Gluten-free Hawaiian Sweet Rolls
You guys. I made gluten-free Hawaiian sweet rolls.
And they were amazing (totally scary for me as it was my first foray into gluten-free bread but I was blown away by how well they turned out) and pretty darn lovely looking, too.
My friend, Nicole, of Gluten Free on a Shoestring fame is coming out with her 3rd gluten-free cookbook and it is entirely dedicated to gluten-free breads.
Which is kinda sorta amazing because when I think “eating gluten-free” I think “how the heck do I get my carb fix?”
Nicole has you covered.
While I don’t eat gluten-free as a lifestyle, I’m all for giving new recipes a try and I’m loving on these Hawaiian sweet rolls.
I can’t believe how accessible making your own gluten-free bread can be! Nicole gives, like, one zillions tips and tricks and step-by-step pictures for everything from bagels to baguettes, tortillas to scones in this new cookbook.
It is revolutionary (like no other gluten-free bread cookbook in the universe, really). You don’t want to mess around with these recipes – Nicole has tested and tested and tested these babies to make them foolproof and following the ingredients and instructions to the letter will ensure fantastic results.
On a personal note, I can count other food bloggers I’ve actually become real, live friends with on one hand.
Nicole? She’s the real deal. She has been a breath of fresh air in the blogging world for me.
She tells it like it is (read: she doesn’t have one fakety fake bone in her body) and I love her blogging guts. I’m so proud of what she’s created here and so honored to help her get the word out about her book.
One Year Ago: Nutella Butterscotch Crumble Bars
Two Years Ago: New York-Style Crumb Cake
Three Years Ago: Sky-Is-The-Limit Pudding Pie
Gluten-free Hawaiian Sweet Rolls
Ingredients
Hawaiian Roll Dough:
- 3 cups 420 g Gluten-Free Bread Flour (recipe below), plus more for sprinkling
- 2 teaspoons 6 g instant yeast
- ¼ cup 50 g sugar
- 1 teaspoon 6 g kosher salt
- 4 tablespoons 56 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 large egg, at room temperature, beaten
- 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon pineapple juice
- 1 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla extract
- Egg wash, 1 large egg, at room temperature, beaten with 1 tablespoon water
Gluten-Free Bread Flour:
- 100 grams about 11 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose gluten-free flour (71%) (read note above)
- 25 grams about 5 tablespoons unflavored whey protein isolate (18%)
- 15 grams about 5 teaspoons Expandex modified tapioca starch (11%)
High-Quality All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour:
- 42 grams about 1/4 cup superfine brown rice flour (30%)
- 42 grams about 1/4 cup superfine white rice flour (30%)
- 21 grams about 2 1/3 tablespoons tapioca starch (15%)
- 21 grams about 2 1/3 tablespoons potato starch (15%)
- 7 grams about 1 3/4 teaspoons potato flour (5%)
- 4 grams about 2 teaspoons xanthan gum (3%)
- 3 grams about 1 1/2 teaspoons pure powdered pectin (2%)
Make-It-Simpler All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour:
- 90 grams about 9 tablespoons superfine white rice flour (64%)
- 31 grams about 3 1/2 tablespoons potato starch (22%)
- 15 grams about 5 teaspoons tapioca starch (11%)
- 4 grams about 2 teaspoons xanthan gum (3%)
Instructions
- Place the flour, yeast, and sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer, and use a handheld whisk to combine well. Add the salt, and whisk to combine. Add the butter, egg, pineapple juice, and vanilla, and mix on low speed with the dough hook until combined.
- Raise the mixer speed to medium and knead for about 5 minutes. The dough will be quite sticky, but should be smooth and stretchy. Spray a silicone spatula lightly with cooking oil spray, and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl or proofing bucket large enough for the dough to rise to double its size, and cover with an oiled piece of plastic wrap (or the oiled top to your proofing bucket).
- Place the dough in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours and up to 5 days.
- On baking day, grease an 8-inch round baking pan and set it aside. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface.
- Knead until smoother as described below under general shaping tips. With a floured bench scraper, divide the dough into twelve pieces of equal size.
- Shape one piece into a round by following the directions for shaping small, round rolls below. Place the first roll in the prepared baking pan.
- Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough, placing the rolls less than an inch apart from one another. Cover the baking pan with oiled plastic wrap and set it aside in a warm, draft-free location to rise for 30 minutes. Uncover the pan and brush the rolls generously with the egg wash. Allow the rolls to finish rising, uncovered, until fully doubled in size (about 20 minutes more).
- About 20 minutes before the rolls have completed their final rise, preheat your oven to 350°F. Place the baking pan on the lower rack of the preheated oven and bake until lightly golden brown, and the inside of the rolls registers about 185°F on an instant-read thermometer (about 20 minutes).
