It took me so long to come up with a recipe for vegan AND gluten-free buns (bread rolls). But finally, it’s here! And I love how the buns turned out. They are soft, oil-free, dairy-free, egg-free, gluten-free, and tasty!
SOFT GLUTEN-FREE BUNS WITHOUT EGGS
Well, it’s not easy to create a vegan and gluten-free recipe for bread buns which actually tastes good and which is furthermore soft. It happens quite often that gluten-free buns (without eggs) turn out like brick and/or taste…well…not too good! If you are a gluten-free vegan, you know what I am talking about.
Most soft gluten-free yeast buns contain eggs which means they aren’t vegan. Most soft vegan yeast buns contain all-purpose flour which means they contain gluten… Ugh! Making soft vegan gluten-free yeast rolls without eggs is a difficult task. But it’s doable!
THE SECRET INGREDIENT FOR SOFT GLUTEN-FREE BUNS?
Is there a secret for soft gluten-free rolls? Well, I don’t know if it’s a secret but I remember I tried this trick for the first time about 10 years ago. I made a pizza and added mashed potatoes to the dough!
The pizza crust came out soft and crispy at the same time. I really loved the result! After countless failed attempts at making soft gluten-free bread rolls which are also vegan I somehow remembered this mashed potato trick.
And it seems this was the missing piece of the puzzle because finally, the buns turned out soft!
PSYLLIUM HUSK POWDER
Gluten-free recipes often contain Xanthan which is a gum that isn’t very healthy. It might make the dough rise a little bit more but I heard that many people have allergies and try to avoid “gums”. Therefore, I don’t use any Xanthan gum, however, I love to add psyllium husk powder.
It is not only a great ingredient for gluten-free doughs, but it’s also very beneficial for our gut health! Psyllium husk powder provides elasticity and structure for gluten-free doughs. It’s basically fiber that’s why it binds a lot of liquid, so you really shouldn’t leave it out.
WHICH FLOUR BLEND?
I rarely use store-bought gluten-free flour blends because they are very expensive where I live. That’s why I make my own gluten-free blend by simply mixing rice flour with tapioca flour, sometimes cornstarch and sometimes oat flour (ground oats).
I also use chickpea flour quite often, which is also the main ingredient of my homemade gluten-free tortillas and homemade gluten-free gnocchi. However, when I used it in these gluten-free buns the result wasn’t too good. The yeast rolls turned out rather dry and brittle. I had the best result with a mixture of oat flour, rice flour, and tapioca flour.
I believe buckwheat flour (and maybe also sorghum flour) would be another good substitute for oat flour, however, I didn’t try it out yet. You could try using a store-bought mixture but the result will probably be different from my result since gluten-free flour blends often contain different gluten-free flours.
But if you try a different blend, then definitely let me know which one it was, as I would love to add it to the recipe notes!
THESE ROLLS ARE:
- Vegan (egg-free, dairy-free)
- Oil-free
- Gum-free (no Xanthan gum)
- Soft
- Easy to make
- Great for a burger or sandwich
HOW TO MAKE GLUTEN-FREE BUNS?
This recipe is fairly easy to make and I hope you will give it a try. Should you recreate these burger buns, please leave a comment below and don’t forget to tag me in your Instagram or Facebook post with @elavegan and #elavegan because I love to see your recreations.
Also, one more thing before we get to the recipe. I have made some recipe testing with soft pretzel buns and I actually included the variation to the recipe notes. So if you love the pretzel taste, definitely check out the recipe notes below.
Here you can see a photo of the pretzel buns. Also, click HERE if you would like to check out my Sloppy Joes recipe.
Gluten-Free Buns
Ingredients
- 1 cup (90 g) oat flour (gluten-free if needed)
- 1/2 cup (80 g) white rice flour
- 1/2 cup (60 g) tapioca flour
- 3 tsp psyllium husk powder
- 2/3 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup (120 g) mashed potatoes
- 2/3 cup (160 ml) plant-based milk lukewarm
- 1 1/2 tsp dry instant yeast
- 3 tsp sugar
Instructions
- Peel a big potato and cut it into 2-inch pieces. Cook it in a pot of salted water until tender (about 15 minutes). Drain the water and mash the potato with a potato masher (you will need 1/2 cup/120 g of mashed potatoes for this recipe). Let cool.
- In a small pot, dissolve the dry yeast with the sugar in the lukewarm milk (about 100°F/38° C). Let the yeast proof for 10 minutes. It should get frothy and rise a little bit.
- Put all flours into a bowl, add the psyllium husk powder and salt and stir with a whisk.
- Pour the yeast mixture into the bowl and also add 1/2 cup of mashed potatoes.
- Mix everything together with a spoon or your hands and knead the dough for a few minutes. It should be moist and not dry. If it's too dry add a little bit of water. If it's too sticky, add a little bit more tapioca flour.
- Divide the dough into 6 equal parts and roll each piece into a ball with your hands.
- Place the buns onto a baking pan, lined with greased parchment paper or into a burger silicone pan (see pictures above in the blog post) and score a cross on the buns.
- Cover the pan with a wet kitchen towel and let them rise in a warm place (e.g. in a 100°F/38°C oven) for about 60 minutes. They will rise a little bit (not as much as a dough made with wheat flour though).
