Simple Gluten Free Kitchen

Gluten Free Brioche Buns

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Whenever I offer gluten free food to my friends they get tempted to go gluten free. I can definitely understand, why they say so. Gluten free food tastes great. However, they do not understand what exactly leaving gluten means. My eating lifestyle totally changed and cooking gluten free food involves a lot of patience and experimentation. In the beginning it was difficult but got easier once I got the understanding of flours and foods that I can eat than what I can’t. This lifestyle works wonders for those who loves to cook from scratch.
Although, the gluten free market has grown very big in the last couple of years with tasty options, many of the products are highly processed, refined with added sugars and high in starch. That being said I do a lot of cooking and baking at home and try to cut back starches and gum from my diet where ever possible.

In gluten free baking the most challenging part is getting the right ingredients to work together to achieve the desired result. I have made several gluten free breads in last 4 years, however there are times when inspite of my best effort, humidity and season makes the same recipe a failure. But that does not hold me back from baking, I take a deep breath and continue trying to get things right. It just make me ponder sometimes, was I ever this patient before? I have always loved to cook and bake, but I find more pleasure in it now.

 

 

I started making burger buns about a year ago, after wading through a bunch of bun recipes. I finally settled for the following combination of flours because no single gluten free flour can substitute for wheat flour. These buns are light, delicious, sweeter and soft from inside. The only thing they missed was the shine even after the egg glaze.

One day while surfing on the internet, I saw a unique way of giving gleam to gluten free buns. I made the dough as I always make it, then after they rose I gave each bun a brief swim in boiling water as was mentioned in A Sage Amalgam’s blog. I was stunned and delighted by how such a small technique could completely change the appearance of my buns. They had a nice golden brown crust with a beautiful sheen. Thank you Heather, because of you I can share my recipe today.

 

Tips on making GF buns:

a) Always measure your flour, If you do not have a weighing kitchen scale, pour the mixture in measuring cup and scrape of the excess mix with a knife.

b) Milk tends to make the dough stickier but makes very soft buns. Use dry flour sparingly as more flour can cause the buns to be tougher and heavy to rise.

d) Divide the dough equally to have same size buns.

e) After you divide the dough in balls allow them to rise for 60 to 120 minutes. Sometimes the buns do not rise for the first 45 minutes, but have patience they will rise eventually (if the yeast is not bad).

f) Heat and moisture works very well for baking any bread. In place of cling wrap, I cover the dough with a wet towel and place it in a warm oven (150° F), I turn it off after 20 minutes then switch on the oven light. Underneath the wet towel i keep upside down down glasses to give buns a little bit space to rise. Wet the towel again when it gets dry and brush your buns with water if they also look dry.

g) The fully rose and baked bun is lighter in weight.

 

GLUTEN FREE BRIOCHE BUNS ( makes 3.5″ burger buns)

Ingredients:

104 g (3/4 cup) brown rice flour mix

64 g (1/2 cup) millet flour (light yellow one, it’s usually made with pearl millet)

30 g almond meal

30 g (1/4 cup) soy flour

1/2 tsp xanthum gum

salt to taste

1 egg

1/2 tbsp honey

4 tbsp unsalted melted butter

1/2 cup (less 1.5 tbsp ) Luke warm milk or 1/2 cup water

2 tsp quick rise yeast

1 egg white lightly beaten with 1 tsp water

sesame or poppy seeds( optional)

melted butter for brushing(optional)

For Boiling:

2 l  water

1 tbsp white granulated sugar

Method:

