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| You don't have to go without buns if gluten free. Here's how to make your own hamburger rolls. |
Have you seen the price of gluten-free hamburger buns?
I can't eat store-bought buns, due to the whole grains in them, but I was looking at them the other day for hubby. They can be convenient when we need a bun on short notice.
I keep hoping I'll find bread products made with just white rice flour and starches, and no sorghum, or other added fibers, but I almost never do.
Udi's seems to have a corner on the market, when it comes to almost anything, but lately, I've been able to find Schar and Sam's Choice here in the Dallas-Fort Worth area of Texas.
When we tried Schar buns in Utah, we didn't care for them.
We haven't tried the Sam's Choice ones because they are outrageously priced, and we were saving up to buy a house the last time I saw them. Like most gluten-free hamburger buns, you get four measly buns for the cost of a whole loaf of bread.
That comes to more than a dollar each. More like a buck fifty.
Even for just the two of us, 3 dollars is quite expensive for one serving of bread, so over the years, I've been working on and reworking this hamburger bun recipe to make it more like the old hamburger buns that we miss so terribly.
While I like the convenience of being able to buy gluten-free hamburger buns in the freezer section at Walmart, Winco, and Kroger, gluten-free buns are not soft and tender like a hamburger bun should be.
They are not even as soft as a loaf of gluten-free bread. I can't figure that one out because my buns are much softer than my homemade gluten-free french bread is.
The store ones are also pretty stale. And often, crumbly.
This recipe for super-soft gluten-free hamburger buns started out as a gluten-free oatmeal bread I had created for the Making the Gluten-Free Diet Journey blog I used to have a few years ago, back when I was new to gluten free.
That recipe didn't make very good hamburger rolls.
I had to do a lot of fiddling with the recipe and juggling the ingredients around to get an acceptable bun.
Eventually, I came up with something suitable enough to post, but my efforts didn't stop there.
Measuring out the assorted flours and starches every single time I wanted to make a bun was a pain, so I created a gluten-free hamburger bun flour mix to make that chore easier.
In the process, I stumbled onto the secret behind getting super-soft gluten-free hamburger buns, so in this post, I'm going to share with you everything I know about making homemade gluten-free buns.
The Secret Behind Making Gluten-Free Baking Easier
It is a hassle to measure out all of the flours and starches in a recipe each time you want to bake, so one day I got smart:
I created a gluten-free hamburger-bun flour mix to make that chore easier.
Since I already had a recipe developed, I was able to use the flour and starch measurements from the recipe to design the mix. Surprisingly, the mix made a drastic improvement in the softness and texture of the buns.
I think that was because when I measured out the mix, all at once, it resulted in less flour than when I measured out each individual ingredient alone. I got the same results as if I'd taken the time to weigh out my flours.
We were absolutely thrilled!
However, life never goes the way you think it will.
Why I Had to Change the Recipe
Over time, I discovered that gluten-free grains were causing a lot of the issues and symptoms I had that still wouldn't go away, even after being strictly gluten free for over 8 years.
I found that out once I was able to pin the reactions I was having to the store-bought gluten-free bread that hubby was eating at the time.
These were not my usual gluten symptoms, such as joint pain and diarrhea, but more like a bad stomach ache.
After giving up:
- sorghum flour
- brown rice flour
- flaxmeal
- and psyllium husks
Quickly.
But that meant I had to start all over from scratch with the hamburger bun recipe I was using.
Using just white rice flour and starches is more economical than having to add brown rice flour and sorghum flour to the mix, but using just rice flour changed the softness and texture of the rolls.
They also didn't raise as well as they used to.
Sorghum really improves the rise of gluten-free bread.
In addition to the change in grains, I also had to switch the type of yeast I was using. Our local Costco didn't sell instant yeast. What they had when I redeveloped this recipe was traditional dry active yeast in bulk, but here in Texas, Costco doesn't carry any yeast at all.
I have to order instant yeast from Amazon, which can be proofed or not-proofed, depending on the recipe.
The Secret to Getting Super-Soft Gluten-Free Hamburger Buns
Gluten-free baking is an art.
You've probably heard that before.
Unlike all-purpose flour that is made from different varieties of wheat and mixed with a little barley flour, white-rice flour is just -- well, white-rice flour.
If you want your gluten-free baked goods to be the best they can be, you've got to do all that mixing and combining yourself. Unless you happen to hit the jackpot on the very first try, it's a lengthy trial-and-error process.
Each flour or starch brings a different property to the mixture, so each time you make one little change, the outcome changes as well. This is why when I switched from a combo of brown rice flour and sorghum flour to all white rice flour, the buns changed their texture, taste, and softness.
Different flours and starches absorb moisture differently. Their abilities to work with xanthan gum and create the network bread needs to hold its shape after baking is also different.
My all-purpose gluten-free flour mix I use for cakes and cookies won't produce the same results as a mix that is specially formulated for bread's unique qualities.
When you begin substituting your own ingredients for the ingredients and amounts called for in a recipe, you can get a totally different result than the creator did.
