I love cinnamon rolls.
Man, if I had a dollar for every time I’ve written that on this blog, I’d probably have…a couple dollars.
But I do. And nothing makes you miss you’re favorite breakfast/snack/dinner {don’t judge} than not being able to eat one of the main ingredients. All of my favorite cinnamon roll recipes are already dairy free, but gluten free they are not.
As it turns out, the babe likely does not have a gluten allergy, but it’s so hard to pinpoint things. Every time he refluxes I worry it was something I ate. So while I don’t think gluten is the culprit {dairy & soy ARE}, I’ve been trying to keep my intake to a minimum and saving the gluten-eating for the really important things, like pumpkin beer.
I’ve been experimenting with my favorite cinnamon bun recipes and my new collection of gluten free flours. I’ve yet to find THE magic flour blend that gives that chewy doughiness I love in a cinnamon roll.
I am far from an expert on gluten free baking. Far. So this post is fairly useless. Here are some of the flours I’ve tried so far:
Gluten free all purpose baking mix {Arrowhead Mills}: Easy 1:1 sub but lacks the density of whole grains (too starchy for me)
Sorghum Flour: easy sub, lacks “chew”
Garbanzo Bean flour: provides density, but has a rather off-putting smell/after taste. Not for the faint of heart.
Gluten Free Oat Flour: one of the easiest to sub, probably because I’ve used oats/oat flour in so many recipes before.
Millet Flour: probably my favorite so far. Light but not starchy-light. I know, highly technical terms here. Holds in moisture well.
Brown Rice Flour: seems to be the standard gluten free “whole” grain.
Buckwheat Flour: great for pancakes, a little strong for lighter baked goods like cookies.
As far as starches go, I’ve been using mostly cornstarch and tapioca starch. I haven’t noticed any differences between the two, although I do prefer less starch-heavy blends than most combos call for.
I know most gluten free flour substitutes work best in combinations, but I’ve yet to stumble upon a tried and true favorite.
So there you have it. I have no idea what I’m doing. And thus my cinnamon rolls continue to suffer…
Gluten-free folks- what’s your favorite flour/combo?!
{ 5 comments… read them below or chime in }
I need a napkin….
Kierston Just blogged…Lost in Time…
I love combining Garbanzo bean flour and Brown Rice Flour!
Ali Just blogged…When to Push and When to Let Go
I use a combo of brown rice flour, tapioca starch, and quinoa flour for softer baked goods. I also like buckwheat but I think it’s better for pancakes/savoury breads
I’ve had pretty good luck with Bob’s Red Mill All Purpose. I’ve even made pasta with it!
Kristin @ FoodFash Just blogged…October #FoodiePenpal
Cinnamon Rolls are one of the things I worked on a long time to make GF and I didn’t stop until they were as close to Cinnabon style as I could get. Now, mine aren’t dairy free but I think you could totally make them DF. For the actual rolls just sub the milk out with whatever your substitute of choice is (personally I think I would do vanilla almond milk or perhaps rice but prob not coconut) and sub 1 tbsp oil of your choice for the 2 tbsp butter. Then use whatever your favorite DF filling is, roll, and bake. http://glutenfree100.blogspot.com/2012/04/gluten-free-cinnamon-rolls-recipe.html
Rachel J. Just blogged…So Here’s The Deal & a Beautiful Rainbow Cake