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!
I’ve only made a few GF recipes and none of them wowed me. A friend lives a GF lifestyle and while some of her food tastes ok, they’ve never been such that I thought they were better than their gluten counterparts. So call me a GF skeptic. 🙂
No luck in the past. Gave up. But I’d love to try again.
I’ve never tried any gluten free recipes, but have several friends that do. It would be nice to have some good gluten free recipes so I can bake something for these good friends of mine!
I work with a number of people who are working towards gluten free so I have started to look at this as well. Improved health seems to be the benifit everyone enjoys 🙂
I am leaning towards my 4th son having a gluten free diet. He is a mspi baby which cuts out all dairy and soy, so gluten might be next.
GF recipes? A rollercoaster of trial and error, hockey puck baked goods and perfect fluffy delights!! Would love to be able to utilize this cookbook!
Not much experience with gluten free cooking, but would love to try!
I have made several gluten free recipes, but never bread. I’m definitely interested in trying these rolls!
A few things here and there. Nothing too crazy. My sister-in-law is gluten-free, and I would love to be able to make her breads that she can actually she eat when she comes over! Thanks!
I’ve made flourless chocolate cake and Brazilian cheese bread. Both were delicious! I haven’t really attempted much with gf flour though.
Our family tried going gluten free after reading the Wheat Belly and realizing that my husband has a carb addiction. I did it mostly for him but after going gluten free the pain that I had been experiencing in my back went away within a week. Now every time I eat gluten my back starts hurting from the inflammation that it causes. I also think that it has been causing mouth sores for me my entire life. For the most part I don’t eat “gluten free” items because I just don’t care for them. So I eat hamburgers without buns, etc. It would be so nice to have some good recipes that I can use to replace those items that seems to go so well with most meals. Thanks!
I have never made anything gluten-free but would love to win this book to try my hand at it!
I have a daughter who has recently discovered her intolerance to gluten. It is killing her, so recipes like this should help me make food she can eat. Thank you!
My 10 year old daughter was diagnosed with Celiac Disease in January so this has been a roller coaster of a year learning how to bake gluten free. I am thankful to Gluten Free on a Shoestring for helping me along the way! My daughter’s favorite bread recipe is the Sourdough Bread. We keep a constant supply of starter in the fridge for our weekly loaf! It would be so great to win a cookbook that is nothing but breads!
I have had mixed experiences cooking gluten free. The more I practice the better it gets and we have many recipes that we prefer to be made GF even if they are prepared for those who do not need to avoid gluten. It is SO much easier to cook/bake GF than it was even 10 years ago… labeling has improved and restaurants are much more accommodating. I would love to try the recipes in this new cookbook… breads are always a treat.
My dad has Celiac disease. He would be in heaven with these rolls…they look divine! I’d love a copy of the book to give to him!
I always mess them up! I need some practice making gluten free food. It seems to be an art form.
My son has celiacs so we have to eat gluten free. My results were just so so until I started using Better Batter flour and following recipes from Gluten Free on a Shoestring. I swear by both of them.
I’m trying to be gluten free, but as the others in the home are not impressed, because they just want the bread and buns that I’m used to the bake, so I’m bake for them and do not eat anything my selv 🙁
My whole family is allergic to gluten, so I do gluten free baking all the time. I would love to try this!
Honestly, I have no experience! But I’m willing to try. If mel says it’s good, it must be 🙂
I know several people who are gluten free, although, I have never tried it. It would be interesting to try it to see the difference.
This looks like an awesome recipe and I can’t wait to try it!! I am new to GF cooking and baking. So far, I have been looking for recipes that are easily adapted, replacing cornstarch for flour in gravies and soups, etc. I found a peanut butter cookie recipe without flour that is delicious. I also noticed your Sweet and Sour chicken recipe could easily be made with GF soy sauce. Would love this cookbook!
I haven’t tried gluten-free, but I’d love to give it a shot. Especially when it comes on recommendation from Mel’s!
