This recipe for gluten free yeast free dinner rolls comes from reader Amanda Loeffler, who writes,
A Gluten Free Yeast Free Dinner Rolls Recipe is like creating a unicorn, or so one of my Chefs in Culinary School has told me when I told him what I was making one day in class. Since I love proving people wrong as several people I truly look up to like to do as well, I decided to take a recipe for Mayo’s Farm Squash Rolls and turn them into a gluten free, dairy free, yeast free Bread Roll Recipe.
When Amanda first sent me a picture of these rolls and told me what she had done, I did a little happy dance. I love it when folks send me new recipes they’ve made with my gfJules Flour, but especially when they seemingly do the impossible — like making these rolls not only gluten free, but also yeast free and vegan!
In fact, when made with my gfJules Flour which is certified free from the Top 9 Food Allergens (all of my gfJules products are, actually!), these rolls are virtually allergen-free!
I asked her for the recipe and couldn’t wait to try for myself. As you can see from my photos, these gluten free yeast free dinner rolls turned out as yummy as I’d hoped.
I’ve written the recipe according to the method I used to prepare it, and added Amanda Marie’s notes where helpful. The resulting rolls are soft and biscuit-like, just begging for butter and jelly or for perfect for complementing your dinner table.
So just in time for Thanksgiving, I give you Amanda’s Gluten Free Yeast Free Dinner Rolls Recipe.
Don’t let any dietary restriction stand in the way of you baking what you need (and want) this Thanksgiving, or on any other occasion.
If you can have yeast breads in your diet, I urge you to give my gluten free Pull Apart Dinner Rolls a try, or any of the other delicious breads at the Homemade Gluten Free Breads Tab on my site.
For more yeast-free bread recipes, hop to this article for information and links to lots more yeastless bread recipes, just for you!
Gluten Free Yeast Free Dinner Rolls Recipe
Gluten Free Yeast Free Dinner Rolls Recipe
Soft and fluffy gluten free, vegan and yeast-free dinner rolls! The unicorn of breads, in an easy bread recipe!
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound (2/3 cup) squash (butternut, acorn or spaghetti), peeled, seeded and scraped after steaming
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 5 cups (675 grams) gfJules™ Gluten Free All Purpose Flour
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 1/2 cups club soda (or other sparkling water)
- 4 Tablespoons baking powder
- 1 Tablespoon baking soda
- 3/4 cup butter or vegan butter softened (like Earth Balance® Buttery Sticks)
- 2 Tablespoons butter or vegan butter (like Earth Balance® Buttery Sticks), melted for brushing
Instructions
To prepare the squash, preheat oven 375°F and lightly oil the bottom of a baking sheet or dish (9×13 glass dish works well). Fill bottom with 1/2 inch of water.
Wash the squash and cut in half lengthwise. Scrape out the seeds and strings from inside. Place cut-side down in baking dish and cook for 30-45 minutes, depending on the thickness of the squash. The inside should be fork tender.
When cooked, remove and turn cut sides up to allow the squash to cool.
When cool enough to handle, cut the soft insides of the squash out, or scrape for spaghetti squash. Purée squash in a blender or food mill, or mash until smooth with a potato masher or fork. This process should yield 1/2 cup of squash purée. Set aside.
Amanda notes:
When you are baking without yeast, your prep and bake time is cut WAY down because there is no need to proof anything. Your goal should be to get your rolls in the oven asap.
Preheat the oven to 450°F or 400°F if baking in a convection oven.
Whisk together the gfJules Flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the middle and pour in baking soda, baking powder and club soda. There is a lot of leavening (baking powder and baking soda), so be prepared for bubbles as soon as the liquid is added!
Amanda notes:
FYI - it will remind you of the volcano science fair project we all did in middle school so use a really deep bowl.
Next stir in puréed squash and butter. Mixed with a stand mixer or use a wooden spoon and strong muscles! It will gradually become a soft, sticky dough.
