These ultimate gluten free cinnamon rolls are the best cinnamon rolls you’ll ever have. Warm, gooey, and SOFT, I bet you can’t stop at just one!
When I first became gluten free, I was so devastated that I would never be able to order a pizza or get a chicken salad sandwich on a fresh buttery croissant that it didn’t even dawn on me that I’d never have a soft, fluffy cinnamon roll☹
It took a while, but I was finally learning how to create some of those foods I missed and was pretty darn successful with just about everything except the cinnamon roll!
There are some recipes floating around on the world wide web for gluten free cinnamon rolls that aren’t bad tasting. Believe me, I’ve tried almost all of them. But what they always lack is not in flavor, but texture! Am I right, fellow gluten free people???
Isn’t that usually the case with all gluten free foods, or at least breads?? The texture is just beyond intolerable. It’s what we’ve all settled for over the years. “It’s good, for gluten free.” Blah, blah, blah.
Well, I refuse to settle for rock hard rolls that don’t have that feathery-like texture that you can unroll and tear apart, if that’s the way you eat your cinnamon rolls (like I do 😋 ). I can’t even begin to tell you how many hockey pucks I threw right in the trash over the years. Way too many to count! But I rarely give up when it comes to baking, so I just kept trying. And trying. And trying. Gluten free hockey pucks, 100. Me, zero! Until now…
The picture below is not an illusion. It’s not a trickery of a gluten-filled cinnamon roll pretending to be gluten free. This is the actual gluten free cinnamon roll in all its glory, and it is UNBELIEVABLE!!
WHY I CAME UP WITH THIS RECIPE
I felt it only fitting to make one of my very first blog posts my Ultimate Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls as they seem to be the most requested recipe on gluten free social media groups. And now I’m updating that recipe with a VIDEO (eeeeeeek!) and a new method that makes them so easy!!!
I promise you will be in ABSOLUTE cinnamon roll heaven when you make these rolls! It’ll be hard not to eat the entire batch. Serve them to your gluten eating friends and family and they will never know they’re gluten free. My husband, who is my most honest critic and is NOT gluten free, once ate three in one sitting on Christmas morning!!
HOW TO MAKE THESE GLUTEN FREE CINNAMON ROLLS
These can be made in stages over the course of a couple days. The dough is actually best if made the day before, as a nice rest in the refrigerator is just what it needs. A lot of my readers already know about these rolls and love them!!! For those that haven’t tried them yet, I finally made a video to show just show easy it is (and how wonderful the dough is).
Mixing the Dough
Gluten free dough is usually more of a batter than a true dough. However, this gluten free dough is different. When it goes through the first rise and into the refrigerator, it’s transformed into a bread dough-like consistency that can be kneaded and smoothed out.
After mixing the dough, leave it right in the mixer bowl (instead of dirtying another bowl–who wants to do more dishes, right?). Spray it with canola oil spray and cover it with plastic wrap. Put it in a warm place until doubled or even tripled in volume, about 1-2 hours. My favorite proofing spot is my oven after I’ve turned it on to the “warm” function, which is about 200 degrees, and then quickly turned it off.
The dough will look very fluffy, almost like frosting. At this point, put it in the fridge for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight. The goal is for it to be as cold as possible. It’s easier to work with when it’s cold. If it’s too sticky when you take it out of the fridge, it’s just not ready yet.
Kneading and Rolling out the Dough
Dump out onto a heavily floured surface (I use additional Kim’s gluten free bread flour blend) and knead into a smooth ball. You don’t need to worry about being delicate with it. This dough can take a beating, or a kneading in this case 🤣 I will often add a good dose of extra flour during the kneading process, to get it to a point where it’s just barely sticky.
Roll the dough out into about an 18 by 10-inch rectangle (about 1/4-1/2 inch thick). I bought this wonderful acrylic ruler that I use to “shore up the edges” so they’re all pretty square. You’ll see me use this in the video, but if you don’t have one you can use a bench scraper.
Making the Filling and Adding it to the Dough
Mix together the filling ingredients. It’s soft enough to spread, but I usually just pinch it off into chunks and drop the chunks all over the dough. Then I use my hands to press down on the filling to adhere it to the dough.
Rolling up the Dough–the Old Method
There are now two methods for rolling up these cinnamon rolls. The method in these pictures is the “old method,” which is most often used and works perfectly fine.
The “new method” creates more even and uniform rolls and I find it to be less messy. I saw this on social media and can’t remember whose account it was on to give credit where credit is due (if you’re reading this, please contact me so I can give you credit). I use the “new method” in my video.
For the “old method,” roll the dough up as tightly as possible. It really is so forgiving and a breeze to work with, especially if you have it on a well-floured surface. Pinch seam to close.
Cutting the Rolls and Proofing
Flip over so that the seam is down. Using a sharp knife or bench scraper, cut rolls into about 1 1/2 to 2 inch pieces. You should be able to get about 8 large rolls from this recipe.
Place rolls in a buttered 9 x 13 dish. Using the palms of your hands, press down lightly to flatten slightly. You don’t have to do this, but it makes them more uniform as they rise. Cover the rolls with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for about an hour or so, until almost doubled in size.
At this point, you can also cover and place the rolls in the refrigerator, where they can chill out overnight. Break them out of their chilly environment the next morning, about an hour before baking, and bake as directed. You’ll have freshly baked gluten free cinnamon rolls for breakfast! I do this often, especially on Christmas morning 🙂
Bake at 350 degrees F for about 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.
I’ve included both a frosting (Cinnabon, anyone?) recipe below, as well as my original glaze recipe, so whatever your preference is you’ll have both options 🙂
SUBSTITUTIONS
Readers have been making these rolls now for over a year, and some have had great success with substitutions:
- Dairy free — use almond, soy, cashew, or coconut milk instead of whole milk. See the substitution suggestions on my flour blend page for options within the blend itself. For the butter, I’ve used coconut oil with great success. You can also use butter substitute, such as Earth Balance.
- Egg free — I’m not sure about the eggs, but you could try a flax egg or an egg replacer. Let me know if this works for you!
Now–go and eat the ultimate gluten free cinnamon roll, the best you will ever have!!!!
The Ultimate Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
DOUGH
- 3 ½ cups (495 g) Kim's gluten free bread flour blend
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1¾ tsp baking powder
- 2 tbsp plus 1½ tsp (24 g) instant, fast-acting yeast
- 2 tbsp whole psyllium husks (or 1½ tbsp psyllium husk powder), optional*
- 1 tsp salt
- 1¼ cups (300 ml) milk
- ¾ cup (1½ sticks or 169 g) butter, melted
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
CINNAMON SUGAR FILLING:
- ½ cup (1 stick, 8 tbsp, or 113 g) butter, softened
- 1 cup (220 g) brown sugar
- 4 tsp cinnamon
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING:
- 4 oz (113 g) cream cheese, softened
- 4 tbsp (½ a stick or 57 g) butter, softened
- 2 cups (250 g) powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
OR GLAZE:
- 2 cups (250 g) powdered sugar
- 3-4 tbsp milk, or more as needed for desired consistency
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
MIXING THE DOUGH AND PROOFING:
- Blend the dry ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer*** using the paddle attachment. In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, and melted butter. With the mixer running on low, slowly add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Once completely combined, turn the mixer up to about medium or medium high and beat for 5 minutes. The dough should be smooth and somewhat stretchy, but still pretty fluid and not at all like bread dough should be.
- Remove the paddle attachment. Scrape the dough together into a rough ball or mound using a bowl scraper or spatula. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in a warm, draft-free area for about 2 hours, or until at least doubled or even tripled in volume (see the pics above). It should be fluffy looking and almost look like buttercream frosting. Chill for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight.
MAKING THE FILLING:
- In a small bowl, mix together filling ingredients with a spoon or spatula and set aside.
KNEADING THE DOUGH AND ROLLING OUT:
- On baking day, remove the dough from fridge. On a heavily floured surface (using extra gf flour blend) knead dough into a smooth ball, adding extra flour as needed until dough is smooth (a little sticking is normal). Keep adding flour and moving dough if it sticks. Roll out to a rectangle that's about ¼ to ½-inch thick, "straightening" the edges with a sharp edge, such as an acrylic ruler.
- Using your fingers, pinch pieces of the filling apart and drop them on the dough. Taking the palms of your hands, gently press down on the pieces. This doesn't need to be totally even. Each roll will have plenty of filling.
OLD METHOD OF CUTTING ROLLS:
- Roll up jelly roll style and pinch seam to close. Flip over so seam is down and cut using a serrated knife or bench scraper into 2 inch rolls. You should get about 8 large rolls.
NEW METHOD OF CUTTING ROLLS:
- Using a pizza roller or cutter (or even a sharp knife), cut the dough in half width wise, then cut each half in half, and then into fourths. You should have a total of 8 strips of dough. Roll up each strip of dough tightly into a roll.
PROOFING THE ROLLS:
- Place rolls into a greased 9 x 13 pan and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in warm, draft-free area until almost doubled in size, about an hour. Towards the end of the rising, preheat the oven to 350°.
- When rolls have risen sufficiently (they will rise more as they are baked), remove the plastic wrap and bake for about 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove rolls from oven.
FROSTING ROLLS:
- If you'd like to make frosting instead of a glaze, while the rolls are baking, beat together butter and cream cheese until smooth. Slowly add powdered sugar and vanilla extract and continue to beat until smooth. Dollop a good amount on top of each roll and spread with an offset spatula.
GLAZING ROLLS:
- Use this glaze instead of the frosting for an easy, quick and pourable topping. While the rolls are cooling, whisk glaze ingredients in small bowl and drizzle over rolls.
Notes
These cinnamon rolls were originally posted on September 11, 2018 and have been updated with new pictures, new tips and tricks, and a video.
Now I need a connamon roll!!
They do make you want one right now, don’t they?
Absolutely delicious! No one knew they were gluten free. Your flour mixes are awesome! Thank you for sharing all of your recipes and techniques.
I forgot to add, I made them with coconut milk.
That’s awesome, Vicky! Thanks so much for the nice comment 🙂
Hi, I have just thrown away my second batch! The first batch when I mixed it looked like hard cookie dough so I threw it away,made a new batch of dough and same results. I used Pea protein from whole foods, it has nothing else in it. When I was making the flour blend the 75 g seemed a lot because The Pea protein is super fine. I think it may have absorbed all the liquid. I did refrigerate the dough overnight and it was even harder and completely unworkable. Help! I really want to re-create my mom‘s famous sticky buns! Thank you!!!
It will look like a thicker dough at first, but goes through a transformation when it’s allowed to proof (rise) for 2 hours. Then it becomes a fluffy mass that looks like frosting (see all my pics in the post itself). Then it’s put in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight, where it becomes cold enough to “knead” and smooth out before rolling. If it’s not at least doubled in size after the initial first 2 hours, then leave it to rise until it is. Depending on the temperature of the room it’s proofing in, it may take longer than 2 hours. I will turn my oven on the “warm” cycle for a few minutes and then turn it off before placing the dough in the oven to proof.
I personally have not used the pea protein as a substitute, but many of my readers have and said it worked fantastically.
Hi,
I did each of those steps. And it was sooooo hard. I would love to know which pea protein brand worked. Thank you!
Okay, I thought you said you mixed it and it looked different so you threw it away right after mixing.
I’m not sure what brand of pea protein the others used, but here is what I have found that I think would work: https://amzn.to/36eqJzR. Again, I haven’t used it before to know if it works. I’ve only done my own recipe so you sometimes have to play around with things when you want to start substituting ingredients. Don’t give up!
