Soft Gluten-Free Dinner Rolls are easy to make! The rolls bake up soft and tender. Perfect recipe for a first-time bread baker.
I first shared this recipe for gluten-free soft rolls in 2019, and I’m so glad so many of you have used it for your holiday meals! Some of you mentioned that the rolls could be a bit easier to make, especially since scooping sticky, gluten-free dough can be quite messy.
So, I decided to tweak the recipe. The result is the same soft, tender rolls you love—now a little easier to make.
Instead of scooping the dough, you’ll simply cut it into nine pieces and roll them into balls. I’ve also switched to baking them in an 8×8-inch pan instead of a 9×13-inch pan. This helps the dough touch as it rises, giving the rolls more support and making them taller.
I hope you loved the recipe before, and I’m sure you’ll love it even more now!
Happy Baking,
Elizabeth
Ingredients Explained.
- Gluten-Free Flour. This recipe uses Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Flour Blend. If you prefer to mix your own flour, replace the flour with a mix of brown rice flour or millet and tapioca starch. The individual measurements are included with the recipe.
Ingredient note: Since all commercial flour blends vary, I can’t say if this recipe works with a different blend. - Egg. One egg brings the dough together. Without the egg, the rolls turn out dense and heavy.
- Milk and Butter. Whole milk and melted butter add richness and flavor
- Yeast. Instant dried yeast is my preferred yeast. Be sure to use a yeast that’s gluten-free.
- Baking Powder. Helps with rise.
- Xanthan Gum. A teaspoon of xanthan gum is needed for the best texture. (Use the xanthan gum even though the gluten-free flour already includes it.)
- Sugar. A little sugar helps with browning and flavor.
- Salt. Adds flavor and controls the yeast activity.
Dairy-Free Note: For a dairy-free version, use dairy-free milk and butter.
Rolls made without dairy tend not to brown as well as those made with dairy. They also stale a little faster without the fat from the whole milk and butter. To prevent the gluten-free/dairy-free rolls from stalling quickly, freeze the leftovers. (See directions below on how to best freeze gluten-free buns.)
How to Make Gluten-Free Soft Dinner Rolls: Step by Step.
There’s three parts to making this recipe: mixing the dough, letting it rise, and baking. Let’s take a look at each step.
- Dissolve the yeast in a little warm water. I do this right in my mixing bowl.
- Whisk the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl. This helps the sugar, xanthan gum, baking powder, and salt mix evenly throughout the gluten-free flour.
- Once the yeast is dissolved, add the remaining ingredients to the yeast mixture. Mix the dough on low speed. At first, the dough looks dry and crumbly. This is normal.
- Mix until a thick dough forms. This recipe makes a thick, sticky dough. For the best results, mix it together in a stand mixer with the flat paddle attachment. Note for new bakers: the dough won’t form a tight dough ball.
- Put a generous amount of gluten-free flour on your counter. Transfer the dough to the counter. Dust the top with additional gluten-free flour. Pat the dough into a rectangle.
- Cut into 9 pieces. Use a sharp knife for this.
- Lightly dust each piece of dough with gluten-free flour. Then roll into balls between your palms.
- Place the dough balls into a parchment-lined and greased 8-inch square pan. Cover with plastic wrap－this keeps the dough from drying out. Let the rolls rise in a warm place for about an hour. You want the rolls to almost double in size and look puffy when they’re ready.
- Brush with egg. Once the rolls have risen, brush them with a whisked egg right before baking. This helps them to brown nicely as they bake.
- Gently coat each roll with egg to cover the entire top. I usually go back and coat them twice.
- A pan takes about 35 minutes to bake in a preheated 375℉ oven. To ensure the rolls are fully baked, I like to take the temperature. The center of the roll should reach 205℉.
Right after baking, I brush the rolls with a little melted butter. Not only does this add a nice shine, it also helps keeps them soft and tender.
Baker’s Tip: For a lightly sweet finish, mix equal parts melted butter with honey and brush it over each baked roll.
How to Store Leftovers
Gluten-free bread tastes best the day it’s baked. Wrap the leftover rolls in plastic wrap and store them at room temperature. Reheat the rolls lightly before serving for the best flavor and texture.
To freeze, let them cool completely, wrap in plastic wrap or place in a freeze container. Freeze for up to three months.
