I hadn’t eaten a cinnamon roll for seven years. That was because I was a little apprehensive to try this recipe in its gluten-free form. But it was surely worth the wait. These tender pastries taste identical to their wheat cousins, though the dough is a little harder to work with.
One thing I love about this recipe is that you make the dough the night before. It rests in the refrigerator so that you can wake up to a brunch of delicious rolls within an hour of morning prep. Fresh from the oven, they are buttery, sugary, and simply sensational.
As are many of the recipes on this website, this was a favorite of mine when I cooked with wheat flour. I have shied away from converting recipes for bready items, especially those that must be rolled, because most gluten-free dough is so sticky. And making homemade cinnamon rolls is a big investment of time, ingredients, and energy. I even investigated recipes on the Internet for gluten-free cinnamon rolls. But after much deliberation, I decided that my tried and true recipe was the best foundation. And the proof was in the pudding...well, in the cinnamon roll.
So, don’t be daunted by the long set of directions. You can expect to spend about 20-30 minutes preparing the dough the night before and about an hour creating and baking the rolls, including glazing. That’s only 90 minutes to get 36 yummy cinnamon rolls that you can eat or freeze.
Dough
2 and 2/3 sorghum flour
1 and 1/3 arrowroot starch
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes (cut lengthwise in two directions, then crosswise)
1 package yeast
1/4 cup lukewarm water + 1/2 cup water
1/2 cup cream
2 eggs, beaten
Filling
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 cups raisins (optional)
2 tablespoons soft butter
Glaze
1 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon cream (plus more as needed)
1 tablespoon water (plus more as needed)
Day 1: Dough
The night before baking, assemble dough in a large bowl. Whisk sorghum flour, arrowroot starch, xanthan gum, sugar, and salt. Using a pastry blender, incorporate the butter.
Sprinkle yeast over the lukewarm (warm to the pinky but cool to the wrist) water, and stir or swirl to dissolve the yeast fully. Add all wet ingredients (water/yeast, additional water, cream, and eggs) to the dry ingredients. Mix with a fork to incorporate thoroughly.
Cover bowl tightly or place in a sealed container overnight in the refrigerator.
Day 2: Assembly and Baking
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare 2 large cookie sheets with a silicon mat, grease, or parchment paper.
Filling
Mix sugar and cinnamon with a fork. Measure raisins.
Place half of the dough on a board or counter covered liberally with sorghum flour. Roll dough in flour, covering all sides, pressing flour into sides of dough. Cover top of dough with two sheets of plastic wrap (spanning 12“ x 18”) before rolling. Roll to approximately 12“ x 18”. Remove plastic. Then, coat the dough lightly with small amounts of butter to enhance the sticking of the cinnamon sugar mixture. It is not necessary to coat uniformly. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar; distribute raisins over top. Roll from the wide side so that the roll is about 18” long. Cut with a sharp knife into 1-inch sections. As you lift each section to place on the cookie sheet, try to contain the cinnamon sugar. Any leftover cinnamon sugar can be scooped up and placed on top of the rolls when you are done. Lightly mash the rolls into the cookie sheet with your palm. Don’t worry if the pastry doesn’t form a coherent ball.
Bake at 400 degrees for 12 minutes (convection oven: 375 degrees for 9-10 minutes).
Repeat for second half of dough.
Glaze
Prepare glaze when rolls leave the oven. With a fork, mix powdered sugar (you can sift to remove lumps) with cream and water. Only add the minimum amount of liquid needed to make a glaze that will pour/drip. Add more liquid incrementally. If you add too much liquid, balance with more sugar. When rolls are still warm, drizzle glaze over the top of each. The glaze will melt.
Yield: 36 rolls. Freezes well.
***
I can’t describe how good these cinnamon rolls are. You’ll have to bake them for yourself and find out!
One thing I love about this recipe is that you make the dough the night before. It rests in the refrigerator so that you can wake up to a brunch of delicious rolls within an hour of morning prep. Fresh from the oven, they are buttery, sugary, and simply sensational.
As are many of the recipes on this website, this was a favorite of mine when I cooked with wheat flour. I have shied away from converting recipes for bready items, especially those that must be rolled, because most gluten-free dough is so sticky. And making homemade cinnamon rolls is a big investment of time, ingredients, and energy. I even investigated recipes on the Internet for gluten-free cinnamon rolls. But after much deliberation, I decided that my tried and true recipe was the best foundation. And the proof was in the pudding...well, in the cinnamon roll.
So, don’t be daunted by the long set of directions. You can expect to spend about 20-30 minutes preparing the dough the night before and about an hour creating and baking the rolls, including glazing. That’s only 90 minutes to get 36 yummy cinnamon rolls that you can eat or freeze.
Dough
2 and 2/3 sorghum flour
1 and 1/3 arrowroot starch
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes (cut lengthwise in two directions, then crosswise)
1 package yeast
1/4 cup lukewarm water + 1/2 cup water
1/2 cup cream
2 eggs, beaten
Filling
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 cups raisins (optional)
2 tablespoons soft butter
Glaze
1 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon cream (plus more as needed)
1 tablespoon water (plus more as needed)
Day 1: Dough
The night before baking, assemble dough in a large bowl. Whisk sorghum flour, arrowroot starch, xanthan gum, sugar, and salt. Using a pastry blender, incorporate the butter.
Sprinkle yeast over the lukewarm (warm to the pinky but cool to the wrist) water, and stir or swirl to dissolve the yeast fully. Add all wet ingredients (water/yeast, additional water, cream, and eggs) to the dry ingredients. Mix with a fork to incorporate thoroughly.
Cover bowl tightly or place in a sealed container overnight in the refrigerator.
Day 2: Assembly and Baking
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare 2 large cookie sheets with a silicon mat, grease, or parchment paper.
Filling
Mix sugar and cinnamon with a fork. Measure raisins.
Place half of the dough on a board or counter covered liberally with sorghum flour. Roll dough in flour, covering all sides, pressing flour into sides of dough. Cover top of dough with two sheets of plastic wrap (spanning 12“ x 18”) before rolling. Roll to approximately 12“ x 18”. Remove plastic. Then, coat the dough lightly with small amounts of butter to enhance the sticking of the cinnamon sugar mixture. It is not necessary to coat uniformly. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar; distribute raisins over top. Roll from the wide side so that the roll is about 18” long. Cut with a sharp knife into 1-inch sections. As you lift each section to place on the cookie sheet, try to contain the cinnamon sugar. Any leftover cinnamon sugar can be scooped up and placed on top of the rolls when you are done. Lightly mash the rolls into the cookie sheet with your palm. Don’t worry if the pastry doesn’t form a coherent ball.
Bake at 400 degrees for 12 minutes (convection oven: 375 degrees for 9-10 minutes).
Repeat for second half of dough.
Glaze
Prepare glaze when rolls leave the oven. With a fork, mix powdered sugar (you can sift to remove lumps) with cream and water. Only add the minimum amount of liquid needed to make a glaze that will pour/drip. Add more liquid incrementally. If you add too much liquid, balance with more sugar. When rolls are still warm, drizzle glaze over the top of each. The glaze will melt.
Yield: 36 rolls. Freezes well.
***
I can’t describe how good these cinnamon rolls are. You’ll have to bake them for yourself and find out!
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