Do you miss those fluffy dinner rolls from your previous (gluten-eating) life? Truthfully, I kinda do sometimes. Mostly I have learned to stay busy when the bread basket gets delivered to the table. I engage myself in an interesting conversation, I sip my water or tea and most of the time, I could really care less that I am unable to fill up on all those starchy carbs. 10+ years of not having something, you tend to not be too bothered after a while. I’ve created new habits and I enjoy my meals so much more without having a tummy full of carbs before I have even started the main event.

But, at holiday meals, a time of traditions and coming together over food, you let go a little, you eat a bit more than you usually would, you indulge in your favorite, classic dishes (gluten-free versions, of course). The holidays, for me, can at times bring up feelings of food FOMO (fear of missing out). I want to eat like everyone else, I would love a delicious, homemade, warm (gluten-free) dinner roll to sop up my gravy at my thanksgiving feast. Please and thank you!

These beautiful whole-grain rolls are the perfect answer!! They are delicate and fluffy with the perfect crumb. They have the right kind of chew, and they are wheaty, rich and buttery. The aroma in my kitchen as these dinner rolls baked was unreal and the taste was equally as impressive.

You guys might recall me telling you about America’s Test Kitchen’s The How Can it Be Gluten-free Cookbook last year, when I shared the recipe for their beautiful all purpose flour blend and delicious gluten-free sandwich bread recipe. Today, I am sharing these Gluten-Free Whole-Grain Dinner Rolls from their latest creation, Volume 2, of The How Can it Be Glute-free Cookbook. The second volume features a new whole-grain flour blend and lots of dairy-free recipes. ATK headed back into the test kitchen to tackle new (and sometimes more challenging) recipes, test new ingredients, and create even more groundbreaking dishes. The How Can It Be Gluten-Free Cookbook Volume 2 features 190 recipes from breakfast foods, rice and grains, and comfort food classics to breads, cookies, pies, and cakes. The collection also includes detailed nutritional information for every recipe. (See the full recipe list here.)

After extensive testing, the ATK Whole-Grain Gluten-Free Flour Blend was created, featuring teff flour, which adds both a nutritional boost and robust flavor, brown rice flour, ground golden flaxseeds, and sweet white rice flour. This hearty new blend provides the perfect starting point for many whole-grain recipes throughout the comprehensive book, such as blueberry muffins, chocolate chip cookies, gingersnaps, pecan bars, sandwich bread, and rustic walnut-cherry boule.

Here’s the deal with The How Can it Be Gluten-Free Cookbook Volume 2, it is a wonderful collection of classic recipes, meticulously recreated to be gluten-free. America’s Test Kitchen , their name is no joke, they test and retest these recipes, playing with the ingredients, the various combinations and substitutions to end up with the most perfect collection of pristine gluten-free recipes. The recipes range from simple and uncomplicated not needing any special flour blends or a long list of ingredients, recipes like Quinoa Granola, Johnnycakes or Polenta Fries, to more complex, labor intensive recipes like Gluten-free Everything Bagels, Yeasted Doughnuts or Rugelach cookies. What I love about this cookbook and Volume 1 of the same name, is knowing that every single recipe, if followed as written, will result in the most perfect dish that will blow your mind not only in taste, but you would swear, if you hadn’t made it yourself, that to couldn’t be gluten-free.

A note, for those, like me, that prefer to maintain a mostly grain-free diet, there aren’t many (any?) options in this cookbook, most recipes feature a grain or a combination or grains. Many of the baked goods call for xanthan gum, to create the perfect texture and chew. That said, this is a really great option for those special occasions when you want to enjoy a classic that you miss, when you want a treat, the food that reminds you of the meals you grew up eating.

[print_this]Gluten-free Whole-Grain Dinner Rolls
makes 12 rolls

Ingredients:

• 12 ounces (1 1/2 cups) 1 or 2 percent low-fat milk*, heated to 110ºF
• 2 1/4 teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast
• 5 teaspoons sugar
• 1 large egg plus 2 large yolks
• 10 ounces (2 1/4 cups) ATK Whole-Grain Gluten-Free Flour Blend (see below)
• 5 teaspoons powdered psyllium husk
• kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces and softened
• 1 tablespoon raw sunflower seeds, chopped (I also added raw pepitas, too)

Instructions:

1) Adjust oven rack to the middle position and heat oven to 200ºF. As soon as oven reaches 200ºF, turn it off. (This will be warm proofing box for the dough. Do not begin step 2 until oven has been turned off.) Spray 12-cup muffin tin with oil spray.

2) Combine warm milk, yeast, and 1 teaspoon sugar in bowl and let sit until bubbly, about 5 minutes. Whisk in egg and yolks. Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, mix flour blend, psyllium, 2 teaspoons salt, baking soda, and remaining 4 teaspoons sugar together on low speed until combined, about 1 minute. Add butter, increase speed to medium, and beat until stick and uniform, about 6 minutes. (Dough will be very soft and loose.)

3) Working with scant 1/4 cup dough at a time, shape into rough rounds using wet hands and place into the prepared muffin tin. Cover loosely with plastic wrap, place into warm oven, and let rise for 10 minutes, do not let plastic wrap touch oven rack.

4) Remove rolls from the oven and let sit on counter until dough has double in size, about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, heat oven to 350ºF.

5) Remove plastic, spray rolls with water, then sprinkle with sunflower seeds and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bake until deep golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes, rotating the muffin tin halfway through baking.

6) Remove rolls from oven and let cool in muffin tin for 10 minutes. Remove rolls from the tin and serve warm. (Rolls can be stored in zipper-lock bag for up to days, they cannot be frozen. To refresh, warm rolls in 350-degree oven for 10 minutes.)

NOTES:

I used raw goat milk in place of the low-fat milk.

For non-dairy options: ATK says that soy milks is their favorite non-dairy option, but almond milk will also work, they recommend not using rice milk. (substitute 3/4 cup soy milk and 3/4 cup water, in place of the milk) You can use Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks in place of the butter (omit the salt)

It is recommended that you don’t substitute another whole-grain blend for the ATK Whole-Grain Gluten-free Blend. They tested others and they did not work.

The psyllium is crucial to the structure of the rolls and cannot be replaced.

If using table salt, rather than kosher salt, reduce all salt amounts in half.

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[print_this]ATK Whole-Grain Gluten-free Flour Blend
makes about 45 ounces (10 cups)

• 24 ounces (5 1/4 cups) teff flour
• 8 ounces (1 3/4 cups) brown rice flour
• 8 ounces (2 1/3 cups) ground golden flaxseeds
• 5 ounces (1 cup) sweet rice flour

Whisk all ingredients together in a large bowl until well combined. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for us to 3 months, or freeze for u to 6 months. Bring to room temperature before using.

Note: if you don’t bring the flour to room temperature before using, the recipe may not work as expected. [/print_this]