I had a similar experience and I just kept adding liquid until the dough matched Kim’s dough description. I think there is just a difference when you use the dairy free substitutes.
Another way to cut the cinnamon rolls without squishing them is to cut a long piece of dental floss and cut the rolls with that! They come out as perfect little swirls. Just slide the floss underneath the log, cross the floss at the top, and pull. Perfect cuts every time with no squish. Thank you for the recipe! I can’t wait to try it out.
we use pea protein from Vitacost. I think it’s organic too. It works beautifully. I am sure to weigh & measure everything exactly.
Hi I wanted to update you, made the cinnamon rolls again with the correct ingredients! Potato starch and not potato flour! They were wonderful! I used my mom’s mom’s mom’s Sticky Bun topping recipe and they were perfect! I am so grateful! I also made the all purpose flour combo and made my mom’s banana bread recipe- perfect!
I am so happy to have your recipes and flour combos and you have restored my confidence and love for baking again! I’m going to make the Italian bread next!
Aww, that’s so wonderful, Sharon!!!!! I’m so happy they finally worked and you didn’t give up!
Oh dear, I think I solved the mystery! I bought potato flour instead of potato starch for the flour blend. I will try again with the correct ingredient and let you know!
Oh, great! The difference between potato flour and potato starch is enormous!! I can’t wait for you to try it again and see how much better the dough is!!
Sharon, I used Pea Protein and Becel vegan margarine but I couldn’t get this dough to be stretchy at all…it was still wet mushy even after the refrigeration…I’m wondering what “butter” replacement you used…maybe the becel is just too “wet”. my daughter made this with the milk ingredients and they turned out great, but trying to eliminate the milk and mine flopped.
BRAVO!!! This is exactly what I have been dreaming to make in the over 10 years I have had to eat gluten free. My only changes are: Bob’s Red Mill 1-1 flour and active dry yeast. As for taste, aroma, and texture–they are not grainy, heavy, or play dough flavored. They are the old friends I have been missing on Christmas morning. Thank you!
You’re very welcome, Rose! Glad you loved them 🙂
Hello!
In this strange time, yeast is hard to come by. I was able to procure fresh baker’s yeast from a restaurateur friend’s wholesaler. Can I substitute it (doubling the amount of fresh yeast) in this recipe? Do I need to bloom it first in the milk as with active dry? Thank you so much!
Hi, El! I’ve never used fresh yeast before, so I did a little researching and I think it would work just fine (doubling it like you said) and it looks like you don’t need to bloom it in the milk first. It says you can rub it into the sugar or drop it right into the liquid with no waiting for it to “activate.”
Please let me know how things go, if you don’t mind. I’d love to know how fresh yeast works with my gluten free recipes 🙂
Just ate my first roll. OMG! Your recipe fulfilled my cinnamon roll craving that I’ve had for months. My hubby is just like yours, non GF, and he loved it!
That’s awesome, Rynae!! So glad you (and your husband) liked them 🙂
Omg, delicious! This is the exact type of cinnamon roll I’ve been looking for. I froze some dough rolls, excited to see how they turn out. Also, I can’t wait to make them again to try the new way to roll them up.
Everyone loved them! Definitely a make again! Thank you for another great recipe.
Thank you so much, Lori!!!!
Can you tell me about adding ground psyllium seed to the Cinnamon Roll Wreath and not the Cinnamon Roll recipe? Could that be done for the rolls and what would you expect to see different?
Thanks
Hi, Greg! I’ve been struggling with changing anything about the original cinnamon roll recipe because they are beloved by so many and I didn’t want any fallout. But I think what I will do is put psyllium husk as an optional ingredient in the cinnamon rolls recipe if you want to give it a try. It won’t change them a whole lot, but they do seem to be a little more stretchy and possibly a little softer, too.
How have you not been nominated for a Nobel Prize in Chemistry yet?
Oh my gosh! You are WAY too kind!! I’m far from knowing the first thing about chemistry, haha! In fact, my son is taking chemistry and is a super braniac, and I told him as soon as he learns anything in regards to cooking to teach me. Lol!
But seriously, I appreciate the vote of confidence in me and am simply thrilled that you must really like the cinnamon rolls 😍😍😍
Ciao sono italiana. Puoi aiutarmi a tradurre la ricetta dei connamon rolls? Grazie!!
https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=en&tl=it&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.letthemeatgfcake.com%2Fultimate-gluten-free-cinnamon-rolls%2F
Ciao chiedevo aiuto sulla traduzione della ricetta dei cinnamon senza glutine. Grazie
Ho trovato un mi piace e lo metto nella mia ultima risposta. Non ha funzionato? Vorrei sapere come farlo altrimenti. Non conosco l’italiano, ma se riesci ad andare su Google, Google Translator dovrebbe essere in grado di farlo usando quel link nella mia ultima risposta. Spero che funzioni! Se no, continuerò a provare. Grazie!!
Il collegamento che ti ho dato funziona? Sei riuscito a vedere il mio sito web in italiano?
What is the purpose of the whey protein?
My daughter also has allergies to dairy(lactose) so I use a vegan butter, she also cannot have egg yolks so I bake with egg whites only. To compound things we also are allergic to coconut.
We miss have a good cinnamon roll so I am always looking for a recipe that will work
Hi, Angie! I missed a great cinnamon roll, too, and that’s why I developed this recipe.
The purpose of the whey protein is to replace the gluten, which is actually the protein in wheat flour. I haven’t tested others, but I think you could try soy protein or maybe even pea protein. You could also use coconut oil as a substitute for the butter. I don’t think any of the other flours would have coconut in them, but check before you purchase them.
I hope this helps! If they turn out, please let me know. I’d love to see a picture!! I hope your daughter loves them 🙂
Merry Christmas to you!!
I used pea protein in place of whey as I’m allergic to dairy. It works beautifully! Thank you for giving our family the amazing gift of real bread again. Delicious!
Oh, that is so awesome to hear!! I’m so glad it worked for you. And you are very welcome. I really enjoy being able to make other people happy through food 🙂
Hi Michal,
Which pea protein did you use?
Hi, I wanted to let you know I have just made these (made the dough yesterday and refrigerated it overnight). I have to be gluten and dairy free as well and wanted to let you know the substitutions I used. For flour I used Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 gluten free baking flour; I added 1 1/2 teaspoons of psyllium husk powder (which helps with the “stretch” ) and did not use any protein powder, for dairy subs I used Blue Diamond Unsweetened Almond milk, but if nuts are an issue, I think a good brand of unsweetened rice milk would be a good choice, my butter substitute is Earth Balance original or soy free work equally well. This dough is a dream to work with! Not quite like working with gluten dough, but oh soooooo much better than other gluten free doughs. I tried your new method of cutting and rolling (I have used the dental floss and usually use that to cut) and they rolled up so easily! Thanks for this recipe!
We just had one of these rolls and they are fantastic! Soft, delicious, great texture! Though I didn’t use your flour blend, they turned out wonderfully! Your method is hands down the best approach I have ever tried. Thank you for all the work you put into this and for the generosity to share your experience with us.
Thank you so much, Robin 🙂
What brand of whey protein powder do you use? Also, is it vanilla flavored or are their ones that don’t have a taste to them? Thank you.
Brenda
Hi, Brenda! Yes, you are right. You’ll want to use unflavored whey protein isolate. I use Now Sports brand, which I find on Amazon. However, you can also find whey protein isolate at GNC and Vitamin Shoppe. I think GNC’s brand that they have is Isopure. Now Foods is less expensive. I buy a 5 pound container of it, which is expensive, but it lasts a long while, even for me with all the baking I do.
Hope this helps! Happy gluten free baking 🙂
We made the cinnamon rolls and they were delicious butt they made us extremely gassy for a couple days and I’m very confused on how this could’ve happened because we followed the recipe exactly except that we used an egg replacement and the egg replacer hasn’t made us gassy before so what could’ve done it???
To be honest, I have no idea. I’ve never heard this complaint before. But any time something in my recipes is substituted, I can’t really answer why it doesn’t work like it’s supposed to because you substituted one of the major ingredients in the recipe. Maybe using the egg replacer with the combination of other ingredients is what caused your symptoms.
If I were to make a batch of your flowers for baking listed on your flours link, which would I use to make this recipe and how much of it? Would I need to add more of any ingredients than in the premixed recipes? I was gluten free for years and faded out, but I can tell I need to go gluten free again. My body rejects it so much! I really want to try all your recipes I’ve read so far.
Hi, Morgan! I hear ya about your body rejecting it. I was diagnosed with Celiac over 7 years ago and I have never felt better since going completely gluten free.
The gluten free flours link does not have the flour for the cinnamon rolls listed. Those flours are listed directly in the recipe for the cinnamon rolls. But if you want to make like a double batch of it and store it for future use, you certainly could do that. If you’re making cookies or cakes and just want an all-purpose gf flour blend, I would use Kim’s gluten free flour blend. I make 20 cups at a time and store it in a large container. That’s what I use for anything that is not bread.
Hope this helps! Feel free to contact me again if you’re still having trouble. Happy GF baking 🙂
What could I use as an egg replacer in this recipe? Also, we can’t do any protein powders that are dairy, soy or coconut based. Suggestions?
Hi, Amy! I’ve never used an egg replacer as I don’t have an allergy, but I wonder if either the chia egg would work, or Ener-G makes something called Egg Replacer. Maybe that would work? As for the protein powder, what about pea protein? I haven’t tested that either, but it’s worth a shot.
I’m so sorry I can’t offer any other suggestions. I’ve been fortunate to only have a problem with gluten so I haven’t really focused on any of the other allergens, but if you try these suggestions, please let me know how they turn out for you 🙂
This was such a fun thing to make. I really missed mixing “real” dough. GF dough is so sticky and such a tricky thing to work with. This was a wonderful recipe. Puuuuurrrffect!
You could try aquafaba! I’ve never tried it, but it’s worth a shot 🙂
How are these gluten free if they have whey in them.
Whey is just the byproduct of making cheese with cow’s milk. It’s what’s leftover after the cheese is made. There is no gluten in milk 🙂
50 percent of people with an intolerance to gluten are also sensitive to the proteins in milk – which would include whey.
Yep, you’re absolutely right (I’m luckily not) and that’s why I’ve included other options to whey protein right on my flours’ page 🙂
Uhh, okay? That still does not mean the recipe isn’t gluten free… Like you pointed out, only 50% of people who are gluten-intolerant are sensitive to milk proteins. There are plenty of gluten-free people/celiacs (like me) who don’t need to avoid milk products because it’s not the same allergy/sensitivity. And she literally gives alternatives for the whey. Not sure why you felt the need to comment.
Just wanted to check on the accuracy of the amount of yeast. Your recipe says 2 Tablespoons plus .5 teaspoons. That is 6.5 teaspoons! That’s about 3 packets. Seems like a lot. Can you confirm or correct? Thanks!
Yep, that’s correct. I know, it seems like a ton of yeast! There is a lot of sugar in this recipe so it needs that much yeast to feed off it to allow it to rise nice and fluffy and not be dense. I hope that makes sense! I always buy the jar of instant, or fast acting, yeast and just measure from that and then keep it in my fridge until I make bread again 🙂
Hello, I acidentially bought tradional yeast, stores are closed and I am making it for Christmas day. Is that okay or how should I alter the recipe.
Hi, Janice! It’s fine, but what I would do is bloom the yeast first in the milk before adding it to the dry ingredients. Instant yeast doesn’t require blooming, but regular active dry usually does.
