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!
Oh I would really love to win. My daughter is allergic to gluten and I am struggling to make her bread. I have had so many flops. I’d love some great recipes.
I don’t eat gluten free myself,but my best friend does. Although it is a fun accomplishment for me to go for a while without eating gluten.=)
My favorite gluten-free recipe is a Flourless Chocolate Cake. I served it to some friends who are not gluten-free & they loved it. One asked me to make it for her birthday!.
I have only had 1 failure on my GF baking and it was “user error” (not properly converting honey instead of sugar). The reason I am successful is that I use Nicole’s recipes. I never attempted GF baking before finding Nicole. I love her and can’t wait for this book — and cannot wait to make these rolls!!!
I’ve had great success with gluten free quick breads, pie crusts, and cookies. (Hint: Expandex. It works wonders. I get mine in bulk at Bob’s Red Mill in Portland, OR. It can be purchased online, too.)
I’ve yet to be able to replicate actual bread, though. Very excited for this book!
I have no experience with GF cooking or baking, but this book looks tasty and intriguing. I would love to try it out.
My son has celiac, and I’ve been cooking and baking gluten-free since his diagnosis. I have great success with one specific bread recipe but pies are a disaster! Thanks for the chance to win and I’m glad I found your blog.
I’ve been eating gluten free for just over a year once my gluten intolerance was discovered. Being a college student, I haven’t experimented with baking gluten free bread. Either I eat gluten free bread that sympathetic friends give me (they think I am deprived) or I do without.
Ive just recently started making gf breads and desserts. Im having fun exploring the different types of flour, many so nutritious!
I’d love to win–just started gf last March, mostly for my son, but we’ve all benefitted–still learning–this would be great!! Thanks!
I’ve gone from scared stupid I’m bored to I can make anything GF and wonder why I’ve gained weight.lol but bread is still hard to find a nice taste or texture, please help by sending the book. Thanks
My experience – to this point- is none. My daughter-in-law has just started trying to go gluten free and I would like to have something for her to eat on Thanksgiving Day, so I am looking for inspiration. This book looks awesome!
I haven’t done much gluten free baking since I don’t have a need to, but more & more of my friends are eating gluten free so I really need to figure it out so when I want to make them something I will know how.
I’ve been eating GF for almost 3 years and even though I found many good recipes and am able to prepare a lot of delicipus GF meals, I never had success with bread! I’m still looking for the perfect recipe ;).
I would love this book! I’ve been G-Free for 4 years now and haven’t attempted bread …. but I so want to ! Nicole is amazing and I follow her site religiously but I haven’t screwed up enough courage to try bread. If I get the book though, I’ll have to make bread! I hope I win! Thanks for the opportunity!
My experiences have been for friends and family: mixes bought at a natural food store (so-so) and then your GF quinoa chocolate cake (made as cupcakes)…those were the BOMB!! So for those I love, I will try these as well and would love to get the cookbook! Thanks Mel, love your blogging guts too. 🙂
I did a paleo challenge for eight weeks. Not eating gluten for two months was a challenge but I never felt better! Now that I no longer have to eat paleo, I am finding that I prefer how my body feels on a gluten free diet. So this cookbook would be fantastic!
I have made a few gluten free things, the best were the gluten free PB cookies with 3 ingredients: PB, egg, and sugar! Easy and good!
I have friends and family that are GF and I’d love to have recipes to be able to make for them!
My good friend has recently been diagnosed with Celiac, so I am now on a quest for good gluten-free bread recipes. Thanks!!
My experiences with GF baking has been varied. I’ve had some recipes totally fail and some be quite good – I’ve had to work hard to get an acceptable loaf of bread (still no acceptable pizza crust though) and a cookie recipe I make regularly, but am excited to try Nicole’s new method. Thanks for the preview!
I’ve never made anything gluten free but my little sis found out a couple weeks ago that two of her kids might be struggling with gluten. She would love this cookbook!!
My daughter was diagnosed with celiac disease as an infant. She’s been GF for about nine years now, and any time I see a good (potentially) bread recipe, I try it (usually not to success). Very excited about these rolls! Which of the three recommended flour mixes did you use?
I’m gluten free. I don’t bake much because it’s hard to figure out the gf flours. But I love gluten free on a shoe string! She has great recipes.
I have experimented with alot of gluten free bread recipes and most have been terrible. I’ve been the most successful with almond flour but, my husband has a severe nut allergy and I I’d like to make something the whole family can eat. I will give this recipe a try. I would love to win the cookbook.
I don’t have any experience cooking gluten free, but my friend’s hubby has Celiacs and this would be a perfect Christmas present for her!
It can be so hard to find good GF recipes. I’ve experimented with packaged GF baking mixes and with mixing my own, only to find them lacking in taste and texture. I’m hoping that this book can change that for me. While I haven’t been diagnosed with celiac, my mother has and my maternal grandmother had “wheat allergies”, so I try to eat as much GF foods as I can…but I miss GOOD, affordable bread!!!
I have tried GF baking with mixed results, but with a sister, sister-in-law and 2 friends GF, this would sure come in handy. Thanks for all your hard work, Mel!