- After 45 minutes, preheat oven to 360°F/180°C. Put a heat resistant container into the oven and fill it with water (it will release steam during baking which will make the buns soft).
- Bake the buns in the oven for about 25 minutes. Enjoy warm!
- They taste best on day one. You can store leftovers in the fridge but since this is a gluten-free buns recipe they will become a bit drier on the second day. That's why it's best to reheat them in the microwave for 30-45 seconds when you eat them the next day. Check the recipe notes below if you want these gluten-free buns to taste like soft pretzels!
Notes
- For the pretzel taste, mix 1 cup (240ml) hot water with 2 tbsp baking soda.
- Pour the mixture into a spray bottle and spray each bun with this mixture before baking! The buns will brown a little and also taste like soft pretzels!
- Make sure to also check out my Gluten-Free Vegan Bread recipe!
- Recipe makes 6 buns. Nutrition facts are for one bun.
Nutrition information is an estimate and has been calculated automatically
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Thanks so much for your kind comment. So glad you like my recipes. 🙂
I followed the recipe completely but they came out quite doughy inside. Do you know why this may be? They still tasted great so I can’t wait to retry them again!
You could simply bake them a few minutes longer next time or use a little less potato if you prefer them drier. 🙂
Followed the recipe exactly and they came out perfect! Will be making these again and again I think! Thank you for sharing all of your wonderful recipes! Love your blog ????
I am so glad you loved them! Thanks for your great feedback, Mohini. 🙂
These look awesome. All your recipes do. So happy I came across your website. It’s hard to find vegan and gluten free. Have you considered making a sourdough bread? I realized that it would require a lot of your gluten free blend. It would be a good ride for the dough.
Cherie
Hi Cherie, no, I never tried making sourdough bread. I am pretty happy with this bread recipe. 🙂
These buns look so good! Can I use brown rice flour and active dry yeast instead?
I never tried it but it might work. 🙂
hey,
nice recipe. can i use jaggery powder instead of sugar
Hi, I never heard of that before, sorry!
These look delicious! Can you suggest a replacement option for psyllium husk for this recipe due to an allergy?
Maybe the double amount of ground chia seeds would work but I never tried it. 🙂
Do these spread? I don’t have bun molds and was actually trying to make hot dog/hoagie style buns.
You can shape them into hot dog buns (no bun mold needed). I hope this helps.
These are AMAZING. I didn’t have regular potatoes so I use sweet potatoes and they turned out great. Definitely definitely making them again and again
That’s awesome, Desiree! Such a great idea to use sweet potatoes. 🙂
That was going to be my question. I am allergic to nightshade as well as gluten. This is very good news! Did you use the same weight as with normal potatoes?
Hello! Can i use xantan gum instead of psyllium?
Thanks!
Hey! I never tried it, and I am not sure if it would work. 🙂
I am trying these tonight! Quick question, can I use coconut sugar instead of white?
Yes, that’s fine. 🙂
I made these for Easter dinner. Everyone loved them. I will definitely make them again. I’m sharing the recipe with my daughters.
That’s wonderful, Michelle! I am so glad they turned out amazing. 🙂
I’m not sure what to use for step 9? “ Put a heat resistant container into the oven and fill it with water” I don’t have anything I could put in the over that would hold water. I have muffin, cookie sheets, and a cheese cake pan (that I’m not very confident will hold water)
Hi Sarra, you can use a simple ceramic bowl (e.g. a soup bowl). Hope this helps. 🙂
Hola! Quería preguntar si se puede omitir el azúcar, porque soy diabética. 🙁
O se puede sustituir por alguna otra cosa¿
Gracias!!!
Hola! Para activar la levadura, desafortunadamente el azúcar es necesario. Puedes probar esta receta que no requiere levadura ni azúcar: https://elavegan.com/gluten-free-vegan-bread/
I’m trying to find a way to delete my first negative comment, but I can’t. If you can do it, be my guest! We did end up eating these in the end. the flavour was good. I think what happened was the pan in the bottom o the oven ran out of water. So the outsides got super crunchy and hard. Lesson learned. Sorry about that!
Looking forward to trying these! It’s so hard/nearly impossible to find vegan and gluten free breads and buns! I’m wondering if these freeze well? I’d live to be able to batch a bunch of them and pull them out as needed!
Thanks!
Yes, you can freeze them Kaia. 🙂
Very clever with the potatoes! Can’t wait to try them. Any suggestions where I can buy a specific burger silicone pan? Thank you
Hi Gabi! You can search for a silicone pan on Amazon. 🙂
Could I put these in a baking soda bath for pretzel rolls, rather than spraying them with the baking soda mixture? Your blog is my favorite!
I am not sure if it will work because the recipe is gluten-free. Therefore, I prefer to spray or brush them with the baking soda mixture. 🙂
Thanks for the compliment, Jodi! 🙂
Would love to make these today! I’m in need of a good bread recipe! Any suggestions for rice flour substitute, I’m intolerant which makes vegan gf a little harder haha. Thanks for all your amazing recipes ??
Stacey, I would suggest buckwheat flour or quinoa flour. 🙂