It should work just the same otherwise! I hope you enjoy the rolls. Merry Christmas 🙂
Just to add, if you don’t know what bloom means (sorry!) add the yeast to the milk with a little bit of the sugar from the recipe (like 1 tsp or so) and wait for it to foam up before adding it to the dry ingredients 😉
I wanted to let you know that I added some things to my recipe that I mentioned in my earlier response to you, such as adding as much additional flour as necessary and making sure the dough is cold. I just received a message from someone who successfully made the cinnamon rolls so I’m hoping you’ll give it another shot.
Thanks for visiting my website and I hope you’ll find success soon 🙂
This dough is amazing! I made half into cinnamon rolls and half into Hawaiian hamburger buns. Great flavor and texture ,and I loved that I could work with it like regular dough! I highly recommend!
Thank you so much, Erin! It is my absolute favorite dough and I’ve made so many things with it. I often use half of it and keep the other half in the fridge for something else, just like you did (no more than 3 days because of the eggs, though). I’ve also frozen the dough and it works beautifully when thawed 🙂
Thanks for the wonderful comments! Happy gluten free baking 🙂
I’m not sure if I misunderstood the directions, but the first time I made these cinnamon buns, they were HUGE and there didn’t seem to be enough filling. The second time, I cut the dough ball in half and made two batches of cinnamon buns with it. These were perfect! The cinnamon-sugar filling-to-bun ratio was much better; I think the amount of filling called for in the recipe is perfect for half of the dough. I wrapped the second batch and stuck it in the freezer. I’m anxious to see how they taste once thawed. Thank you SO much for creating this recipe! Perfect cinnamon buns were one of the many things I was missing terribly when I had to go gluten free! My non-celiac family members love them too!
Jen, thank you SO very much for the kind words!! I always like a better filling-to-bun ratio myself. Just didn’t want to look like too much of the sweet tooth that I am 😉
I have put them in the freezer unbaked and baked. I found they came out perfectly when they were unbaked. I put them in the fridge overnight and then baked them the next morning. Baked and then frozen, they weren’t quite as good as fresh, but were still very good!
I hope you get a chance to try more of the recipes on my site that use the same dough, like the donuts! They are HEAVEN!!
Thanks again! Happy gluten free baking 🙂
I have since made this recipe several times since I first wrote. I always make two pans out of one recipe and freeze one of the pans. After thawing the frozen batch in the fridge overnight and baking them the next day, they are still delicious! Thank you again for sharing this recipe!
You are SO welcome! I’m so glad you like them so much. I love the fact that they freeze well, too.
Enjoy 🙂
Kim
After I place them in the 9×13 pan and let them rise for an hour, can I put them in the fridge overnight and bake them the next morning? I don’t want to get up an hour early to let them rise. I’d like them to be ready to go and just preheat the oven and bake them.
Yep, you sure can! I do it all the time. 🙂
I think I messed up. I made your recipe according to the ingredients and then placed it directly in the fridge after mixing all ingredients together. I forgot to let it rise for 2 hours before refrigerating. I just pulled it out of the fridge(after already being in there for 3 hours) to let it rise for two hours. Should I place it back in the fridge or let it do the two hour rise in a warm temperature and then place back in the fridge? I was hoping to make your rolls tonight 🤦♀️
I’m so sorry I didn’t see this sooner! I think it’ll be all right. It can just the same rise in the fridge. It would just take longer. The reason I like it straight from the fridge is it’s so much easier to work with when it’s really cold. You CAN do it without it being too cold, but it might be more of a sticky situation.
Good luck and let me know how they turn out!!
Oh my gosh, Kim! They still turned out! 😅 YAY!! They were amazing! My kids went nuts! They have celiac and have never tasted the real thing. It was so fun to see their faces. You would’ve thought they were eating a donut! Hahaha!
Yay!!!!!! That is such a great thing to hear!! I’m so glad your kids were able to taste a cinnamon roll for the first time. And you know, the very same dough can be used to make actual donuts!! Check out my recipe on the blog 🙂
Thanks for trying my recipe 🙂
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! These are completly AMAZING! I have tried dozens of cinnamon roll recipes since being diagnosed in 2017 with celiacs- and I feel like I ate something non- gluten free for the first time in 2 years. Yes, That good! My kids asked when we could make them again, and my non GF hubs said they were by far the best cinnamon rolls he has ever had! For the people saying the dough is too sticky- I got super excited after chilling it for 2 hours. I still added plenty of flour, but it was still too sticky! Letting it chill overnight was a game changer!
Thank you again! If you can’t tell – I’m super excited about these and now I’m going to go try all your recipes! 🤪
Mollie, thank YOU so much for trying my recipe!! It brings me such joy when other people have success with them because I certainly know how it is not having a great cinnamon roll for years. I, too, tried every recipe out there and I am such a foodie (was before being diagnosed and will always be) and I just could not stomach the recipes out there. They might have tasted okay, but as you know well when it comes to gluten free bread, it’s all about the texture right? My husband is also non-GF and he’s my taste tester, so I knew when he loved them I had the recipe right 😉
I really appreciate the great review and I hope you continue to have success with all my recipes! If you run into any problems, feel free to contact me and I’ll help you figure them out 🙂
Words cannot express how happy I am with this recipe!! I haven’t been able to have real cinnamon buns for 7 years since my diagnosis and having to go wheat free. I missed them sooo much! I’ve tried loads of recipes and usually ended up with something hard and terrible. Finally I have a really good sweet dough recipe! I can’t wait to make all of the sweet yeasted breads I’ve been missing. My only critique is that with the icing it was almost too sweet. Next time I’m going to try reducing the sugar a little bit.
Because I’m also dairy free, I made a few substitutions.
For the milk I used unsweetened cashew milk. I used butter flavored shortening for regular butter. I used pea protein powder for the whey protein. In the cinnamon filling I used coconut oil.
I followed the recipe using the weights you listed.
I am so, so happy for you, Kate!! Thank you for your wonderful comments. I totally understand not being able to have something you’ve missed for years.
I also love your idea of reducing the sugar in the icing or filling. I’ve tried reducing the sugar in the dough and the dough never comes out as soft when I’ve done that, so maybe you’ll have luck. I love, love, love your ideas for making it dairy free!! And I love to hear that the pea protein powder worked great! So many people have asked me about dairy free and now I know it works, thanks to you 🙂
can powered milk be used as a substitute for whey protein powder? if so how much to substitute for the whey powder
Hi, Irene! They’re not really the same thing, so I’m not sure powdered milk would work. You could try it at the same weight and see. I haven’t tried it before because I know that the whey protein works. I did have someone just leave out the whey protein and she said it worked fine, so you could give it a shot.
Sorry I couldn’t be of more help. Let me know if you try it and if it works 🙂
Oh my stars!! These are fabulous!! I can’t believe I finally found a gluten free cinnamon roll recipe that is hard to tell it’s gluten free. Dough is amazingly easy to work with. I added more than a cup of extra flour into the dough after it came out of the fridge. Everything worked so well. One of the best gluten free recipes I’ve found in the past 3 years. Thank you!! This is the first recipe I’ve tried off your blog, I’ll be sure to try out a few more.
Thank you so much! The cinnamon rolls are my favorite as well. And they are so easy!!
Happy gluten free baking 🙂
Hello, this recipe looks fabulous however i am grain free, cannot have potato starch, tapioca starch or rice flour. I am thinking that substituting almond/coconut flours would greatly change the recipe? Ever had anybody try? Thanks
Hi, Barbara. I’m thinking you’re probably right that almond/coconut flours wouldn’t work, but I haven’t tried it, nor has anyone else that I know of. I know that glutenfreeonashoestring.com has some great looking recipes using almond/coconut flours and also againstallgrain.com. You might check them out to see if they have something similar. I haven’t personally tried any of them since my only problem is with gluten/wheat.
Sorry I couldn’t be of more help.
Kim
Can i use any other gluten free flour? Or it has to be rice
I haven’t tried it with anything other than my blend, but I don’t think it would work by substituting the rice flour.
Sorry I couldn’t be of more help
did you ever try with a different gf blend?
When developing this recipe, I tried everything under the sun, both store bought blends as well as other bloggers’ blends. Nothing at all worked, so I developed my own blend and it was only at that time did I finally have success with soft gluten free cinnamon rolls 🙂
Oh. my. gosh. These might be THE best gluten free recipe of all time. I can’t stop thinking about these cinnamon rolls or telling everyone I know about them (gluten free people and not.) And I couldn’t believe how forgiving the dough was. I ended up not making the rolls until the dough had sat in the fridge for a week, and they were STILL amazing. I used the Cinnabon-style frosting, and they tasted and had the texture just like a Cinnabon. Gooey, almost under baked with all of the yummy amazingness. Thank you thank you for creating these. ❤️
Oh my goodness! Thank you so much for the kind words, Kristen!! I am so thrilled that you love these cinnamon rolls! It makes my heart happy when I know that I can help others enjoy things that we all have been missing in our gluten free lives, and that’s why I stared this blog. To hear from people like you who have had great success with my recipes is one of the greatest joys of my life 🙂
Thank you for trying my recipe, and I hope you continue to follow my blog for other recipes that might interest you 🙂 🙂 🙂
You’re welcome! I’m so glad my comment makes your heart happy. One of my gluten free family friends requested that I make the cinnamon rolls when as a celebration of their new adoption (when they bring home their girl!)…I can’t wait to try all of the recipes on your blog. I will certainly keep following.
🙂 🙂 🙂
These are amazing! I made 12 rolls instead of 8. They were SO big that next time, I’ll divide the dough in half and make 2 batches of 12 rolls each. I love a big cinnamon roll, but my waist can’t take the calories!
Haha, I hear ya!! You know what I often do? I divide the sweet dough in half and use one half to make cinnamon rolls and the other half to make something else, like my Hawaiian rolls, apple fritters, or donuts. Of course, that doesn’t help the whole waistline issue does it?!?! 🤣
What can I substitute for whey protein?
Hi, Gwen! I’ve had some substitute with pea protein with great results! There are also other protein powders out there, I just can’t think of what they are at the moment, but the pea protein has worked so I would stick with that. You can find it in some stores, or it’s on Amazon here.
I just get all components I’m going to make them any day now I’m a professional cook not a Baker I’m celiac and I’m sensitive to wheat as well not soy not nuts not sesame I got asthma too whole package I am Thanks Kim in advance believe me you will hear back from me after I make these bad boys call cinnamon rolls I’m dying to eat two or three I have cook several recipes no luck but this ones some tells me they going to be perfection Thanks for help everyone out there like us.
Thank YOU! You’re gonna LOVE these!!
Made these this morning (started them last night) and they were amazing. This is my first attempt at making gluten free cinnamon rolls since I went gluten free and it was pretty easy. I did have a little issue with the dough sticking to the counter when I was rolling it out but I just balled it back up, added more flour and started over. Thank you so much for this.
I’m so glad you liked them! The dough can sometimes stick and I do the same thing, or just add a good dusting more of flour and continue rolling it out. A bench scraper helps for that, too.
Thanks for the nice comment 🙂
I’m hunting for a gf cinnamon roll recipe that my mom found a couple months ago and yours looks really close! But did it always have your blend listed as the flour? I remember the recipe I’m trying to find had the components listed separately. Thanks!
…I might end up trying these anyway..
Hi, Regina! The components to the flour were listed separately, but I changed it to combine them together so the flour blend could be made up ahead of time if need be and it might be easier. Plus, I usually try to make a little more of the flour blend than is needed in the recipe for kneading purposes.