This is one of the most misunderstood truths in gluten-free baking.
Published recipes have been specifically designed to work with a particular flour base, and when you change any of the flours or ingredient amounts in the recipe, the outcome won't be the same.
Hamburger buns and rolls need a different flour mixture of grains to starches than bread does because, while they do need to be able to rise, the rise doesn't have to be as high and sturdy as it does for a loaf of bread.
For that reason, a hamburger bun flour mix can be heavier on starches, and thereby create a much softer product than a traditional gluten-free bread mix can.
I've found that the secret to making super-soft gluten-free hamburger buns is to use a flour mix that falls in between an all-purpose flour blend and a bread mix.
It has to be sturdy enough to allow the bun to hold its shape after baking, but not as sturdy as a full loaf of bread needs to be.
My Gluten-Free Hamburger Bun Flour Mix Recipe
This new gluten-free hamburger bun flour mix looks like it will make 5 cups of mix, but because of the margin of error you'll run into by trying to measure out the gluten-free flour and starches using a measuring cup, instead of using a kitchen scale, the exact volume will be higher.
Much higher.
Although, many gluten-free bloggers and professional cooks have turned to weighing their gluten-free flours and starches to avoid the issue, I have not tried that yet.
The mix uses only one flour and two starches. You can purchase each flour and starch separately, or you can take advantage of Authentic Foods convenient gluten-free variety pack, available at Amazon.
Gluten-Free Flour Mix Recipe for Buns
Ingredients:
2 cups finely ground white rice flour
2 cups tapioca starch flour
1 cup potato starch (not potato flour)
Measure out the flour and starches into the bowl of a stand mixer. I have a Kitchen Aid Professional 600 Series model, but a smaller one will also work.
(Available at Amazon)
If you don't have a stand mixer, you can use an extra-large bowl and do the mixing by hand for this.
Turn the mixer on med-high, and allow the mixer to run for several minutes, until the flour and starches are well combined.
If you're doing this by hand, don't rush the process. You'll need to stir this for several minutes.
Carefully transfer the flour mix to an air-tight container.
I used to use an empty bulk cashew jar with a screw-on lid. Hubby used to buy cashews in bulk at Costco, before they changed their processing method to using shared equipment, so I had a lot of those screw-on plastic jars.
Today, I have storage containers with a pop-up lid instead:
(Available at Amazon)
These containers are air tight and super easy to use. You just press down on the button in the center of the lid to either open them or close them. Closing them produces an air-tight seal that you can only get with a zipper-lock bag or Tupperware.
They also stack nicely in my pantry or on the counter, so they are a space-saver as well.
Since this recipe is made with white-rice flour, it will store just fine on the counter for several weeks. You don't have to worry about the grains going rancid.
If you have a large family, you can double the recipe. But you really need a stand mixer to do that, or you won't be able to mix it thoroughly enough.
The better the flour and starches are evenly distributed, the better the final product will be, so if you want to make a double batch without a stand mixer, mix up the recipe twice using two bowls, so you can get it stirred up properly and then combine them into one storage container.
Do You Need a Stand Mixer to Make These Buns?
The dough of this burger bun recipe is quite wet, so you really won't need to have a stand mixer to mix up the dough if you don't already have one.
A 250-watt hand mixer with a dough hook will work fine. A dough hook is those spiral-like hooks in the photo below.
(Available at Amazon)
Whatever you do, don't use regular beaters or a hand whip. The dough will climb up the beater shafts and make quite a mess.
I know. I tried that once.
But, only once.
Ordinarily, you do need a stand mixer to make gluten-free bread because the dough needs to be whipped full of air.
A hand mixer won't work well enough for most gluten-free bread recipes because it won't have enough power to knead the dough and develop the xanthan gum properly. Xanthan gum is used to replace some of the properties found in gluten, so it is essential that xanthan work as it should.
How to Make the Perfect Hamburger Bun Shape
Before we get to the dough, we need to talk about how to make a hamburger bun shape.
Gluten-free dough will not hold its shape without a solid form to support it. As gluten-free dough rises, it will travel sideways once it reaches the top of the form you're using.
For the best gluten-free hamburger buns, you need a form with sides that are high enough that the dough will never reach the top.
Some people make strips of folded foil, and then tape the foil strips into a ring. That would work if you made the strips taller than you want your buns to be. The form really doesn't have to have a bottom because you could lay out the foil strips on a cookie sheet.
Non-stick foil would probably work best for that.
I've seen other people use English muffin rings or muffin top pans for hamburger roll batter. I don't know if this dough will work with those types of supports because the dough is going to rise higher than the top of the English muffin ring or the sides of the muffin top forms.
Unlike other gluten-free dough, this dough rises quite high.
What I use are 5-inch diameter custard cups, sometimes called ramekins.
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| Dough rising in my 5-inch custard cups. |
Custard cups come in various diameters and heights, so they make the perfect solution for getting that traditional hamburger bun shape. Clean up is easy, and you don't have to remake new foil forms each time you want to make a bun.