Prepare a large cookie sheet by lining with parchment paper. Flour a clean counter or pastry mat with more gfJules Flour, then scoop out equal portions of dough one at a time, rolling in the flour to make smooth rolls. Amanda measured 2-ounce rolls; they can be larger or smaller, but should be roughly equal in size for even baking. Two-ounce rolls (about the size of a child's fist) will yield 24 rolls.
Once all the rolls are formed, brush them with melted butter and bake them for 12-15 minutes, or until lightly browned and risen. Do not overbake!
Notes
Amanda notes:
Serve this Gluten Free Yeast Free Bread Recipe and eat this gluten free yeast free bread recipe hot, folks. They are heavenly! They are also great for FALL!
Pin it for later!
What do they look like on the inside?
Hi LivvieJane, as with any yeast-free bread, they are more like a biscuit-y texture than an open-crumb texture, but they are not dense or heavy. I hope you love the recipe!
~jules
Like a Unicorn 🦄, which I saw a sculpture of just today (!!) this recipe has everything I sought to use and ACTUALLY HAVE ON HAND here in the kitchen. That means a lot. I bought a wonderful healthy gluten-free mix at .33 a serving the other day at our local health food store. My one niece is gluten-free and I’m so excited to bake for her. Big build up as I got all the ingredients ready and then once I tried to use the yeast it did not bubble. Its expired ;( so I am super excited to try this recipe tonight. I already have fresh baked pumpkin on hand. What a miracle! I’ll comment back once I try the recipe itself. Thank you so much and bless your abundant Thanksgiving time.
Do you think using canned butternut squash would be ok? Thanks!
Hi Tricia, I haven’t worked with canned butternut squash before, but my concern is that it might be to wet or soggy; frozen butternut squash cubes work ok though.
~jules
where can I find your flour?
Hi Beth – most people order right from my site and have it delivered to their door. Here’s the link to the shop pages: https://gfjules.com/ You can also check this link to see if there is a store in your area that carries my flour: https://gfjules.com/buy-local/
Please email us at Support@gfJules.com if you have any problems ordering or any other questions. I know you’ll love my products!
~jules
I followed the recipe exactly with very good results. The only thing I changed was temp (and I used another GF flour). I started at 450, and immediately turned down to 425 (parchment paper restriction). I did 2 trays and swapped shelves in oven after 6 minutes. I then removed parchment and cranked it back up to 450 until they turned a nice golden brown! Perfect!! Thank you!!
So glad they turned out for you, Matt. Thanks for sharing your method!
~jules
Hi. I tried these rolls after searching everywhere for something I can eat! Can’t have yeast, gluten or dairy and eggs. While I am OK with what turned out, cuz at least its something, mine certainly didn’t look like yours. I don’t claim to be a baker nor cook, but I did everything as described and came up with 24 rolls so it would be as close to the recipe as I could get it. Mine are very flat though, and seem very dense. They didn’t fluff at all. Baked for 15 minutes cuz they were still very pale looking at 12.Any ideas?
Hi Sandy, a couple questions: did you use my gfJules Flour? It makes a big difference in recipes, particularly those missing helpful baking ingredients like eggs. Also, is your baking powder and baking soda fresh? If they’re not fairly new, I’d suggest getting new containers for next time. It’s amazing how humidity and exposure to air can age those chemical leaveners and leave you with flat results. To get more color in the top of the rolls, brush with oil next time. I hope these tips help!
~jules
Yes, I only use your flour for all my baking and both my baking soda and powder were fresh, however I live in a basement apt and it does tend to get humid down here. Maybe that is what it was. I did use the Earth Balance on top of the rolls. My rolls ended up looking like large sugar cookies. I am still eating them, but its like eating a non-flakey biscuit
Reviewing the recipe again, I wonder if maybe your squash was extra moist. Next time, press the combed squash against a colander or even layered between paper towels to release extra moisture. Also, do you weigh your flour or measure it using a cup? If weighing, one cup of my flour weighs 135grams; if using a cup, spoon the gfJules Flour into the measuring cup and then level off with a knife — this should help you measure it most accurately. The good news is that there are variables like squash in this recipe, so I have hope that next time they’ll turn out better for you, and at least they still tasted good even if they were flat! 🙂
Let me know how it goes!