Hope that helps 🙂
These were excellent! I used egg white protein powder because that’s what I had on hand. And they were still great! I also tossed in 5 tablespoons of buttermilk powder to help offset the grittiness of Bob’s Red Mill rice flour. And let me tell you, the little girl whith Celiacs at church was overjoyed to get to eat a cinnamon roll today!
I LOVE stories when my recipes are able to make someone happy, and this is an EXCELLENT example of that!!! Thank you so much for trying my recipe. Your improvisations were so clever 🙂
Hi – Judy have to ask: what if you don’t have a stand mixer! Can it be done by hand or hand-mixer? Thanks!
Hi! I wouldn’t suggest by hand as it would be a sticky mess. However, a hand mixer should work fine, although it might take longer (maybe 7-10 minutes instead of 5).
Hope that helps!!
Can’t wait to try the cinnamon rolls!! Fir the superfine white rice flour; is that the same as sweet rice or glutinous rice flour? Thanks!
Hi, Laurel! The superfine white rice flour is not the same as sweet rice flour. It’s rice flour that’s been finely ground so there is no grittiness to it. You could possibly substitute a regular white rice flour, such as Bob’s Red Mill, but you might not have the absolute best results. I would play around with it and maybe add a little more liquid (milk) as the grittiness of it might need to absorb more liquid to make it softer.
If you can, however, I really would suggest buying the products I recommend as I know they work with my recipes and you will be so pleased with the cinnamon rolls, you’ll understand why it takes specific ingredients.
Hope this helps! Happy Gluten Free Baking 😊
Kim, these are phenomenal! I made them for mom this week from dough I had frozen. Mom is the queen of cinnamon rolls in our family. Christmas was not complete without a huge pan of them. She would make them as sticky rolls and put karo syrup on the bottom of the pan. Anyway, she LOVED your recipe. I did too of course. The texture is spot on perfect. I’m so happy I can have cinnamon rolls again, thank you!!!
Thanks so much, Pam!! I used to love sticky rolls, too and need to make these into sticky rolls one day. We always eat cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning as well 😁
I’m so glad your mom loves the recipe, as well as you!!
Amazing!!! These cinnamon rolls are soft and delicious! After 7 years of gluten free living/cooking/baking and thinking that good gluten free cinnamon rolls were unattainable I tried this recipe!!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you! 💕
You are so very welcome and I’m so happy you loved the cinnamon rolls!!!! I love them, too, but what I love more is making people happy through my food and recipes 🙂
Do you think HYDRObeef protein would work in place of the whey protein?
I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. To be honest, I’d never heard about hdyrobeef protein until you mentioned it, but when I looked it up it looks like any other protein powder. I would give it a try. Please keep me posted on how it turns out 🙂
Hi there, I just have a quick question….I want to make these for my gluten intolerant daughter in law as a bit of a pick me up – she just had to say goodbye to one of her furbabies and needs some cheering up. I’m rather confused – I read the comments and see many asking about the whey protein…..I’ve checked the recipe 4 times and even checked the link to your flour page and no where do I see whey protein listed. Have I missed it somehow or has the recipe changed a bit since it was posted?
Hi! Yes, there is whey protein, but I’ve listed it as whey protein isolate, which is what I recommend using if you’re not dairy free. On the flours page under resources, I have three types of flours. The one I use for the cinnamon rolls is my bread flour blend, which lists whey protein isolate. You may have been looking at one of my other flour blends.
Hope this helps!
Ahh, that could be the problem then, I just checked the first two on the list as the first one I think was for cookies and cakes and I assumed somehow that’s the one you used. Might have to hit the bulk food store then because I’ve never seen whey protein isolate anywhere (didn’t even know there was such a thing lol) I’m kinda new to this, we’re all fine with gluten except for my daughter in law and I hate she feels left out when treats are served. Thanks for the quick reply!
That’s so nice of you to think of her!! The whey protein isolate can be found on Amazon (I have a link to it right on my flours page), or if you have a GNC or Vitamin Shoppe in your area, they also carry it 🙂
Just made these today and they turned out GREAT! Thanks for sharing the recipe, what a treat!
You’re welcome! So glad you liked them 🙂
I made these for breakfast this morning. I’m glad I read the directions that they need refrigerated preferably overnight, so I mixed the dough up and proofed it last night, then threw it in the fridge. This morning I rolled out the dough, second proof, and baked this morning. Holy moly, these are better than most gluten-filled cinnamon rolls i’ve had! I just made a simple royal icing to go on top and these are magical. Gooey and soft, but they also hold their shape and can be unrolled as you eat, just like wheat flour cinnamon rolls. Next batch will have pecans in them!
Thanks so much! I’m so glad you liked them!! My next idea for this dough will be to make sticky buns full of pecans 🙂
A M A Z I N G!! These cinnamon rolls were light and fluffy just like the gluten filled ones I miss so much! I was diagnosed with Celiacs earlier this year and each time I find a recipe that makes me forget that I am gluten free I am over joyed! Thank you for creating this amazing bread dough! So, so excited! Now if I could find a hand tossed pizza dough recipe… My life would be complete!
I am so glad you liked the cinnamon rolls!!! And I am completely the same way–when I find something I love that’s gluten free, I could do a happy dance 🙂
Check out my pizza dough recipe here. My husband and the rest of my family don’t need to eat gluten free and they say my pizza is the best they’ve ever had, even though it’s gluten free! It’s not actually hand-tossed, but it’s a New York style pizza crust. I also have one for a pan pizza that’s pretty darn close to what I remember Pizza Hut being. Here’s that link: https://www.letthemeatgfcake.com/best-gluten-free-pan-pizza/.
Happy gluten free baking 🙂
OMG!!! Are we related? Lol. You write just like I do. I want people to know it’s me and it’s heartfelt. I am sooo glad I found your site!! I. Ant wait to make everything related to bread now!!’ Thank you for all you do!! I was having a really bad day and for some reason I went on Pinterest and found you!! Yay! Now I can sleep’!!
Awe, thank you SOOOOOO much, Christine, for such wonderfully kind words!!!! I can’t tell you how much comments like yours mean to me. It’s why I started this blog, because I wanted to share with others what I’ve discovered because I know how incredibly hard it is to find good, or even great, gluten free food, especially breads. When my husband, who isn’t gluten free, says he loves something I make (he’s my most honest critic) that’s when I feel I can share it with you all.
I’m so glad I could put a smile on your face yesterday, and hopefully will continue to do so 🙂
I made this cinnamon roll dough for the apple fritters a few weeks ago for my husbands birthday brunch and they were a hit! I only used half of the dough for those so then I was able to make cinnamon rolls the next day and oh my goodness, best ever!! So, now its time for Thanksgiving and I’m considering using this same dough for crescent rolls. Have you ever tried that? My mom used to always make a basic sweet dough for her rolls and after rolling the dough into a circle she topped with a thin layer of butter and sugar and then rolled them up. I hope they turn out well!
I haven’t tried that, but it sounds WONDERFUL! Please let me know how they turn out!!
Hi, I was just wondering about the yeast. I’m new to baking, so maybe this is a dumb question, but when I have tried other yeast recipes they have instructions to heat water to a degree and then let the yeast get all foamy before putting it in the recipe. Is the necessary here? Or do I just put the yeast in with the dry ingredients?
That’s usually for active dry yeast. For instant, or fast acting, yeast as I suggest using, you don’t need to activate it in warm water. It can go right in with the dry ingredients 🙂
when you say to knead the dough on a heavily floured surface (using extra gf flour blend) the blend you are talking about is the bread flour blend? not the GF flour blend? thanks
Yep! Sorry, I should have been more specific. It wouldn’t matter, though, if you didn’t have anymore of the bread flour blend and happened to have some of the all-purpose blend. It’d still work (I’ve done it before so I know firsthand, haha!!).
Hello! For your Bread Flour, could I substitute both the corn and potato starch? Thank you!
Hi, Brittany! My bread flour blend doesn’t use cornstarch, but as for the potato starch I’m just not sure. It’s a major component and is what makes the dough so supple. Could you use more tapioca starch or arrowroot?
I’m sorry 🙁 I wish I knew more about other food allergies.
This recipe looks amazing and can’t wait to try. Have you ever tried this with a caramel topping (i.e. sticky buns)? My husband and I both prefer caramel rolls to the frosting?
I’ve been meaning to try sticky pecan rolls, but just haven’t gotten around to it yet. If you have a recipe that you know works, just swap out the dough with this dough and give it a try! It should work perfectly 🙂
Wow…my faith in eating a great gf caramel roll is restored! I’ve tried many gf recipes over the years and always had so-so results. I love working with this dough and the rolls turned out great. Thank you!!!
Thank you so much! I’m so glad you liked the rolls and that I restored your faith in great gf rolls 🙂
I hope you’re having a very Merry Christmas 🎄
Absolutely amazing! I’ve made these twice, the first time using the “old” rolling method and the second time using the “new” rolling method and I have to say the “new” way was so much easier to do. I also put extra filling in them this time. I have used the flour blend recommended in the resize and they are simply the best gluten free cinnamon rolls I’ve ever had. Thank you so much for this!
*recipe
Awe, you are so very welcome, Ashley!! This right here is exactly why I started this blog, to share my recipes with people like you who are just like me and can’t have the real stuff. It matters so much more to us when we find something that’s just as good, or better, than what we remember it to be! Thank you so much for the kind words. It makes my heart so happy to hear when people love my recipes 🙂
I hope you had a very Merry Christmas!
We tried this recipe twice and the dough didn’t rise either time. Also, a lot of the comments mention whey protein but that’s not listed as an ingredient here. I’m confused.
Hi, Caroline! I’m so sorry you’ve having trouble making the cinnamon rolls. The whey protein isolate is in my flour blend (the very first ingredient listed in the recipe) and using my flour blend is crucial to making these work. That’s why I developed this flour blend, because nothing I used that was commercially available would work correctly to make a cinnamon roll that was soft.
If you go to the post where the recipe is, Kim’s gluten free bread flour blend is highlighted in pink. You can hover your mouse over it and click on it and it will bring you to my flour blends page. All the ingredients to make my BREAD flour blend are listed on this page. I’ve also included a link here: https://www.letthemeatgfcake.com/resources/gluten-free-flour-blends/
Please don’t give up! Once you get the right ingredients, you’ll see why these cinnamon rolls are deserving of the 5 star rating they’ve been given by so many people 🙂
I also attempted these twice, followed the recipe exactly along with ingredients, and it was a clump of hard dough. I don’t know what to do differently!
Hi, Andrea! I’m sorry yours didn’t turn out, but I assure you that these rolls DO work so hopefully we can figure it out. Did you use the exact ingredients I suggest in my flour blends page? Did you use a stand mixer? I just had one person say that she did everything twice, exactly as I had written it, and also got really hard dough, and she ended up finding out that she bought potato FLOUR instead of potato STARCH. There is a huge difference between the two. Did you allow the dough to rise the first time until it was doubled in size? Sometimes it takes longer than 2 hours, depending on the temperature of your room.
If you read through the comments, you’ll see that so many people have had great success with these rolls so I know you can, too and I’d love to help you through it!
Help! Do you frost AND glaze them, or pick 1?
