Cornmeal Dinner Rolls/Buns

By awright0511

Rounds are the easiest of all. You can make them into larger rounds, & you have a hamburger bun or a round sandwich roll. Small rounds – dinner rolls.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter (nondairy sub okay), at room temperature
• 5 to 6 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour, divided
• 3 teaspoons xanthan gum (omit if using Better Batter)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 2 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 1/2 cups warm milk (about 100 degrees F) (nondairy milk okay)
• 1 1/2 cups cornmeal

Details

Servings 24

Preparation

Step 1

Line rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and set them aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, blend the butter until light and fluffy. Add 4 cups of the flour, and the xanthan gum, sugar, kosher salt, cream of tartar, and yeast to the butter. Mix at low speed to allow the dry ingredients to begin to come together with the butter. Add the eggs and beat to combine. With the mixer still on low, add the milk in a slow, steady stream. Once the dough has started to come together, add the cornmeal and beat to combine. Now, turn the mixer up to at least half speed, and beat the living daylights out of it for about 5 or 6 minutes. Cover the mixture with a kitchen towel if necessary to avoid the escape of any bits of dough.
Add enough of the remaining flour & mix enough to make the dough smooth, but still tacky to the touch. You should need at least another cup of flour, for a total of at leat 5 cups. Whatever you do, don’t leave any of the added flour unincorporated into the dough at this point. If you do it will make it very difficult to shape the dough.
Turn the dough out onto a very lightly floured surface and divide it into about 24 pieces of relatively equal size. Shape the dough however you like: rounds, rosettes, etc. If you are going for sandwich rolls, you will want to divide the dough into fewer pieces. Add a sprinkle of flour to very sticky parts of the dough as you shape it, but sparingly.
Arrange the rolls about 3/4-inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Allow the dough to rise in a warm and moist, draft-free area for about 30 to 45 minutes, or until they’ve grown to about 150% of what they were. Ideally, the rolls will be side by side, nearly touching, once they have risen.
Once the dough has finished rising, with very wet fingers, smooth out the holes on the surface (created by the yeast) for a uniform appearance. Then place the rolls in the center of the preheated oven, and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until lightly brown.
Serve immediately, wrap in wax paper and store at room temperature for a few days (and then quickly microwave before eating to freshen them), or freeze in plastic bags for up to 3 months and defrost in the refrigerator