I have attempted gluten free hamburger buns on several occasions, but it wasn’t until I tried the recipe out of Gluten Free Baking Classics (book review here) that I had a true success.

I have made this recipe multiple times and adapted it slightly; my family loves them for both hamburgers and sandwiches. Like all gluten free bread, these do taste best the day they are baked.

I have made these in individual tart pans, disposable mini foil pie pans, and a whoopie pie pan. They all worked, but personally I like the whoopie pie pan the best.

If you plan on making your own dinner rolls or hamburger buns on a regular basis you should consider investing in something similar; whoopie pie pans, muffin-top pans, and hamburger bun pans are all very much alike and seem to range between $10-20. These pans provide the necessary support for the gluten free batter.

This recipe makes 6 conservatively sized buns (so I double the recipe when using my whoopie pie pan, which has 12 spaces), which I think are perfectly sized and make great little sandwiches for lunches.

I like to sprinkle sesame seeds are dried onions on the tops to make them seem more like the hamburger buns my family was used to.

You can also make these rolls smaller, getting 12 out of the recipe below. This makes them a very nice dinner roll size. They are a great accompaniment to soups this way.

The hamburger bun dough ready for pans; yes, it looks like cake batter.

Baked hamburger buns; half topped with sesame seeds & half topped with dried onions

We think they make a very cute ham & cheese sandwich

Gluten Free Hamburger Buns

Don’t let the long ingredient list scare you, they really are quite simple to make. These can be made smaller, in a muffin pan or ramekins, and used as dinner rolls; these gluten free rolls actually taste wonderful warm. I like to add some dried herbs to the dough, but it isn’t necessary.

wet ingredients:

  • 2 large eggs, at room temperature is best
  • 3 Tb canola oil
  • 1 packet (1/4 oz) active dry yeast (not quick-rise)
  • 3/4 cup + 2Tb warm milk, (110 degrees)

dry ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup millet flour
  • 1/2 cup sorghum flour
  • 1/3 cup cornstarch
  • 1/3 cup potato starch
  • 1/3 cup tapioca starch
  • 1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp unflavored gelatin
  • 2 Tb sugar
  • 1/2-1 tsp dried herbs (onion or garlic powder, Italian seasoning, etc), optional
  • sesame seeds, poppy seeds, or dried onions for topping, optional
  1. Lightly grease desired pans* (hamburger buns should be about 4 1/2 inches in diameter) and dust with rice flour or cornstarch (I use cornstarch).
  2. Mix eggs and oil together in small bowl and set aside.
  3. Mix all dry ingredients in large bowl of electric mixer. Quickly add milk, yeast,  egg, and oil to bowl; mix until just blended. Scrape bowl and beaters and then beat at high speed for 3 minutes; dough will be very sticky.
  4. Spoon dough into prepared pans and smooth tops with table knife or rubber spatula. Sprinkle seeds or onions on top if desired. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size about 30-40 minutes.
  5. While dough is rising, place oven rack in center position and heat oven to 375, do not use convection as buns will brown too much.
  6. Place buns in preheated oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until they have a hollow sound when tapped on top. If buns are browning too quickly cover with foil.
  7. Remove buns from oven and remove from pan, allowing them to cool on rack.
*Disposable foil pie pans, muffin-top pans, whoopie pie pans, miniature tart pans, hamburger bun pan or whatever oven proof pans or dishes you have similarly sized should work.