Just pick 1. I gave two options because some like just a thin glaze while others like the thick cream cheese frosting 🙂
I made these cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning this year. It was my first time trying this particular recipe and I was dreading it a bit, as I’ve tried several other recipes in prior years that produced an incredibly fragile dough that was so difficult to work with. I made the dough the night before, let it rise in my oven on the proof setting until more than doubled, and refrigerated it overnight. Imagine my surprise and delight the next morning when I was able to actually knead and roll this dough like a traditional gluten-full one!! I used the new method of cutting the dough into strips and rolling them into spirals and it was a gluten free DREAM to work with. A few of the center strips wanted to stick slightly to the parchment paper I rolled it out on, but they were easily coaxed up with a floured bench scraper. I used 1.5x the filling recipe and made 12 rolls instead of 8 so they would be more reasonably sized. They were delicious and loved by all, including our friends who aren’t gluten free.
Thanks, Kim, for helping me fulfill my two GF daughters’ Christmas morning request with such a great recipe! It will be my go-to from now on.
That is wonderful, Melissa! You are so welcome. I’m so happy you enjoyed them!!
These were amazing! I can’t thank you enough for making GF baking taste good. I’m going to look for the next recipe to tackle.
Thanks so much, Enca! I’m so happy you liked them 🙂
I was diagnosed with celiacs around 8 years ago and have been gluten free since, along with my mom and sister. I have made my fair share of flops. You can’t go wrong with these cinnamon rolls! I have made them 4 times now and they are SPECTACULAR! My non-gluten free family can’t get enough of them and my gluten free family members are in HEAVEN when I make these! The texture is spot on, along with the crumb. Chewy, soft, melts in your mouth deliciousness! Because we are all cinnamon junkies, I double the filling and it creates a caramelized bottom on the rolls as well. Thank you so so much for all your hard work in developing these recipes! Our family loves gathering around food and baking these for them has been a real treat for me!
Awe, thank YOU so much, Danielle!! It always makes me so happy to hear that someone likes my food. Food is love in my opinion, and I know what you mean about gathering around food. My family is full of foodies and we love to get together and have wonderful meals, and I’ve always shown someone how much I care about them through food 🙂 It’s just my way.
The double filling idea sounds absolutely FANTASTIC and I must try it the next time I make cinnamon rolls! Thanks for such a great suggestion 🙂
Hi. I’m getting ready to make your pineapple bread recipe. Reminds me of an Easter tradition we used to have of pineapple stuffing. But if course, now I’m intolerant to gluten. And while looking I obviously saw the decadent cinnamon buns which I will also try. I read one comment where someone said they used this dough for Hawaii hamburger buns. I was thinking about just a sweet dinner roll. How would you make them with this dough? I’ve never been a huge bread maker, so I’m not sure. Thanks so much for all your work and sharing it. So you know too, I have successfully used your flour mixes but substituted cornstarch for the tapioca as I have an allergy there also.
Hi, Jenifer! Check out my recipe for Hawaiian rolls here: https://www.letthemeatgfcake.com/gluten-free-hawaiian-rolls/
My son, who doesn’t have to eat gluten free, says these rolls taste JUST LIKE the Hawaiian rolls you buy in the store!
Thank you so much for the most amazing recipe!!! Wanted to ask you about freezing it. What’s the best method? At what point can one freeze it raw? After which rising time? And how does one go about baking it after? Needs to rise again? Thank you so much!!
Hi, Susan! I’m so glad you love the cinnamon rolls!!
Right at the bottom of the recipe card under “Notes” it tells you how to go about freezing the dough, and yep it CAN be frozen raw! I’ve done it several times and they come out beautifully every time 🙂
Hi.. I recently found your website and have already tried a couple of your recipes which are absolutely fantastic but I also am a bit confused about freezing these cinnamon rolls as the previous poster. I did read your notes about freezing but seems a bit unclear to me. After preparing the rolls and my pan and let them rise to double in size, at that point is when I wrap them as suggested and freeze them? And then, when I take them out of the freezer and thaw over night in refrigerator, when ready to back, do I back them right then or do they need to do any more rising? Thank you so much for all these delicious recipes.
Hi.. I recently found your website and have already tried a couple of your recipes which are absolutely fantastic but I also am a bit confused about freezing these cinnamon rolls as the previous poster. I did read your notes about freezing but seems a bit unclear to me. After preparing the rolls in my pan and let them rise to double in size, at that point is when I wrap them as suggested and freeze them? And then, when I take them out of the freezer and thaw over night in refrigerator, when ready to bake, do I bake them right then or do they need to do any more rising? Thank you so much for all these delicious recipes.
Sorry for the double post.. went in thinking I could edit my original with a couple of typos I saw but instead double posted. Maybe consider adding an edit function for posts? 🙂
No worries! I wish I had control over putting an edit function on any comments, but unfortunately I think it’s hardwired into the software.
You were right. After thawing in the fridge overnight, you can take them straight from the fridge to the oven (make sure your pan is able to go from fridge to oven, or let them sit on the counter for a few minutes).
Looking forward to trying these for my daughter! How long do these keep after baking? Do they stay soft and fluffy the next day? I see you’ve frozen them raw. Do they not freeze well cooked?
Yep, they’re still soft and fluffy the next day!! Nothing is ever going to be as good as fresh baked (even with gluten-filled food), but they’ll last a couple of days at least. I always refresh them in the microwave (I like my cinnamon rolls warm). You can freeze them baked, though, if you’d like. Just wrap them well and then reheat them in a low oven (300) until warm, about 30 minutes or so. Enjoy 🙂
I never in my wildest dreams thought that I would get the results I did. These rolls came out AMAZING!
Our newly diagnosed GF family member is thrilled to have ‘bready’ desserts that taste like they were made with wheat flour.
I am excited to try out your recipe for puff pastry next!
Aww, so happy to hear this!!
just found you today mixed up the flours etc. then read the comments and learned that potato flour and potato starch are not the same. I didnt have enough starch so used part potato flour is there any way to help the flour mix now before I make rolls?
Oh, gosh! I’m not sure if it can be salvaged or not. I honestly would ditch it and start over, because not knowing what will happen you’ll risk wasting even more ingredients when trying to make the rolls.
Ok let me start by saying I was not feeling all the rise times and chilling (my impatience). You know how you just want a quick recipe. But I am happy to report I did not use any mixing tools. I hand mixed the batter, and let it chill for less than and hour and had phenomenal results! The best gluten free recipe I’ve ever come in contact with. I also used Cup 4 Cup flour, Earth Balance vegan butter, Coconut milk with 1/2 tsp of lemon juice to mimic buttermilk. I think like you mentioned in the recipe that first mix of the batter sets the tone. Great recipe thank you for sharing.
Terrific!! You’re very welcome 🙂
This is the BEST gf cinnamon roll I have ever tasted. I ordered your whey protein isolate you recommended. The only change I made was using Bobs Red Mill gf white rice flour instead of your superfine white rice flour because I already have several pounds of it. My children are so happy. I am so happy. You are a genius. Thank you!
Oh my goodness, Kelly! I’m far from a genius. More of a celiac foodie wanting all the things I’ve missed and refusing to settle for less than stellar. But thank you so much for your kind words! I appreciate these comments more than you’ll ever know 😊
Wow these were amazing!! I am not the biggest sweet tooth person, but I do still enjoy a good dessert once in a while. Since finding I have an intolerance to gluten it has been a real struggle to find breads and desserts I can eat. I’m still struggling some with breads to be honest but I think that’s my over 🙁
But THIS was amazing it was so easy to make and felt like working with regular (non gf) dough almost. My husband who is not gf enjoyed them having seconds. I will absolutly be using this recepie again in the future.
I had a store bought gf blend Namaste (costco) I used when making this and it turned out wonderful. I will be trying Kim’s flour blend once I can get my hands on all of the necessary ingredients, but it’s good to know I can make this with a store gf blend if in a pinch.
That’s wonderful!! So glad you liked them 🙂
I accidentally used the wrong flour blend… the All-purpose blend rather than the bread mix. It still worked and was the easiest cinnamon roll recipe I’ve ever made! They rolled beautifully. I actually cut it into 12 rolls and made two cake pans of 6, one for me, one to share with a GF friend. Even slightly underbaked, still fantastic! Thank you 😍
Oh, wow! Good to know the all purpose will work!!
I have a 2nd batch prepping with the proper flour blend this time. Have to do a thorough comparison… for testing purposes, of course. Not because they’re addictive 🤣
Lol!!
Made the RIGHT dough this time but made the Brioche Au Chocolate instead… I might be crying… oh my gosh!!! I was an avid baker (and very good at it I’ve been told)before diagnosis… this rivalled anything I made then!!!
Awe, yay!!!! I love when my recipes can make someone feel like this. Thank you so much for the wonderful comment 🤗
Best cinnamon roll , DELICIOUS!!!
I also used this recipe to make Mexican conchas , just added vanilla and cinnamon to the mix. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
Ooooh, I’d love to see a pic of your conchas if you have one!! That’s one of the things that’s been on my list of recipes to tackle and I’m so glad it worked 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Hi Kim! I’m eager to try this recipe as it looks fantastic! Can you tell me where I can find the video of the “new method” you mention? I’ve tried on google and firefox and it’s not on the webpage on either browser.
Thanks!
Beth
Hi Beth! That video should play right in the cinnamon rolls post. I just checked and it played fine for me. Bear with me as it was the first video I ever made and the quality wasn’t that great. Please let me know if it doesn’t play for you 😊
All I can say is YUM! YUM! YUMMY! Great recipe and came out wonderfully! The only modification I did was use Authentic Foods GF Classic Blend and add xanthum gum. Will be using your blend next time!
These were so good!!!! The only issue I encountered with this recipe is the timing. After taking the rolls out of the fridge to bake, they took way more than 25 minutes to be ready! Should i have let them come to room temperature before baking them?
I just read the whole post again, and just noticed that you mention to take the rolls out of the fridge 1 hour before baking them!
Also, I’ve been making some of your recipes throughout this COVID time with our gluten free sourdough starter and they all work so well!. Would it be possible to make this recipe with the starter? I know the proofing time is about doubled in time, but what about proofing the rolls on baking day? Would that be longer too?
Hi, Catherine! Yes, I do think it would be possible to make these cinnamon rolls with the starter. Baking day proofing time would probably be longer, too, but I haven’t tried them yet with sourdough so I can’t say for sure.
I made them with the sourdough starter. I let it proof for about 4 hours before putting it in the fridge just like the bread recipe. On baking day, I only let the rolls proof for about an hour, and they came out big and fluffy just like with regular yeast!
Came here to say that I also accidentally made this with Kim’s all-purpose flour blend for Christmas last year and I’ve been talking about the result for MONTHS. They turned out so well! I have another batch proofing as I type, also with the all-purpose blend (I realized my mistake about five minutes ago). I guess I’ll have to get some whey protein and try again with the right blend next week, which means I’ll have a lot of extra cinnamon rolls! Oh, what a shame … not.
Haha! You can never have too many cinnamon rolls, right?!?! 🙂
I made these donuts vegan by substituting milk for soy milk and eggs for an egg replacer and they were amazing! Highly recommend! I did everything as instructed including the overnight rise and I couldn’t be happier. I’ve tried countless GF and regular donut recipes with no success until this one. Perfect!
Thanks so much, Gemma!!! That’s great to know they’ll work just fine with an egg replacer 🙂
What did you use for butter?
THESE ARE PERFECTION!!!!! I have been wanting a cinnamon roll with the right texture for SO LONG. And yes, I’m lactose intolerant like many others commenting, BUT I use ghee instead of butter, and I found a whey protein that is lactose free so ALL GOOD! Seriously, thank you for this amazing recipe.
Hi Kim,
1. After mixing the dough & covering it with cling wrap for it to rise; do we need to “punch it down” after it has double/triple in size before moving it into the fridge?
