Gluten-Free Honey Oat Dinner Rolls

Two recipes in one week?! What has gotten into me after only posting like once a month for the last year?! Well, these rolls. They are fabulous. And since we have a holiday coming up this Sunday I thought I better get my game together and post the recipe. They are a perfect addition to any Sunday dinner feast and then not to mention they are also yeast, sugar, dairy, nuts, and of course gluten-free. 

If you have made or are a fan of my Soft and Chewy Oat Baguette Bread then you for sure ready to try this recipe out. Or maybe you have made something like this already with the recipe. I just tweaked a few of the amounts of that recipe and came up with this recipe to make one dozen hand sized rolls. So the ingredients are super simple and this recipe is very easy to make with no rising time.

They have a nice crust and yet very chewy and soft. They are a tad sweet and nice and soft. Perfect to pair with a feast of a meal to sop up any juices or sauces you have sprinkling the plate of savory foods your family so wonderfully prepared. It is also a great pair to any hearty bowl of soup. I myself have just warmed up some leftover soups for a simple dinner of soup and a hearty roll. If you have felt a little left out since going gluten-free at the family dinner table when they pass the roll, I say, "NO MORE" my friend, "no more!"

Honey Oat Dinner Rolls Recipe
{gluten, dairy, nut, soy, and sugar-free}

3 TB of psyllium husk powder (must be powder, not seed or husk)

1 cup of pure water

1 cup of non-dairy milk (I use unsweetened hemp or coconut)

2 TB of apple cider vinegar

3 TB of raw honey

2 TB of olive oil

1 1/2 cup of finely ground fresh GF oat flour

(grind 1 cup GF rolled oats in high powered blender)

1 cup of brown or white rice flour or sweet sorghum flour

1 ts. of sea salt

2 ts. aluminum free baking powder

1 ts. of baking soda

sprinkle up to 1/4 cup extra oat flour for dusting and kneading rolls

In a large mixing bowl, whisk the psyllium husk powder, water, milk and apple cider vinegar together. It will turn into a thickened blob in a few minutes, then whisk in the oil and honey in together. *You can sub the honey for maple syrup if you are a strict vegan* 

Then, add all of the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula or wooden spoon until all of the flour is blended, but be careful to not over mix and make it too sticky. 

It will be spongy and you can dump the dough on a parchment paper or wood cutting board. Then roll the dough into a ball, cut in half and then each half into 6 parts. 

Then roll out with your hands each roll. The trick I learned while working at a bakery in college was to take the roll dough portion and keep it on the table or board with your hand caged over it with your fingers secured to the board. Rotate your hand cage over the roll dough until it forms a ball. You may need to use a little rice or oat flour if the dough is a bit sticky on the board. You can also reserve a little flour for dusting the rolls before baking.

Then finally arrange the rolls on a parchment papered baking sheet and pat the rolls with a drop of water and sprinkle with some oat flour or whole rolled oats. The water helps the oats stick while baking. Then put in a preheated 350 degree oven for 40 minutes, but can last for 45 minutes if you want a thicker crust. The rolls will be soft on the inside and crusty on the outside.

Pull from the oven and let cool for 20 minutes before cutting or handling. This will help the baking process finish and yield a non-gummy roll. When cooled you can store in an air tight container or ziplock bag on the counter for 3-4 days. Or else you can also keep in the fridge to store longer and pull out to warm up before serving. 

These rolls would be perfect to-go snacks as well with a slather of seed butter. But for Easter dinner you could put them all in a warm kitchen towel in a basket and serve with your favorite version of butter. They are easy to slice through the middle, or if you prefer the pull-a-part-roll, these fit the bill as well. Really these lovely sweet rolls could be used in many ways to make your gluten-free heart and tummy happy.

I hope you are finding ways to plan for a stress-free Easter meal and that these sweet rolls make an appearance. Much love and light to you this holy week and Easter spring season. 

