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
Simple and Delicious Vegan Cookbook by ElaVeganCLICK HERE to order!IF YOU ARE USING PINTEREST, FEEL FREE TO PIN THE FOLLOWING PHOTO:
Is it normal if the buns are almost wet on the inside, like cooked oatmeal / sticky? Or did mine somehow underbake? They are also very small and didn’t rise much.
Hi Alex, no, that should not happen. Sounds like they were totally underbaked. Was your yeast fresh and did you use psyllium husk powder?
Hello what can I substitute for the white rice flour?
Thank you!
Buckwheat or quinoa flour should be fine.
Your recipes are amazing and very much appreciated in my household. All blessings for you to keep your wonderful work!
That’s so kind of you, thank you!! 🙂
These look amazing! With these rolls, could i substitute all the different flours and just use plain gluten free flour?
That depends on the flour blend, as they are all different. It might work fine, though.
Perfect! Thank you!
You are very welcome, Michael 🙂
Hi Ela, can psyllium be replaced with chia or flaxseed meal? Have you ever tried?
I haven’t tried it with this recipe (but with a different one). I used the double amount of ground chia seeds and the result was okay, but not as good as with psyllium. 🙂
I have a question about the yeast. The recipe says instant dry yeast, but then it’s added to liquid to activate. I thought Active dry yeast was to be activated with water/sugar and instant dry yeast was typically added to dry ingredients without the liquid step first. Honestly, I’m okay either way, lol. What I really want to be sure of is that I’m going to buy the right thing. I’ve not used yeast a lot in baking and I’m super excited to try this recipe but don’t want to mess it up out of the gate. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
Hi Jen, you can probably add it to the dry ingredients without issues. Both will work. 🙂
Can you do this yeast free. Im to sensitive. Baking soda and baking powder?
Hi Teresa, you can definitely try it. However, I have a recipe for gluten-free, yeast-free bread rolls which you could also check out. 🙂
Hi, I recently started eating plant based and love what I’ve tried of your recipes. I can’t wait to try these? Do they freeze well?
Yes, that’s fine! So happy to hear you started eating plant-based, Sue! 🙂
Can you use Xanthan gum instead of, psyllium husk powder?
Hi! I haven’t tried it in this recipe, but it might work fine as well. 🙂
Awesome recipe Michaela, love these buns. Thank you for all the hard work you put in to developing such wonderful recipes.
Rose ????
Thanks for your lovely feedback, Rose! I am so glad you like my recipes. 🙂
Hi, is it a must to have oat flour? can I just skip that and just use rice flour and tapioca starch?
if I’m allergic to milk is there another substitute?
Hi, it’s better if you don’t skip the ground oats. You could probably use buckwheat flour instead.
The recipe calls for dairy-free milk (not cow’s milk). Water might work as well, though.
Thank you so much for all the work you put in creating this recipe! I can’t wait to experiment with it. Unfortunately rice is also an issue for me, so I’m thinking of alternatives. I wonder if there’s something you can suggest or things that you know for sure won’t work.
Hi Elle, you could try chickpea flour.
Tried the exact recipe today and it came out perfect. Can you tell me the weight of each dough as mine was bit thick and it came out little dense. I used cows milk instead of plant based milk.
I am so glad they turned out perfect! The weight of one dough ball was about 85 grams. 🙂