- Allow to cool briefly in the pan before serving.
Notes
General Shaping Tips:
Unless otherwise noted, always begin on a well-floured surface with floured hands.
1. With the help of an oiled bench scraper, keep moving the dough as you shape it, particularly if it begins to stick to the surface or your hands. The process of kneading the dough in this book will be done using the scrape-and-fold method: Scrape the dough off the floured surface with the bench scraper, then fold the dough over itself. Sprinkle the dough lightly with flour, scrape the dough up again, and fold it over itself again. Repeat scraping and folding in this manner until the dough has become smoother.
2. Keep the outside of the dough and the surface covered in a light coating of flour as you shape the dough. Handle the dough with a light touch to avoid kneading the flour into the dough, which might dry it out and result in a tight, unpleasant crumb.
3. It bears repeating: A light touch is the key. Repeat that to yourself as a mantra as you first learn to shape this bread dough. It’s the most important rule in shaping. More technique, less muscle.
4. You’ll notice that the recipes do not include instructions to allow dough that has been rising in the refrigerator to come to room temperature before shaping. Always begin with cold dough when shaping the dough in this book. It is much easier to shape.
Shaping Small Rolls:
1. On a well-floured surface, flatten the dough into a disk, then pull the edges toward the center of the disk and secure the edges together by pressing them between your thumb and forefinger.
2. Turn the dough over so that the gathered edges are on the bottom and cup your whole hands around the dough, to coax it into a round shape.
3. Place the round of dough on a lightly floured surface and cup only one palm around the dough with the side of your hand resting on the counter (the
side of your hand nearest your pinkie). Maintaining contact between the side of your hand and the surface, begin to move your hand in a circular motion
while gently coaxing the edges of the dough upward (toward the top of the round) with the tips of your fingers.
4. Slash the dough with a sharp knife or lame held at a 45 degree angle to the dough.
Recipe Source: from the book Gluten-Free on a Shoestring Bakes Bread: Biscuits, Bagels, Buns and More by Nicole Hunn. Excerpted by arrangement with Da Capo Lifelong, a member of the Perseus Books Group. Copyright (c) 2013.
*Giveaway provided by Da Capo Lifelong Books, all opinions expressed are my own!
My family is gluten intolerant so we’ve been gf for going on two years now. At first it was quite the learning curve and I was very intimidated by gluten free cooking! Now with several gluten free blogs available I’m much more comfortable cooking gf. I can confidently tweak most recipes to make them gf and have been able to replace most of the things we’ve missed. Bread is the one caveat though. That’s still hit or miss as far as recipes go and I haven’t tried creating any of my own. I’ve tweaked a recipe here or there and come up with a better version but it would sure be nice to make a bread recipe and know it was going to turn out! I think I may need to pin this book to my “Books I want” board. 🙂 My husband loves Sweet Hawaiian Rolls so thanks for sharing this recipe. I can’t wait to try it!
My son and I have celiac disease so we’ve been searching out GF recipes for the last 5 years. We usually just make bread from a mix because you can count on the results. But, I’m always willing to try a new recipe and those rolls look amazing!
I love sweet bread but haven’t been able to have it in years – this is fantastic! If I can get a recipe from a trusted source, like here, I am usually so glad I tried it as way to introduce a new food or bring back an old favorite to my celiac family!
I don’t know anything about GF. My DINIT (daughter-in-law-in-training) is trying it out but I haven’t heard if it is helping her.
I’ve never tried baking gluten free bread but I’ve been interested in it because I have several friends who have to eat gluten-free. Love to win this book
I’ve only just begun my gluten free adventures so I’m e xcited to hear about gluten free bread. I was wondering what I was going to do with the upcoming holidays and the absence of my beloved rolls. I’ve had partial success making a family favorite cake with all purpose gluten free flour but I was 100% satisfied so I just have to continue experimenting!
I’ve never made anything gluten free
My son is dating a women with 2 boys that are gluten free. I have made a few desserts with good success. Would love trying gluten free bread – I love to bake bread, especially now that the cold weather has arrived.
I make gluten free cupcakes with coconut flour all the time, they are the best!
Yay for gluten-free homemade options! I’ve been gluten-free for years, and its tricky sometimes. A good recipe makes all the difference!
Just recently started GF and tend to just swap out “gf flour” for regular in baking recipes, so far have had good results. These rolls look heavenly and I can’t wait to try them!!! BTW, your decadent chocolate cake was the 1st dessert I made after going gf with huge success…love your recipes!!! <3
A lot of my in-laws eat gluten-free, so I’ve had a lot of exposure, but haven’t done a lot of baking gluten-free. I’d love to be able to do more though!
