Gluten-Free Cranberry Orange Morning Buns

A recipe for homemade gluten-free breakfast rolls with cranberries and an orange-infused sugar swirl with icing that drips between the cracks and glazes deep into the seams.

From our food contributor, Shaina Olmanson.

Last winter my mother-in-law was diagnosed with celiac disease.

As she faced uncertainty in feeding herself after a lifetime of from-scratch baking with wheat flour, I wanted to show her how this wheat-free life could taste delicious, too.

My very first step was to hand off a bucket and dough whisk and a collection of gluten-free recipes.

I talked to my friend, Zoe, who was up to her eyeballs in recipe testing for her new gluten-free cookbook, and I tried as much as I could to encourage my mother-in-law, Kathleen, to get back into the habit of baking with new flours and textures.

When visiting for the holidays, Kathleen always had breakfast breads waiting for us as we tumbled out of bed to the table.

These rolls, filled with a citrus-filled sugar and a bit of spice, are for her this holiday season.

A gluten-free breakfast bread that will warm the house and make your tongue sing.

The recipe uses the brioche dough from the recently released Gluten-Free Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, the book Zoe was working on so many months ago.

I purchased a copy for my mother-in-law and went about sampling everything I could before gifting it to her.

Our family is especially fond of the brioche doughnuts.

You can check out an apple cider version of the recipe on their website.

The book makes a wonderful gift this season for any gluten-free family member or friend looking to reclaim a comforting breakfast bread or just to have a baguette to dip into their soup.

Gluten-Free Cranberry Orange Morning Buns

Yield: 6 servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Additional Time: 5 hours

Total Time: 5 hours 55 minutes

Gluten-free breakfast rolls with cranberries and an orange-infused sugar swirl with icing

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Ingredients

For the Dough

• 2 cups Gluten-Free All-purpose Flour Mix
• 4½ cups cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons xantham gum or psyllium husk
• 1 tablespoon granulated yeast
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 2¼ cups warm milk (100ºF)
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup honey
• 1½ cups unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

For the Sugar Swirl and Glaze (triple to use all the dough at once):

• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 orange, juiced and zested
• ½ teaspoon cardamom
• ⅓ cup dried cranberries
• ⅓ cup confectioners' sugar

Instructions

1. In a stand mixer, whisk together the flour, cornstach, xantham gum, yeast, and salt. Add in the milk, eggs, honey, melted butter, and the vanilla with the paddle attachment. Allow the dough to rise, lightly covered, for two hours.
2. Place the risen dough in the refrigerator to chill for at least two hours and up to five days.
3. When ready to make the rolls, remove the dough from the refrigerator and dust with rice flour. Split into thirds. Take one-third of the dough to make rolls. The remaining dough can be held in the refrigerator or frozen for up to 3 weeks until ready to use (or you could make it all into rolls for a party).
4. Lightly flour your work surface with rice flour. Press the dough into a ¼" thick rectangle. Mix together the ½ cup granulated sugar, orange zest, and the cardamom. Sprinkle evenly over the dough, sprinkle the cranberries on top of the sugar. Roll the dough into a log, pinching the seam closed.
5. Cut the log into 2" pieces and arrange in a greased baking dish. (I used a 4-quart baking dish.) Loosely cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 1 hour.
6. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until rolls are golden brown.
7. To glaze, mix together the confectioners' sugar and 1-2 tablespoons of orange juice until a smooth consistency is reached. Drizzle over the warm buns.
   

Notes

Brioche dough and flour from Gluten-Free Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg, M.D., and Zoe Francois.

Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Mix

Yield: 13.5 cups

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes

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Ingredients

• 6 cups white rice flour
• 3¼ cups sorghum flour
• 1¾ cups tapioca flour or starch
• 1¼ cups potato starch
• ¼ cup xantham gum or psyllium husk powder

Instructions

Whisk together all the ingredients until thoroughly combined

Don’t miss these other great ideas from MomAdvice.com:

Fresh Baked French Breakfast Donuts

Make-Ahead Freezer Breakfast Sandwiches

How to Make a Breakfast Bar

Quinoa-Berry Breakfast Bowls

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