~jules
Thank you. I’ll give it a try! And BTW, I measure
Can these be made in advance and frozen?
Hi Donna, yes, you can absolutely make them ahead and freeze them. Did you want to freeze the dough or the baked out rolls?
~jules
Baked rolls
Hi Donna, you could bake the rolls and let them fully cool, then put them in zip-top bags with the air pressed out of the bag. When you want to serve, wrap them in a tea towel and warm gently in the microwave or wrap that in foil and warm gently in the oven.
~jules
I made these last year and even the gluten eating family members liked them. I plan to do them again for the holidays…what do you suggest for them being less flaky? We couldn’t pick them up without them falling apart. Still tasty though. 🙂
Glad they were tasty, Terry! I’m not sure what to say about the falling apart thing – I didn’t have that issue with mine. Maybe make them a bit smaller? You’ll need to dial back the bake time then, too, though. Let me know what you work out!
~jules
Can you use regular butter rather than Earth Blend?
Yes, absolutely! Earth Balance and regular butter have the same moisture ratio, so they are an even exchange. Happy Baking!
~jules
Can i make these ahead of time – prep the batter/dough , scoop onto sheets and refrigerate until the next day?
Yes Lori! That will work just fine if they are well covered so they don’t dry out. I would let them come to room temp before baking for best rise.
~jules
Do you think this would work baking for longer on a lower temperature of 350?
It might dry the rolls out a bit more, but you could try it if you need. Let me know how it goes!
~jules
thanks! will do 🙂
It took me a while to get back, but the recipe worked for me at 350 really well. I had to keep checking it as it had to be cooked longer and I ended up losing track of time lol so I’m not sure how much longer I actually had to bake them for but it didn’t take too long.
do you think it would work to shape and bake these for use as hamburger buns?
Hi Phill, I think so. You can see from the photos that they turn out pretty rounded anyway – they would make nice yeast-free hamburger buns!
~jules
To make these rolls easier, I cook and puree the squash (several) all at once on a gf baking day. Then I freeze it in half-cup (or 1cup) Food Saver packages. I can then make these rolls “last minute” by thawing the squash in the microwave, mixing and baking while the main course is cooking…in a crock pot, kettle on the stove, or being pressure cooked. A real delicious addition to any home cooked, gf meal!
What a great idea, Marilyn! Thanks so much for taking a minute to share!
~jules
Nice prep ideas Marilyn 😉
I made your bread in my breadman machine GF cycle. It rose very nicely in the machine but at one stage it just went down and stayed that way. I still ate it, it is good, but I am sure puzzled about why this happened.
I thought it might be my machine so I made another recipe, this did not happen.
Any ideas. I live in London ON and wondered it the altitude might be a problem.
I am not all that swift about breadmaking.
Hi Terri,
Were you using my gfJules flour blend? It makes all the difference in the world. Also, this is a recipe for dinner rolls – are you saying you baked it off as a loaf in a bread machine? Without yeast, I don’t think this recipe would work particularly well baked off as a loaf. Try it as dinner rolls, and definitely use my flour. The altitude shouldn’t affect it at all. Hope that helps, but here is some more info on baking homemade gluten free breads: https://gfjules.com/18-tips-for-gluten-free-bread-baking/
~jules
can you use this flour in regular bread machine
Hi Terri, thanks for writing in. Yes, you can absolutely use my flour in any bread machine. Here are some tips on using a bread machine in gluten-free bread baking. Let me know if you have any other baking questions!
~jules