One of my favorite gluten-free things to make is Brazilian cheese breads – made with tapioca flour, so addicting! I’m always looking for good resources to cook for dietary restrictions like gluten-free. It’s also just so fun to try to challenge yourself to make something traditional and normal in a completely different way, and changing traditional bread to gluten free is such an interesting challenge.
i am gluten-free (barring a misguided cheat now and then). and i’ve had great results using high-quality gluten-free flours like Better Batter and Cup4Cup. i’ve not ventured into bread baking though (other than banana bread) so i’m really excited for this book to come out!
My husband needs to eat gluten free so I have dabbled in cooking it a little, but whenever it comes to bread he turns his nose up. It would be nice to be able to cook something that he likes. Need to try this recipe to see if it can pass the test! Thanks!
Most gluten free breads I’ve made have been pretty average! Very dry and sometimes mealy depending on the flour combo I used. I’d be super excited to get a book with some awesome recipes in it!
My niece has been diagnosed with celiac as well as several other things. I would like to give this to her. She is feeling a little discouraged.
I cook 100% gluten free for my family and we love Nicole’s second cook book! Just made my GF chocolate birthday cake from that book yesterday and everyone thought it was good, not just my gluten free family. We have had some flops with other recipe sources but love everything we have tried from Nicole’s book and blog. Can’t wait for her bread book to come out!
I recently found out I have to eat GF. So far I’ve made an amazing pumpkin bars recipe.. And about everything else has left me saying “I miss my gluten!” I would love to have this book and start making some yummy gf food! Thanks!
it’s hard to make meals for friends who are gluten free so this would be great!
I have struggled with my weight my whole life! I recently met someone who changed all that. She let me to some fabulous products and helped me cut out the things that were keeping me from ultimately being a healthy body weight. I don’t mean to profess that gluten free is for everyone, however, going MOSTLY gluten free has changed me, and my body for good! I have cut out bread and treats almost completely. Any time I invite gluten back in, my body knows it. My trainer told me on e that most of our bodies have a small intolerance to gluten, which in my case leads to bloating. “Giving up” the things I used to eat is so worth how I look and feel about myself, but I would LOVE to eat breads and snacks again that are gluten free so this book would rock my world! Hope that’s not too preachy. My trainer has given me some gluten free recipes and most are pretty good. I’d love some that are amazing though! Hoping to win! Thanks for sharing this with us. 🙂
I have to eat gluten free due to allergies but my husband and kids are not affected by it. It’s always hard for me to find good gluten free products to use in my cooking that I can eat, but that they won’t scoff at and immediately know something is “off”. I have yet to find a GF bread that I like (aside from the GF buns at Red Robin haha) so I would LOVE to win this so that I too can just grab a quick sandwich with the rest of my family.. something so small, yet I used to totally take for granted until my allergy manifested entirely and I absolutely HAD to go GF. Thanks!!
I have had mixed results with GF breads, most are not good and my family won’t even taste it anymore if I tell them it’s GF. Pre-GF I used to make all sorts of wonderful breads, and would love to be able to do that again! Thanks!
I just started eating glutten free a week ago. We are hoping it will help my fibromyalgia I was just diagnosed with. So I was so excited to see my favorite go to recipe blog have a GF post! Thanks for brightening my day!
My family started eating gluten-free when I was a teenager. It was super hard at first, but the more I baked gluten-free the easier it is and now I could never go back to using regular flour. I started my own blog a year ago so that I could share my recipes with others.
I have never tried anything gluten free but I really want to start making stuff for the two people I know that are gluten free. I’m on a mission for them to be able to have a goodie again.
I started gf this past January to help with digestive issues. So far I’ve mostly limited myself to repackaged mixes. I’m coming up on my first gf holiday season so I’m still learning to navigate the ins and outs of good gf baking!
I will never forget the gluten free cookie dough that was given to me as a gift… Main flour ingredient – garbanzo bean flour… Beans and cookies?? REALLY?? Of course it tasted HORRID.. Nicole Hunn has been my GF lifesaver since I found out I’m intolerant a year ago. =) I can’t wait to try these rolls and I can’t wait to see all the amazingness in the book!
I have a dear friend who is gluten free. I’ve made Mel’s quinoa cake, which was a huge success. I would love to have some other recipes that I can share with her.
Gluten free products are so expensive to buy so that’s why I make everything myself! Bread is the hardest thing to make and I’m still looking for a great recipe. I’m looking forward to Nicole’s book!!
We have been gluten free a year now after our 2 yr old was diagnosed with celiac’s disease. I have used some bread recipes with brown rice flour, but have yet to find a really good gf bread recipe. The buns look awesome and perfect for Thanksgiving! Can’t wait to try them!
