The scent of freshly baked cinnamon rolls must be one of the best and most homely scents in the world. Some time ago my eldest daughter popped in just as I was baking rolls and said: “Oh, if only this scent could be bought on a bottle!”
These rolls are undoubtedly one of the most loved baked goods, at least here in Finland. At my house you will encounter the smell quite often due to the fact that I am hopelessly hooked on them. I just can’t live without one, or two… or rather three or four of them a day.
How to make fluffy and soft gluten free buns? It is well known fact that in order to make a good gluten free dough you need a couple of tricks in order to succeed. By following the recipe below you will probably end up with a good dough and good rolls, although each and every baker needs to practice in order to master this one.
Use more psyllium powder than the box says, the recommended amount, 1 tablespoon, is a way too little.
A gluten free flour mix made of wheat starch is quite easy to find in Finland but I don’t really know how the situation is in other countries. Hopefully you can find some, because there are so many sweet pastries that just call for the aroma of wheat. For example cinnamon rolls are not cinnamon rolls if you can’t use wheat flour!
PORTION: about 40-42 buns
TIME TO MAKE: to make and rise the dough takes about two hours, rolling and baking about one hour
INGREDIENTS:
- 7 dl milk
- 50 g fresh yeast
- 1½ dl sugar
- 2 teaspoons of salt
- 2 eggs
- 3 tablespoons of psyllium powder
- about 750 g of gluten free wheat starch flour
- 250 g baking margarine
For the filling:
- soft butter
- cinnamon
- sugar
One egg for the egg wash and pearl sugar (a lot of) on the top.
Grumble the yeast in a large baking bowl, add sugar, salt and eggs. Put milk and margarine in a pot and heat the milk up to hand temperature. Pour the milk in the bowl but let the margarine stay in the pot and keep it on the stove until it melts.
Add flour gradually, kneading well all the time. The longer you knead, the less flour you need. Stop adding flour when you have used 750-800 gr. At that point the dough still sticks to your hand (like in the photo below), but because we are making gluten free rolls, you just have to stop here.
Now it is time to add all the melted margarine. Knead very well until the whole dough isn’t sticking to your fingers anymore and it comes clean off the sides of the bowl. You have to use a knife to clean your fingers, but you just have to live with it this – the less flour you use the better gluten free buns you’ll have. Photo below: The dough is ready for rising in a warm place under a lid or a towel. Let it rise about 1,5 hours.
Preheat the oven to 250°C (480°F)
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Punch down the dough and divide into two equally sized portions. Before that dust the baking table with flour. Leave the other half still waiting in the baking bowl.
Use enough flour under the dough, because it quite easily sticks to the table. Use your hands to shape a long stump of the first portion and pat it in a suitable shape before you start rolling. The less rolling you end up with, the smaller the risk of the dough sticking. And again, add some flour under the dough if needed and roll very, gently and carefully, making sure not to widen the dough too much.
First spread soft butter, then cinnamon and sugar on the dough. Beginning with the long side, roll the dough into a tube shape, seam side down.
Cut into 20-22 cylinders like shown in the photo above. A bit like a zigzag.
Press into the center with your both index fingers and pinch the sides lightly together.
Place the cinnamon rolls on the baking paper, from four to five a row. Repeat with the batch still waiting.
For the egg wash lightly whisk the egg. Brush each roll with the egg wash and sprinkle plenty of pearl sugar.
Bake the rolls on the middle rack for 15 minutes or until they are beautifully golden brown in color.
You can eat them right away or you can freeze them after cooling and then defrost them when needed.
tags: gluten free Finnish cinnamon rolls gluten free buns gluten free wheat dough wheat buns wheat doughs
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