2. When it is in the fridge do we need to cover the dough with a tea towel or protecting it with a cling wrap will do?
3. On the day of baking, after removing the chilled dough from the fridge; do we need to leave it out to thaw before shaping? I assume the dough will be really hard and difficult to knead if it is cold right out from the fridge?
Here are your answers:
1. Nope, just put it right in the fridge. No need to punch down. It would stick to your hand anyway.
2. Cling wrap alone is all I use.
3. No, don’t leave the dough out to come to room temp. The colder it is, the easier it is to shape. It won’t be really hard. Promise. 🙂
The closest I will probably ever come to Pillsbury’s Grands Cinnamon Rolls or Cinnabon. I’ll be keeping your all-purpose and bread flour blends on hand from now on. Seriously blows any pre-made flour blend out of the water. I can’t thank you enough for bringing a childhood favorite back into my life.
Awe, thank you so much Alexander!!! I’m so happy one of my recipes could bring that feeling back for you (and I know how you feel, too). I just ate a hot dog the other day on a bun for the first time in at least 8 years 🙂
Okay. First off, I’m here to confess that I’m an a**. I’m the idiot who (just last week) who wrote and said the Italian bread recipe didn’t work for me and I was going to buy a new scale. Well, guess what! I used potato FLOUR instead of potato STARCH. I’m going to partially blame a certain online retailer whose search results returned potato flour and I didn’t notice when I put it in my shopping cart.
Soooo….I bought the correct ingredients this time and made these cinnamon rolls and oh, my goodness! I’m in so much trouble! THEY ARE FANTASTIC and just like you said, the texture is is EXACTLY as it should be! I’ve been GF for so long, I’ve never even had a Cinnabon but this looks exactly like their photos. I can’t believe these are GF and I’m the one who made them!
Thank you for doing all the work and being generous enough to share with us!
Awe, you’re very welcome! That has happened to a couple other people, so don’t think it’s just you 🙂
I found this recipe and was excited to make cinnamon rolls. I have made several attempts at GF Cinnamon rolls over the years and they are always disappointing. I made 20 smaller rolls and baked 9 in an 8×8 Pyrex. Topped with cream cheese frosting… They didn’t last long. I put the other 11 in the freezer to bake at a later date. Then I saw you use the same dough for donuts and the wheels started to turn… I thawed 2 cinnamon rolls and rolled them flat about 1/4 inch thick, sauteed apples in a little butter with cinnamon and sugar… my big mistake was not cooling the apples all the way. I put the apples on top of 1 roll and covered with the other. I not so neatly formed it into 2 blobs and put in the fridge over night. Brought them to room temp and dropped them in 360 oil… drained on paper towels and glazed…best apple fritter!!!
Yay!!! I actually have an apple fritters recipe using the very same dough on the blog, too, and they are the BOMB! Your rendition is very similar to mine 🙂 🙂 🙂
Hi Kim, sorry if this is the wrong place to ask this but don’t see anywhere on main page to ask a question.. also do we get notified when you have replied to a question or do we have to remember which recipe we asked the question in and hunt for your reply? My question is.. do you have or are you going to have a recipe for white sandwich bread? Again, thank you for all these wonderful recipes!!
Hi, Nancy! That’s a really great question and I’m not sure of the answer. I think you get notified through your email, but I’m going to have to look into that. I have been diligently working on a white sandwich bread recipe for quite some time now and I’m super close, just need to tweak a few things. I’m hoping to have it on the blog within the next month or less 🙂
That is awesome!! Will wait patiently for that white sandwich bread. Just FYI.. I did get an email that you had posted a new recipe. I have never gotten an email for any of your replies to my questions. Also.. everytime I reply to a question, it asks for my name, email addy, etc. even though I check the box saying to save my name, email for the next time I comment. Again.. waiting patiently for that bread.. Thank you!!!
Hi Kim! I love your bread recipes – my husband was diagnosed with celiac several years ago and your recipes have mad eyes our kitchen so much happier!
Question for you – I notice many of your bread batters are quite fluid after mixing and call for a step of adding additional flour after rising to make for more of a bread dough texture. In this cinnamon roll recipe, approximately how much additional flour do you usually incorporate into the dough after the first rise?
Hi, Julie! Thanks so much!!
You can add up to about 1/2 cup extra flour, but just remember after they’re mixed they need to bulk ferment and then go in the fridge overnight. The fridge really is what makes the dough so much easier to handle.
Can I make this dairy-free? If yes, is there a substitution that you would recommend? I am desperate for my son that has just been put on a gluten and dairy free diet.
Yep! Read through the post. There is a section about substitutions and what I’ve used before 🙂
These were amazing! I used your GF bread blend (I didn’t have whey protein, so I used powdered milk and it worked). My whole family devoured them and I have had nothing like it since before I was diagnosed with Celiacs 5 years ago. Thank you for sharing your flour blends and this recipe. You are truly amazing!!!
Awe, thank you so much Emily!! That’s very nice of you to say 🙂
Hi there! I’ve been looking through this comment forum to see if anyone has made this recipe vegan and replaced the egg. I see that one person used an egg replaced and had success. I’m wondering if anyone outside this forum has contacted you to say they have used a chia/flax egg with success? Thanks so much in advance for your time.
Hi, Sophia! I did have one other person contact me through another of my recipes (Hawaiian rolls, which uses the same dough as the cinnamon rolls) to say she made them with a chia egg and they were perfect!
Hi. I would like to do this recipe, but besides gluten free I am dairy free, but not having any powder milk. How can I replace the powder milk with another flour and not vegan powder milk (could be coconut, oat, almond, rice flour instead of powder milk?)? If yes, can you provide the substitutions?
Thanks,
Hi, Marcela! I don’t use powdered milk in the cinnamon rolls, but do use wbey protein powder. There is a difference. On my flour blends page, I list alternatives to the whey protein powder. I hope this answers your question 🙂
Hi Kim
I don’t have and can’t have whey protein powder. Nor the vegan proteins listed. Is there a chance that you can provide me an option to replace the whey protein powder with another substitute, flour? Nothing with dairy products or soy protein… and I don’t have the pea protein and don’t know where to find it in Costa Rica. Can you help?
I made these for my family. My mom and I are allergic to gluten and dairy so we used oat milk and it tastes great. I didn’t let it rise fully and will definitely do that next time.
So glad you and your mom liked them 🙂
Hi Kim
I can’t have whey protein powder. Nor the vegan proteins listed. Is there a chance that you can provide me an option to replace the whey protein powder with another substitute, gluten free and dairy free flour? Nothing with dairy products or soy protein… and I don’t have the pea protein and don’t know where to find it in Costa Rica. Can you help?
I’m not sure what else is offered in your area. Coconut protein powder perhaps? If you have access to Amazon, you could search protein powder and see what’s able to be delivered to your area.
I’m sorry I can’t be more helpful.
I think I may cry, these are the best cinnamon rolls I have ever had! I honestly didn’t expect them to rise up so much because of past experience with gluten free baking, but they are just like the real gluten-filled deal! Every recipe on this site is perfection, I am sososo happy to have found it and can’t wait to make them for my family for Christmas! 🙂
Wow! Thank you so much, Bailey!!!! You’re too kind 😊
Our family loves these cinnamon rolls! My daughter has celiac disease so we have been cooking and baking gluten free in our home since her diagnosis 9 years ago. We only found your site six months ago or so, and we are hooked on several of your recipes! My daughter and I were at Trader Joe’s last week and saw some pumpkin rolls sold in a tube that look delicious—they contain gluten of course. Do you have any recommendations for modifying this recipe to make them? Thank you!
I have not made these yet but cant wait. I have a recipe request though……i reallt really miss those refrigerated canned orange cinnamon rolls!!!! Omg!!! Can you develop a recipe for that???
My kids have been gluten free for seven years and although we’ve found some great recipes I’ve never found a winner for gf cinnamon rolls. Normally I steer clear of recipes that require me to make a flour blend first because I have perfectly good bag of cup 4 cup in my pantry… however, Pinterest kept leading me back to your site with pics of food that looked impossibly good for gf. And finally I thought, “fine Kim, fine, I’ll make your flour blend and we will see if your cinnamon rolls live up to the pictures!” And OMG the results blew my mind! This morning we had cinnamon rolls that tasted JUsT like regular gluten cinnamon rolls! You won me over! Your recipe and flour blend is AMAZINg! I’m sorry I ever doubted you! 🤣. Thank you so much! I’m going to bake artisan bread with my left over flour! You’re a wizard :). Thank you!
Oh my gosh, Meghan, you are too kind! Thank you so much for your really nice comment and I’m so glad you were able to have some amazing gluten free food 🙂
Hi can it be a sugarfree version?
I’m sorry, but I don’t think sugar free will work. Yeast requires sugar to feed and grow.
I mistakenly put together your all purpose flour mixture instead of the bread mixture. Can I still use the all purpose flour mixture for this recipe?
I really don’t think so, Rachel. You could try it, but I’d bet it wouldn’t work quite as well. You could always use the all purpose mix to make lots of pie crusts for the upcoming holidays and freeze them, as well as cookies 🙂
I have not made these yet, but I am excited to try. I have been gf for the last 5 years and am DYING for something resembling “real bread.” LOL. After reading so many reviews, I don’t think these will disappoint!
I was wondering if the sugar could be substituted with maple syrup?
Thanks in advance!
I’m honestly not sure, Kara. I’ve never substituted maple syrup for sugar in baking recipes before, especially gluten free ones, so I’m not sure how it would turn out.
Hi Kim,
I made these before and messed up the flour part. They were perfect and delicious the next two times once I figured out my mistakes! Question is I’m going camping and want to make these at home to the point of put the cinnamon rolls in the pan and proofing, can I then refrigerate them for two days instead of putting them in the freezer?
Thank you!
I went ahead and made it with sugar this time around so that I knew how it would turn out before trying it with maple syrup (when I do make it with maple syrup, I will try my best to give you an update here with the results!). Oh my lanta! How I have been missing this! These are A-mazing!!! I immediately shared your website on my social platform. Lol. Thank you so much for sharing your flour blends and recipes!! Totally heaven sent.
Awe, thank you so much Kara!! I’m so glad you liked them 🙂
Hi Kim,
I made these before and messed up the flour part. They were perfect and delicious the next two times once I figured out my mistakes! Question is I’m going camping and want to make these at home to the point of put the cinnamon rolls in the pan and proofing, can I then refrigerate them for two days instead of putting them in the freezer?
Thank you!
Absolutely!!
I do not have a stand mixer but I do have a bread machine. Could I set the ingredients to mix and it turn out alright?
I think you could. I’m not familiar enough with bread machines to know how vigorously they mix, but if they mix vigorously enough then I think it would work just fine 🙂
what’s the difference between whey protein isolate and whey protein ?
Isolate has more protein and less of everything else (fat, carbs, etc). It’s closer to pure protein than just whey protein.
Hi Kim!! I tried your recipe twice.. The first time with a store bought gluten free mix and it turned out very good. I added about 1 cup of extra flour in the following day and was able to stretch the dough easily!
The second time I tried your bread mix but the dough was super soft and very sticky even after refrigerating overnight =(
I added about one cup of extra flour but it was still very stick and I ended up leaving it like that cause I was afraid it could become too dry if I kept adding flour.. I used the dough to make six small panettones and modeled them in small balls with my hands wet, so that the dough wouldn’t stick. They tasted good, but I am still wondering if I should keep adding flour until I get to the point when it is barely sticky like I did with the store bought flour. How much extra flour do you usually add on baking day?