  1.  Combine all the flours, salt, yeast and xanthum gum in a bowl.
  2.  In a large mixing  bowl or stand mixer with a paddle attachment whisk egg, melted butter, honey and luke warm milk. With the mixer on its lowest speed, slowly add the flour mix until combined. Stop the machine and scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. With the mixer on medium speed, beat for 2 minutes.
  3. The dough would be a bit sticky. Scrape it down onto clean, well floured counter or pastry board.
  4.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  5.  Pat the dough into a disk, using dough scraper, divide into 4 equal pieces, Gently roll each piece into a ball. Cup the dough with both hands and gently rotate it high (2.5″) using dry millet flour.
  6.  Then gently press down to form a smooth disc. Repeat with remaining dough. (You can check another way of rolling at a sage amalgam). Arrange the dough balls on prepared baking sheet. Brush it with water.Cover loosely with a piece of plastic wrap lightly coated in nonstick spray or under a wet cloth. Keep it in warm place for 60-90 minutes (it only too 75 minutes in my house, check tips above)
  7.  Once the dough balls are through rising, warm 2 liters of water in a 22 cm pot over high heat.Add 1 tbsp granulated sugar. Stir and bring water to boil.
  8.  Preheat the oven to 425° f.
  9. Wet your hands and lift the first bun onto mesh skimmer and slide it into boiling water. Cook for 1 minute on the bottom side, then flip it using the mesh skimmer and cook the top for 1 minute more. Remove the bun with the mesh skimmer, allowing water to drain back into the pot and place on parchment paper with top side up. Repeat with remaining buns. The boiled buns will look shrunk but will puff up after baking. Allow last bun to cool for about 5 minutes. Brush the tops with one or two coats of egg wash.
  10. Place the baking tray with buns in oven and bake for 20-25 min. or until deep golden brown. Cool for 15-20 minutes. Store buns in bread container or tightly wrapped  in aluminum foil . They stay soft and good on counter for 3-4 days.

 

          

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  5. Balvinder these look absolutely perfect. Great instructions and tips. I’ve never made these before but would love to try. Their color is so golden with a crisp exterior and they look fluffy and light on the inside. Thank you for sharing this recipe. I may be emailing you with questions as I’m preparing them.

    Reply

  7. Nice tips with the milk and all, I tend to forget those things. You are right the humidity and season can have a totally different effect on the baked good. I realized that here as well.

    Reply

  11. Wow.. looking at these buns.. who’d imagine that they are gluten-free!! am so glad I found your blog.. have increasingly been wanting to start baking more gluten-free.. for no other reason that it is healthier!! be ready for a lot of questions!! 🙂

    Reply

  12. Thks for sharing those tips! Excellent especially for non-bakers. Sorry that you’ve missed so many of my Int’l Giveaways. I did buzz u couple of times, but was surprised u didn’t participate. Hope to see yours in my next Int’l Giveaway 🙂

    Reply

  19. I almost never take the effort to make recipes gluten free so I really appreciate all the effort you put in to it. these buns look amazing. thanks for sharing a gluten free recipe. 🙂

    Reply

  21. I’ve toyed with the idea of learning to bake GF. But it just seems like it would be difficult plus much planning involved. Your brioche is really inspiring me to give it a go. Thanks for sharing:)

    Reply

  29. Gosh, I must’ve missed a lot of your post! U seemed so active recently. Sorry, I was really tied-up with events. These buns are simply gorgeous! Ok, will go chk out other of your posts 🙂

    Reply

  31. hi balvinder, how are you. when i looked at your buns i thought they look familiar, but i cant figure out, until i read that they are burger buns. must be the tan and pretty looking buns that amazed me. love the tips too. bookmarked with thanks. have a nice day

    Reply

  33. These LOOK amazing! Thanks for adding the tips on there!! Love that! I have yet to make perfect buns, these look awesome! Thanks for linking up at our Gluten Free Fridays party last week! I have tweeted and pinned your entry to our Gluten Free Fridays board on Pinterest! 🙂 I hope that you’ll join us this week to share more yummies! Also, be sure to stop back by to see who the winner of the Planet Rice will be! The winner will be announced at GFF #9 Cindy from vegetarianmamma.com

    Reply

  36. Your brioche buns are beautiful and light. It’s fun to see how much lighter they are when cooked. It makes sense but I’ve never actually done the scale test before and after. I’ll have to try that. Very nice recipe. You really are a pro when it comes to baking bread!

    Reply

  39. This is awesome. For that matter all your recipes are too good and inspiring :). I am still new to the baking of bread. Can you please specify the use if xanthum gum in the Rcipes? Can we do without it?
    Sonal

    Reply

    • Sonal, so nice of you to check on my other recipes. In gluten free baking you just have to play with different combination of flours to get the right thing. …xanthum gum is not essential but it improves the texture of baked goods. I have learnt to bake it without however I still use it in breads, otherwise they get crumbly and will not have good shelf life. Some people use chia seeds or psyllum husk, I haven’t yet experimented with these.

      Reply

  41. Beautiful, amazing buns! I’d love to make them, but can’t use soy flour. What would you suggest to substitute?

    Thanks for the great recipes!

    Cindy

    Reply

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