Gluten Free Poppy Seed Rolls
These gluten free poppy seed rolls are wonderfully soft, with an open crumb and a thin, golden-brown crust. They’re incredibly close to the typical “white” wheat bread rolls, and it’s honestly difficult to guess that they’re gluten free at all! On top of that, they’re super easy to make and require only a single rise.
Servings 6 buns
Ingredients
For gluten free poppy seed rolls:
- 20 g (4 tbsp) whole/rough psyllium husk (If using psyllium husk powder, use only 17g.)
- 380 g (1 ½ cups + 1 ½ tbsp) warm water, divided
- 160 g (1 ⅓ cups + 1 tbsp) tapioca starch (You can also use an equal weight of arrowroot starch, cornstarch (US) or cornflour (UK), or potato starch.)
- 100 g (¾ cup) sorghum flour (You can also use an equal weight of buckwheat, white teff or gluten free oat flour.)
- 60 g (⅓ cup + 2 tbsp) millet flour, plus extra for flouring the surface (You can also use an equal weight of finely milled brown rice flour.)
- 20 g (1 ½ tbsp) granulated or caster/superfine sugar
- 8 g (1 ¼ tsp) salt
- 8 g (2 ½ tsp) instant yeast (If using active dried yeast, use 10g.)
- 10 g (2 tsp) apple cider vinegar
For egg wash:
- 1 UK medium/US large egg
- 15 g (1 tbsp) whole milk
You will also need:
- 3-4 tbsp poppy seeds
Instructions
For gluten free poppy seed rolls:
- Line a large baking sheet with baking/greaseproof paper.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the psyllium husk and 200g (¾ cup + 1 ½ tbsp) warm water. After about 15 seconds, a gel will form. Set aside until needed.
- In a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer, if using), whisk together the tapioca starch, sorghum flour, millet flour, sugar, salt and yeast.
- Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients, and add the rest of the warm water, psyllium gel and apple cider vinegar into it.Tip: If using active dried yeast, activate it first by mixing it with the rest of the warm water and a teaspoon of sugar. Set aside for about 5-10 minutes, until you see bubbles/foam appearing on the surface – this shows that the yeast is alive and active.
- Using a wooden spoon, mix well until the dough starts coming together. You can also use a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, making sure that you scrape down the sides of the bowl to remove any dry, un-mixed patches of flour.
- Once it starts coming together, knead it by hand until you get a homogeneous, smooth dough with no dry patches of un-mixed flour. Just squeeze the dough through your fingers, going around the bowl until you’ve incorporated all the flour. The final dough should form a ball and easily come away from the sides of the bowl. (Again, you can also use a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook).
- Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured surface and give it a gentle knead. Be careful not to incorporate too much extra flour into the dough.
- Roll out the dough into a long log and divide it into 6 equal pieces – I recommend using a digital kitchen scale to get the pieces of equal weight and therefore approximately equal size.
- Shape each piece into a ball – see the blog post for detailed instructions and step-by-step photos of how to best shape the poppy seed rolls.Tip: Don't worry if the surface of your rolls isn't perfectly smooth – that's to be expected due to the absence of gluten. As the rolls bake, their surface will smooth out due to oven spring.
- Once shaped into individual rolls, transfer them onto the lined baking sheet, at least 1 inch (2.5cm) apart from each other. I've arranged them in two rows of three (see blog post for photos).
- Lightly cover with cling film and proof them in a warm spot until approximately doubled in volume, for about 1 hour – 1 hour 15 minutes.
- While the rolls are proofing, adjust the oven rack to the middle position, place a baking tray at the bottom of the oven and pre-heat the oven to 480ºF (250ºC).
Assembling the gluten free poppy seed rolls:
- For the egg wash, whisk the egg and milk together until well combined.Tip: If you want to keep the poppy seed rolls vegan as well as gluten free, you can mix some dairy-free milk, such as almond, soy or rice milk, together with a bit of maple syrup (instead of the egg wash) – this will help the rolls brown nicely in the oven, while also ensuring that the poppy seeds stick to them.
- Once proofed, brush the rolls lightly with egg wash all over.
- Sprinkle generously with poppy seeds.
- Use a bread lame (or a sharp serrated knife) to cut a cross, about 1-2mm deep, into each roll.
Baking the gluten free poppy seed rolls:
- Place the rolls into the oven, pre-heated to 480ºF (250ºC) and pour boiling hot water into the baking tray at the bottom. Close the oven door and bake for 10 minutes. Tip: The presence of steam and the high oven temperature will maximise oven spring and smooth out the surface/crust of the rolls.
- After 10 minutes, remove the baking tray with the hot water from the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 390ºF (200ºC) and continue baking in a steam-free environment for a further 20-25 minutes until the rolls are deep golden brown. If the rolls start browning too quickly, you can cover them with aluminium foil (shiny side up) and continue baking until done.Tip: You don’t want to keep the steam source (baking tray with hot water) in the oven for too long, as it can make the rolls too heavy.
- Once baked, transfer the poppy seed rolls onto a wire cooling rack – this helps to maximise steam evaporation, to get a soft crumb that isn’t too wet, sticky or heavy. Allow to cool completely before slicing and serving.
Storage:
- These gluten free poppy seed rolls are at their very best on the day of baking.However, they keep well for 3-4 days in an airtight container at room temperature. If enjoying them on days 3 or 4, you’ll need to reheat them briefly in the microwave (for about 20 seconds) to soften them up again – once re-heated, they’re just as soft and delicious as they were on the first day. Alternatively, they’re amazing toasted or fried on a bit of butter!