Hi, Gabriela! I do add a decent amount of flour as I’m kneading the dough, but it’s not a particular sticky dough so I’m wondering if there’s anything you subbed within the flour blend or dough itself? This dough is a very easy dough to work with, especially if it’s cold.
Hello, Kim! Thank you for answering so quickly.
I don’t think I did anything different, that’s why I was so surprised with how hard it was to work with the dough.
I will try the recipe again and see if I can figure out what happened.. like I said it worked fine with the store bought mix, but I really wanted to make it work with your mix cause it sounds like you had such a long journey figuring out the right combination.. I will let you know if I succeed next time! Thanks again
I wanted to confirm that in fact this recipe needed 24 g of yeast or most then 3 standard packets of yeast? This seems like a lot from my experience but wanted to confirm. Thank you!
Yes, that is correct. It is a lot of yeast, but there is also a lot of sugar in the dough and the yeast will feed off that sugar to create the right texture and rise. Gluten free yeast baking, in my experience, always requires more yeast than gluten-filled baking.
I’ve made these a few times in the last few weeks and they’ve been amazing!!
I just wanted to clarify to make sure I understand – I can roll them, proof them for an hour, then wrap and freeze? Thaw in the fridge overnight, and then straight to the oven?
Does the freeze/thaw cycle stop them from deflating? The last batch I did: I rolled, proofed an hour, wrapped and moved to fridge to bake the next morning. The next morning they were slumped, and broken in a few places but still tasted great after baking. I’d love to manage to keep their fluff/shape/height with freezing!
Thanks for your hard work, and for being so willing to share <3
Hi, Lise, and thanks so much for your kind words!
Try wrapping and freezing them before letting them proof. Just roll and wrap them and then place them in the freezer. The night before you’re ready to bake them, transfer them to the fridge and allow them to thaw and cold proof at the same time. When you wake up the next morning, if they haven’t fully proofed, you can take them out of the fridge and place them in a warm place for an hour or so to rise before baking. This should help with shape and height 🙂
These are delicious! Seriously…even better than gluten filled ones. I made a batch and added some orange zest and they were very close to the Pillsbury orange rolls…only BETTER! My parents couldn’t believe they were gluten free. Thank you so very much for coming up with these recipes. I have throughly enjoyed every bread recipe I have made of yours. Wish I had found you sooner.
Blessings,
Jennifer
Awe, thanks so much, Jennifer! It really is my pleasure to share my recipes with anyone who wants them 🙂
Kudos from Canada!! What a discovery. It’s right up there with penicillin and the wheel: profound and life altering. I mean for years “gluten-free bread” was code for “tightly packed crumbs” but not any more. You can absolutely unfurl these as you would with the ones infested with gluten, My dear wife presented me with these delights which she offered as a labour of love. Have to say, I’m really feeling the love! Thank you for being persistent and creating this wonderful hockey-puck-free zone.
Oh my gosh, Robin! Thank you SO much for your kind words! You are too kind 😍😍😍 I am so pleased that you loved the cinnamon rolls (and I hope your wife continues to make them for you 😉)
Thank you so much for all the work you did to create this! I have made these a number of times, and when I do it right they are just incredible.
The last two times I’ve made them, they have been really dry and the dough has been very sticky after proofing overnight. When I mix the wet ingredients, could it be that I have the butter too hot or too cold and the wet is not mixing right? Should I add the milk and eggs to the dry ingredients before I add the butter? Could it be anything else like the milk I’m using?
Like I said, they are incredible and now I’m messing them up! I feel like I am letting you down when I messed them up LOL
Oh no, Josh! I’m so sorry they’re not working for you all of a sudden. Don’t think you’re letting me down at all!
Did you change anything within the flour blend itself? I once had a reader who interchanged her potato starch with potato flour and the dough was very sticky and almost liquid like, so that’s why I always ask this question. I always add the milk and eggs to the dough and then the butter last, but I don’t think it matters much. What kind of milk are you using?
Could it be that I used white rice flour that wasn’t superfine? Threw off the ingredient portions in the bread mix?
It very well could be, Josh. What brand did you use?
Bob’s Red Mill…
Hmmm. I remember using Bob’s Red Mill back when I first started gf baking (years ago) and it was very gritty. I’m not sure if it will work for the more tender breads (like the cinnamon rolls) but you may be able to use what you already have mixed up for some of the lean loaves (artisan bread or focaccia).
I made them last night and this morning, and they turn out amazing. It was exactly that, the white rice flour. I had to make a whole new batch of your bread flour, but it was totally worth it.
So glad you figured it out and can enjoy your cinnamon rolls again 🙂
I tested this recipe last weekend to prepare for my son’s return from college. I want to surprise him, but didn’t want them to be another failed attempt. I used all the ingredients you recommended (your flour blend) except the potato starch wasn’t Bob’s Mill since it was all sold out in our town. I used Authentic Foods Potato Starch. I have to admit I only used half of the filling you call for. I put the dough in the fridge overnight, and it was still very sticky to work with in the morning – But I just kept adding extra flour to help like in your video. I had a bad experience in the past with greasy cinnamon rolls because of too much butter, so I halved the filling. My oven failed to come to temperature within the 1 hour of rising before baking, so they rose maybe an extra 30 minutes. I baked the rolls for 25 minutes; they were more brown then golden brown. The end result was that my cinnamon rolls were dry. I’m wondering if you have ever had comments about differences because of altitude? I live at 5000 ft. elevation. With your experience, was my problem the filling reduction, the over rising, or I should have watched them closer and taken them out of the oven earlier? Do you have an internal temperature you shoot for to know they are done? The flavor was VERY good. The texture a disappointment. I think they will be good if I just know how to adjust and would love your input.
I haven’t had much experience with high altitude baking (I’m at sea level), but I bet reducing the filling didn’t help a whole lot in the dryness of the roll. The filling definitely helps keep them moist as well as flavorful. They also could have been overproofed. Here’s an article I found about high altitude baking and what you may need to adjust: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/learn/resources/high-altitude-baking (if you already don’t know all of this). Good luck, Joyce 🙂
I can’t thank you enough for the feedback. I am trying your hamburger/hotdog buns today. Will adjust the oven temp and time (per the website you shared) and watch to not overproof. The link you provided is very helpful.
The next time I make the cinnamon rolls I will use the full filling, and will let you know how it goes. Question, have you made the cinnamon rolls or Hawaiian rolls with the added psyllium husk “improved recipe”? Or is that specific for the buns?
I haven’t tried it yet, but would like to. I’m always working on testing new breads and that seems to take up most of my time so it leaves me not as much time for revamping old recipes. I need to get more organized in the new year (that’s one of my New Year’s resolutions!) so hopefully I’ll be able to go back through some of my older recipes and try the psyllium husk in them. I DID try it in my pizza dough and didn’t care for it as much, but I need to play around with it.
I hope the hamburger/hot dog buns work for you 🤞🤞🤞
Just left a 5 star rating for the hamburger/hot dog bun recipe! (I didn’t need near the same flour for stickiness when forming the rolls as my 1st attempt at cinnamon rolls.) I used some of that dough for donuts. All delicious! Makes me think I will try the Cinnamon rolls with added psyllium husk powder as a way to keep the crumb smaller and less dry. Maybe that is the altitude ticket. Will let you know.
I just had a reader comment last night that her go-to adjustment for baking gluten free at high altitude is to add psyllium husk powder, so I think it will work perfectly, Joyce! Please let me know 🤞
Couldn’t go to bed without letting you know HOW MUCH my son loved his cinnamon rolls tonight. He said they were the best GF he has had. He was in disbelief. He said if you ever started selling your flour blends he would buy stock in your company! I used psyllium husk this time around—same as in your hamburger buns. I used 100% of your filling. I put a baking sheet under the Pyrex casserole dish the rolls were in for the first half of baking, and foil over the top for the second half of baking. I checked every 5 minutes after the first 10 minutes using a thermometer. When the outside rolls got to 195 degrees I took them out of the oven—the center rolls were at about 175. The color was spot on, and they sprung back when pressing on them. It was a win. Thank you so much for developing this recipe. May you have a very Merry Christmas! You sure made ours extra special this year.
p.s. I made three of our favorite cookie recipes with your all purpose blend 1 to 1 replacement for the wheat flour. The non-GF eaters couldn’t tell the difference! I also made your pie crust for a pecan pie. 5 stars!
Joyce, thank you so much for your incredibly nice comments!! I am so very grateful to be able to share my gluten free baking successes with everyone because I am there with you. I know what it’s like to go without, especially on holidays, and I want everyone who can’t eat gluten to enjoy food again like I have been able to!
Merry Christmas, Joyce 😍🎅🎄
Quick question: Do you think these could be made two days ahead of time? If I wanted to put these together on Tuesday afternoon for a Thursday morning, could they still be placed in the fridge after letting them rise? Do they not deflate when you take them out of the fridge and cook them?
Thank you SO much! I’ve made these twice now and they are everything you said they would be and more! It seemed too good to be true, to have a dough that could be kneaded, rolled AND had a huge rise, was fluffy and soft. I didn’t think I’d ever have a perfect cinnamon roll again! <3
Yay!!! So glad you are pleased with the cinnamon rolls😍
Hi Kim, I made these yesterday after gathering what I thought were the correct ingredients! The dough was EASY to work with-exactly what you said. The were FANTASTIC immediately after baking-I went to cinnamon roll heaven-I stored them in a ziplock and next day they were pretty hard. Apparently, no one else has had this issue because there are probably none left to store! Should I have refrigerated them? I did freeze some before baking, so I’m good there. Also, I just reread the comments here and realize I used Bob’s white rice flour, I did substitute Lakanto sugar for 1/2 cup of the sugar in the batter and I may have over baked them by 2-3 minutes. Your thoughts? THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!! I so appreciate your work and dedication to bringing deliciousness to the gf world!XOXOXO HAPPY HOLIDAYS
Hi, Sharon and thank you so much for your kind words!! It’s most likely both the BRM white rice flour AND the monk fruit sugar. The sugar plays a very crucial part in the texture of these rolls, so much so that I’ve tried to figure out every which way possible to reduce the sugar, at least 10 different times, and each time they’ve failed at being nice and soft. I just made some the other day and we just left them on the counter, covered in plastic wrap, and re-warmed them in the microwave for about 15-30 seconds each, and they were just as good as the day I made them. Sugar is not only a sweetener, but also acts as a dough tenderizer, especially in yeast breads.
I only added one packet of yeast to my dough. It is currently proofing for the 2 hours. Is there anything I can do to add in more yeast or am I out of luck?
I’m sorry I couldn’t get back to you sooner. I would try to add the rest now and then just place the whole thing in the fridge for an hour or so. It may or may not work, but it’s worth a shot.
In the future, if you send me an email at [email protected], I’ll get it much sooner 🙂
These were absolutely DIVINE!!!! Perfect Christmas morning breakfast!
One question… I followed the recipe to a t- weighed and measured my ingredients, used your flour blend recipe, etc with no substitutions and the brown sugar and butter mixture leaked out. I swirled them around and sort of coated them in it and then iced them and they were fine. But any clue as to why?
Thanks so much, Jessica! Hmmm, that’s strange. I’m not sure why it would have leaked out. Maybe if your dough was very cold and your butter was very warm? You could try either putting them in the fridge for an hour or the freezer for 20 minutes before baking. Or, you could try adding a tablespoon of cornstarch to the filling to thicken it up so it won’t go anywhere when baked. That is a mystery, though, so if you make them again and try any of these suggestions, please let me know how they turn out 🙂
I’ll try the cornstarch! I used Kerry gold butter and I’m wondering if it’s too soft maybe? It softens SO much at room temperature and other butters don’t. I’m going to try another butter and see if that works. Thanks so much for your response!!