Honey Yogurt Cake with Honey Cream Glaze and Fresh Strawberries

Cake. One of my favorite things to make. And eat of course. But still I think I might just love making it more. A moist, dense, fluffy cake to share with a table of people. To celebrate. To give thanks. To share. It is a treat to enjoy by just sitting and being with those you love. This cake specifically has already been shared and celebrated a few times over the past few weeks, and it isn't even my birthday yet! (hint hint, yes another cake recipe in the near future :)

This cake celebrates spring. It's finally made it's appearance and I have been enjoying every ounce of it, even the spring thunderstorm in the background of my typing keyboard. It took a while to get here this year and now that it's finally here it feel so rich and deep that I can't imagine having waited for it for so long. But that is the beauty of spring. The wonder of popping crocuses and buds. The amazement that we still have grass and plants under all those inches of frozen snow we had covering us for months. It's unbelievable, spring came again! And it's fresh morning breath breathes life, goodness and new hope for all the tomorrows.

Hope. Hope that life is so much deeper and fuller than we have ever expected and dreamed. That is also what is a needed reminder when traveling this gluten-free and healthier lifestyle. Some days are hard. You have symptoms, stress and needs that seem to never end. I encourage you to breathe deep and focus on the tomorrow. Take the steps you need to feel strong again and even if they are inch-sized steps and you are only taking one. You can do this. Celebrate the accomplishments you have made. And breathe deep gratitude for life and all it's gifts.

Celebrate. May I suggest maybe with cake? And maybe with those who love and support you most. This life is not meant to be lived alone friends. Even this gluten-free life. We are doing this together and we can find ways to make it seem more normal, more simple, and dare I say....happier than we have known before. That is what this blog is about for me. Encouraging you to stay the course with good recipes and hope for the journey and the healing process. Keep on keeping on dear friends!

Honey Yogurt Cake Recipe
with Honey Cream Glaze and Fresh Strawberries

1 cup of softened organic extra virgin coconut oil
1 cup of powdered coconut palm sugar
3 farm fresh eggs
1/3 cup of pure raw honey
1 cup of coconut culture milk or yogurt (I used So Delicious)
2 ts. of pure vanilla
1/2 cup of tapioca flour
1/2 cup white rice flour
1/2 cup of fresh ground GF oat flour
1/2 cup of fresh ground buckwheat flour
2 ts. of baking powder
1 1/2 ts. of baking soda
1/2 ts. of sea salt

First, grind up your coconut palm sugar in a high powered blender to get a powdered sugar to cream with your coconut oil. Cream the oil and sugar together until soft and creamy. You can sub using grass fed butter for the coconut oil, which I actually did once and adds a rich butter flavor to the cake. If you don't have to worry about dairy, grass fed butter is a favorite choice! Also I used So Delicious' newest product of a cultured coconut milk which is very much like a sour cream or plain yogurt. It worked perfect for this cake and makes it dairy-free. I loved how it made the cake moist and dense. If you are fine with eating dairy you could sub the coconut yogurt for any organic plain yogurt or even a greek yogurt if you prefer.

Once you cream the oil and sugar, add the eggs and whisk all together until thick and creamy batter emerges. Then add the rest of the wet ingredients and mix well. Lastly grind GF oats and buckwheat groats in your grinder/blender to get the best GF oat and buckwheat flour. Add in the flours and dry ingredients. Make sure all the dry in mixed in well and then pour batter into oiled cake pan. I used a angel food cake pan for this recipe, but you could use a bundt pan, or 2 round  9 inch cake pans. Bake cake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. If you choose to use 2 9 inch round pan then check cakes around 30 minutes and should be done around then or 35 minutes.

Let the cake cool and then you can whip up the cream glaze to spread over when completely cool. 
Cream glaze recipe is 2 simple ingredients.

Honey Cream Glaze Recipe
1/3 cup of organic extra virgin coconut oil
1/4 cup of raw local honey

Use a small spatula to whip up the glaze and spread over. It is super simple and delicious. Then slice 4-5 fresh organic strawberries side by side and you get 20-25 slices to decorate the top of the cake. I liked making a large strawberry flower on the top of the angel food cake circle pan. 

This cake is somewhere in between a pound cake and a sponge cake. It is so moist and not crumbly. No gums were needed to get this great texture and I love how you don't feel like you are trying to chew a gummy cake log. Cake should be perfectly moist and easy to swallow . This cake is that and recipe that I have made again and again to come out perfect every time.

This would be a good recipe to try out for an after Easter dinner dessert. Strawberries make it look and taste so fresh and beautiful.  I would make this cake again for my birthday next week, but I am thinking of making a carrot cake this year... we'll see what happens :)

Much love to you and yours. May you find a new found hope this spring and ways to rid your life of pain and bondage and welcome fresh beauty and new life. Happy Easter to you!