It sounds obvious, but the key to making gluten-free, pull-apart dinner rolls that can appease everybody at Thanksgiving dinner is to create a roll that actually, you know, pulls apart.
After trying and trying, Jules Shepard figured out how to do it.
The secret ingredient? Potato flakes.
“There’s something telltale about those dinner rolls,” said Shepard, who has celiac disease and has been creating her own gluten-free flour and sharing her recipes since 1999. “There’s a chew to it, a hallmark flavor and texture to it, and you pull them and there’s a little bit of resistance. So it took a while until I was able to happen upon something that worked.”
She found that potato flakes from instant mashed potato boxes could re-create the classic, chewy texture.
After sharing her recipe on her website, she found that other gluten-free eaters were similarly impressed with the power of the potato flake.
“It’s so yummy,” she said. “You can use them the next day for sandwiches with leftover turkey and everyone loves them. It’s just one of those recipes that’s really classic for Thanksgiving.”
Shepard included the recipe, along with nearly 50 others, in her new book, “Easy Gluten-Free Bread Baking for the Busy, the Untrained, and the Skeptical,” which just went on sale.
“This book proves proves that gluten-free bread is really delicious when it’s done right,” she said.
Just be sure to follow the recipe exactly as written. No exceptions!
These gluten-free pull-apart dinner rolls by Jules Shepard are perfect for Thanksgiving. (Courtesy of Jules Shepard)
Gluten-Free Pull-Apart Dinner Rolls, by gfJules
Makes nine rolls
INGREDIENTS
2 ¾ cups gfJules® All Purpose Gluten Free Flour
2 packs (4½ teaspoons) quick rise instant yeast (e.g. Red Star® Quick Rise)**
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt
¼ cup instant plain gluten-free mashed potato flakes (Idahoan® Original Mashed Potatoes; or Edward & Sons™ Organic)***
1½ cups seltzer water, club soda, 7 Up or ginger ale OR 3/4 cup bubbly liquid + 3/4 cup milk of choice, dairy or nondairy*
1 egg room temperature OR favorite substitute (I like using 3 tablespoons aquafaba)
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or other mild cooking oil
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
2 tablespoons butter or non-dairy alternative, melted, for brushing on rolls
Brush these gluten-free pull apart dinner rolls with melted butted to make them extra delicious. (Courtesy of R.Mora Photography)
DIRECTIONS
Spray one 8- or 9-inch round cake pan or pie plate lightly with cooking spray then line with parchment (makes it easier to remove the rolls).
Bring all ingredients to room temperature.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together dry ingredients: gfJules Flour; yeast granules**; sugar; potato flakes; and salt.
In a separate bowl, stir egg to mix. Add to it liquid ingredient, olive oil and apple cider vinegar, then pour into the dry mixture while stirring or using the paddle attachment on a stand mixer at low speed.
Increase mixing speed to medium and continue stirring for 2-3 minutes. The dough will become fluffier but will still be thick.
Using a 2-inch scoop, place 8-9 dough balls into the prepared pan: one or two in the middle of the pan and the others evenly spaced around it. I find it is easier to remove the dough smoothly if you first wet the scoop with water or oil well before filling with dough. OR roll each ball gently in more gfJules Gluten Free Flour first.
If needed, dip your fingertips or a rubber spatula into warm water and smooth the tops of the rolls, continuing to re-wet as needed so the dough doesn’t stick to the spatula or your fingers.
Cover lightly with parchment paper and allow to rise for 20 minutes. If your kitchen is cool, a good place to rise these is to turn your oven on to 200 degrees Fahrenheit and then turn it off when it has come to temperature. Place the rolls in the oven after it is turned off.
Remove the rolls after rising in order to preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Brush rolls with 1 tablespoon of melted butter.
Once the oven has come to temperature, place the rolls (uncovered) into the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees convection. If your oven doesn’t have convection, use 350 degrees — the rolls will not be as browned.
Bake for approximately 20-22 minutes. The tops of the rolls should be golden, a toothpick inserted into a roll should come out with only dry crumbs, and the internal temperature of the dough should be 195°F or higher.
Once fully cooked, remove rolls to cool in the pan on a wire rack, and gently brush on remaining 1 tablespoon melted butter just before serving. Serve warm.
NOTES
** Regular active dry yeast may be used here, but should be proved first and added with the liquids rather than with the dry ingredients.
*** Substitutes for mashed potato flakes: arrowroot powder, potato starch or cornstarch can be subbed 1:1 for similar results, but mashed potato flakes are still preferred. You can also just bake a potato or a sweet potato (nightshade-free) and mash it instead. Add about 1/2 cup mashed potato instead of 1/4 cup potato flakes, but reduce the liquids by about 1/8 cup.
To freeze these rolls for serving later, allow time for the rolls to fully cool first. Wrap in two layers of aluminum foil then in two layers of plastic wrap. Place the wrapped rolls in a freezer bag in the freezer.
To reheat, remove plastic wrap and loosen foil enough to spritz or dampen the top of the rolls with water (this will create steam when heated). Re-close the foil around the rolls. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place wrapped rolls in preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, or until they are fully warmed to a temperature of 190 degrees and heated through.
— Courtesy of “Easy Gluten-Free Bread Baking for the Busy, the Untrained, and the Skeptical,” by Jules E. Dowler Shepard (Ewings Publishing LLC, $32).
You can use these gluten-free dinner rolls the day after Thanksgiving for turkey sandwiches. (Courtesy of R.Mora Photography)
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Dining and Cooking