Ahh made these again and it was definitely the butter! I also made sort of a mix of the glaze and frosting and added some orange zest and juice and they tasted just like pilsburys orange rolls!!!!! SO SO SO GOOD!!!!!
The cinnamon rolls are AMAZING! I made them after using the same dough to make kolaches a few weeks ago. I have never in my life had such delicious and wonderfully textured gluten free baked treats. I tell literally every gf person I know about these recipes!
Awe, thank you so much, Julianna!! I’m so glad you liked them, and I appreciate your kind words 🙂
So amazing!!!! These were perfect for our Christmas brunch. I can’t believe how soft and flaky they turned out. I can’t wait to make these for gf and non-gf friends. They aren’t even going to be able to tell they are gf! Thank you so much for sharing your recipe!
Thank you again, Kimberly!! So glad you liked them 🙂
Hi Kim! I appreciate all of your work on this recipe! I was wondering if you (or maybe someone else?) have tested this recipe using less sugar in the dough? I am searching all over for the perfect gluten free recipe and I have done a TON of research on leaveners, flour blends, etc, and your recipe seems perfect except I can’t bring myself to add a a whole cup of sugar to the dough. That just seems like a lot to me, but I’m afraid if I leave a lot of it out that the recipe will not work the way it was intended. I don’t love a super sweet dough with all of the cinnamon and sugar filling already in there plus the icing, but I would love to try this recipe if I knew I could leave all but a couple tablespoons of sugar out of the dough. What do you think?
Hi Kim! I was wondering if you or anyone else has had success with leaving out all but 1/4 cup of sugar in the dough? 1 Cup of sugar seems like a lot to me for a cinnamon roll dough, but I’d love to try this recipe and didn’t want to mess with it too much if it will effect the outcome of the texture.
oh dear, I see that my first comment did post after all. I clicked “post comment” and it told me that I had already posted a similar comment and it wasn’t going to post it! Oops! So sorry for the double post.
It really does affect the texture. Believe me, I’ve tried so many times in the past to reduce the sugar and they just weren’t soft enough. Sugar is also a tenderizer in baked goods, especially breads, and gluten free breads need all the help they can get. However, this recipe does make a lot of cinnamon rolls so you could halve the recipe and just make half the rolls. Also, there is an abnormally large amount of yeast in this recipe, which needs that amount of sugar in the recipe to “feed” it.
Thank you so much for your reply Kim! That makes sense!
Hi Kim, unfortunately, the dough for these rolls was completely unusable. I measured by weight meticulously and used every ingredient as directed. It was a cake batter consistency. I put it in the fridge overnight to see if that would help. I double checked to see if my scale was off and it’s not. I added about 1.5 cups more of flour to get it to at least a somewhat workable consistency and got them into a pan. I just checked on them after an hour and they haven’t risen at all. I’m going to try baking them and just see what happens, but I have no idea what went wrong. I’m sorry 🙁 I saw a couple other commenters had the same problem and wondered if there was ever any resolution.
Did you substitute anything within my flour blend? One reader at one point figured out that she was using potato flour and not potato starch and the dough was very thin and liquidy. This dough is such a breeze to work with. It starts out as kind of like a thick cookie dough, but once it’s been bulk fermented and then goes in the fridge overnight, it transforms into this wonderful dough that you can roll out no problem. Did you use something other than butter in the dough? Because the butter solidifies overnight in the fridge and helps with the texture of the dough. You definitely shouldn’t need to add a cup and a half extra flour. Another thing I’ve found is using Bob’s Red Mill white rice flour makes a huge difference in the texture of the dough, and the only one I’ve found that works well is Authentic Foods superfine white rice flour.
Let me know what brands you’re using for your flour components and we can go from there.
I am baking these for the first time (following the recipe as far as I know) and after baking for 25 minutes I took them out with brown tops, went to take one out of the pan after cooling time, and the top came off with the rest staying in the pan as wet dough still! Can you think of any reason this would have happened? Could I put them back in and save them? For how long? Thanks in advance!
Oh no! Was your oven hot enough? Maybe they weren’t proofed long enough. But yes, you should be able to put them back in for a few minutes (start with 5 and keep checking every 5 minutes) until they are done.
holy cow. I didn’t have enough whey on hand–about 2/3 the amount required, so I made up the difference using egg whites–5 g for every 4 g of whey I was short. beat and beat the dough and it wasn’t working then DUH–realied I’d forgotten the x gum. added it in and proceeded. 10 hrs in the fridge, rolled out on a silicon mat (only stuck a tiny bit as I rolled them up, bench scraper took care of that). Just finished eating my 2nd one–and I don’t have to eat gf! I bake for my dad and cannot wait to make a pan of these for him!
Great improvising, Elizabeth! I’m so glad you liked them and I hope your dad enjoys them as well 🙂
Oh no! I accidentally left the dough on the counter overnight instead of putting it in the fridge. I put it in now. Do you think it can be saved? It was my first time making the recipe.
Yeah, as long as your house wasn’t too hot I think it will be fine 🙂
I normally do conventional baking, but I made these cinnamon rolls (using Kim’s GF bread flour blend as suggested) for a friend with celiac, and I was completely blown away by them. They are hands-down the best gluten free baked goods I have ever had – not gritty, no weird aftertaste, and other than the fact that they’re missing the gluten chew, they really just…taste like real cinnamon rolls
Awe, thank you so much, Sylvie!!!
Hi Kim
I’m attempting to make your cinnamon buns, I think I read in one of post that you use salted butter in all of your recipes. I’m I right or am I just dreaming lol? I’ll let you know how they turn out tomorrow. My pizza dough is ready today and it looks and smells awesome so does the sauce. I can’t wait to make pizza today. It is the # 1 thing my husband misses(#2 apple pie that turned out amazing) He s like you he can’t even have a crumb of gluten. I’m so tired of all my failed attempts with other recipes after 6 years. Fingers crossed it turns out.
Yes, I do use salted butter in all my recipes. I personally like it better (I guess I’m in the minority who likes salted butter and milk chocolate, haha!).
I hope you and your husband like both the cinnamon rolls and pizza! My husband loves both and he doesn’t need to eat gluten free 🙂
Another winning recipe. They turned out amazing! Not only my husband enjoyed them but everyone else as well! Thanks
I made your King Cake using this dough and it was incredible and I can’t wait to use the remaining dough for these cinnamon rolls. I froze the dough dough after kneading (following the cold rise) but did not shape into rolls. How do you recommend handling the dough when I take it out of the freezer? I love your bread flour! I’ve been celiac/gluten free 10 years and this is the first flour that I’ve truly loved. So many baked goods have gone from the oven to the trash – but not your recipes!
Awe, thank you so much!! So glad you liked the King Cake!
I would thaw it in the fridge overnight and then proceed as directed with the cinnamon rolls, kneading the dough and rolling it out 🙂
Where/what is the * note? I can only see the ** notes and above.
Sorry! My “disclaimer” was supposed to be the one *. I’ve changed it.
how can I view your video on the “new way to roll these out”? Thank you, Beverly
Hi, Beverly! It should play immediately when you pull up the post for the cinnamon rolls. If it doesn’t, it could be because you have an ad blocker running on your computer that won’t allow things like that to play. You can also find it on my youtube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgJc0MKGiw8&t=1s
Good Morning
My daughter and myself opened up a gluten free cafe at the beginning of the pandemic and its been a long winter, however i am trying your doughnut recipe and i think i will work great after i can figure out how to perfect it ( not your recipe but my baking) . the problem I’m having is that once finished the dough is slightly undercooked on the inside. Any ideas would be appreciated, i don’t want to fry any longer than i am, say 1-2 minuets like you suggested, as i don’t want a dark brown outside
What temperature are you frying at? Maybe frying at a lower temp for a little longer would work. Mine are never doughy on the inside, but everyone’s fryer or thermometer can lie.
I’m a bloke who was diagnosed with Coeliac disease a few years ago, and I soon realised if I wanted something I would have to make it myself, so I potter around the kitchen and try my hand at things. I am by no means an experienced baker and really only took up baking when I was diagnosed.
I made the gluten free bread flour blend and followed the recipe closely. Happy with the end result. The texture is great. The only issue I have is the taste. I’m getting a strange “yeasty” taste in the roll. I’m not sure whether it’s the type of yeast I’ve used that has given it the odd flavour or not. No issues with the recipe. It all worked well!
Hmmm. Did you happen to leave it longer than a few days in the fridge? The longer it sits, the more yeasty it will taste, but otherwise it’s not usually incredibly yeasty.
Kim you are a life saver!! I am new to this GF world and I love to bake. So initially I was devasted that anything I would bake with commercial GF flours just did not turn out very good. Can you say hard as a rock baked goods? I threw more in the trash than I care to admit. Then I came across your site!!!! Oh man your flour blends and recipes are life changing!!! I made up these cinnamon rolls and followed your recipe exactly and oh boy are they delicious!!!! My husband even commented how wonderful they are!! I just cannot tell you enough how much I appreciated you and your work at creating the flour blends and recipes!!!
Awe, thank you so much, Diane! You are too kind 🙂
These look heavenly and I’m planning to make these this week, but was wondering if potato water (from boiled potatoes) could be used in place of the milk? When I was growing up my grandma always made her breads, rolls and cinnamon buns with leftover potato water instead of milk and they were delicious! Do you think the change of liquid would alter the recipe in a bad way?
That’s interesting. I’ve never heard to use potato water, but it truly makes sense and I think it would definitely work as a sub for the milk. Please let me know how they turn out! I’d love to try to make some actual potato buns or rolls at some point (they’re on my long list of things to try).
Hi,
I am reading all these comments about those cinnamon rolls and am very excited to make them, I don’t know how but I made your All-Purpose Flour instead 🙁
Can I use it for this recipe or do I have to use the same flour mentioned here?
Oh no! It most likely won’t work, unfortunately. But you’ll at least have plenty of the all purpose blend for whenever you want to make a cake, cupcakes, cookies, pie crust, etc. 😍
Oh My Goodness!! If I could give these more stars I would. I haven’t had a good cinnamon roll in years. I didn’t even know it was possible to have a real kneadable, rollable gluten free dough. I made these and froze them last week after using half the dough for doughnuts. I allowed a LOT more time for proving after my doughnuts turned out dense (possibly my yeast was weak). They were exactly as advertised. Soft, sweet and delicious!!! I used the glaze from the doughnut recipe instead of the frosting options here. All I can say is, if you haven’t made these, please do!!! I am making them again next week. Thank you Kim!
Awe, thanks so much, Cade! I’m so glad you liked them 😍
Do you have a cook book/bake book one could purchase
This would make for an amazing gift for all my gluten-free friends
I’m sorry, I don’t. I haven’t been offered a book deal as of yet, but I will be certain to let everyone know if and when I do 😍
I can’t thank you enough for this wonderful recipe! My 26 year old daughter was wishing so badly for a good cinnamon roll, as she had not tasted one in 8 years. I made your incredible recipe, and she started crying after her first bite. My celiac SIL and non GF husband couldn’t say enough good things about them. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!! I’m making your GF pizza for a friend for her birthday tomorrow and she’s super excited! (She also loved the rolls!)
Awe, yay!!!! I’m thrilled for your daughter (I’ve been there, so I completely understand). It is my absolute pleasure to share my successful recipes with anyone who wants them, and I appreciate your kind words more than you know.
I hope your friend likes the pizza 😍