My sister and I recently made your gluten free chocolate cake as a wedding cake for my brother’s wedding. The cake was made to look like a tree log. I was beautiful and the cake was delicious. Thank you!
I have several friends and family members with Celiacs and every time I try and bake something for them I feel undereducated and overwhelmed. This book would be such a great resource!
I have a sister-in-law and niece with celiac. I tried making them go cookies once and it was a disaster. I would love to give them this book as a gift!
Have not made any yet, but have two frieds that are gluten free, and when I entertain I want to have them enjoy everything on the table.
I have been gluten free for about 10-11 years. At first, finding good recipes was challenging. With more diagnoses occurring, more products, recipes, and supplies are available. Gluten Free meals in restaurants are also more available. I have 1 GF cookbook and have modified recipes one variable at a time to improve many of them. I use many types of GF flours but brown rice flour is the most used flour in my kitchen. The most challenging thing has been getting yeast breads that rise well and do not cave in. I would love to receive the “Gluten Free on a Shoestring Bakes Bread” cookbook. Thank you.
How awesome is it to see so many people sharing their experiences and tips for going Gluten-Free! I have recently (like 2-3 weeks ago) started going Gluten-Free for my son. We’re hoping it helps and we can stay as dedicated as many of you have!
I’m very new to gluten-free cooking/baking. I have made a few cookie and quick bread recipes, but I would be very interested in this cookbook. I have become close with a new friend that follows a gluten-free diet, and this would help me prepare for our get-togethers! 🙂
This book looks awesome. Two of my children have a gluten-free teacher. I need gluten-free recipes for my holiday cookies so they don’t feel left out.
I’ve only recently started trying to bake my own gluten free bread. It’s been a mostly disappointing process so far.
Have not tried anything gluten free that wasn’t dry, crumbly or had a horrible after taste.
I haven’t done it yet, but I really want to try making my own gluten free bread.
My husband has Celiac Disease and Nicole’s recipes have been a good start for us. I have most of the GF flours and ingredients, but this recipe looks beyond complicated, even for us!
I haven’t tried gluten free yet, but this sounds like the perfect book to begin. I have friends who are gluten free and this would be fun baking for them.
While I don’t have experience with gluten free baking, I’ve been avoiding gluten and find that I feel so much better. The funny thing is that I’m a baker and am surrounded by bread all day! I would love to learn gluten free baking and actually be able to eat bread every once in a while.
Ahhh…..gluten free baking. Its a struggle at times! I love cooking/baking. My daughter and I are Celiac so things have changed, but for the better! Im not always a success, but I do love to try new recipes. Recently have moved to Colorado so baking at altitude and in a really dry climate changes things. I always approach a new recipe thinking Im going to have to try it a couple times. Different flour blends affect a recipe differently. You just have to realize NOT one flour or flour blend is truly an ‘all-purpose’. GF can be a challenge, but makes your successes that much sweeter!! I now have some go-to recipes that I use weekly. I have made many GFOAS recipes with success, even with my kids and husband! At a recent school event, it was awesome to hear people say “I want to see if your cookies are still around! They are the best!” and they aren’t GF people!!
We have been GF for about 3 years. My children are sensitive to wheat and gluten, so we’ve been doing Pamela’s baking mix here and there and trying to do some GF baking of our own. I have not had a ton of success with bread baking, it always seems dense and somehow bitter when you make your own. There’s a few recipes that we like, but I wish there were some that tastes like Udi’s brand and good old white wheat flour recipes. I can’t wait to try the Hawaiian bread recipe above. Most of the recipes that we’ve tried, the bread tastes pretty ok or even great hot out of the oven or heated up, but definitely a bit blah when cold. Not great for packing a lunch or on the go. Thanks for the opportunity!
Unfortunately, I have to follow a strict gf diet. Most recipes, especially breads, don’t turn out so great! I have the other two shoestring books and they’ve helped me a lot- I’d love to add this one to my collection!!!!!
I have had the most successes with Nicole’s recipes but have also had some success with other recipes on other blogs. Now, thanks to Nicole, I have found yet another wonderful site to explore!
I have several friends who are celiacs, so my favorite gluten-free desserts I make for them is a flourless chocolate cake or Chocolate Soufflé Cupcakes with White Chocolate Mint Cream. Yum!!
Both my husband and myself are gluten intolerant…different symptoms but g/f works for both of us. We also have other foods that we can’t tolerate, nightshades (no potato flour, etc.) for me and he can’t tolerate rice flour so I have learned to adapt recipes to accommodate our various food intolerances. Just made a wonderful g/f French bread recipe for the first time and it worked! I’m looking forward to reading Nicole’s bread book and trying her new recipes.
i’ve only ever tried baking with almond flour to create something gluten free. so far, everything has turned out good.
My kids gave me “Gluten Free on a Shoestring” last year for Christmas and. the. book. DELIVERS! It quickly became one of my go-to books because the recipes are delish, but super easy. I am usually a cook book picture snob and don’t bother trying a recipe if I can’t see a final version, but I eat (haha) my words every time with these recipes. (And trust me, there are some naaaaasty GF options out there!)
BTW, I was thrilled a few months back when you posted the chocolate cake made from quinoa. Thanks for branching out and helping us GF peeps get our carb/bread game ON…