I should have waited to tell the kids until the day of. I should have just packed for them and let it be a surprise, instead of answering the same question over and over of, “how many more days till we go?”
No we’re not going to Disneyland…yet.
No cross country road trip. Done that.
We’re going to The Cabin. This place is almost sacred to my husband and his family. A cabin built by his grandfather and father, tucked up in the mountains among the pines and aspen trees with a cool river running almost under the back porch. A natural spring – real, unbottled mountain spring water – bubbles up from the ground where the evergreens meet the dirt road, cold and refreshing. A mama moose and her new twins like to bed down in the long grass and wild flowers, just behind the tack shed where the old horse saddles and push mower are stored. Each night there’s a roaring fire in the stone fireplace and the sound of the river and woods lulls you to sleep.
The Cabin is a magical place where fairies really come to the fairy houses the girls make each summer, and where little boys can built forts, collect rocks, and get as dirty as they please without ever being told to stop. I don’t want to miss a single second of this magical place, or be too busy to see the excitement in my children’s faces when they catch a trout or see a deer peeking at them through the trees.
So I’m doing some baking ahead of time for the drive and for when we’re there. Our gluten free, clean eating diet takes a little advanced planning sometimes, but it’s worth it. I didn’t want to spend all day working on food to bring though. So I just threw together these little gluten free quick rolls.
Gluten free and quick rolls together in the same title? Yes, but I’ll admit these are gluten free rolls. Meaning, as much as I’d love to figure out how to inject the same pillowy light, yet chewy consistency that the protein gluten gives to wheat and rye breads into a blend of gluten free flours…I just can’t mimic it perfectly.
It’s kind of like eating one of those watermelon flavored candies. Sure it tastes good, but the “watermelon” flavor is seriously nothing like the flavor of actual watermelon. Sorry Jolly Ranchers fans. Likewise, however tasty and filling, these quick rolls are a little more like a biscuit – yummy nonetheless. It’ll do the trick when you’re in a pinch and don’t have time to make a loaf of gluten free bread or you want something to put your Apple Turkey Burger Sliders on. There’s really only a couple tricks to getting these simple little rolls tasty and looking good.
Trick #1 Rub some olive oil on your hands before rolling them into balls. It will keep your hands from being covered in dough and the rolls will be smooth (as opposed to those guys in the back that are looking a little rough around the edges. Note to self: re-apply oil to hands every few rolls as needed.)
Trick #2 Baste the rolls before baking them with an egg white wash. This will give them a nice golden brown color on top and…and that’s it. It just makes them look prettier.
Ingredients
- 3 cups gluten free flour blend + 1/2 tsp. xanthan gum (if not included in the blend)
- 4 tsp. GF, aluminum free baking powder
- 1 tbsp. honey
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- 1-1/3 cups milk (organic dairy milk, almond, coconut, or rice milk all work)
- 4 tbsp. softened organic butter or ghee
- 4 egg whites + 1 egg white with a splash of water separated for egg wash
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350.
- Combine all the dry ingredients.
- Combine wet ingredients, except the extra egg white, in a separate bowl.
- Now combine the wet and dry ingredients together until a soft ball of dough forms.
- Rub some oil on your hands before rolling dough into palm-sized balls.
- Place rolls on parchment paper lined baking sheet
- Using a basting brush, brush the tops of the rolls with the egg white.
- Bake for 20-30 minutes.
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Enjoy!
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