I was all set and ready to make the infamous Pioneer Woman cinnamon roll recipe when I was suddenly motivated to attempt them Gluten Free. I figured the only thing I would be out if I failed was my time and $10 in ingredients.
I had to at least try once.
During this first attempt, I simply substituted my GF All-Purpose flour for the wheat flour called for in the recipe. I also added some Xanthum gum as I do whenever I sub the GF flour. The dough, however, had me slightly concerned.
It didn’t rise a whole lot and was very loose.
I trudged on and rolled it out.
I couldn’t get the dough to roll out very big without separating though.
X took these pictures….I think she was trying to focus on the cinnamon and couldn’t figure out how. Because next I found this picture:
and then finally this one:
Yes. I still need to touch up paint in my kitchen and put the finishing edge on the countertop. Don’t judge.
I have fingers growing out of my stomach.
I think I may have added some extra butter in attempt to make up for my shortcomings with the dough. Butter makes everything better.
I also add brown sugar as well in addition to the granulated sugar the recipe calls for. And then the cinnamon – and lots of it.
This part sucked. Just being honest. It was really hard to keep the dough together as I rolled it up.
I did get slightly better the second batch around because I didn’t roll the dough out as thin.
They started to fall apart as I cut them and put them in pans.
Some of them were looking mighty pathetic.
even after they were cooked – I was feeling pretty defeated in this attempt.
The second batch started coming out better though.
Load ‘em up with icing and you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference by looking at them.
I think this would classify as swimming in icing.
And the taste…well, it tasted great – but gluten-free. It had that dense texture that is common in GF products. But – they were still yummy.
And my hubby was happy. And he ate lots of them.
As in, 3 of the 8 packs before I could get them into the freezer on 12/26.
I think I’ll attempt them again but I need to seek some baking wisdom from my baking mentors in Florida.
It’s a good thing I’m heading there in 2 days!
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Suggestion….instead of using a knife to cut them..try using floss. Wrap it around then cross it on top and pull. It makes a clean cut without flattening the rest of the roll.
You might retry the recipe with Cup4Cup gluten-free flour; it’s available from Williams Sonoma. I’ve made quick breads with it (without adding additional xanthan gum) and they turned out very well, even though the uncooked dough had a strange texture.