Since the cups come in assorted sizes, you can also make these buns in smaller cups like the ones pictured below.
3-1/2 inch custard cups by Pioneer Woman
(Available at Amazon)
I do that quite often too. These smaller custard cups are the perfect size for hamburgers for the kids. I have a set of these and use them to make gluten-free Egg McMuffins for breakfast. I just divide the following recipe into 8 custard cups instead of the 4.
My Best Recipe for Gluten-Free Hamburger Buns
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons water
- 4 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 5 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1-1/2 cups Gluten-Free Hamburger Bun Flour Mix (above)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 2 tablespoons applesauce
Add 1/4 cup water to a large cup and nuke in the microwave for 15 seconds. Add 1 tablespoon of brown sugar and stir to dissolve. When the water is warm, but not overly hot, add the dry yeast and still to combine. Set the cup aside to bubble and grow.
If the yeast clumps up, that's fine. It will still grow.
In the bowl of your stand mixer (or a super large bowl), measure out the hamburger bun flour mix. Add 1/4 cup brown sugar, the salt, and xanthan gum.
In another small bowl, combine the eggs, oil, and applesauce. Use a wire whisk and whisk this up pretty well until it's foamy.
Once your yeast has bubbled nicely, and risen to the top of the cup, add it to the egg mixture and stir well.
If your yeast hasn't bubbled yet, then you either accidentally killed the yeast by using water that was too hot (and you'll have to do that part again) or the yeast is too old and needs to be replaced.
For yeast that is on the border line, you can add a little bit more to the recipe without affecting the taste of the buns.
The yeast needs to be good and foamy for the buns to come out soft. If the yeast hasn't proofed well, the texture of the buns won't be the same.
Using the stand-mixer beater, and not the dough hook, turn on your stand mixer to medium-speed and let the mixer stir your dry ingredients together. You can do this by hand if you're using a hand mixer. Once the dry ingredients are thoroughly mixed together, add your wet ingredients all at once.
Let the stand mixer slowly stir the ingredients together. Once everything is well moistened, turn the speed up to medium-high and allow the KitchenAid to mix the dough for 3 to 5 minutes. This will beat a lot of extra air into the dough.
If you're using a hand mixer with a dough hook, start off at a very low speed, so everything doesn't splatter, and then raise the speed as you're able. With a hand mixer you will definitely have to beat the dough for a minimum of 5 minutes to incorporate enough air.
While the dough is mixing, use a little bit of shortening and grease the inside of your custard cups. This is one of the few places where I use shortening over non-stick spray, oil, or butter in my recipes.
Non-stick spray leaves the buns soggy, after baking. Oil and butter causes the buns to stick to the custard cups. If you wipe the inside of the custard cup with a little bit of Crisco shortening before spooning in the batter, you won't have any of those problems.
This recipe makes enough dough for 4 extra-large 5-inch custard cups, 8 small-sized cups, depending on what you want to use the buns for. When I'm planning on making breakfast sandwiches for the two of us, I normally make 2 large buns for burgers and 4 small-sized buns for breakfast.
When the dough is finished mixing, it will look like a very thick cake batter. It will not look like traditional bread dough.
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| Gluten-free bread dough won't be as thick as traditional bread dough. |
To take the guesswork out of how much dough to use in each cup, I try to smooth out the dough in the bowl as evenly as possible. Then, I take a butter knife and score the dough into pie-shaped wedges to equal the number of custard cups I'm using. I then have a better idea of how much dough to scoop into each cup.
Divide the dough evenly among your 4 to 8 cups, then with a knife, spread the dough to fit the custard cup. Set the cups on a tray or the table, close together, and place a large piece of plastic wrap over the top of the cups. That will keep them from drying out as they rise.
Since our house tends to be cold, I often place the cups in a window where the sun can shine through. I've also placed them on top of a bamboo cutting board or directly outside in the warm sun.
I let them raise for 1 to 2 hours, and longer if the yeast is a little old, depending on how warm the house is. You want the dough to rise up until it's almost at the top of the cups, but not quite. If you're in a hurry, the minimum rise you want is 3/4 of the way up.
When the dough has almost risen as high as you like, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Bake large cups for 20 minutes and small cups for only 15.
Remove the cups from the oven and allow them to cool for 15 to 20 minutes before you try to remove the buns from the cups. They are going to fall a bit, due to how soft they are, but will turn out just fine.
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| These super-soft gluten-free hamburger buns will keep for several days on the counter. |
Once cool enough to handle, remove the buns and place in a zip lock bag. I usually put one bun inside a sandwich-sized baggie. Allow the rolls to cool completely before using.
How to Serve
We like our buns slightly toasted, especially if using them for sandwiches, but the buns will be soft, so you don't really have to toast them if you don't want to.
The only down-side to these buns is that you don't want to make a sandwich up ahead of time and then let them sit for a few hours, as that will change the texture of the buns, and they will go pretty soggy - even if you toast them before hand.
When taking them for lunch, keep the buns and your sandwich filling separate, and then make your sandwich up just before you eat it.
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