Gluten-Free Soft Dinner Rolls
These gluten-free dinner rolls are soft and tender. They’re the perfect addition to the holiday bread basket－ or whenever the bread craving hits.
Ingredients
For the Dough
- ⅓ cup warm water, about 110℉ (2 ¾ ounces; 75 grams)
- 2 ¼ teaspoons instant dry yeast (1 packet; 7 grams)
- 3 cups Bob's Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour, plus extra for dusting counter (15 ounces; 425 grams)
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar (1 ounce; 28 grams)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup warm whole milk, about 110℉ (8 ounces; 226 grams)
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted (1 ounce; 28 grams)
For Brushing on the Dough
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon water
For Finishing
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted (1 ounce; 28 grams)
Instructions
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Combine warm water and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir to combine. Allow to sit for five minutes.
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While the yeast dissolves, whisk together the gluten-free flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, xanthan gum, and salt in a small bowl.
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Add the gluten-free flour mixture, milk, egg, and melted butter to the yeast mixture. Mix on medium speed until thick and smooth, about three minutes. The dough will be very thick.
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Dust counter with a generous amount of gluten-free flour. Transfer the dough from the mixing bowl to the counter. Dust the top with gluten-free flour. Gently pat the dough into a rectangle, about 8×8 inches.
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Cut the dough into 9 equal pieces. (Three rows of three)
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Roll the dough into rounds. If the dough sticks to your hands, coat it lightly with gluten-free flour before rolling.
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Line an 8-inch square pan with parchment paper and lightly grease with gluten-free cooking spray.
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Place the rolls into the pan in three rows. Cover with plastic wrap. This keeps the dough from drying out.
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When rolls have almost doubled in size, preheat the oven to 375℉ (190℃)
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Whisk together the egg and teaspoon of water together in a small bowl. Brush the egg wash gently on top of each roll.
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Bake rolls until golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. The middle of the rolls should reach 205℉ (96℃)
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Remove the pan from oven. Let them cool for about 5 minutes and then brush the warm rolls with melted butter.
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Cool for about 15 minutes before serving.
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Rolls are best enjoyed the day they are made. Store leftover rolls wrapped on the counter or place cooled rolls in a freezer bag and freeze for up to two months. Thaw rolls at room temperature overnight.
Recipe Notes
Gluten-Free Flour Variation
Flour may be replaced with 2 cups brown rice flour or millet flour, ¾ cup tapioca starch, and 1 teaspoon xanthan gum. (If using this blend, the recipe will include a total of 2 teaspoons xanthan gum.)
Dairy-Free Variation
Replace the milk with an equal amount of dairy-free milk.
Replace the butter in the dough with an equal amount of dairy-free butter or canola oil.
Brush the baked rolls with melted dairy-free butter or olive oil.
Lisa says
Fantastic!! These were wonderful and worked great! I’m tempted to make this recipe again and use it for pizza crust!!! Thank you!
Linda M says
Wow, it’s not easy to make gf bread, and these worked! When they finally came out of the oven, they totally hit the spot – nothing like a hot roll for breakfast. My dough was more like a cake batter after mixing – not like the picture – so I was a bit concerned, but I tossed in a couple of extra tablespoons of flour, and it worked out fine. Might reduce the liquid next time (I used a really large egg, and may have had too much air in my flour when I measured it.) The extra xanthan gum was interesting. Baked for 30 mins.
Thank you Elizabeth for giving me back bread!
Julie says
I often make these rolls now and add poppie seed pumpkin and sesame seed to the dough. We love them. I treat them like little Cobb loaves and slice them up to toast…delicious Thanks for sharing such a wonderful recipe
Fazia says
Hi these came out beautiful. So Soft and delicious! I followed your recipe exactly and they were not gummy. I added a knob of butter to the centre of each roll and folded it in, then baked them, wow they were amazing.
Can I make these without yeast as my sister is allergic to yeast and gluten as well?
Thanks Fazia
Elizabeth says
Glad you enjoyed the recipe!
These require yeast for baking.
Sam says
Hi Elizabeth, recipes seems easy . I would love to try it , just one qq, can I use olive oil or coconut oil instead of canola oil ?
Elizabeth says
For a dairy-free option, I’d use olive oil. I’m not sure how coconut oil would work in this recipe.
