anxious to try this recipe out. I found the flour and the yeast tonight on Amazon. Here it is 12/22/28 and they said I’d have the order in two days!!! I can’t wait!!
I am in Australia so I had to convert the measurements. I couodn’t find any of the recommended flours but managed to get Bob’s Red Milll All purpose baking flour. They came out fine but I find them a little sweet. Can I cut back on the sugar?
are these a sweet roll ?
I’m looking for a “replacement” roll for the traditional Hawaiian sweet roll to go with a spinach dip because I have been diagnosed with celiac,
but I am looking for a sweet dinner roll recipe and not crunchy or bread like one that restaurants serve.
My new Daughter-in-law has celiac disease, so I have tried a bunch of different recipes for rolls and bread, and we have been sorely disappointed with the results! Yesterday we tried this recipe with an all purpose GF flour made from garbanzo beans, potato starch, tapioca, white sorghum, and fava beans. This recipe makes a BEAUTIFUL and DELICIOUS roll. Thank you, thank you!!!! We will definitely be trying out more of your GF recipes!!!!