Gluten-free baking is always a challenge. And we won’t pretend that the result of this recipe is identical to this version made with wheat flour.
However, we read and tested a lot and baked great buns. One of the test eaters was a family member who must follow a gluten-free diet since childhood and therefore has a lot of experience.
Anyone who suffers from coeliac disease and has to strictly avoid gluten has their own experiences and these should definitely be incorporated into this recipe. Everyone also uses their favourite flour mixes, whether bought or homemade.
The basis for our mix is:
625 g rice or soy flour
325 g potato or corn starch
50 g carob or guar flour
Many ready-made mixes are sold on a similar basis, different in every region of course. Mantler-Mühle in Austria offers a particularly good one (gluten-free universal mix).
Place all the ingredients in a mixing bowl at the same time. If you have a food processor, use the so-called “bishop” or a dough hook and let the machine knead for 3 – 4 minutes at medium speed. If you are working by hand, it is best to use a wooden spoon and will of course take longer.
The mixture does not yet look like bread dough and appears quite liquid.
Scrape the dough down from the edge of the bowl, cover it and leave the mixture to rest for 30 minutes, this is very important.
Then generously flour a work surface with the gluten-free mixture and turn the dough out onto it. Or rather: laboriously get it out of the bowl, the best way to do this is with a dough scraper. This is almost the hardest step, as the dough is very sticky at this stage.
Fold the dough in half with the help of the dough scraper and then press it flat with your hands. Turn the dough 90 degrees, fold again and press everything together again. This must now be repeated about 8 – 10 times, while the dough becomes stronger and less sticky.
Gluten-free dough may feel dry on the surface, but the moisture penetrates very quickly. So don’t be afraid to add more flour if the dough sticks to the work surface or your hands.
After the folds, you can form a ball of dough that is already quite smooth.
Place the dough back in the bowl and flour its surface. Cover again and leave the dough to rise for 45 minutes, preferably by placing the bowl in the oven with just the light switched on.
Then fold the dough once more on a floured work surface until it is completely soft and smooth.
Divide the dough into eight equal pieces, using kitchen scales. Each piece should weigh around 110 – 120 g.
The dough pieces are formed into balls, we have explained how to do this here.
Then place them on baking trays lined with baking paper and leave them to rise in the oven for a further 30 minutes with the light switched on.
The dough balls are then brushed with beaten egg diluted with a little water and sprinkled with sesame seeds.
Preheat the oven to 170 degrees fan. Once the temperature has been reached, place an oven dish with a litre of boiling water on the bottom of the oven and wait another five minutes to allow steam to build up.
Now bake the buns for around 30 minutes until they have turned a delicate golden colour. They are then best placed on a rack to cool, which can also be your oven grid on a work surface.
If you like, you can now brush the buns with a little melted butter (or the alternative of your choice) for flavour and shine, then your brioche buns are ready. They are of course a little firmer than buns made from wheat flour, but they taste great.
Enjoy.
And may the taste be with you.
Ingredients (for 8 buns):
Dough:
420 g flour mix (see above – or the mix of your choice)
380 g lukewarm water
1 medium egg
40 g butter
40 g sugar
7 g dry yeast
6 g salt
Finish:
1 small egg
1 tsp water
White sesame seeds
2 tbsp melted butter