I would LOVE a copy of that book! I’ve been working on getting processed food out of my families diet for over a year now and I feel like I’ve done a pretty good job with my husband and I, but my kids’ diet still needs some work. I’ve hoped it would help with my 4 year olds behavior – he’s not diagnosed with ADHD or ODD but he is close. I’ve heard that going gluten free can help improve behavior (and I’d like to try everything I can before resorting to meds) but the kid is seriously addicted to bread and carbs in general! I do my best (I recently stopped by cold cereal and he’s slowly coming out of mourning :), but having a gluten free cookbook dedicated just to breads would be AMAZING!!! He especially loves bagels. I think he would eat them for all 3 meals a day if I let him! I’ve never tried to make a GF bread but I have plenty of GF recipes in my repitoire. Please pick me!
I have never used or eaten anything gluten free… As I trying to live a healthier lifestyle, this would be a good addition. Would like to learn more about it.
Thanks
Our 2 year old grandson was just diagnosed with Celiacs so I’m new this. I have only tried a few things with good results so far. I have been doing lots of research. Grandma’s have to have good stuff for those grandkids to eat when the visit!
I’m gluten intolerant and my daughter has a sensitivity I should be more careful about. I just stay away from breads, I eat lots of rice and oats for my carbs. I stick with the dessert recipes that were already made to be GF because they’re just better (in my experience so far) like monster cookies, no bakes, flourless chocolate cake….ice cream. 🙂 I would love to have a great gf bread recipe as well as a really good cupcake recipe!!!
I’ve never had to make gluten free recipes before but I know lots of people who do eat gluten free. Would love some tried and true recipes so I can cook for them!
My experience cooking gluten free is pretty mixed. I have a few friends who are drastically gluten intolerant, so I have tried to find good things to make for them. Most of them fail – the successes tend to involve a lot of sugar to cover up the bitter taste of the gf ‘flour’ – and I’ve NEVER found a good bread recipe. This book might be the ticket!
I have been eating GF for the last couple of years and have tried what feels like a thousand GF baking recipes. Some turn out great, some are complete failures (probably operator error). I love to try new recipes and have been afraid oto try breads so far, but this recipe looks too good to pass up!
I’m amazed how good gluten free breads are!
Made gluten free pie crust for topping of chicken pot pie. Really, had little taste. Would love a good cookbook to bring taste back to gluten free.
I have a brother with Celiac disease so I have just started experimenting with Gfree recipes. I have not taken on breads yet but am hosting thanksgiving and would love to make stuffing and rolls he could eat!!!
I’ve done baking, but haven’t attempted breads yet. Mostly Christmas cookies and quick breads. These look awesome and I will definitely be trying them for the holidays. 🙂
I would LOVE to win this cookbook for my dear friend who has Celiac’s. She is going through an incredibly rough time right now because her mother has stage 4 breast cancer and at the same time, her 13-year-old daughter is sick. She is so selfless. She spends all day taking care of her daughter and when her daughter goes to bed, she spends all night with her mother. She is the most giving woman I know, who if she found $10 in her pocket, she’d pass it on to someone in need, even though she could really use it herself. I would just LOVE to give her something to brighten her day a little bit. Thanks!
We camp with a friend who is now gluten free. Would love to be able to prepare something I know she can eat when it’s my turn to cook.
I am going to try your sweet and sour chicken recipe for a gluten free recipe! It looks delicious!
My husband and son have been gluten intolerant for almost two years. It took me a while to make something that was more than just ok. I have made some super scrumptious things, but I have also made things that were practically inedible. I would love this book, as breads are the most challenging when it comes to gluten free baking. I would love to get the recipes from an expert!
I’ve been eying some gluten free recipes but haven’t had the courage to try. My family loves all the bread recipes I’ve tried from this website so I guess it’s time to try this.
I loved reading all the comments above, I’ve never seen so many Celiacs in one place!! I was diagnosed almost a year ago, my house is completely GF after figuring out after a few months that the cross-contamination was too difficult to deal with. My GF cooking has improved and I can bake really yummy treats, but my two bread attempts have been failures 🙁
Gluten-free baking has been a daily experience for me this past year. Working recipes that everyone can enjoy. The key to baking or cooking for any special diet is make the food taste real. Bread is where I am attempting right now…love the challenge.
My mother-in-law has celiac and my son is gluten intolerant (we aren’t going to put him through testing for the diagnosis of celiac). It seems baking gluten free is either easy or impossible. Cookies, quick breads, and muffins are easy. Bread for sandwiches…..not so much. I’d love to be able to make bread at home rather than buy it. It’s expensive and full of preservatives I want to avoid.