I’ve tried cooking more gluten free items as it helps my daughter’s eczema. I’ve made some good things and some not so good things. Our favorite is a banana muffin. I follow Nicole’s blog and have long wanted her cookbook.
I have never made anything gluten free intentionally, though we make a lot of bread and bread products at home, this looks like an awesome cookbook and we would love to give it a go for sure
Found most gluten free recipes to be nasty, would like to try some tasty ones
I’ve been gluten free since February and feel SO much better. Up until now I have not missed baked goods (gasp, I know!) but there is something about the cold weather and holidays approaching that has made me start looking and experimenting. My pizza crust last night was a fail. I believe this cookbook will find a happy home in my kitchen!
My teenage daughter has suffered from a chronic illness for the past few years. Going GF has helped some–but it is a challenge finding items to make. Thanks for an awesome recipe. I can’t wait to try it!
I have yet to attempt GF recipes due to being completely intimidated. My sister just started eating Gluten Free and I would love to be able to help her by being able to make some things that she could eat!
I don’t have any experience with gluten-free baking. I would look forward to trying these recipes that are full of flavor.
Until now, I have not had to cook gluten free, but I have a family member being tested now and think that will be changing soon.
I make a ton of gluten free quick breads and pies etc. but I’ve never dove into yeast based recipes that were gluten free
I really enjoy trying new gluten free recipes and I would love to get my hands on this cookbook!
I have not had much success with GF breads. So I don’t even try any more. I would love to have this recipe book so that I can eat bread again.
My best friend has celiac disease. When cooking for her I’ve been most successful not with recipes formulated to be gluten free but instead with taking my favorite, tried & true recipes and subbing in her homemade gluten free flour mix.
I’ve never tried gluten-free baking, but with more and more of my friends being gluten intolerant or allergic I’m going to have to give it a try – because how else do I show someone I care than by baking?!
we went gluten free in july 2000 in solidarity with my autistic son. later, i found out it was necessary for me also. i am so happy you are friends with nicole! she’s wonderful – a true rock star in the gf world. i’ll be forever grateful for her knock off Against the Grain recipes. other than wishing for a time machine so i could have had her expertise 13 years ago, i wish i could win a copy of her newest cookbook.
I’ve tasted some Gluten free items that my neighbor has made that were yummy and some that were not. I’ve wanted to learn more about it but I could never go without breads, rolls, etc so to have tried and true recipes would be great.
I’m gf and I miss good bread!!
Thank you for this recipe! I have always loved your site and your recipes are always my go to for everything. I have had to change everything I eat because of a gluten intolerance and it has been very hard for me. I am always looking for great recipes! Thank you! 🙂
We’ve been gluten free for about 6 months now and I find some recipes are easy and great and some not so much. We have a waffle recipe that doubles as bread and hamburger buns, and chocolate chip cookies we are happy with. I CANNOT find a pizza crust recipe we like and last night’s pancakes were never going to be cooked in the middle. I would love to win a copy of this cookbook and thank you for sharing a recipe from it!
I’m gluten-free and have come along way in my GF baking. At first it was just terrible. So many horrible, tasteless things. But I feel like I’ve got a good handle on most things now. Would LOVE this book! I love Nicole’s blog and her recipes.
I have two sisters with children who have celiac. I’ve never tried a bread, but I have tried gluten free desserts when they come over. I’d love to win this for one of them.
My sweet 8 yr old don just got diagnosed with celiac 4 weeks ago. I am desperate for baking/cooking help! I would love this book
My husband was just diagnosed Crohn’s disease and I have IBS, so we eat gluten free as it helps our stomachs. I am new to cooking gluten free and need all the help resources I can get. We have bought and tried to make many things that were not very edible. This would be a lifesaver.
I’ve never baked gluten free bread. I would love to learn.
I haven’t tried to make gluten-free breads yet, but this recipe sounds like a winner!
GFOAS , so need your bread book, my son misses having tasty bread!
I do gluten free for some friends and family. I like to find recipes that do not replace the flour with another flour. This book would make a great gift for a loved one