Bonnie Elder says
They are rising now. I am disappointed that the consistency is like cake batter, as was commented above. I added a few tablespoons more of flour and ‘poured’ the batter into muffin tins. Nothing at all like the pics. Was there a mistake in the recipe? Now I wait.
Elizabeth says
No. The recipe is correct as written.
What flour blend did you use? And did you add the additional xanthan gum?
Let me know and we can get to the bottom of this!
Here’s a video of me making the rolls. Gluten-free soft dinner roll recipe video.
Zach says
1/3 cup rolls will only give you 6, not 12.
Elizabeth says
That’s not true.
Debbie says
i got 13 rolls out of this recipe
Declan says
Can’t believe how well these turned out on my first go. We’ve bought some awful GF bread in the shops and these are way better than anything we’ve tried.
Thank you!
Nikki says
Thank you so much for this recipe! I’ve been gluten free for 10 years and have been baking my own bread off and on for at least half that. This is by far the best gluten free dinner roll recipe I’ve ever made. I substituted whole milk for oat milk, but followed the rest of the recipe exactly. The texture… OMG, the texture of these rolls was closer to what I remember of non-GF rolls. And my husband, who is not GF and absolutely knows what “normal” (his word) rolls taste like, came back for seconds… of gluten free bread! Thank you, thank you! Will be trying out many more of your recipes!
Cheryl says
I thought the recipe was easy to follow and I was very hopefull. The dough looked just like the picture but sadly didn’t rise a whole lot and are little brown balls. The yeast bubbled so I’m not sure what happened….I’ll try again….
Elizabeth says
Hmm…sorry to hear they didn’t rise a lot. How long (about) did the dough rise?
Diane R says
Awesome Recipe! Thanks for sharing this. I made a batch today & am prepping to make more for Thanksgiving this year! Thanks Again!
Kammie says
My batter mixed into a horrid, heavy, rubbery lump. Such an expensive flour to have to throw away.
Elizabeth says
What type of flour did you use?
K says
Sooo good. Definitely one of those ‘I cannot believe this is GF’ recipes that you’ll make for years to come.
One tip – I made the recipe exactly as written and found that using a full 1/3 cup only gave me 6 massive rolls. I realized they were way too big so I divided each in half to make 12 and it was perfect.
Cierra says
I made these for my husband and he loved them.
He said “There are so fluffy and doughy, wow, these are the best gluten-free buns I’ve ever had.”
I also didn’t have Xantham gum so I used Tapioca Flour instead and it worked great.
Wendy says
Hi there
I made these using guar gum (it’s what I had), an egg substitute and oat milk and halved the sugar. Was very pleased with result. They came out soft and fluffy
echo says
5/5
Jaime says
Very good and easy recipe! I think I could have let mine rise a bit longer (took them out about 45 min because of your note to not let them get quite to double) but even so they were great 🙂 I will definitely save this recipe, great flavour and texture. Thank you!
Kristen Quinn says
WOW! I’m BLOWN away how amazing these rolls are! I officially am a autoimmune warrior so… Redoing my dietary needs, especially having to go gluten free being my #1 trigger with flare ups. I followed this recipe to a tee. I am typically a nut milk drinker/ user but opted using whole milk as I prepped these (got 15 making them slightly smaller to test a few tonight for tomorrow being Thanksgiving with the family). My goal is impressing everyone with how delicious gluten free baking can be. Perfection! Prepped these, let them rise then cool in the pan in the fridge to see, then pulled a few to bake. Will work perfectly to bake tomorrow for our dinner. Also taking some cookies I’ve perfected with another recipe I found. Thank you SO much!
Rosey says
These are by far my favorite GF dinner roll recipe. Nicely written and the video is helpful too! I use fat free milk and grape seed or canola oil.
Sylvia Klassen says
I am new to baking GF. This recipe was so easy to follow and they turned out wonderful. So soft and delicious. Thanks for the recipe.
Kim says
If the GF flour already contains xanthan gum, do I still add the extra?
Elizabeth says
If you’re using a gluten-free flour blend that contains xanthan gum, you don’t need to add extra. Have fun!
Sylvia Klassen says
yes I still used the xanthan gum even though my flour contained it and they turned out beautiful.
Sylvia Klassen says
I have used this recipe a couple of times now to make mini loafs and they have turned out beautiful. I use compliments flour blend and it works well. I was wondering if you could make cinnamon buns with this recipe? would it roll if you use parchment paper?