A strong structure and delicious flavour are key to really good gluten free sourdough buns. This recipe is perfect in so many ways:
- It’s packed full of GF structural supports, so it won’t crumble.
- The sourdough starter gives this bun a deliciously rich flavour.
- High in fibre and protein, it is a healthy alternative to white, Styrofoam-like buns.
- They are super quick to make. They are done mixing and baking in less than 45 minutes!
- Gluten free sourdough buns freeze really well. So make a huge batch and you’ll have them for all your dinner parties, BBQs and sandwiches.
One recipe lots of different types of buns
I love this recipe so much that I use it for all of my GF buns. Everything from hot dog rolls to focaccia sandwiches. I’ve been GF since 2009… and I still missed bread. However, creating this recipe changed all of that.
Here are some ways you can take this basic gluten free sourdough buns recipe and turn it into whatever it is you want:
- Hamburger buns: Brush the buns with an egg wash made from 1 egg and 1 tbsp of milk. Then sprinkle with sesame seeds.
- Hot dog buns: Instead of forming the dough into round buns, form them into hot dog-sized rolls. The rolls will be a bit flat unless you use a hot dog bun pan. Either way, they’ll taste good!
- Dinner rolls: The only difference between a hamburger bun and dinner roll is the size of the bun. I like adding olives to my dinner rolls to make them a bit fancier. Add about 1/4 cup of chopped kalamata olives to a single batch of the sourdough bun recipe.
- Sandwich focaccia: After I became GF I missed sandwiches from my Italian deli more than anything else. Making gluten free sourdough focaccia changes all of that. To make sandwich-sized focaccia, scoop out 1/2 cup of dough and form it into a flat disk. After placing it on the baking sheet, generously brush the top with olive oil and sprinkle with chopped rosemary and flaked sea salt. You need about 2 tbsp of olive oil, 1 tbsp of rosemary and 1 tsp of flaked salt for 3 focaccia.
Gluten Free Sourdough Buns
This simple gluten free sourdough buns recipe is perfect for picnics, BBQs and dinner parties. You can take this easy recipe and make hot dog buns, dinner rolls or focaccia. See the section above for more details.
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 30 min
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 3–6 buns 1x
- Category: Bread
- Method: Sourdough
- Cuisine: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups of sourdough starter
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 5 tbsp ground flax
- 5 tbsp ground psyllium husk powder
- 4 tbsp tapioca starch, as needed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 F.
- Mix all of the dough ingredients together except for the tapioca starch, which is used to form the buns.
- The batter will start out quite liquidy. Leave it for 5 minutes to thicken, then stir it again.
- This is a quick bread, so the buns can be formed after 5 minutes.
- Make a small circle of tapioca starch on the counter using about 2 tbsp of tapioca starch.
- Using a large spoon scoop out about a 1/4 cup of dough and place it in the centre of the tapioca starch.
- Form the dough into a ball (depending on the type of bun you are making), then place the bun on a greased baking sheet.
- Use more tapioca starch as needed to form the rest of the buns.
- Bake the buns for 20-30 minutes. The buns are ready when they have a crusty exterior and fully cooked interior.
Notes
- It’s really quick and easy to make a gluten free sourdough starter from scratch. Here’s my instructions for a typical sourdough starter and an even quicker recipe for sourdough starter with milk kefir or kombucha.
- Buckwheat and teff make very active sourdough starters in about 24 hours. Rice and other GF flours usually take a bit longer. I usually avoid baking with white rice because I find it to be very dry and flavourless.
Keywords: hamburger bun, hot dog bun, sandwich, focaccia, dinner roll, picnic, barbecue, potluck, dinner party, low carb
This is the first gluten free bun recipe I’ve made that actually resembled bread! Every other one has had a tough biscuit. This was tender but held up to my burger and didn’t taste dry or soggy. A new go-to for sure!
★★★★★
Thanks!
I am not eating eggs, any idea how we can replace them?
This bread has a lot of binders (to make a good strong bun!) so you don’t need to replace the eggs with an additional binder. Just use water to make up the liquid. I think about 6 tbsp should do it. If you try it, let me know how it goes!
Will this work with the sourdough discard?
By discard, I assume you mean extra sourdough? Yes! I never throw away sourdough starter, I just use it up. 🙂
Hi Emillie,
Thanks for sharing your recipes! Is psyllium husk a must? Can it be replaced?
Thanks
It’s a pretty big part of this bun. I haven’t tried completely removing it, but it is probably the equivalent of 1 1/4 cup of flour (in terms of liquid absorption) and a lot of the flavour and texture. Maybe try this recipe instead: https://www.fermentingforfoodies.com/delicious-gluten-free-flatbread/ It’s really delicious. Though not officially a bun, you could either make wraps or make small flatbreads and use two of them as a bun. 🙂
Hi! How should I store these buns? I made them today. I am planning on using them in a few days.
I usually make a double batch and freeze half of them. However, you can also wrap them in a tea towel and store them on the counter for a few days. Enjoy!
I am going to try these; however I am wondering if letting the formed rolls proof for a couple hours might “help” somehow? Forgive me, I’m new to sourdough baking and it seems like all the recipes I have read call for a proofing phase.
Hi Danielle,
Some of my gf recipes involve a long ferment. However, in this recipe eggs are used to provide structure and loft. So instead of a potentially not-food-safe long rise, I’ve designed the recipe using a large amount of sourdough starter and no added flour to feed the starter. The baking soda reacts with the acidity of the sourdough for a quick rise, which allows you to bake this bread right away.
My one GF long ferment recipe is also the most difficult bread to bake. It doesn’t use any eggs, which means the structure is provided by hot baking for a firm crust. It’s really hard for people to get the right, which means the bread ends up deflating on them! This recipe is much easier. And if you’re new to GF baking, then it’s perfect for you. Enjoy!