Erin’s Recipe Rundown
Texture: Soft and fluffy.
Taste: Fresh citrus, buttery dough, and the perfect amount of sweetness.
Ease: An easy twist on a classic recipe!
Top Tips: Take time to chill the dough before forming the rolls. Just 20 minutes in the fridge makes them so much easier to roll out!
Recommended GF Flour: This recipe has been specifically developed to work with King Arthur Gluten-Free Bread Flour. No other gluten-free flour blend will work the same.
Would I make these again? Absolutely! These gluten-free orange rolls are bursting with sweet citrus flavor. They are the perfect breakfast treat to make any day feel special!
xoxo erin
This post is sponsored by King Arthur Baking Company.
My gluten-free cinnamon roll recipe has been a long-time reader favorite and I’m so excited to share this fresh orange take on my classic recipe!
Thanks to gluten-free bread flour, these gluten-free orange rolls are the perfect pillowy soft texture. With a sweet orange filling inside and a decadently smooth glaze on top, these rolls are completely irresistible!
Featured Comment
From Courtney: “I made these for Easter morning and they were perfect! Not too sweet, bright and airy. Perfect for spring!!!”
Table of Contents
- Erin’s Recipe Rundown
- Ingredients You’ll Need
- How to Make Gluten-Free Orange Rolls
- Make-Ahead/Storage/Freezing Instructions
- Can these gluten-free orange rolls be made dairy-free?
- King Arthur Gluten-Free Bread Flour contains wheat starch. Is it safe for celiacs?
- How can I make the dough easier to handle when rolling out?
- More Recipes Using Gluten-Free Bread Flour
- Gluten-Free Orange Rolls Recipe
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here are a few notes on some of the key ingredients to make these gluten-free orange rolls. See the recipe card below for exact measurements.
- Gluten-free flour: King Arthur Gluten-Free Bread Flour is key to getting the perfect rise and texture! No other gluten-free flour blend will produce the same results.
- Instant yeast: The rolls need the instant yeast to bake up fluffy and light. Using instant yeast means it can go straight into the dry mix for easier dough prep!
- Warm water: Using warm water helps the yeast to activate and allows the dough to become workable so that the rolls have the right structure when baked.
- Eggs: When baking gluten-free yeast recipes, eggs are necessary to bind the dough so that the rolls end up with the right texture and moisture. Without the eggs, they can easily become dense.
- Milk/butter: I recommend using whole milk for richness, tenderness, and enhanced flavor. Plus it helps the rolls brown up when baking! The melted butter adds a greater depth of flavor while also adding moisture and fat so that the rolls end up soft and pillowy. For dairy-free, use your favorite dairy-free milk and vegan butter.
- Filling ingredients: The melted butter binds the sugar and orange zest together to make a spreadable filling that’s full of fresh sweet orange flavor.
- Glaze ingredients: The orange juice and zest create the perfect citrus spin on a classic powdered sugar glaze. The juice itself adds moisture to ensure a smooth glaze, while the zest deepens the flavor to make sure there’s plenty of citrus in every bite!
How to Make Gluten-Free Orange Rolls
Here’s an overview of how to make this recipe. You can jump to the recipe for the full instructions!
- In the bowl of a stand mixer: Combine the dry ingredients using a paddle attachment.
- With the mixer on low: Slowly add the wet ingredients, then increase the speed to medium and mix (3 minutes). The goal is dough that resembles thick cookie dough! Use an oiled rubber spatula to scrape down the sides and bottom, then mix again. Form the dough into a ball, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and refrigerate (20 minutes).
- On a lightly floured surface: Turn the dough out onto the prepared workspace and shape it into a ball. Sprinkle the dough with a little gluten-free flour, then roll it out into a 15×15″ square.
- In a small bowl: Make the filling, then use an offset spatula to evenly spread the filling onto the dough square.
- Using a pizza cutter: Cut the dough into twelve 1¼” wide strips. Roll each strip up into an orange roll and place in the prepared muffin pan.
- Rise and bake: Cover the pan with oiled plastic wrap and place in a warm place to rise (45-60 minutes). Remove the wrap, place the pan into the preheated oven, and bake until slightly golden brown (30-35 minutes). Remove and let the rolls cool (15 minutes).
- In a small bowl: Whisk together the glaze ingredients. You can adjust the consistency by adding more orange juice or powdered sugar, as needed. The goal is a thick, but pourable glaze.
- While the rolls are warm: Drizzle the glaze over the rolls and serve immediately.
Make-Ahead/Storage/Freezing Instructions
To Make-Ahead: These orange rolls can be assembled the day before and baked the next morning. Follow the recipe through rolling the dough strips into orange rolls and placing them in the pan. Cover the pan tightly and refrigerate for 8–12 hours. (8–12 hours is best, but 16 hours is okay if absolutely needed. Do not exceed 16 hours.) The next morning, remove the pan from the refrigerator and allow the dough to rise on the counter for 45-60 minutes. Remove the plastic wrap and bake.
To Store: Let the leftover orange rolls cool completely, then store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
To Freeze: Let the rolls cool completely after baking, but don’t glaze. Wrap the rolls tightly in plastic wrap and foil or use an airtight container. Freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature or in the fridge, then warm in the oven at 300°F for 10-15 minutes. Add the glaze before serving.
Can these gluten-free orange rolls be made dairy-free?
Definitely! Just use your favorite dairy-free milk and vegan butter to make this recipe dairy-free. I like to use Elmhurst Unsweetened Cashew milk. It has a similar fat content to whole milk and doesn’t have any added gums or stabilizers that might interfere with the rise/crumb of the rolls.
