Comment: This recipe is from The Gluten-free Gourmet Cookbook by Bette Hagman and the buns are the best and most versatile that we’ve found. They take time to prepare, you need to pay attention to the ingredients list and mixing instructions but in the end, they’re well worth the time & effort.
A key to the baking of the buns is using the right sized pans and this may take some experimentation. For a long time we used Handi-Foil’s 4 3/8” x 1 3/16” foil pans which were perfect but unfortunately, they replaced them with a slightly larger 5” pan that has a wider top and they do not produce the same ‘bun’ shape. To resolve the uncertainty of maybe always having to search for new pans we purchased from Chicago Metallic their Hamburger Bun/Muffin Pan (#41006) which is of commercial grade, produce an excellent size bun and will last a lifetime.
The bun ‘cups’ measure 4 1/8”(top) x 3 7/8”(bottom) x 1 1/8” (deep) with 6 buns to a pan and the pan itself fits into any normal size oven for baking. We fill each ‘cup’ ¾ full and one batch of batter makes 6 good-sized buns. The only drawback is that you can’t buy one pan – you have to buy a carton of 6 and they cost approximately $30 each. A suggestion is to get together with others, share the cost and split them up or, as mentioned above, experiment with different pans until you find the right one.
Prep. and Baking Time: 90 minutes
Yield: 8 buns (use 8 Pot Pie Pans) |
GF Hamburger Buns
Chicago Metallic 6 Bun Pan
Batter distributed for 6 buns
Cooked buns ready for cooling
Finished Buns
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Ingredients:
3 cups Featherlight Rice Flour Mix . To mix this, combine:
1 cup rice flour
1 cup tapioca flour
1 cup cornstarch
1 tbls potato flour (not potato starch or potato starch flour)
2 tsp Xanthan Gum
2 tsp Unflavored Gelatin
2 tbls baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 tbls sugar (+ 1 tsp)
2 cups warm water (Note: We use tap water)
2 ¼ tsp Dry Yeast Granules
1 ½ tsp white vinegar
2 eggs ( Note: We always have our egg a room temp and we do this by immersing eggs in hot tap water for 4-6 minutes)
4 tbls Vegetable Oil
Preparation & Baking:
Note: We deviate somewhat from the preparation instructions in Bette Hagman’s recipe and we are incorporating those instructions as we go along.
- In a small bowl add the warm water, the dry yeast granules and 1 tsp of sugar and whisk together being sure all of the yeast is wet and not clinging to the sides of the bowl. Cover this with a piece of plastic and set aside.
- In a gallon size self-seal plastic bag mix together the dry ingredients – Featherweight Rice Flour Mix, Xanthan gum, gelatin, baking powder, salt and sugar. Seal the bag and mix the dry ingredients.
- Crack the eggs in a small bowl, add vegetable oil and vinegar and thoroughly stir.
- Take the yeast liquid which should have a slight ‘foam’ on the top, stir it up and add it to electric mixing bowl with paddle mixer, and begin adding dry ingredients slowly and on slow speed. Half way thru, add egg mix and then stop the beater to scrape down the sides of the bowl but resume mixing on medium speed for 2 minutes.
- Spray your bun pan(s) with Pam or similar and fill each with batter to ¾ full using a small rubber spatula dipped in warm water to smooth out the top. Place the pan(s) in a sheltered warm spot and allow the batter to rise for 40 minutes covering with plastic wrap or sprayed alum foil.
- Place the pan(s) on the middle rack in a 375 degrees preheated oven and bake for 25-30 minutes. At the 15-20 minute baking time, check to see if the buns are browning too quickly and if so, place a sheet of sprayed alum foil over the top and continue baking for the required time.
- When baking has been completed remove buns from the oven, insert a wooden toothpick or wooden skewer into one of the buns and if it comes out without any batter sticking to it, the buns are done; if batter is sticking to it, return to oven for not more than 3 minutes.
- Once done, flip the buns out of the pans and place on a wire rack to cool and they’re ready for use. We use them for hamburgers/cheeseburgers, sandwiches and so on.
Freezing Baked Buns:
Freezing should be done the same day and to do so, slice each bun in half and put pairs into a plastic freezer bag for freezing.
Defrosting Frozen Baked Buns:
Defrost in a microwave oven at regular temperature for 60 seconds and then separate the halves – inside up – and micro for 20 seconds. If the inner bun seems wet or ‘gummy’ and if you don’t plan on toasting the bun, strip out a bit of the inner fibers with a fork being sure not to penetrate or otherwise damage the crust. |
