Gluten-Free Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls

1Feed your gluten-free starter the night before (or morning of) so it’s bubbly and active at mix time. A mature gluten-free starter runs slower than a wheat one, so build in extra time if yours is young. The starter should be domed or just starting to fall, full of bubbles and pleasantly tangy. Put a rubber band around the jar at feeding time so you can see how far it has risen before you use it.

2In a stand mixer bowl, whisk together 215 g lukewarm milk, 115 g active gluten-free starter, 50 g sugar, and 2 eggs. Melt 57 g (4 Tbsp) of the butter and whisk that in too, along with 40 g oil. Whisk until the eggs and starter are smooth and no strings of egg white remain. Let the melted butter cool for a moment first so it does not scramble the eggs or shock the starter.

3Add 450 g King Arthur Gluten-Free Bread Flour, 9 g instant yeast, and 9 g salt. Beat on low to combine, then on medium-high for a full 3 minutes. Don’t shorten this step. It’s doing the structural job gluten would do in the wheat version. The dough should look thick, sticky and glossy as it wraps around the paddle. Keep the speed on medium-high for the whole 3 minutes, since beating is what builds structure in this dough.

4Scrape the bowl. The dough should look like a thick, smooth cake batter, not a kneadable wheat dough. If it’s closer to a thin paste, beat in another tablespoon of flour. If it’s stiff and dry, beat in another tablespoon of milk. Use a flexible spatula to scrape the bottom as well as the sides, because unmixed flour tends to hide there. After any adjustment, beat briefly again. The dough should slowly settle and cling to the spatula like thick batter.

5Cover and let rise at room temperature (or in an oven with just the light on) for 1 to 1.5 hours, until visibly puffy. This is the one reliable bulk rise. It won’t double the way the wheat dough does, and that’s expected. Look for a puffy, slightly domed surface dotted with bubbles, and a dough that jiggles a little when you tap the bowl. A warm kitchen may get there at the short end of the range, so check early.

6Mix the remaining 28 g (2 Tbsp) butter with 150 g brown sugar and 2 Tbsp cinnamon for the filling. This part doesn’t change for gluten-free baking, since the filling never had flour in it to begin with. Stir it to a spreadable, damp-sand texture, the same as the original. Mash with a fork until no streaks of butter remain and the mixture holds together when you pinch it. If the butter is too cold it will not blend, and if it is too soft the filling turns greasy.

7Line a sheet pan or your counter with parchment. Turn the dough out and, with wet hands, press it, don’t roll it, into a rectangle roughly 16×12 inches and about ½ inch thick. Wet your hands again whenever the dough starts to stick, and press from the center outward for an even thickness. Patch any thin spots with dough from the thicker edges. The dough will feel soft and slightly tacky.

8Spread the filling evenly, leaving a bare 1-inch strip along one long edge. That clean strip is what the dough grabs onto when you roll it into a log, so the seam seals shut instead of popping open in the oven, which matters more here since gluten-free dough has less natural elasticity to hold a loose seam closed. Spread with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon, and press lightly so the filling grips the dough. Loose sugar rolls out of the spiral and can burn on the bottom of the pan.

9Using the parchment to help lift, roll the dough into a tight log starting from the filled edge. Freeze the log, uncovered, for 20 to 30 minutes to firm it up. This matters more here than in the wheat version. Gluten-free dough is too soft to slice cleanly right after rolling. Lift the parchment and let it guide the roll, peeling it back as you go so it does not curl inside the log. After the freezer the log should feel firm but still slightly yielding. Set a timer so it does not freeze solid.

10Slice into 12 rolls with unflavored dental floss or a sharp serrated knife, and arrange cut-side up in a greased 9×13-inch pan. A knife tends to compress this softer dough as it cuts, flattening the spiral, so floss gives the cleaner slice here. Slide it under the log and cross the ends over the top to pull through. Mark the log lightly before cutting, halving it first, so all 12 rolls come out the same size. Space the rolls evenly in the pan, since they will puff and join as they rise.

11Cover and let rise at room temperature for 1.5 to 2 hours, until puffy and the rolls are touching their neighbors. Press a fingertip gently into one roll. The dent should fill back in slowly. Cover loosely so the wrap does not stick to the tops as they puff, and expect the longer time in a cool kitchen.

12Near the end of the rise, preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake 24 to 30 minutes, until golden on top. Check doneness with an instant-read thermometer in the center of a roll. Look for 205 to 210°F, since gluten-free enriched dough can look done on top before the center fully sets. Slide the probe into the center of a roll from the middle of the pan, since the edges finish first. If the tops brown too fast before the center reaches temperature, tent the pan loosely with foil and bake a few minutes longer.

13Cool 10 to 15 minutes, then beat the softened cream cheese with powdered sugar and a splash of milk into a glaze, and spread it over the rolls while they’re still warm. Warm rolls let the glaze soak in slightly for a glossy coat. Rolls that are still piping hot will just melt it into a thin puddle instead. Spread the glaze when the pan feels warm to the touch and not hot. The glaze should be thick enough to ribbon off a spoon. If it is too stiff, add a few more drops of milk.