King Arthur Gluten-Free Bread Flour contains wheat starch. Is it safe for celiacs?
King Arthur Gluten-Free Bread Flour is safe for people with celiac disease because the wheat starch it contains has been specially processed to remove gluten, the protein that triggers celiac reactions. This flour is tested to meet strict gluten-free standards, ensuring it has less than 20 parts per million (ppm) of gluten, which is considered safe for most people with celiac disease. It not, however, safe for people with a wheat allergy (which is different than celiac disease). I have celiac and eat this flour with no problems!
How can I make the dough easier to handle when rolling out?
The key to workable dough is chilling it first. Don’t skip step 4! By covering the bowl of dough tightly and refrigerating it for 20 minutes, the flour will have time to hydrate and the dough will take on a better texture for rolling. No sticky messes here!
More Recipes Using Gluten-Free Bread Flour
Gluten-Free Orange Rolls
Ingredients
Roll Dough
- 4½ cups (675g) King Arthur Gluten-Free Bread Flour
- ⅓ cup (67g) granulated sugar
- 2¼ teaspoons instant yeast
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1¼ cups (300ml) water warm
- 1 cup (240ml) whole milk warm
- 2 large eggs
- 6 tablespoons (85g) butter melted
Filling
- ½ cup (113g) butter melted then cooled to room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons orange zest about the zest of 2 oranges
Orange Glaze
- 2 cups (240g) powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
- ½ teaspoon orange zest
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the gluten-free bread flour, sugar, instant yeast, salt and baking powder. Mix to combine.
- With the mixer running on low, slowly add the water, milk, eggs and melted butter. Increase the speed to medium and mix for 3 minutes. The dough will resemble thick cookie dough, this is normal.
- Using an oiled rubber spatula, scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl and mix again until well-combined.
- Form the dough into a ball. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes. (Refrigerating the dough makes it easier to roll out.)
For the filling:
- In a small bowl, mix together the butter, sugar and orange zest.
- Spray a standard muffin pan with cooking spray.
- Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a ball. Sprinkle with a little gluten-free flour, then roll the dough out into a 15×15-inch square.
- Using an offset spatula, evenly spread the filling over the dough. Using a pizza cutter, cut the square into twelve 1¼-inch-wide strips.
- Roll each dough strip up into an orange roll. Place in the prepared muffin pan.
- Cover the pan with oiled plastic wrap and place in a warm place. Allow the rolls to rise for 45-60 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Remove the plastic wrap. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the rolls are slightly golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes before topping with the glaze.
For the orange glaze:
- In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, orange juice and orange zest. Adjust the consistency with more orange juice or more powdered sugar as needed to make a thick but pourable glaze. Drizzle over the warm rolls. Serve immediately.
These are quite delicious, and a good recipe. I made this last night and refrigerated as suggested before letting it rise and bake in the morning. I did also make them dairy free – the only snag I ran into was that my filling was too thin and ran out when I rolled them up. For others wanting to use a dairy free butter, I would suggest using less (maybe 1/3 of a cup) and going for softened instead of melted.
Hi Allison, thank you for sharing your experience with us. We’re pleased to hear you enjoyed the orange rolls! We hope your next batch is even better!
I would like to make these as they look delicious, but we don’t have King Arthur flour and I’m a bit confused as to which flour blend to buy, because you include a link to the keto what flour they have, but say you need to use King Arthur’s bread flour, so any answers would be appreciated thanks!
Hi Dominca, we’re sorry for the confusion! We just checked all the links and they all go to King Arthur’s Gluten-Free Bread Flour so we’re not sure how the keto one came up. This recipe was specifically designed with the KA Gluten-Free Bread Flour and no other blend will work the same. Unfortunately, we wouldn’t recommend using another brand with this one. We’re sorry!
Made these today and they are AMAZING. only thing was they were too big to really stuff in muffin tins, so after trying to cram 6 in, I did the other 6 in a glass dish. Both turned out great. Absolutely divine!!! I garnished the top with a bit of extra zest I had left over. These are fantastic
I made these for Easter morning and they were perfect! Not too sweet, bright and airy. Perfect for spring!!!
Yay! We’re so pleased to hear how much you loved this new recipe, Courtney! Thank you for your kind feedback. Happy baking!
May I ask what is the difference between active dry and instant yeast?
Hi Peggy, active dry yeast has to be activated in warm water to wake up the yeast before it can be added to mixtures and doughs. Instant yeast works faster and does not require any proofing ahead of time so it can be added straight into the mixture. We hope you enjoy the recipe!
Can this be made with regular bread flour?
Hi Susan, we don’t bake with regular flour, including bread flour, but it’s worth a try as a 1:1 swap. We’d love to hear how it goes!
Do you think an egg alternative could be used in this recipe?
Hi Keesha, thank you for your question! We haven’t tried any egg replacers with this recipe so we can’t say how greatly it would impact the texture. If you decide to try an egg-free version, we’d love to hear how it goes!
This is incredible! Thank you so much for bringing joy and great baked goods back into our lives!~
Aww, thank you for such kind feedback, Anita! We’re so glad you loved the new recipe!
Just wondering if these could be made with monk fruit in place of all the 45 g of sugar?
Hi Pam, we don’t typically bake with sugar substitutes so we’re not sure how monk fruit would do in this recipe. If you decide to give it a try, we’d love to hear how it goes!